SackOHammers

I'm also an old Battlefield 1942 fan. I spent several evenings playing the PS3 version. You can download it for 10 bucks in the Sony Store. It was pretty fun. I played the heck out of it for about a week, but haven't since. I also downloaded Rampage (the same one from the old arcade). Fun to play with my girlfriend. She likes to punch my character.

Well, thats certainly not true of all boy scouts / Explorer units. Some units, even regular scout troops, take on a para-military bent. Its the leaders that choose to take this path. There are many Explorer units that don't take this track at all. Honestly, I always felt a little sorry for the scouts that were stuck in those units not because they enjoyed those activities, but because thats all they had in their area. In some cases, when those are the only type of troops around, people actually think thats what the boy scouts is about. Shame, really. P.S. To Expand, explorer units are usually theme-based. SOME of them choose to focus on public service / police / para-military themes. Others choose sailing, rescue, technical climbing, or other interests. Anyway, I hope people reading this don't think that all Explorers are trained to be "survival experts" or "tactical combat experts".

Yeah, before Philmont I worked a few years at the camp in our Council. I was an area director (1/3 of the camp) for a couple years. Good fun, but not nearly the experience of Philmont. Working at Philmont is pretty much for college aged people and older. Its a good time for college students looking for a summer job. Ah yes, Boundary Waters. My college roommate handled one of the fly-in bases at Boundary Waters. He brought back some good stories. If you can't make it to Philmont.... from what I understand, Boundary Waters offers a similar caliber of experience... both in team building, comraderie, and personal growth.

I couldn't really get into Metal Gear Solid 4. I enjoyed Grand Theft Auto (although Vice City is still my favorite by far). I really like Fallout 3. Seriously, if you don't buy it, at least go to Blockbuster and rent it.... you'll probably end up buying it. The best way I can describe it is a cross between Oblivion (RPG and immersion) and Bioshock (moral and value choices shaping your character and environment). Its also a good shoot 'em up with lots of depth.

Eagle in '92 and Philmont Ranger in '97 (one of the best summers of my life) Get that Eagle. Everyone recognizes it and if they do find out you're an Eagle, will afford you more social respect for being one. I remember how I was on the fence with my girlfriend's father when we first met. He hadn't formed an opinion of me yet and was holding his cards close to his vest. When someone mentioned I was an Eagle, his eyebrows raised a little, his expression changed, and conversation from that point on was less tense. I've noticed similar reactions through my life.