caitilin_sca

diermuid @ 12:36am: Ice Cap gone by 2016.
Along with the Mayan Calendar thing, Al Gore has not decreed that the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free in the next 5-7 years (rather than the 20 that the other pundits predict).

I predict that by 2016, we will still have an Ice Cap, and Al Gore will somehow still be respected and not laughed at like the folks that said our oil would be ALL GONE before 2000.

I will point out this article to my kids, and ask them to watch the Ice Cap for the next 20 years.

Hopefully, the new hybrid car trend will kick off along with Home Depot's locally available solar panels, and wind farms, and then I can be wrong. I would like to be wrong. But instead, I wrote down in my planner to point and laugh at Al Gore in 2016. Being dishonest or overly dramatic for a Good Cause is still being dishonest, whether you are Al Gore or Charlton Heston.

diermuid @ 6:42am: Amusing...
I've seen the Girlfriend a record 4 times this week, and every time, I was in a different scout uniform.

Like my mother, I can get very dedicated to things. (Others might call it obsessed, or addicted) But if I have to be obsessed with anything, Scouting is not a bad thing to be hooked on.

That said, I am really looking forward to the time when I'll be able to step down from everything and let the new parents pick up the torches. My ex once mentioned that scouting was a 'me' thing, which isn't entirely untrue, but it's not something I look forward to doing once the kids are grown and gone. Granted, there are certainly groups within scouting that look to retain experienced leaders... so only time will tell.

diermuid @ 6:19pm: Not my label,
but one I made up that could probably be a pin/button for a number of people -

Warning - May flood during Kilt season.

diermuid @ 3:32pm: Warning! Poster will point and laugh at the Stoopid!
I often don't follow celeb stuff (someone needs to pull the plug on the Jon and Kate stuff) but Tiger has got me pretty entranced. Partly because I've met the guy, and partly because the new photo spread of women looks like something out of Criminal Minds, and Tiger's "Golfer's Chub" has made him look as goofy as an "UnSub".

I'm also amused at how golfers are considered 'athletes'. I equate golf to Skeet or Trap shooting. You DO have to develop the right muscle memory, but since I've also met John Daly, Tom Watson, and Chi-Chi Rodriguez (while I was a rather svelte Marine) I should note that these are NOT guys who I would consider athletes.

I suppose it doesn't surprise me too much that Tiger is a swinger though... he didn't marry a high school sweetie, he married a model. Pretty fades... competence stays. Interesting note, given the people I know - some people are inherently non-monogamous at their core. Just like some people are decidedly monogamous, some people are homosexual, some are monotheistic, some are vegan, some feel an obsessive need to control body hair, etc. I wonder if this will come out as an 'illness' of Tiger's, or if he will reach down and come out as someone who prefers multiple more superficial relationships. Either way is fine by me... he's got a definite type, and a definite pattern of picking up gals for 6 months or more. As long as everyone is open and honest, I can see that working for them.

Or, we can stuff the round peg back in the square hole and continue to read about him for years to come, his personal life outshining his golf prowess.

diermuid @ 4:37pm: Whoa! I got a cookie!
Two actually, one for being in a community that I don't remember being in. and one for being active in divorce and relationship communities. That made me grib, because I perform weddings, but don't perform divorces (yet). Both are community services, and a bit part of the aging and maturing process. I think what I would REALLY like to be involved in is helping young people NOT get married or have kids before they're ready, but outside of a fascist regime, I don't think there is any way to really prevent people from making really unwise decisions when they're head over heels. I -do- hope that social networking gives us a bit more of 'family' resource for those that are estranged from their families, but experience also tells me that a number of people who make life harder on themselves will only friend online people who support their bad decision making.

So for all of you who "keep it real" by challenging my assumptions or decisions, Thank You. It is very helpful to have other adult eyes looking over each other. I also know that if I'm about to do something that I would not be proud to share with my friends (particularly those with higher standards, and a serious snark streak) then it often gives me pause. I would rather be respected for doing the right thing, than snarked for being indulgent or half-assed. That doesn't mean I'm always successful, but at least it gives me a good direction to try and head (when I am thinking about it).

Also newsworthy - Cub Scouting has new belt-loops for next year.

• Disabilities Awareness (More and more classes have been available on Austism Spectrum Disorders, because we get a lot of them coming in)


• Family Travel (often doesn't count for much before Webelos)


• Good Manners (er? I thought that was a large part of scouting already?)


• Nutrition (Useful, except that scout leaders have no special training in nutrition, some adults consider Pop Tarts or Ramen a meal)


• Pet Care (makes sense)


• Photography ( makes sense)


• Reading and writing (Um, I'm a bit annoyed with Cub academics that mimic what they already get in school)


• Video Games (snarkable, but we've been working to make Mario Kart addictions useful for years)


• Hiking


• Hockey (cool!)


• Horseback riding


• Kickball (ermm...)


• Skateboarding (from obscurity to criminal mischief to youth academic/sport? Wow!)