If it’s not green or brown, it’s probably not going to make it onto my menu, Sterling. But knock yourself out with the alfalfa—it’s full of fiber and protein. Let me know what you think. Nobody around here touches my tasty treats.

We call it doing a good turn daily.

But what exactly are you allowed to do? You can’t, for example, use a log splitter or wood chipper until you turn 18. You can, however, use a rake, hoe, shovel or hand clippers.

For a comprehensive list of what you can and can’t do, click here.

For help planning your next service project, click here.

For the Scouting Safely Guidelines and Policies page, click here.

Games Guru: Sure, here are a few tips that might help.

–  When selling tickets, accuracy is more important than speed.

– Walking the tightrope can be tricky when King Julien is throwing mangos! When you see one being hurled, stop immediately to keep it from hitting you.

– When you’re a human (or zebra) cannonball, flips and rolls will please the crowd and help you cover ground faster and get to those hard-to-reach balloons.

– In the snack toss circus game, don’t steal customers from your opponent. It’s faster to get your own.

– Offer your partner a hand in the trapeze to get a better team score.

– When jumping through flaming hoops as Vitaly, there’s no need to rush your jumps. Vitaly is quick on his feet, so don’t jump too early before the hoop comes into view.

– At the Coliseum, time your jumps to land on the rotating platforms. Get into a rhythm and don’t wait too long, or the platform you’re standing on might disappear!

– At the Leaning Tower of Pisa, watch for gigantic swinging hammers. Check for Mort in the alleyways behind the fruit cart.

– When Skipper sends you looking for a statue in Paris, stop by the nearest cheese shop and keep your ears peeled for Mort. Advertise the circus at the Eiffel Tower.

– In London, pick up any tea you see lying around for King Julien. Double-decker buses won’t stop unless you hit the traffic-light switch.

Games Guru: Here are some things that can help you succeed in this Vita game:

– Creating tracks is as simple as dragging your finger on the screen and drawing them. Customization of all Mods, Karts and Tracks is also enabled through the front touchscreen.

– Check in with Mod Explorer to earn Travel Points and eventually unlock new track creation parts.

– To go head-to-head with friends, Ad-Hoc play lets up to four gamers race simultaneously on any track.

– Search for your favorite PS3 creation made by fans in the Share Station. There are over 500,000 tracks and items for you to choose.

– Simply shake your Vita when you start a new creation, and a new one appears. If you don’t like what you see, then keep shaking until you do.

Q. Hey Gear Guy, which devices (other than a traditional whetstone) can I use to sharpen my knife? How well do they work?

A. There are many types of sharpeners. To help you wade through it all, I contacted a friend at Gerber Legendary Blades. They make some of the best knives and know more than a little about sharpening blades. Here are the tree main types of sharpeners:

Diamond-coated rod sharpeners (work with fine or serrated blades). This one is most similar to a whetstone.

Pros: lower cost.

Cons: takes more time, tough to maintain the correct angle while sharpening.

Ceramic pocket sharpeners (work only with fine-edge blades).

Pros: lightweight, easy to carry, low cost, quick and easy to use

Cons: will create just an average edge and cannot sharpen serrated blades

Diamond fingers sharpeners (work with fine or serrated blades).

Pros: quick, easy to use, can sharpen a variety of angles and create sharper edge

Cons: more expensive

Take a look at this sneak peek of the first five chapters of The Kill Order:

If you never read the Maze Runner books, you should give them a chance. The action-packed and adventurous story follows Thomas as he wakes up in a mysterious elevator, and the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is gone, but he’s not alone. When the elevator doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by other kids who welcome him to the “Glade”: a massive, open community enclosed by stone walls. Like Thomas, the “Gladers” have no memory of how they got to the “Glade.”

All they know is that each morning the stone walls open, revealing an intricate the maze outside of the “Glade.” And every night the walls close.

Thomas and the “Gladers” work to discover why they are in the “Glade,” and what’s outside in the maze.

