Monterey Sports Car Championships

This morning was another volunteer session at Laguna Seca for the championship sports car race. Once again, we checked and sold tickets at the "B Road" entrance. I worked there for about four hours beginning around six in the morning. When we got there, it was still completely dark and the moon was out. Crowds started coming in around nine or so. Sam Pontarolo and his family were in charge of the station, and others there were Michael and Mackenzie Ryan and Andrew, Michael, and Thomas Paxton.

A photo I took of the moon in the morning...

The PG Triathlon

Today was the Triathlon at Pacific Grove which the scouts volunteer at every year. I was working the station with Matthew, his brother Michael, and Oliver. This year we came on Saturday instead of Sunday, which proved to be a lot easier than the latter. Like always, we handed out cups to athletes, but since Saturday is the elite day, most of them were in too much of a hurry to want water. The last of them came through around noon.

Around the aid station there seemed to be way more squirrels than normal. Everywhere you looked, there were at least two or three, which I managed to get some photos of. I also got some nice macros of the bees which were swarming over the lavender. After we were done working, the triathlon provided a free lunch buffet to the volunteers and athletes, with pasta, salad, and assorted fruits. The t-shirts this year were blue, which was a nice change from the mint green that they traditionally give out. I probably have four or five mint colored triathlon shirts now.

Some of the local "wildlife"...

Cobra Patrol Flag

At the last scout meeting we discussed making patrol flags. My patrol, the cobra patrol, decided to get one printed and I offered to make a vector cobra emblem. Today I started work on it in Macromedia Freehand MXa, a program very similar to Adobe Illustrator.

This is a screenshot of what I've done so far. Keep in mind that this is just a rough draft and the final will have shading, be smoother, and the cobra will have a full body wrapping around the fleur de lis.

Grant's Eagle Court of Honor

Coming back from the church swim party, I had to quickly get into my Class A scout uniform and head over to the PG Community Center for Grant Randall's Eagle Court of Honor. Many non-scouting people who knew Grant showed up, including my former private clarinet lesson instructor, Mr. Stotz, and Sean Bell, the captain of the cross country team.

It began with a prayer and then a slide show of Grant's scouting career. After this, the normal Eagle Scout ceremonies began, with speeches from family members and mentors, followed by an open remarks section. Quite a few people stood up for speeches, including Cliff Andrews, Katherine Barretto, and Kyle Lundquist.

After the end of the ceremony, there was a pizza dinner from Papa John's and a lot of free time. Around 8:00, I went over to Michael's for a movie night where we watched Terminator II.

Summer COH

After church today was this year's annual post-summer Court of Honor at the Indian Village picnic grounds in Pebble Beach. Everyone in our troop received their badges and ranks earned over the summer at Chawanakee and Emerald Bay, as well as other awards completed individually.

This is always the biggest of the three over the course of the year because everyone comes back from the camps with a ton of awards. Over 100 merit badges alone were given out this afternoon, and the event included a potluck lunch/dinner and lasted for almost three hours.

We arrived around 1:30 and spent the first hour-or-so playing around the area with a random baseball bat that appeared in the area. Finally, the awards ceremony began. I earned the Environmental Science, Nature, Cooking, Soil and Water Conservation, Rifle Shooting, and Swimming merit badges, the BSA aquarist and snorkeling awards, the Sea Lion Swim and War Canoe rocker patches from Emerald Bay, and the rank of Star.

After the ceremonial part was over, Mr. Ryan put on a slideshow of the summer camp photos and we had a potluck meal. I had some tabouli that my mom brought, as well as some really good pesto pasta salad.

A Red-Tailed Hawk

Today on the way to the Court of Honor (see next post) we saw a red-tailed hawk sitting on a boulder by Point Joe in Pebble Beach. Other scouts on the way to the event saw it too, apparently.

Right before we were about to leave after taking some photos of it sitting, it took off and flew away. I managed to get a good photo of it in the air soon after taking off:

Historic Automobile Races

For the first scout community service project of this year, we worked the admissions booth at the Laguna Seca racecourse. The event this weekend is the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, which has a fair featuring historic cars in the middle of the loop, with a race going on on the outside.

We had the 6:30 shift so I had to get up before 6:00 to make it there on time. We shared the shift with Sam Pontarolo, Matt Helms, and their families. At 9:00 the Ryans (Michael and Mackenzie) and Liam Cunningham came, and at 10:00 Jason Gnibus and his family arrived. Our job was to direct traffic and check for and sell tickets (for $55 apiece) to the customers as they drove through.




