Next Den Meeting - New Time

To make room for Super Bowl activities, our February 1 Den meeting will be held at 2:30 p. at the Anderson's House. For this den meeting, you have homework: The boys need to learn two things about ancient Egypt. Also, wear your Cub Scout t-shirts, but bring your Scout scarf. If somebody has a good supply of bandanas, that would be helpful too.

Following Up on Yesterday's Den Meeting

What a great meeting yesterday. Big thanks to Mrs. Arasin and Mrs. Rogers for putting together a great lesson on nutrition and showing us that Super Bowl snacks can be healthy too! Also, it was a real treat to have so many Moms involved. Thanks for coming out, and feel free to join us for any meeting.

I've got a lot of announcements so please read all the way down - even you crackberry addicts. I need some responses. Don't be shy - write back.

First item. We finished three-fifths of Achievement 8 in our Den meeting yesterday. Please do parts 8c and 8d at home - that's have your son set the table, help prepare dinner and clean up afterwards; and prepare his own breakfast and clean up.

Next, on February 11, we have a field trip to Smyrna Recycling Center. We need to be there at 3:30 p.m., and this trip will help meet one of the requirements. I will be driving and have room for two non-Euston Cubs. I do need, however, another responsible adult or two to drive. Please let me know if you are able go, and if you can help out. Please plan on wearing your Class A uniform - that's the full blue one, with scarf.

On Feb. 22 at 4:30 p., we have our Blue and Gold Banquet. I haven't heard yet from everybody on who will be there and how many in your party. Please let me know. Each family will need to bring a fruit salad or green salad plus dressing. And don't forget the Father Son Cake Bake. This is also a Class A uniform event.

Scout Sunday is March 1 at 10:30 a. It's optional. Scouts from six kinds of Boy and Girl Scouts will be there because its a nice way to show our support for the church that supports us. Please let me know if you can attend. This is also a Class A uniform event.

Look for another note on our next Den meeting.

Den Meeting Tomorrow Part II

Also, if you have completed any achievements or electives at home, please enter them into Scout Track by noon tomorrow. We will be awarding beads to boys who have competed either their 3rd or 6th achievement.

Den Meeting Tomorrow

I just wanted to give everybody a quick reminder about tomorrow's den meeting at the Euston's house. Rael Francis is responsible for leading the flag ceremony.

Also, just a quick reminder that our February 1 den meeting will start one hour earlier - 2:30 p. rather than 3:30 p. so that we can end in time to catch plenty of Superbowl pre-game coverage.

Service Project Monday

You may have received a note this morning from Morey about participating in a service project at East Cobb Park. If you can make - it runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. - it would be good way to give back to the community. This is optional. I'm planning to go with the boys.

The plan is to sweep East Cobb Park, Fullers Park and the trail between them. If you plan to attend, meet at East Cobb Park; bring gloves and a trash bag.

Eagle Scout Court of Honor

Avery Arasin's cousin, Adam, will be awarded his Eagle Scout - Scouting's highest honor - next month in a traditional Court of Honor Ceremony. Only 2 percent of boys who join the Boy Scouts make it all the way to Eagle, so this is a real achievement.

Adam has invited our den to attend the ceremony on Sunday, February 8 at 3 p. at Mt. Pisgah Methodist Church in Roswell. It should last about 45 minutes. If you're interested in going, please reach out to Kim Arasin for details - arasin5@bellsouth.net.

Two things about the Blue & Gold Banquet

Our next Pack Meeting is Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2 p. at the church - same room as the derby. It's the annual Blue & Gold Banquet, which is Scouting's birthday party - Scouting in the US happens to be 100 years old this year - and annual Friends of Scouting event.

So the two things - First, we need to know if you plan to attend and how many people will be in your party. The whole family is invited. Eventually, you will be asked to bring a side dish. Please send me a note.

And Second, we are having the Father/Son Cake Bake again this year. Cakes can have a Scouting or Egyptian theme. Gentlemen! Start your mixers ...

Pinewood Derby Secrets

Now that he's comfortably at home polishing his Pinewood Derby Grand Champion trophy, Jack "Lightning McQueen" Wilson (and his Dad) agreed to share the secret of their success in this guest post. You're gonna want to bookmark this post for next year.