MINECRAFT Mojang for Xbox Live Gameplay: 8.8 Graphics: 8.5 Sound: 8.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.8 Pros: Make your own creations. Blocky world feels real. Co-op ability. Cons: World is slightly smaller than on the PC. Inventory is harder to navigate.

MINECRAFT 101

In case you don’t know, Minecraft is a building game. It’s a little like LEGO and a little like Lincoln Logs. You take various textured cubes and build what you want.

So where does the mining come in? The word “mine” is used loosely here. Gathering up trees is, in a sense, mining. You turn them into wood and then make your own structures. Finding the materials to make your own tools to build the wood into, say, a mansion, is mining, too.

It’s not just fun, it’s also really creative. You’re limited only by your own brain … and the time you put in.

ON XBOX LIVE

So let’s see if the Xbox Live version is as deep as the PC version.

First, the Xbox game lets you play co-op with friends and has its own crafting system to make things like tools. Since I’m a console guy, I enjoy making my structures with the controller as opposed to the PC mouse.

And there are tips galore, even as the game loads for the first time. The tutorials also make the game more kid friendly. With the original Minecraft for the PC, there was a ton of detective work you had to do. You had to figure out which substance would make what tool or piece of castle. That kind of research can be fun if you have nothing but time on your hands.

Now there is help for you along the way. Some say the tutorials lessen the magic. I say they add to it. You spend more of your time making things instead of puzzling over how to do things.

COOL AND CHALLENGING

When you dive into Minecraft, the experience is immediately really cool and charming. Simple piano music plays as you arrive on the shores of a beach. Use the right controller trigger to dig into the Earth and cut wood from trees. I didn’t make anything grand and glorious right away. I just set up the beginnings of a small shack by the sea.

Then, darkness fell. A square block of a moon rose high in the sky, and stars twinkled. As I stood there and gawked at nature’s beauty, I heard some steps behind me. Since I was kind of hypnotized by the sights, I didn’t realize it was a Creeper, one of the annoying monsters of Minecraft. I heard a ka-pow, and wham, I lost half my health.

My shelter wasn’t finished, and I couldn’t hide from him!

So I swam out to sea and stayed on a sandbar until morning. The Creeper, a handless creature with a twisted, angry mouth, isn’t always a night owl. Stay away from him during the day or night. He can blow up structures you make, too.

IT’S YOUR WORLD

There are plenty of achievements to get as you go along, such as when you make a furnace, open your inventory for the first time or catch a fish. Eventually, you’ll learn to make fire and electricity. If you play a really long time, you might even find the elusive Ender Dragon.

The graphics in Minecraft are old school, a nod to the early days of video games. But that’s the glory of Minecraft. If it looked too realistic, like Gran Turismo or even The Sims, it wouldn’t have the signature style that makes this game unique.

So go wild on Minecraft. Build like a modern architect. Build like a steampunk novelist. Build like a pioneer. Build high or long or with moats and forests. Build a Scout jamboree park. Then, tear it all down if you like.

This is your world. And Minecraft is a wonderful mirror that is nothing if not a reflection of you.

These images have inspired a striking five-minute video tribute, as seen below:

Need more info on Saturn? Take a look at this easy-to-follow video about Saturn, according to scientists:

BATTLESHIP Activision for Wii Gameplay: 4.5 Graphics: 4.0 Sound: 3.5 Replay Value: 6.5 Overall Score: 4.7 Pros: Duel Mode. Missions get harder as you go along. Cons: Too small to be a console game. Awful music. Seems like a 1990s game.

DISAPPOINTING START

The game starts with only a few seconds of setup. The movie’s stars don’t play their roles in the game. In fact, there’s no animated, talking human being present at all. There’s a cartoon graphic of Captain Noland, your leader, and lines of text you have to read.
I’m not against reading in a game. In fact, I love the Nintendo role-playing games on the DS (especially the Zelda games) that engage me with a wondrous story. But during Battleship, the lines are really cliché. You just get orders and an occasional pat on the back. Your character, Danny Hunter, isn’t animated, either. And Danny’s first words on the screen have a punctuation error.

At that time, you see a ship in the water. The ship isn’t even moving in the water. It’s just sitting there. Ugh.