At 10:30 when our shift ended, we got free tickets for volunteering and went to the show. They had a display on a recreational airplane (the ICON A5) that ran on car fuel and got over 20 mpg. Very cool. I also got some photos of the cars going around on the racetrack. I had to set the ISO really high on my camera for them to come out clear. We also got a really good cheese quesadilla and looked at the old cars.

Wasps!

After a long while, I finally compiled the video of the wasps at Emerald Bay. This was the first time I tried out taking videos on the Macro setting. I figured Flight of the Bumblebee would be fitting background music, even though technically these aren't bees. Oh well!

Enjoy the bumblebee wasp video...

Camp Emerald Bay

In lieu of Camp Pico Blanco because of the Big Sur fire, our July summer camp this year was Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island. We met at the Safeway parking lot to leave at 2:30 in the morning, and drove about 8 hours until 10:30 when we arrived at the dock in San Pedro. From there, we took a giant catamaran, complete with two snack bars, to the island, where we unloaded our gear and went into camp. Since Matthew happens to be fly-fishing in Alaska right now, he didn't come, so instead I was to tent with Logan Weber. When we got into the campsite, we discovered that there was a larger 4-person tent cabin, so Logan and I shared it with Dean Randall and Matt Helms.

Six AM the next morning was the swim test to qualify for waterfront merit badges. Usually, I don't take it because the water is absolutely freezing at Pico and Chawanakee so I don't sign up for aquatic classes. However, I heard that the water at Catalina would be much warmer, so I went ahead with it. It was freezing, but nothing near the other camps, and you actually got used to it after a while. The biggest problem was that it was salt water, which stung everyone's eyes and mouth. The test consisted of 3 lengths of crawl or side stroke and one length of elementary backstroke. I passed as a blue swimmer, which allows for water merit badge classes. The next few mornings at the same time we did the Sea Lion Swim which consisted of 12 lengths of whatever stroke you want. The award was a "rocker" patch that goes around the Emerald Bay patch.

For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we went into the dining hall in a line and the staff gave us full plates of food. This made the job of the waiters a lot easier. My Cobra Patrol and the Bobcat Patrol had lunch duty the whole week. The meals were varying and much better quality than Pico Blanco, with a salad bar at lunch and dinner and a cereal bar at breakfast.

Classes started around 9:00 on Monday and lasted through Friday. My first class was the BSA Aquarist class at the Pennington Marine Science Center (an aquarium building with sharks, fish, etc.) and taught about how to take care of an aquarium. Emerald Bay is the only weeklong summer camp anywhere that teaches the class, so it was a good opportunity. We prepared aquariums with filtered water and scenery, and then spent the remainder of the week catching fish and crabs in Doctor's Cove by tidepooling and snorkeling.



Second period was Rifle Shooting Merit Badge, using .22 rimfire bolt action rifles. This class had quite a few Troop 90 scouts which was nice. On Monday we just went over safety rules and other similar concepts, and starting Tuesday we began actually shooting. The two shooting requirements for the badge are labeled K and L. Requirement K is to get five groups of three shots that can each be covered by a quarter. Requirement L is to get five groups of five shots that can each be covered or touched by a quarter. On Tuesday I finished all the K's, and Friday I finished the L's.




After lunch was Canoeing Merit Badge, another waterfront activity. The only other person from Troop 90 in this class was Jake Matthews, so we paired up in a canoe. We learned the power stroke, J-stroke, and push or pull strokes. On Wednesday, we had to capsize the canoe, drain it of water, and get back in it; alone and then with the help of another canoe. On Friday we completed the badge with solo canoeing out to the dock and back, using the J-stroke.

Fourth period was the Snorkeling BSA award, and it wasn't so much a class as just an activity. All you have to do is snorkel a certain number of times, so after Canoeing we would go down and snorkel for an hour. One day we went to the main waterfront area, but the most interesting place was Doctor's Cove, right around the point next to the boat area. The only other requirements were learning hand signals and learning how to empty your mask of water. I didn't bring fins, so I had to rent some from the Snorkel Locker (Davy Jones, proprietor) and return them at the end of the week.

After dinner we had a bunch of free time to go to the trading post to get snacks, souvenirs, or plush frogs with Emerald Bay shirts. Each night, there would be a special on some item, like root beer floats on Monday and Sno-Kones on Tuesday. Some nights we had a campfire where we watched skits put on by the staff or other campers. Our troop put on the classic Shipwreck skit.

