This is a post entirely inspired by David Fredericksen, Assistant Manager of Production Engineering at NVIC, a foundry in central Indiana. He and I got a back-and-forth debate going on LinkedIn over the weekend, focused on the topic of unionization that was raised in a video I’d posted. He raised some excellent points in his […]

I’m pleased as can be to present my review of one of the finest WWII history books I’ve ever read. Sand & Steel: The D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France by Professor Peter Caddick-Adams is a triumph. It’s a dense book, and perhaps will seem a daunting one to many people, at nearly 900 […]

After I posted an article on LinkedIn yesterday about the current virus-driven obsession with hygiene being a threat to our cherished American freedoms, my LI pal Phil Rink commented that we should dial back the extreme language (though later saying he agreed some of what’s going on looks like fascism, but that it wasn’t helpful […]

I’ve previously pointed out that in Scouting, as in life, things don’t always go the way you expect them to – and that, in fact, Scouting is designed to be a safe place to fail. Plus, Scouting is best done outdoors, where the vagaries of the weather also come into play. As a result, Scouts […]

According to Jim Craig, goalie for the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, he and his teammates had no doubt they would win the gold medal. They did, of course, almost exactly 40 years ago, in a story that has now become legend. February’s milestone anniversary prompted Craig to write his new book, We Win! Lessons […]

We just welcomed our new Crossovers to our Troop. Those are the former Cub Scouts who, having achieved the highest rank in that organization, the Arrow of Light, have now “graduated” into Scouts BSA, and moved from their old Pack into a Troop. As part of their welcome, a group of our adult leaders took […]

Scouting is just like any other organization in one important way. It’s made up of people – people of varying talents and abilities and moods and personalities. It’s obvious that those people, whether the Scouts themselves or the adult leaders and parents who support them, share a lot of common interests and values. That fact, […]

I’ve had an interesting dust-up the past few days over a comment I made about a LinkedIn post. Now I’ve been challenged with a follow-up question that I believe warrants an extended answer, so I decided to write it up here. It all started when a female VP at a large financial services firm posted […]

The passing of rock drumming legend Neil Peart of Rush wouldn’t seem to fit in with this month’s ruminations. But it does – trust me on this. I’d already decided to write about questioning your own experience, based on a passage from a book I read recently. Peart hitting the news reminded me of how […]

Those unfamiliar with Scouting are usually surprised to hear that one of its core values is that Troops are Scout-led. “What exactly does that mean?” is a typical question. It’s pretty self-explanatory. In a well-functioning Troop, the Scouts lead everything: Troop meetings, outings, service projects, and short-term and annual planning. Adults are there to facilitate […]