I'm Bob Prager, a 59-year-old aerospace engineer from Southern California. Among my hobbies are volunteering as an adult in both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, letterboxing, digital art, and outdoor cooking.

SCOUTING (& GUIDING)

I seem to be spending a phenomenal amount of time on various Scouting activities, both for the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA. (That's what happens when you have one of each!) Both my daughter and son have graduated from college, but my involvement in Scouting has, if anything, increased! ("Just because your son/daughter has left, that doesn't mean we're letting YOU off the hook!")

Boy Scouts of America

I've cut back a little in volunteering in my local council, the Long Beach Area Council. I presently serve on one of the Eagle Boards of Review for the Council. (Information concerning the "Life to Eagle" procedures followed in this council is available from the Council web site.) The Board:

• Reviews proposed Eagle Projects
• Conducts formal Eagle Boards of Review for the Council

I'm an Honorary Brave in the Tribe of Tahquitz, the Long Beach Area Council's Honor Scouting Organization. (There is no Order of the Arrow Lodge in the Long Beach Area Council, nor has there ever been one. The former Tahquitz Lodge 127 was formed by members of the Tribe of Tahquitz living in the Riverside/San Bernardino area, which is served by another council.)

Girl Scouts of the USA

I have a number of jobs in the Girl Scouts. I'm Co-Leader (or, at this point, co-Advisor) of Senior Troop 116. I'm co-Service Unit manager, Webmaster, and "Internet Specialist" for the Alamitos-Marina Service Unit of the Girl Scout Council of Greater Long Beach. I'm a Council Trainer (check out my Trainer's Resources page!), Program Volunteer...and a collector of Girl Scout Council patches!!!

See also:

• For you crafters out there, my daughter's (Snake's) instructions on how to make a monkey's fist pendant (WARNING! She's left-handed, and the instructions are written that way.)
• Thanks to the Girl Scout Councils of Southern California, I'm now formally a "Leave No Trace" Trainer. I've done training for both the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts.

Digital Art

A number of years ago, I received a free copy of ULEAD's image-editing software (PhotoImpact) with an HTML editor. I played with it a little, but it seemed much too complicated, so I put it away. (All I wanted to do was edit bitmaps...and maybe photos!)

What with one thing and another, I've taken it up again, found numerous helpful people and sites on the internet, and am now a constant user, approaching competence!

Letterboxing

1. Carve/create a personal stamp
2. Find clues on the internet or from another letterboxer
3. Taking a small sketchbook, an ink pad, and your stamp, follow the clues
4. Find the letterbox!
5. Stealthily withdrawing, open the box, take the stamp out of the box and stamp it into your sketchbook using your inkpad.
6. Stamp your stamp into the book/paper in the box
7. Clean all the stamps
8. Reassemble the letterbox, re-hide it, and (taking care that no Muggles see you) skulk away.

Outdoor Cooking

I'm a rank amateur with both the cast iron dutch oven and the cardboard box oven, but I'm trying -- and eating well!

Other Family Members on the Web

My son Jonathan has some photo albums on the internet at Webshots, and my niece Karen has some interesting material about her experiences in Russia.