On Thursday morning we did a special trip called War Canoe which also gave a "rocker" for the Emerald Bay patch. It consisted of leaving right after breakfast and rowing out in a giant Clipper canoe that seated 5 to 8 people. After about an hour of rowing, we arrived at Parson's Beach where we were to stay the night. For lunch, we had assorted snacks, including apples. There were a ton of wasps on the beach that enjoyed swarming over the apples and eating them. We went snorkeling at Beaver's Cove and then cooked dinner and dessert in a dutch oven. The dutch oven peach cobbler was awesome! We slept "under the stars" (actually, it was cloudy) and then got up early the next morning and rowed back in time for second period.



On Saturday morning I completed the last Sea Lion Swim and packed up. We left on the catamaran around noon and were on the road by 2:30. I rode in Mr. Ryan's car with Michael and Mackenzie Ryan, Brian Long, Joseph Rudy, and Jordan Layne. Mackenzie plugged in his iPod and he put on Steve Miller Band's Abracadabra , along with some other songs, repeatedly until we'd all memorized it. The three vehicles pulled up in the P.G. Safeway parking lot at about 10:00.

Lord of the Rings meets Warhammer

Yesterday I went over to Michael's house and he gave me a very late birthday present, a set of Lord of the Rings Orc miniatures similar to Warhammer, along with a paint set. He also gave me a small bag of static grass to use for the base. This morning, I got up and painted three orcs: one spearman, one infantry, and one archer. I also super-glued the arms onto some of the miniatures that came in separate pieces. Later on, I will add fake landscaping to the bases.

After lunch I went to the Monterey Sports Center to finish up the Swimming Merit Badge that I had a partial on for a couple of years. I had to jump in the water with a shirt and pants on and inflate them. All I had to do for the shirt was blow in it to fill it with air. For the pants I had to take them off (with a bathing suit underneath, of course) and inflate them into a buoy.

When we left I went over to Michael's where Matthew and his brother were too and we played guitar hero. I got a 277-note streak on Rock You Like a Hurricane on Medium. Later today, we went to SaveMart and I ran into Mr. Bell, Riley's dad, and Yann all within 5 minutes. Weird.

Pico Retrospective

Since we won't be going to Pico Blanco this year (see The News About Pico for more information on the cancellation and the switch to Camp Emerald Bay), I thought I'd post some photos and other stuff from last year's camp.

Even though Emerald Bay will be a blast, nothing can really replace our local council camp, and its a shame not to go. First, the famous "Scoutmaster Belly Flop" video of Mr. Randall in the traditional water carnival event.



Here's some photos I took at Pico 2007...

The News About Pico

Due to the Basin Complex Fire in Big Sur, our traditional Camp Pico Blanco has been cancelled for this year. Scoutmaster Randall has been trying to get a replacement camp and finally found one: Camp Emerald Bay on Santa Catalina Island. The troop last went here in 2003, and was told it was pretty much impossible to get in again. However, due to our status as "fire refugees," they let us come in at last minute and also took almost $100 off the admission price for the week-long camp. The water is supposed to be much warmer than Pico and most of us will probably take entirely water-oriented merit merit badges.

Pimpin' Batman

I finally got around to uploading Malcolm's Batman rap. He recorded it Friday and Saturday at Chawanakee and told me to put it up on YouTube. I strung the two clips together with some background music and titles that Malcolm told me to put on.

Enjoy the random video.

Camp Chawanakee

The first camp of the summer was Camp Chawanakee on the beautiful Shaver Lake in California. It was a four-hour drive up to the lake, and I rode with Matthew. We watched both National Treasure movies on the car DVD player on the way up. Saturday and Sunday were basically both days to get situated and get familiar with the site. I went to Chawanakee last year so it wasn't that hard; I already knew where just about everything was. We slept in tent cabins with noisy cots that would creak as you moved at night.

It turned out to be a rocky start when late Sunday evening a certain scout in our troop whose name will not be mentioned threw a trash can in the lake. He then fished it out, threw the lid in the lake, and fished that out too. However, Scoutmaster Randall found out and our whole troop got in a lot of trouble. Also, Dean Randall, the previous Senior Patrol Leader, got in a bit of trouble and was replaced by Matthew, who did a great job for never having been SPL before. Not that anyone listened to either of them.... These incidents put everyone on high alert and our troop's behavior turned out to be pretty good for the rest of the week.