Mission 1 is your tutorial mission, but if you make an error like moving to the wrong place, no one tries to correct you. You’re told to place your various ships along squares on a grid. Once near a foe, you can either attack their boat or defend your position. The attack is seen from above in a kind of birds-eye view. Even when you attack properly, sinking the boat gives you no thrills because what you see is so far away.

A BRIGHT MOMENT

Things become a little more adventurous for you as a gamer when a big jumping metal orca of an alien ship arrives. You’ve probably seen it on TV. It’s ginormous, an awesome sight. There’s a scene of the giant thing shooting missiles at you. Here, the animation is quite good.

Finally, the game is allowing you to do something cool. You get to duel it out with the alien ship. Your goal is to target various weak points on the vessel and shoot at them. Where are the weak points? Just move your Wiimote over the big boat. When you find the place to attack, a red circle becomes a green circle. Shoot!

There aren’t nearly enough moments like this one, however.

OVERALL DUD

Battleship seems like it would have been better as a game for the DS or iPad than as a full-fledged Wii game. It’s just not big enough, bad enough, exciting enough to make it as a console game. In fact, the developers who made the game have worked only on handheld games prior to this one. They’re not used to making big games, and it shows.

The technology used in Battleship often looks like something from before you were born. Most of the Wii games released today try to work within the limits of the system to achieve great things as far as graphics and gameplay go. But not Battleship.

Overall, this is the most lackluster offering I’ve ever reviewed for Boys’ Life. It’s a shame because even a board game turned into a movie deserves an excellent video game to go with it.

Be sure to tune into the Indianapolis 500 this weekend, as the #19 Boy Scouts of America car races toward victory.

The 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 is on Sunday, May 27 and can be seen on ABC at 11 a.m.

An eastern red bat nibbles on the finger of an adult bat expert.

Cub Scout Pack 234 from Olive Branch, Miss., learned that at a Scouting For Bats event last summer at Sardis Lake in north Mississippi.

The Cub Scouts found out that bats do not like to bite people, they hardly ever spread disease … and some of them are actually kind of cool to look at, like the live eastern red bat that the boys got to see up close.

And when it comes to doing good deeds, bats are some of the most helpful creatures in the animal kingdom. They eat tons and tons of bugs — including lots of blood-sucking mosquitoes — and they help spread plant seeds and pollinate other plants.

Even their poop, or guano, is useful. It is a very effective fertilizer for gardens.

“I used to think they were kind of creepy,” says 10-year-old Charlie Williams.

“Well, I don’t think they’re creepy anymore.”

Protecting Bats

Graham Fargo examines a bat replica up close.

The Scouting For Bats event was hosted by the Mississippi Bat Working Group, volunteers who share a common interest in the protection of bats. Nearly half of the bat species that live in our country are endangered or in severe decline.

“People are destroying their habitat and they don’t have anywhere to live,” says 11-year-old Noah Womack.

Some bats live in caves, others live in trees and still others under bridges. Construction projects and plain carelessness can destroy large groups of bats at a time.

Fewer bats means big trouble for people everywhere.

“If we didn’t have bats,” says 10-year-old Tucker Bobbitt, “the bug population would be way too high.”

Closer Examination

Andrew Braddock feels his way through the echo-location exercise.

The Cub Scouts spent time at five stations learning about bat habitat and conservation, and took a bat quiz to learn how bats adapt to their environment.

They learned how scientists use devices called mist nets to gently capture bats, examine them, then release them back into the wild unharmed.

One of the volunteers caught a young eastern red bat, one species of microbat found in north Mississippi.

“It looked like a tiny lion with wings,” Charlie says. “It flapped its wings, and I could feel the air on my face.”

The bat was inspected, measured and weighed, then released back into the wild so it could eat more bugs. The Cub Scouts went home with a new appreciation for their winged friends.

“They’re really good for the environment,” Noah says. “They’re so much cooler than I thought they were.”

Here’s what you’ll find inside the June 2012 issue of Boys’ Life magazine. Remember, many articles are exclusive to the printed magazine and are not available online.

