--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2500000 Date: 02/03/98 From: BRIEN PAGE Time: 09:04pm \/To: STAN BIMSON (Read 0 times) Subj: Camp Boxwell Summer Camp BP> If I haven't had enough fun at Boxwell Sunday thru Friday, I BP> might drive back up Saturday also. It would be nice to BP> place faces with names. SB> Come here and we will take my truck. No need going in SB> two vehicles and using up more dead dinosaurs. One vehicle sounds good to me. I'll get directions as time gets closer. Brien --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: NUT N' MUCH BBS Madison TN (615 868-8370 ISDN/Analog) (1:116/305) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2500001 Date: 02/04/98 From: DON BACH Time: 08:37pm \/To: MIKE BOURNE (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Summer Camp Hi! Concerning Computer Merit Badge Course: MB> This one is oriented to about an hour of lecture, 20 minutes of hands-on MB> on the computers (end of first session), a worksheet to MB> take home, (start of second session) about 20 minutes MB> of lecture and question/answer, and about an hour of MB> hands-on to finish things up (end of second session). Sounds like a reasonable amount of time. MB> We have had the fortune to hold the merit badge MB> college at a local junior college where they have a MB> *wonderful* set of computer labs with 22 Win95 MB> machines and a NT 4.0 instructor's machine with a MB> projections system, all networked together in each lab. MB> Really top notch. Sounds great! My wife and another teacher run computer labs like that, with 30 computers each at an "urban" middle school. The other teacher's lab has a projection system. The systems have Novell-based servers. She just told me we could have classes there on Saturdays. She is holding workshops for parents on Saturdays. We don't have a merit badge college - just offerings at Summer Camp and what each Troop does. MB> One of the files that I'll send to you is the takehome MB> worksheet. It is not quite what I'd like it to be, MB> but it works. I don't do very fancy stuff on Word. Well.... maybe I could spruce it up for you. Let me know what you want. I do almost all my work in WordPerfect 6.1, but go back and forth between Word 6 on occasion. The city I work for has adopted Word. MB> In the past four years we have gone from about 15% with MB> PCs at home to about 85% or better this year. Most MB> with home computers have modems and many have some MB> sort of Internet access. I was surprised. That goes with the growth of the Internet. We BBS Sysops have apparently done a poor job marketing ourselves. 'Course this is supposedly a hobby and the Internet has major corporate bucks behind it. I think I got about 75% with knowledge of modems when I asked. MB> Not too many want a non-standard (Zenith), non- MB> upgradeable DOS only machine limited to 512KB of MB> memory, when a low end windows capable 80386 can be MB> available for less than $200 with a monitor. You have a major point there. Couldn't you put a RAM extension in the Zenith? I thought there was one at one time. Also, doesn't it run Win 3.0 or 3.1? DB> The 8088 isn't bothering me, but DB> not having a second Windows machine is bugging the DB> wife. The kids keep the Pentium tied up. MB> That is not a problem in the house here, because we have three machines MB> ( 2- 386-40, 1- 5x86-133) currently running with MB> Windows on them (plus one 386SX16 had a hard drive MB> fail that I have not bothered to replace). Two are MB> networked, with the third to be connected soon. We MB> also have most of the parts to put another together, MB> but have not done so. All four of us in the family MB> here are pretty computer savvy so the demand does get MB> tight sometimes. :-) Wow! I've been considering using Lantastic to network the 8088 and the Pentium. I'm not sure I have enough free interrupts on the Pentium (NEC Ready 9542) for it to work. I found it was impossible to get an external modem to work, according to NEC's tech support. I think I may have to pop for a Win95 laptop for our anniversary in March (Shhhh - don't tell somebody). DB> After the Computer Merit Badge, I think I'll tackle DB> Engineering or Environmental Science. MB> I've signed up for a few others, but have only MB> counselled Camping, Electricity, and Electronics other MB> than Computers. I'm signed up for Atomic Energy, but MB> haven't had anyone interested yet (I was a physics MB> major for a couple years in college). Yuck - Georgia Tech used physics as a "weeder" course. I hated it, but loved statics and engineering applications of physics. I had to take the second required physics course twice. We are having an Atomic Energy course at Entergy Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Station this Saturday morning. Several of the Grand Gulf employees live here in Clinton, but it is a longer commute than I would like. My brother-in-law works in rad-waste there and his bedroom windows glow at night . Seriously, he is called "Creature" at work. YIS, Don Assistant Scoutmaster, Andrew Jackson Council Troop 88 --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: No Regrets, Clinton, MS (601)924-8247 9P-5A (1:3632/65) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2500002 Date: 02/04/98 From: DON BACH Time: 08:15pm \/To: BRIEN PAGE (Read 0 times) Subj: Summer Camp Hi! BP> Got your package in the mail today (Wednesday). Got it Monday - took it to our Troop meeting. Thanks! I'm sending you a check for $3.00 to cover postage. YIS, Don --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: No Regrets, Clinton, MS (601)924-8247 9P-5A (1:3632/65) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2500003 Date: 02/04/98 From: DON BACH Time: 08:18pm \/To: STAN BIMSON (Read 0 times) Subj: Camp Boxwell Summer Camp Hi! DB> We will be in Camp Parnell Site 3. It is about an 8 hour DB> drive, so we'll probably be there by 6 or 7 PM. SB> Have noted that and will try to be there at 6 (cdt). I'll let you know more about the schedule as we finalize things. We plan to stop for lunch somewhere on the Trace. BTW, our portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway will be the last constructed. DB> Oh oh - you've dated yourself here Stan! SB> What to see the photos? I'd like to see pictures of scouting way back when and I'm sure the boys will too. DB> Let's see... I'm 40 now - that would make you about 55? DB> SB> YOU'RE WRONG!! I'm only 53. Shucks . SB> But let me tell you SB> about being 40, don't blink to often because Five Zero SB> is on your doorstep so fast you will wonder where that SB> 10 years went. Work is keeping me really busy too - we have to triple the size of our new water plant and double the capacity of our main wastewater plant within the next ten years. SB> But the last three years have been slow, SB> I guess it's because our kids are in there late teens SB> and early twenties so things slow down a bit. Ten years from now, my kids will be 22, 20, 16 and 13. I don't think things will slow down within that time. Maybe 15 years from now? YIS, Don Assistant Scoutmaster, Andrew Jackson Troop 88 --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: No Regrets, Clinton, MS (601)924-8247 9P-5A (1:3632/65) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2500004 Date: 02/04/98 From: DON BACH Time: 08:29pm \/To: JAMES HASLAM (Read 0 times) Subj: Summer Camp Hi! DB> I have taken up teaching the Computer merit badge. The boys showed a DB> lot of interest when I asked. I may take this BBS computer to a DB> troop meeting and let the boys enter messages into Scouting. Hope DB> they don't laugh too much when they see this 10 Mhz 8088/8087 box DB> with amber monitor! JH> Blimey! Thats older than my Atari STe I'm using now to type this!!! I also have a Timex-Sinclar 1000 (Sinclair ZX-81), a Xerox 1810 (portable) and an Epson QX-16 (runs both CP/M 2.2 multibank and MSDOS 2.11). Don Assistant Scoutmaster, Andrew Jackson Troop 88 --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: No Regrets, Clinton, MS (601)924-8247 9P-5A (1:3632/65) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2500005 Date: 02/04/98 From: DON BACH Time: 08:32pm \/To: BRIEN PAGE (Read 0 times) Subj: Camp Boxwell Summer Camp Hi! DB> We will be in Camp Parnell Site 3. It is about an DB> 8 hour drive, so we'll DB> probably be there by 6 or 7 PM. SB> Have noted that and will try to be there at 6 (cdt). BP> If I haven't had enough fun at Boxwell Sunday thru BP> Friday, I might drive back up Saturday also. It would BP> be nice to place faces with names. I haven't even met the few Sysops we have left in the net here, although I've tried to arrange several get-togethers. Be glad to meet you. I'll try and let you know of our plans when finalized (probably the meeting before ). YIS, Don --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: No Regrets, Clinton, MS (601)924-8247 9P-5A (1:3632/65) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2500006 Date: 02/05/98 From: BRIEN PAGE Time: 09:23am \/To: DON BACH (Read 0 times) Subj: Summer Camp DB> Got it Monday - took it to our Troop meeting. Thanks! DB> I'm sending you a check for $3.00 to cover postage. Please don't worry about it. If you feel you have to, just send me one of your shoulder patches. I had one of ours out to put in the mug, but left it sitting on the table. Hope it gives good service. Brien --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: NUT N' MUCH BBS Madison TN (615 868-8370 ISDN/Analog) (1:116/305) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2A00000 Date: 02/05/98 From: BRIEN PAGE Time: 09:36am \/To: DON BACH (Read 0 times) Subj: Camp Boxwell Summer Camp BP> If I haven't had enough fun at Boxwell Sunday thru BP> Friday, I might drive back up Saturday also. It would BP> be nice to place faces with names. DB> I haven't even met the few Sysops we have left in the DB> net here, although I've tried to arrange several get- DB> togethers. Know what you mean, I haven't met too many either. Stan is great for Tech Support, so I don't have to search out anyone else. :-) DB> Be glad to meet you. I'll try and let you know of our DB> plans when finalized (probably the meeting before DB> ). That will be fine. Brien --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: NUT N' MUCH BBS Madison TN (615 868-8370 