« Siena's Starbucks Officially Open | Main | Beans Means Business »


Let's Have A Baristaville Team-Building Exercise!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

How much would you give to see certain commenters bond as they try shoveling dirt or driving a bulldozer? It could happen, during a three-hour corporate exercise called the Backhoe Challenge.

Program founders John Bachmann and Kathy Unger create small teams, give them a heads up on safety, pass out gear and then let participants try their hand at:

Dozer Dump: use a bulldozer to scoop up dirt & dump it over an 8-foot wall. Points for style and not loosing any of the load.
Dozer Slalom: how easy is it to push a 200 lb boulder?
Jackhammer Demolition: Just for demolishing fun
Excavator Boulder Basketball: are you any good?
Excavator Pole Bury: dig, dump, dig, dump to bury the pole

Time Out New York gave them a nod here.

Posted by Liz George on November 29, 2007 3:38 PM
Email this story |
 

From their catalog:

"On day two, we will build seven luxury townhouses on a Montclair lot large enough to hold two or three regular residences."

Posted by Conan | November 29, 2007 3:42 PM
 

Who wouldn't love to play with construction equipment? That would rock!

Better yet, could we all just pitch in and buy a "Baristanet Bulldozer". Public outrage over some new ill-advised construction? Now it's flat! Try again, this time with taste!

Posted by Captain Vegetable | November 29, 2007 4:41 PM
 

Captain V: I am there like shareware!

Posted by Miss Martta | November 29, 2007 5:17 PM
 

Some posters around here already do a pretty good job of shoveling......

Posted by Walter Mitty | November 29, 2007 5:30 PM
 

This type of team-building exercise might prove counter-productive with this group, because I think one or two of our regular posters might actually end up under said boulder, or pile of dirt...

Posted by Pork Roll | November 29, 2007 6:06 PM
 

I think (as I've sort of noted before) that a more positive use of posters' energy would be to assemble some of those who sputtered most against both Plofker and Christopher Court, have them put together gift baskets, then send them out a-caroling to "Crisco" and Plofker's house. Perhaps someone will even invite them in for hot chocolate and cookies. Or simply pour boiling oil on them.

Really, another outfit that offers corporate bonding experiences? I used to have to cover a few of these things, found them a bit silly, kind of aimed at people who'd never been in a gang, on a team or in the armed forces. They're harmless enough, akin to the "Confidence Course" in basic but compressed into a very short-term experience, but I think they generally represent a waste of corporate money.

But then, producers at CBS also never bought my suggestion that they should sometime try "Survivor: The Taliban" or "Survivor: Hamas," either.

Posted by cathar | November 29, 2007 6:26 PM
 

Name the time and place, and I'll be there.

Posted by walleroo | November 29, 2007 9:02 PM
 

"Or simply pour boiling oil on them."

A little harsh, dontcha think?

Posted by Miss Martta | November 29, 2007 9:10 PM
 

Yes, Cathar, but this one has a bulldozer! Can we, can we, pleasepleaseplease?

Posted by Captain Vegetable | November 29, 2007 10:55 PM
 

Captain Vegetable, if you can drive the damn thing, okay, fine, I'll be there. I've always wanted to recreate that scene in "The Fighting Seabees" with John Wayne riding the bulldozer and firing his Thompson. And walleroo can take the William Frawley role, and also pay for at least us three, since it costs $129 per person to share this experience.

Miss Martta, I thought I was being relatively merciful with the boiling oil. Would you rather I'd suggested water-boarding?

Posted by cathar | November 29, 2007 11:37 PM
 

Up a little later than your usual bedtime and filled with delusions of grandeur(folie de grandeur), cathar.

Or is it just the result of too many brewskis?

Posted by HidingInBaristaville | November 30, 2007 6:15 AM
 

You may wish to be my constant antagonist, dear HidingIn.... It's just that you're such a sorry excuse for one, posting away as night knuckles under to dawn, at an hour when you should still be nestling next to at least a dog, if not someone of your own species (whatever that proves to be).

But no, in a vain search for community, here you are, as desperate as usual. And the weekends are only worse. Oh well. Have you tried intruding into a 24-hour diner?

Posted by cathar | November 30, 2007 9:17 AM
 

cathar

You'd be surprised at how many of us are up at 6am and getting ready to go to work.

You might try it sometime.

ps- my dogs sleep in

Posted by HidingInBaristaville | November 30, 2007 9:25 AM
 

The mere prospect of your "dogs" sleeping in, HidingIn..., never mind where, is appalling to contemplate.