To subscribe to Boys’ Life magazine, please visit http://boyslife.org/subscribe.

ROAD TRIP

On an adventure to the Bahamas, Florida Scouts find no air-conditioned hotels or fine dining. Instead they get only wilderness — and one lonely paved road.

THE KING OF HIS SAND CASTLE

Get some sand-sculpting know-how from a pro.

BOOT UP!

The Gear Guy brings you the latest, greatest — and most affordable — footwear options.

BL WORKSHOP: BEAT THE BUGS

If your tent lacks mosquito netting or you camp in an unscreened shelter, make your own mosquito-netting frame.

MAKING THE TEAM

FICTION. “Country” wants nothing more than to be accepted by his fellow kayakers. When they suddenly face a life-or-death situation, can he truly make the team?

SCOUTING AROUND

Living right: It really isn’t hard to live a healthly lifestyle. Eating good food, exercising and having a good attitude go a long way toward being all-around healthly.

• Visit the Scouting Around blog

THE NEW RIVER EXPERIENCE

SummitCorps 2011 offers Order of the Arrow members a little bit of fun and a whole lot of hard work at the BSA’s newest high-adventure base.

BE CYBER SAFE (AND SMART)

Think twice — or maybe three times — before you post that.

BE SAFE — AND NICE — ONLINE

The Internet can be fun. Just be sure to use it right.

LET’S LOOK AT NATIONAL PARKS

Read it! Color it! Get it all in this special Cub Scout section.

Click here to see all the links featured in the May issue of Boys’ Life!

Look for the regular score of comics, jokes, games, Scouts in Action, Tradin’ Post and more! Only in the June issue of Boys’ Life!

• The Wacky Adventures of Pedro

• Pee Wee Harris Looks at Emergency Preparedness

Opening Shot

• Sign up for the 2013 National Scout Jamboree

This Month

• “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” stampedes into theaters June 8

News & Notes

• Robots compete in RoboCup soccer competition

BL Headliners

• 2011 Heroes of Conservation Award from Field & Stream magazine

Road Trip

• Find out more about the BSA’s 50-Miler Award

Guy Gear Update: Boot Up!

• Hi-Tec Sports Osprey hiking boots ($70)
• L.L. Bean Pathfinder Hikers, Mid hiking boots ($79)
• Cabela’s Laramie Peak Mid Hikers ($80)
• Wenger Outback hiking boots ($90)
• Tecnica Brezza II hiking boots ($85)
• The North Face Men’s Tyndall hiking boots ($80)
• Vasque Vector WP hiking boots ($115)

Scouting Around

• Follow the progress at The Summit, BSA’s new national high-adventure base
• Gear Guy’s advice on choosing a good hammock system
• See video of Troop 2′s robot in action (coming soon)

Be Safe — and Nice — Online

• Read more about Internet safety for kids at netsmartzkids.org
• Learn more about the BSA’s new Cyber Chip award (coming soon)

The New River Experience

• Follow all the Summit goings on their blog
• Register for the 2013 National Scout Jamboree
• More information about the Order of the Arrow

Be Cyber Safe (and Smart)

• Find more information about Internet safety for teens
• Learn more about the BSA’s new Cyber Chip award (coming soon)

BSA’s Got Talent!

• Submit your video for your chance to perform at the Jamboree

Fitness First

• Sun safety tips to help you avoid sunburn, heat exhaustion and heatstroke

Games

• Design your own protective skin for your electronic devices

Now this is interesting. Scientists in Japan have taught a robot how to juggle.
Why is it important for a robot to juggle? Not sure, but it sure looks cool.