Hey Greg. Here is the website I followed while building our car. It lists 16 steps. The key steps I followed closely were:

Step 5 (but I didn’t countersink the weights. And speaking of countersinking the weights – I noticed numerous cars striking the track during the races, so I will never place weights under the car. I also saw advice on another site to put most, but not all, of the weights high and in the back),

Step 6 (I have a scale from Stamps.com that showed my car at 4.9 ounces. The official scale showed my car at 4.75 ounces, so I brought along and simply added enough weight to get the car at exactly 5.0 ounces),

Step 7 (excellent ideas for painting cars – note the use of fishing line),

Step 8 (KEY STEP. What I did different: put the nail in the drill and used a regular file to sand down the burr. Also, I used one grade of medium sandpaper soaked in water for 5 minutes, cut it into ¼ inch strips and spun the axle around it for two or three 15 second bursts. I didn’t see the need to go through all the sanding levels this guy lists. I almost skipped out on the car wax, but decided to do this the last minute – and it made a big difference. Again, didn’t do all of this guys suggestions. I applied the wax with a paper towel with the nail in the drill and then spun the axle with the drill and buffed using a dry washcloth),

Step 10 (used liberally),

Step 11 (mine spun from between 20 and 35 seconds),

Step 12 (note the “trick”),

Step 13,

And of course, see steps 1, 15 and 16

Steps 5, 6 and 8 made the difference from a car not winning a race last year to not losing a race this year. So, shhhhhh – keep this information a “Den 4 Exclusive” and will rule the Derby for YEARS. OK, getting a little crazy there, and besides, simple Google searches on Pinewood Derby will lead anyone to these tricks.

See ya on the 25th.

Thanks Todd.

Pinewood Derby Registration on Saturday

In case you didn't see Greg Doherty's note, here are the highlights. Wolves - that's us - need to register their cars between 9:20 a.m. and 9:40 a.m. We will begin racing as close to 10:00 AM as possible.

Registration includes up to three test runs, inspection and registration. After the test runs, bring the car to the registration table where it will be measured, weighed and put into the pit area. Once it goes to the pit, it may not be touched by the Scout until his race heat and then placed back into the pit afterward. Everyone has the Official Rules by now, but if not, they are available at http://www.pack797.org.

See you there.

Announcements, announcements, announcements

We had a good meeting today - the rockets were a lot of fun, so a big Thank You to Keith Anderson. I also wanted to follow up with the several announcements. I'm sorry to say that you're going to have to read all the way to the bottom of the posting.

First, I've talked to a number of families who are excited to spend the night on the USS Yorktown in Charleston the weekend of March 13-15. But most have not turned in their money.

It's $55 per person, no matter the age. Families are welcome, but no children under the age of 6 can stay overnight on the boat. Please get your money in to Rebecca Woody by January 10 - that's Saturday. You can mail it to her, or hand deliver it to her at the Pinewood Derby.

The itinerary for Saturday, March 14 includes a full day on the boat, with a side tour, and spending the night on the boat itself. Ladies get the officers' quarters, gents will sleep in crew quarters. Return home on Sunday. Because it is a six hour drive to Charleston, we are planning to arrange a block of rooms at a nearby hotel for Friday night. We need to know how many people are going before we can do that. Stay tuned for more information.

Second, we plan to award Wolf badges at the April Pack Meeting. That means we all need to buckle down and get our achievements completed. Some boys are on track, others have some catching up to do. I will send individual notes to families outlining what their son needs to complete to catch up - not to finish, but to catch up.

Third, the Pinewood Derby is January 10. Racing begins at 10 a.m. (weigh-in should be before that) and should end around 1 p. with a pizza party. This is our Pack meeting in January.

Fourth, we are moving our next Den meeting forward one week, to Jan. 25 from Jan. 18. It will still be at the Eustons house. We will be preparing our snacks as our activity, and Rael Francis is responsible for leading the flag ceremony.

Fifth and last, our February 1 Den meeting will start one hour earlier - 2:30 p. rather than 3:30 p. so that we can end in time to catch plenty of Superbowl pre-game coverage.

Den Schedule for January

I hope everybody had a wonderful New Year's celebration last night. I wanted to remind you about Sunday's den meeting (Jan. 4, 3:30 p. at the Anderson's house) and to get your thoughts on the two meetings after that.

After Sunday, our next meeting is January 18. It happens to be in the middle of the three-day Martin Luther King weekend. Do you plan to be in town that weekend, or should we move it back a week to January 25?

And then the meeting after that is February 1, which is Super Bowl Sunday. Meeting should be done by 4:30 or 5 p. Kick off is at 6:20 p. There isn't technically a conflict, but not everybody thinks opening a bag of Doritos and a barley pop is sufficient to get ready for this particular game. Leave it on the 1st or move it back a week?

Don't be bashful, please let me know what you think. Thanks.