Posted by cathar | November 30, 2007 9:50 AM
 

The best 'team building' exercise I ever participated in was a whitewater raft trip through the upper Hudson river gorge.

There is nothing quite like plunging through class III and IV rapids in early April to inculcate 'team spirit'. We didn't stop talking about that trip for months.

Maybe some of you Barista folks out there would be interested in such a trip. Early April is the best time for 'big water'. Summer is fun too.

Posted by MellonBrush | November 30, 2007 10:32 AM
 

the fact that you would contemplate my dogs whether sleeping or otherwise apalls me.

Please stop thinking about them they only need/deserve good karma.

Not what you're putting out there!

Posted by HidingInBaristaville | November 30, 2007 7:29 PM
 
You must log into Vbulletin to post Comments. Log in below.

Not Registered? Click Here to register.

Carol Tangorra for all your real estate needs








Weather
Movies
TV

Gmail
NJ Transit
DeCamp
People Search
Google Maps
Dictionary
Google News
Homeland Security
Essex County News
High School Sports
» MONTCLAIR LINKS
ABOUT
Official Montclair Website
Montclair Center
Montclair Schools
Montclair Community Pre-K
Montclair State University
American Towns
Town Profile
THE ARTS
Arts Montclair
Montclair Art Museum
Montclair Arts Council
Peak Performances
Youth Orchestras of Essex County
ATTRACTIONS
New Jersey Jackals
Presby Iris Gardens
Van Vleck Gardens
COMMUNITY
Montclair Adult School
Montclair Public Library
Montclair YMCA
Mountainside Health Foundation
Red Cross
Toni's Kitchen
COMMUTING
The Clever Commute
Montclair-Boonton Line Train Schedule
FORUMS/BLOGS
Montclair Journal
Montclair Watercooler
Montclair Unmoderated
NJ.com Montclair Forum
Montclair Kids
ORGANIZATIONS
Bike Montclair
Brookdale Park Conservancy
Friends of Anderson Park
League of Women Voters of the Montclair Area
MEWS
Montclair Engineers
MFEE/Montclair Reads
Montclair Fund for Women
Montclair Historical Society
Montclair PTA
Montclair Wildlife
Outpost in the Burbs
OTHER
New Jersey Life and Leisure
VillageRadio

» GLEN RIDGE LINKS
» BLOOMFIELD LINKS
» OUTER BARISTAVILLE
» OF INTEREST BLOGS
BARISTAS
jjschiffer.com
Madeleine Bake Shop
Politics of Place
Read Me, Love Me, Buy the Book
stopkatie.com
Wanderful!!!
ARTISTS

Artisan Studio Underground
Artist / Blacksmith Charlie Spademan
Dust and Rust
habit-image-reaction
I Will Kick Your Ass For World Peace
Regia Richest
CULTURE
Authentic Organizations
La Tertulia
FOOD
Cat Food
Chowhound
Hungry Chef
Mano a Vino
Table Hopping with Rosie
FORUMS
E-gullet NJ
Know Neighborhood
Springsteen Forum
GARDENING
The Gardeners Apprentice
The Gardening Guru
GO GREEN
Green Jersey
Reuse and Recycle in Montclair
HEALTH
Medicana
NEW JERSEY
Bada Bing Blog
Blog Net News NJ
Jersey Side
NJ.com
NJHotShots
NJ My Way
Weird NJ
OF USE
Craig's List NJ
PetFinder
Urban Dictionary
PARENTING
Au Pair Mom
Dante's Inferno with Children
FinSlippy
Looky Daddy
The Mamahood
Raisinology
Toys Not For Tots
Who's the Grown Up?
PERSONAL
55 Secret Street
Act of Contrition
Anovelista
CarreFemme
The Daily Doormatt
Detox Moxie
From Bloomberg to Bloomfield
Green Musica
I Hate Decamp
Inclusive Ceremonies
Joe's Journal
Little Brown Pen
Living With Cancer
Man With a Pen
Martta's World
Maui Girl's Meanderings
The Media Drop
Meg McGonagall
MOM & Pop Culture
My Life as a Rabid Blog
Richieville
Tina Bell
Snake Oil Sam
The Society for Conscious Craft
Wellness Woman
Wine Lover's Journal
Yenta Diva
POLITICAL
Gold Finch Tech
New Jersey Politics Unusual
REAL ESTATE
Crystal Ball Real Estate
Eco Realty

Email us to link your blog