Games Guru: Beyblade is a good game! Unfortunately, you can’t submit the codes I’ve given you below until you complete Story Mode. Here are your codes:

– “WlCQtq4hNs” is the password to unlock the Belzebrute Y.
– Enter “Zw71nVSJuL” to unlock the Cyber ?S.
– Enter “DZ4gjMA58V” to unlock the Cyber Pegasus AR.
– Enter “bMJ4O7osHq” as a password to unlock the Pegasus ?M. This is a Metal Face bolt with Stamina Plus.
– 123mj11gh28 – Gives you all Beyblade parts
– bre7784erhe – Shows all characters beaten

Games Guru: You have to play each Story mode through with each character. So unfortunately you can’t get emeralds with Sonic once you started with Blaze. Finish with Blaze. Then you can play again with Sonic.

That’s just what Surfer Garrett McNamara did recently, surfing on a 78 foot wall of water, that was 12 inches taller than the previous record. Check out the video below:

Check out this video from my show on Outdoor Channel to learn more about managing blisters and preventing them in the first place!

If you’ve attended a past jamboree, you already have some memories. The BSA would like for you to share.

The Fireside Story Project is a fascinating collection of stories from past jamborees. Whether the last jamboree you attended was three years ago or 30 years ago, these guys would like to hear it.

It’s simple: All you have to do is call a number and record your story. Or you can record your story yourself at home and upload it here.

For more on how the project works, click here.

Either way, here’s what you need to know:

The 2013 Jamboree will be at the Summit, the BSA’s new national high-adventure base in West Virginia. The Summit is located near the New River Gorge National River, one of the best spots for outdoor adventure in this country.

The Summit is not yet open for business, but it will be 100 percent ready to go by next summer. Follow its progress on this blog.

Wondering if you qualify for the Jamboree?

Click here for Boy Scout qualifications.

Click here for Venturing qualifications.

How much does it cost? Click here for participant fees.

Click here for a few more rules and regulations about which you should know.

Want to work at the Jamboree? Click here for info on becoming a staffer.

But wait … what exactly is there to do at the Jamboree?

When you’re ready to sign up, go here.

I manage to get it hauled every day, Baylee, but it can be exhausting work. I need periodic alfalfa milkshakes and tumbleweed tacos to keep my strength up (or at least that’s what I tell The Boss).

That’s a great question, and many guys out there are wondering the exact same thing.

Tinea pedis, or athlete’s foot as it is more commonly known, is a fungal infection of the foot. It is more common in athletes, which is how it got its name, but anyone can get it. The infection most commonly occurs on the skin between the toes, but it may also be found along the instep or lateral aspect of the foot — the so called “moccasin” distribution. Prevention and aggressive treatment are crucial to managing athlete’s foot infection.

Check out the following video from the boonDOCS show, on Outdoor Channel, for more information on how to keep your feet footloose and fungus free!

Games Guru: There aren’t any codes, so there’s no quick way to get the last 3,000. But maybe go back and do some more collecting.

Games Guru: This YouTube video should help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXnk8tXjDnE .

I saw my friend has this Golden Egg called “Angry Radio.” How do you get it? Thanks!

Games Guru: The golden eggs are on the Golden Egg page. This particular egg is on the bottom row, second from the right. Click it. Once you see the radio, click the two keys in the middle of the radio. Voila. You have your golden egg for the Angry Radio puzzle.

I don’t know how to beat these levels: Level 12 on Danger Above (not the first one, the one at night); The Big Setup, I can’t beat level 5 on the second page; Mighty Hoax, I can’t beat level 12. If you can please help me, please do.

Games Guru: It’s hard to explain this in a few words. Pictures work better.

Here’s one site that helps for Danger Above:
http://angrybirds.mobi/level-8-15-walkthrough-for-danger-above-in-angry-birds/

For the Big Setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzzcERrR5WI&feature=player_embedded

For the Mighty Hoax:
http://angrybirds.mobi/level-5-12-walkthrough-for-mighty-hoax-in-angry-birds/

We all know that the Earth’s surface is made up more than 70 percent water, and only 20 percent landmass. The oceans go as deep as 6.7 miles. There are millions of acres of icecaps and glaciers, and millions of tons of water vapor in the atmosphere. Bottom line: The amount of water on Earth is almost unimaginable.

So try and picture that unimaginable amount in one giant spherical shape. Got it?

Scroll down to see the real size:

Were you close? You can’t forget the incredible mass of the Earth’s core, no to mention its above sea level landmass.