Merit badge classes started on Monday. My first class was Environmental Science, taught by Natti. Even though it wasn't the most enjoyable, it turned out to be the best Eagle-required badge I have done. We discussed methods of conservation and the effects of erosion on the environment, and also did a decomposition experiment with orange peel, paper, and styrofoam.

The next period was Nature merit badge, which turned out to be my favorite. The instructor was Sam, and it was basically an overview of all the nature things they offer, including a nature hike where we identified different plants, and a plaster casting of a grey fox footprint (the bobcat and cougar were already taken). I also took some really cool macros of the plants we identified.



Cooking, my only ScoutCraft class, turned out to be much of a disappointment. The time in class was pretty boring because the instructor Chris would ask everyone the same exact question and it would take an entire class period to finish one requirement. He was funny and nice outside of class, but I think he was assigned to teach cooking at the last minute, since he didn't know anything about it. Much to Oliver's annoyance, he pronounced Oliver's last name Buiertin, to which Oliver would yell, "IT'S BUNTEN!!!" and Chris would follow with "whatever." On the last day of class, we watched him pour brownie mix into a dutch oven and then he said to come back in free time to get the brownies. Free time came around and he said to come back at 7:00, and when we came then he showed us a rubber hand and said, "this is the hand of the last scout that asked for my brownies."

It was also pretty odd because the people in ScoutCraft put up a giant Republican flag next to the American flag at the entrance. Why? "Oh look! An elephant flag! I like elephants!" Very odd....

4^th period was Soil and Water Conservation, my second favorite class. I had the teacher, Grace, for my Geology merit badge last year. She enjoys going off on tangents about random things and was very fun to talk to. We learned about topics of erosion, water treatment, and other such things. When we were to draw Animal Erosion, I drew some Generic Quadrupeds in the picture, and Grace loved them so much that she showed all of the staff.

At lunch, one patrol every day would be assigned to go get the lunch tubs from the mess hall. My favorite lunch was the bean and cheese burritos with peppers. There were Lays potato chips available every day. Mmmm....

My final class was Reptile and Amphibian Study, also taught by Sam. We learned about differences between reptiles and amphibians, frogs and toads, lizards and salamanders, etc. We also met Cherry, the rubber boa in the nature lodge. She would wrap around Sam's finger while she was teaching and stay there the whole time. One of the commissioners also brought in a king snake to show us. The only thing I have left to do is take care of a reptile for a month.



Free time after 5^th period was very fun, and we would spend a good portion of the time playing the card game BS. People would often try to kidnap Oliver's pillow, dubbed "Mr. Puff-Puff" by Matthew. During free time, Malcolm taped ears to his hat to look like Batman, and he would turn it to the side and do a "Pimpin' Batman Rap" which I videotaped. Another funny happening was Wednesday afternoon when I found a rubber rattlesnake behind my tent. I gave it to Ryan, Matt Helms, and Anthony, who proceeded to put it in Dean's sleeping bag. That night at 10:00 we all heard a yell: "IT'S A RATTLER!!!" followed by a huge commotion, before everyone realized that it was actually fake.

One night during free time, I found out that they sell Totin' Chip badges at the trading post, but that you need your card to get one. The Totin' Chip gives permission to use a knife, saw, and axe. Michael and Mackenzie Ryan taught a refresher course which was really easy, but enough to get a card. For some reason, when I got my Totin' Chip at Pico Blanco last year, I didn't even get a card, even though the requirements were signed off.

For dinner, as well as breakfast, a person from each patrol would be selected for stewards, and they would go 30 minutes early to set up the tables. The food was very good; much better than Pico Blanco's, but the problem was that they only gave us 7 minutes to eat. When I was a steward, by the time I sat down and started eating my food, they were already calling for dessert. It was very stressful.

After dinner on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were campfires. Monday's was at Eagle Point by the lake and the staff sang songs and did numerous hilarious skits. Wednesday's fire bowl was up on the mountain, and it was short. The purpose was to pick out scout-led skits for Friday's. Kyle sang the song "Stand Out" from the Goofy movie. The fire on Friday was very fun too, and the scout's skits were enjoyable, even though they weren't all quite as funny as the staff's.

On Friday night, my dad came to stay and Saturday morning we drove back down to San Jose to prepare for the Walker River trip the following week.