ISDN/Analog) (1:116/305) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2A00001 Date: 02/05/98 From: MIKE BOURNE Time: 12:0:am \/To: DON BACH (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Summer Camp DB> Sounds like a reasonable amount of time. It works pretty well, but gets tight if there are too many questions. DB> Sounds great! My wife and another teacher run DB> computer labs like that, with 30 computers each at an DB> "urban" middle school. The other teacher's lab has a DB> projection system. The systems have Novell-based DB> servers. She just told me we could have classes there DB> on Saturdays. She is holding workshops for parents on DB> Saturdays. That's what you need to do it right. These systems are just NT network sed. DB> We don't have a merit badge college - just offerings DB> at Summer Camp and what each Troop does. There are a few specialized "colleges" around during the year, but this is the biggest. It has been going for 6 years at this location, and we should support about 1000 Scouts next January. DB> Well.... maybe I could spruce it up for you. Let me DB> know what you want. I do almost all my work in DB> WordPerfect 6.1, but go back and forth between Word 6 DB> on occasion. The city I work for has adopted Word. If you have time, that would be fine. The wording might also need a little work, as some must be a little ambiguous based on the answers that I have gotten. We are standardized on the MS Office Suite at the office. So that is what I use at home too. DB> That goes with the growth of the Internet. We BBS DB> Sysops have apparently done a poor job marketing DB> ourselves. 'Course this is supposedly a hobby and the DB> Internet has major corporate bucks behind it. There is not as much flash and glitz on the BBS scene anymore. And it is definitely a hobby. DB> I think DB> I got about 75% with knowledge of modems when I asked. I think that it will be near 100% next year. MB> Not too many want a non-standard (Zenith), non- MB> upgradeable DOS only machine limited to 512KB of MB> memory, when a low end windows capable 80386 can be MB> available for less than $200 with a monitor. DB> You have a major point there. Couldn't you put a RAM DB> extension in the Zenith? I thought there was one at DB> one time. Also, doesn't it run Win 3.0 or 3.1? There was a 0.5 MB RAM extension for it, as well as a 2.5MB one, but I have not been able to find one locally. There are a few mailorder places, but the prices are many times what SIMMS would cost. It *might* run Win 2.0, but all above that require at least a 386. DB> Wow! I've been considering using Lantastic to network DB> the 8088 and the Pentium. I'm not sure I have enough DB> free interrupts on the Pentium (NEC Ready 9542) for it DB> to work. I found it was impossible to get an external DB> modem to work, according to NEC's tech support. I'm just using the Windows for Workgroup networking for the machines here. There was a MSDOS client for this setup available, but I don't know where you could find it now. DB> I think I may have to pop for a Win95 laptop for our DB> anniversary in March (Shhhh - don't tell somebody). Make sure you get enough memory. 16MB will work fine, and more (up to 64) will work better. MB> (I was a physics major for a couple years in college). DB> Yuck - Georgia Tech used physics as a "weeder" course. DB> I hated it, but loved statics and engineering DB> applications of physics. I had to take the second DB> required physics course twice. This was subatomic and nuclear physics. I wish that it had been more engineering oriented rather than the very theoretical that it was. I probably would have done much better. DB> We are having an Atomic Energy course at Entergy Grand DB> Gulf Nuclear Power Station this Saturday morning. DB> Several of the Grand Gulf employees live here in DB> Clinton, but it is a longer commute than I would like. DB> My brother-in-law works in rad-waste there and his DB> bedroom windows glow at night . Seriously, DB> he is called "Creature" at work. They have a course at the nuclear plant just south of here every year too. I've offered to assist, but they have had plenty of folks who work there to run it. Mike Bourne --- QM v1.00 * Origin: A Point at the Edge of Town (Ft. Worth, TX) (1:130/209.6102) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 130 SCOUTING Ref: F2A00002 Date: 02/05/98 From: MIKE BOURNE Time: 1:14:am \/To: DON BACH (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Camp Boxwell Summer Camp SB> But the last three years have been slow, SB> I guess it's because our kids are in there late teens SB> and early twenties so things slow down a bit. DB> Ten years from now, my kids will be 22, 20, 16 and 13. DB> I don't think things will slow down within that time. DB> Maybe 15 years from now? Ten years from now both our kids will be out of undergraduate college, and will be 26 and 23. I *hope* things have slowed down! If things really work out right, I won't have to be working the 40 hour week anymore about then. I've got lots of other things that I'd like to do. Mike Bourne --- QM v1.00 * Origin: A Point at the Edge of Town (Ft. Worth, TX) (1:130/209.6102)