Do you know a funny joke? Click here to send it to us.

Mom No. 1: How do you get your sleepy-head son up in the morning?
Mom No. 2: I just put the cat on the bed.
Mom No. 1: How does that help?
Mom No. 2: The dog’s already there.

Submitted by Stephen C., Salem, Va.

Baby snake: Mommy, are we poisonous?
Mother snake: Yes, son.Why?
Baby snake: I just bit my tongue!

Submitted by Mark R., Barrington, R.I.

Chris: Why is a computer so smart?
Mom: It listens to its motherboard.

Submitted by Christopher W., Gladwyne, Pa.

Son: Dad, do you know the difference between a pack of cookies and a pack of elephants?
Dad: No.
Son: Then it’s a good thing Mom does the grocery shopping!

Submitted by Steven F. II, Naperville, Ill.

Sunday school teacher: Tell me, Johnny. Do you say prayers before eating?
Johnny: No, ma’am, I don’t have to. My mom’s a good cook.

Submitted by Matthew W. , San Antonio, Tex.

Doug: I think my mom’s getting serious about straightening up my room once and for all.
Dan: How do you know?
Doug: She’s learning to drive a bulldozer.

Submitted by Doug D., Wellington, Fla.

Ryan: Why did you chop the joke book in half?
John: Mom said to cut the comedy.

Submitted by John C., Granbury, Tex.

Erin: What did the mother bullet say to the daddy bullet?
Fran: What?
Erin: “We’re gonna have a BB!”

Submitted by Erin K., Tallahassee, Fla.

Joker: Why did the monster’s mother knit him three socks?
Harvey: I have no clue.
Joker: She heard he grew another foot!

Submitted by Matthew C., Gladstone, Mo.

A mother is trying to get her son to eat carrots. “Carrots are good for your eyes,” she says.

“How do you know?” the boy asks.

The mother replies, “Have you ever seen a rabbit wearing glasses?”

Submitted by Niles L., Acton, Mass.

Elephant: Why do mother kangaroos hate rainy days?
Hippo: I give up.
Elephant: Because their kids have to play inside!

Submitted by Jake P., Omaha, Neb.

Matthew: What did the mother rope say to her child?
Jim: What?
Matthew: “Don’t be knotty.”

Submitted by Matthew C., DeRidder, La.

Daffynition: Minimum—A small mother.

Submitted by Matthew St., St. James, Mo.

A mother mouse and a baby mouse are walking along when suddenly a cat attacks them. The mother mouse shouts “BARK!” and the cat runs away. “See?” the mother mouse says to her baby. “Now do you see why it’s important to learn a foreign language?”

Submitted by William E., Morganton, N.C.

Jack: What did the mother broom say to the baby broom?
Bill: What?
Jack: It’s time to go to sweep!

Submitted by Matt S. N., Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mother to son: I’m warning you. If you fall out of that tree and break both your legs, don’t come running to me!

Submitted by Jake T., Worcester, Mass.

Robbie: Larry’s mother had four children. Three were named North, South and West. What was her other child’s name?
Bobbie: East?
Robbie: No. Larry.

Submitted by Robbie B., Quarryville, Pa.

Daffynition: Sweater—something you wear when your mother gets cold.

Submitted by Danny L., San Marcos, Calif.

Pee Wee: What did the digital clock say to its mother?
Westy: What?
Pee Wee: “Look, Ma! No hands!”

Submitted by Jairo S., Bakersfield, Calif.

Ben: How come the mother needle got mad at the baby needle?
Jerry: I dunno.
Ben: It was way past its threadtime!

Submitted by Rich P., Round Rock, Tex.

Q. I’d like to buy a mountain skateboard. What kind of board would you recommend for me?

A. Skateboarding down mountain trails? Love it. Get an entry-level board from MBS Mountainboards (mbs.com). They’ve been dedicated to the sport for a long time and make good boards. I did a quick check online and you can still get the basic MBS Atom 80 Mountainboard for $130, which should be a great board to learn on. You’ll pay about $30 more for the Atom 80x (comes with a hand-held V-brake), which will be very handy for running the steep stuff!

