North Carolina Resort Keeps Ties With Golfer as It Struggles Amid Downturn That Has Eroded Demand for Luxury Homes

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Most of your meetings for work are probably obscenely painful experiences, particularly for those of you who detest your colleagues and especially for the lucky few who’ve been banned from fucking around on your Blackberry while people are talking. All that’s left to do is zone out, or sigh audibly while presentations are being made, and if everyone is taking a page from your playabook, not a lot is getting done. So! A few companies have come up with some ways for making these sessions more productive, and less wastes of your time. Some of them suck, like have people write down ideas on Post-its and then announcing them anonymously so no one is scared to come up with what might be perceived as a dumb suggestion, or asking employees to take crayons and draw their contributions, and then getting pissed when a go-getter comes back with illustrations of the boss and some barnyard animals. Others, while due for some tweaking, aren’t half bad:

Dixon Schwabl Advertising Inc., in Rochester, N.Y., tries to lower the inhibitions of its 82 employees by arming them with water guns, which workers are instructed to bring to all meetings. Anyone who passes a negative comment at the meeting is bound to get wet.

An (essential) outlaw on negative comments seems somewhat counterproductive (sometimes people need to be told they’re stupid, okay?), but introducing water guns in the conference room? What’s not love? But we need to think bigger. For instance, dunk tanks. That would a fun little element, wouldn’t it? Like, whoever comes up with the best idea for the meeting gets to select whichever colleague he wants to see up there, and everyone gets to take a hit, or, whoever had the best idea that day gets to have everyone line up and take a shot at sinking them all. Whatever, details have yet to be hammered out. And obviously we need more. A certain leader in the hedge fund industry recently introduced tasers at morning meetings, and I can’t say we don’t like that. Also: charades (“Five words. First word, salutation.” “Sir”? “No.” “Mr”? “No.” “Miss“? “Yes.” “Fifth word, noun, plural.” “Balls”? “No.” “Trades”? “No.” “Models”? “No.” “Stilettos”? “Yes!” “Miss, where are your stilettos“? “Yes!!!”). And cattle prods. You’ve got to have cattle prods. What else?

Cigar tasting has become a very popular social event for both women and men.  Come join us at the Triangle Cigar Club.  Not only will you broaden your knowledge of cigars, but you will enjoy wonderful company that shares your love of the leaf, food, & drink.Thanks and we look forward to seeing you soon! www.TriangleCigarClub.com

www.trianglecigarclub.com

Next Cigar Event will be on Tuesday January 12th, 2010 from 6-9pm at the Recovery Room.

Mom-and-Pop Enterprises Often Lack Formal Crisis Plans; Sad Customers and Loyal Employees Are Left in Wake

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125478399429765967.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125449149143359435.html

Tuesday September 29th, 2009 at the Recovery Room

RSVP http://trianglecigarclub.com/

with Christine Wall at InsideOut Body Therapies

Sutton Station Ste. 101• 5720 Fayetteville Rd. • Durham, NC • 27713

Starts September 9, 2009

Wednesdays from 4:45 to 6:00 PM

Please sign up online www.insideoutbodytherapies.com or call the studio at 919.361.0104 to reserve a spot!

Yoga for Athletes is a complete 75 minute workout that blends together strengthening and stretching for the entire body to improve core strength and flexibility. This class will help to improve balance, flexibility, strength, power and stamina—ultimately resulting in improved sports performance, reduced incidence of injury, and faster recovery for all levels of athletes. Yoga for Athletes links together effective poses and postures into a powerful sequence that engages the entire body. The class will prove to be athletically challenging both mentally and physically.

Many athletes find that while participating in sports imbalances occur that put strain on the body’s joints. Yoga for Athletes helps to correct these imbalances.  We will focus on breath and the body in order to heighten a greater mind-body connection. This heightened awareness will ultimately prevent injuries immediately and down the road.  Yoga also cultivates a calm and spacious mind which is an essential component in competitive environments.

While geared towards athletes, yoga and fitness enthusiasts of all types are welcome to attend. Yoga for athletes will focus on parts of the body that are used the most, that are the tightest, and which are most prone to injury (hips, knees, lower back and shoulders, for instance)  You will leave each class with a sense of openness and balance not only of body, but of mind.

Sign up online at www.insideoutbodytherapies.com