The
Buckhorn 
Troop 133 Newsletter December 2009
Troop 133 Advanced on Manasass and Quantico
Troop 133 Advanced on Manasass and Quantico
Wherever the scouts were on this trip they found ways to enjoy themselves. Richie Lomas continued to show his southern spirit by buying himself a confederate hat and belt buckle, just to remind us how "the Union soldiers lifted their skirts and ran away." Or later on that weekend on Saturday night at the bowling alley when scouts repeatedly got strikes. Even when just on the car ride over scouts enjoyed playing the "yellow car" game.
Oh the many inventions of man, like those in the above picture. The aeroplane, or airplane, is an ingenious invention. Troop 133 scouts visited Manassas, Virginia for their latest trip and were amazed by the many displays at the Air and Space Museum, United States Marine Corps History Museum, and the scenic location of the Manassas Battlefield. At each location the scouts learned new things, like how that after the Blackbird reconnaissance jet reaches 1000 mph it starts burning pure jet fuel turning it into a rocket! Or how at the Civil War Manassas Battlefield the first major battle of the war how extremely inexperienced the troops on both sides were. Neither side new just what to expect. The Union had the numbers and the arms but they could not hold the line and they lost the battle. What was supposed to be the one and only battle of the war turned out to be just the beginning?
As for scouts working on the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge, they were able to complete most of the requirements for the badge. The trip ended on a high note and everyone came home happy on the car ride back home. Actually most sleep on the trip home… as usual after a trip full of neat things seen and done.
~Timothy Woodside, Troop Historian
Wherever the scouts were on this trip they found ways to enjoy themselves. Richie Lomas continued to show his southern spirit by buying himself a confederate hat and belt buckle, just to remind us how "the Union soldiers lifted their skirts and ran away." Or later on that weekend on Saturday night at the bowling alley when scouts repeatedly got strikes. Even when just on the car ride over scouts enjoyed playing the "yellow car" game.
Oh the many inventions of man, like those in the above picture. The aeroplane, or airplane, is an ingenious invention. Troop 133 scouts visited Manassas, Virginia for their latest trip and were amazed by the many displays at the Air and Space Museum, United States Marine Corps History Museum, and the scenic location of the Manassas Battlefield. At each location the scouts learned new things, like how that after the Blackbird reconnaissance jet reaches 1000 mph it starts burning pure jet fuel turning it into a rocket! Or how at the Civil War Manassas Battlefield the first major battle of the war how extremely inexperienced the troops on both sides were. Neither side new just what to expect. The Union had the numbers and the arms but they could not hold the line and they lost the battle. What was supposed to be the one and only battle of the war turned out to be just the beginning?
As for scouts working on the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge, they were able to complete most of the requirements for the badge. The trip ended on a high note and everyone came home happy on the car ride back home. Actually most sleep on the trip home… as usual after a trip full of neat things seen and done.
~Timothy Woodside, Troop Historian
Dec 5-6 & Dec 19 & 20
Summer Camp 2010-Camp Ockanickon
July 11-19 2010
http://www.ockanickon.org/
2010 National Jamboree-100th anniversary.
July 26th-Aug 4th
http://www.bsajamboree.org/
Dec 2 - 7:30 - Troop Meeting.
9:00 - Troop Committee meeting
Dec 9 – 7:30 – Troop Meeting
Dec. 11 -13 - Klondike Prep Camping Trip
Dec 18 - 7:30 - Troop Meeting
Dec 23-7:30- Caroling at Brighten Place
Dec 30 - 7:30 – No Troop Meeting!!!
How They Designed the Space Shuttle
How They Designed the Space Shuttle
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used?
Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US Railroads.
Why did the English build them like that?
Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.
Why did "they" use that gauge then?
Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Okay! So, why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Okay! So, why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So, who built those old rutted roads?
Specifications and bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's ass came up with it, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.
Now the twist to the story...
There's an interesting extension to the story about railroad gauges and horses' behinds.
When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank.
These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory at Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs might have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track is about as wide as two horses' behinds.
So, a major design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass.
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used?
Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US Railroads.
Why did the English build them like that?
Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.
Why did "they" use that gauge then?
Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Okay! So, why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Okay! So, why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So, who built those old rutted roads?
Specifications and bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's ass came up with it, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.
Now the twist to the story...
There's an interesting extension to the story about railroad gauges and horses' behinds.
When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank.
These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory at Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs might have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track is about as wide as two horses' behinds.
So, a major design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass.
Scoutmaster Minute
A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL 5 IMPORTANT LESSONS :
1.) EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL ALWAYS LEAVE A MARK.
2.) YOU CAN ALWAYS CORRECT THE MISTAKES YOU MAKE.
3.) WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS WHAT IS INSIDE OF YOU.
4.) IN LIFE , YOU WILL UNDERGO PAINFUL SHARPENINGS,
WHICH WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON.
5.) TO BE THE BEST PENCIL, YOU MUST ALLOW YOURSELF
TO BE HELD AND GUIDED BY THE HAND THAT HOLDS YOU.
1.) EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL ALWAYS LEAVE A MARK.
2.) YOU CAN ALWAYS CORRECT THE MISTAKES YOU MAKE.
3.) WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS WHAT IS INSIDE OF YOU.
4.) IN LIFE , YOU WILL UNDERGO PAINFUL SHARPENINGS,
WHICH WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON.
5.) TO BE THE BEST PENCIL, YOU MUST ALLOW YOURSELF
TO BE HELD AND GUIDED BY THE HAND THAT HOLDS YOU.