Happy Star Wars Day everyone! Today is considered a holiday by Star Wars fans to celebrate Star Wars films, books and TV Shows.

If you’re a big fan of Star Wars, you may want to check out http://starwars.com/play/ecards/maythe4th/ today.
The official Star Wars site is allowing visitors to email free Star Wars Day e-cards. There are dozens to choose from.

We leave you with a cool and very funny Stars Wars video made entirely with legos. SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen the movies yet, this video will give away most of the story. Watch only if you are already familiar with the movies.

Enter the NHL 13 First Look Contest, which gives hockey fans a chance to be one of five people to win a trip to EA Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia to be among the first to play the NHL 13 video game. Here are the details:

Submit, in 200 words or less, why you should be one of the first to experience NHL 13 at the annual EA SPORTS NHL community event on May 28, 2012.

To enter, fans will be asked to submit their entry through the contest tab at: http://www.facebook.com/EASPORTSNHL

The contest is open now, and closes May 13, 2012. Winners will be by may 15, 2012. As always, speak with your parent/guardian before entering this contest.

Not interested? How about the NHL Cover vote. You can help select the face of the next EA SPORTS NHL game. Vote an unlimited number of times and as often as possible at: http://covervote.nhl.com/

Well, Joey, you made it into my e-bag. I think that’s completely awesome (hope your school does too).

“The Dark Knight Rises” swoops into theaters July 20.

Q. Hello Gear Guy, I just got a new tent. What can I do to make sure it lasts me the longest amount of time possible?

A. Way to plan for the future, David. Caring for your gear is one of the most important things you can do. And if you treat your stuff well, most quality gear should last you for a decade or more. I still regularly use my 15-year-old tent. To bring you the best tent care tips I recently hooked up with some expert friends from REI (www.rei.com) and here’s what we came up with:

• Seam sealing. I’m not sure which tent you have, but these days most every tent comes with their floor seams and rainflys factory sealed for waterproofness. If you know for a fact your tent seams aren’t sealed then you’re going to want to do that ASAP with a product like McNett’s Seam Grip ($7.35; www.rei.com).

• Perfect pitching. When pitching your tent, use a ground cloth to avoid anything that might rip or poke a hole in your tent’s floor. Don’t snap your tent poles together because that can damage the fittings and weaken the poles. Instead, put the poles together one section at a time. When taking them down, start by breaking the pole down in the middle as it puts less stress on the poles. If your campsite is in the bright sunshine, leave the rainfly on during the day. The sun’s rays can breakdown the tent’s fabric over time but the fly (with its waterproof coating) is more durable to sun exposure.

• Be clean. After each outing, inspect your tent for damage and clean it when it’s dirty. Just spot clean it using a simple sponge with cold water and non-detergent soap (don’t use dishwashing liquid, bleach, stain sticks, etc).

• Smart storage. Never put your tent away wet. Sure, if you’re camping and it rains you have to pack it away wet, but as soon as you get home make sure to thoroughly dry it out. If you don’t, smelly fabric-destroying mildew will take over.

Today is National Dance Day.

Today is Spring Astronomy Day.

What’s going on in this picture? What is this hermit crab doing and what is he thinking?

If you can think of a funny caption for this photo, just post it in the comment form at the bottom of this page. After we approve it, your funny caption will be on this page for everyone to read.

Thanks to “photographer 7” for this great photo. Have you taken a funny photo? Send it to us.

Click here to write captions for more funny photos.

Thanks, Daniel. Being a video game star does add to my aura of awesomeness. (However, hauling the mailbag, which keeps me fed, keeps me humble.)

Fun Facts: The Moon

• The Moon is 250,000 miles from Earth.
• There is no wind or weather on the moon.
• The Moon is not a light source, and it doesn’t make its own light. The moon reflects light from the sun.

The Boss says it’s my uncanny ability to relax and keep my mind empty, Nolan. For some reason that doesn’t sound like a compliment, does it?