To Leaders - Your People Know You Don't Care (What Your Employees Won't Say to Your Face)

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a group of co-workers who gathered to talk about the current state of their company and their employment. OK. Sorry. I was trying to soften the blow, but that just isn't going to work. The truth is that it wasn't once upon a time, it was last week. And it wasn't far, far away. It was right down the street.

A group of co-workers gathered to talk about the current state of their company and their employment. None of them, it turns out, were very happy.

This particular group of co-workers are the people you did not layoff. Yes. That's right. These are the people you thought were too valuable to let go. They're loyal, hard-working, committed. They're the ones who come up with solutions on their own and - once given the green light - implement those ideas for you. These people want to be supportive and encouraging, even of you specifically. These people want to love your company and give their all, to contribute to it's success. These people mentor others. They are your natural leaders. These, quite simply, are your 'A-players.'

And guess what? They don't look forward to going in to work. They're feeling trapped because they have to keep their job....for now. Worse than that, they're actively unhappy.

And the part you might be surprised to hear? All but one are already planning to leave at some point in the next year.
And that last guy? He's wavering. And do you know what is causing these people to think about leaving? You.

That's right. It's you.

While your star players are taking on additional work and trying to help each other figure it all out, after watching their friends be mercilessly discarded 'due to the economy', they've been watching your behavior ever so much more closely.

And what are they seeing? They're seeing you come and go as if nothing has happened. They're watching you buy the new car and run off to play golf in the afternoon. They're watching members of senior management play the political game and suddenly start 'getting along' with the ones they used to hate. They're watching you go to the latest, posh restaurants and share drinks and cigars. They're paying attention to the fact that you don't care what is going on in the company right now. You made your cuts. And now it's back to life as usual.

Or, you think it is. You think it is because you don't understand.

I'm not suggesting that there is anything wrong with buying a new car these days. (Please! Go forth! Stimulate the economy!) It's the fact that at the same time, you're not paying attention to those who work for you. You show a cavalier disregard for those who have been left behind. Your arrogance and lack of humility is causing anger to bubble beneath the surface of everyone who works for you. People are not willing to follow you anymore due to your inability to admit that your leadership had anything to do with the current state of your company. They aren't willing to follow you anymore because of your lack of awareness of the impact of those mistakes. Your lack of empathy for your employees who are pulling together and trying to pull your company through difficult times is.....well....think about it. Would YOU work for someone like that?

And the question is: what are you going to do about it?

Will you continue living in a state of self-importance and denial? Will you go on refusing to invest time and energy into helping your people improve - and helping them improve their processes - so they can do their jobs better and easier? Will you insist on indulging in the short-term thinking and continuing to run your business as you ran it 'before' and expect anything different?

Your people are going to leave you. They blame you, rightfully so. And they don't see you changing or doing anything about it. And by the time they tell you that they're leaving? It'll be too late. They will tell you as they're walking out the door. So.....what are you going to do about it?

Classic Game Review: Star Fleet One

You begin Star Fleet One (SF1) as a cadet trainee in command of United Galactic Alliance Ship "Republic", an invincible class Heavy Cruiser based on Cygni Epsilon Three. From there, you are dispatched deep into the galaxy on missions against the Krellan and Zaldron fleets. On each mission you are given a certain number to days to destroy a specified number of Krellans with a small number of star bases for support.

As a trainee, your early mission parameters will be rather easy to attain and you have a lot of star bases for support. As you complete missions and advance in rank, the parameters become more difficult.

Your ship has some 13 critical systems and 500 crew including space marines, security, and operations personnel. Two hits at close range will generally penetrate a shield and then you must scramble to reallocate your shield power or turn your ship so that a different shield faces the enemy.

Although SF1 has its roots in the old Star Trek computer games of a few years back, the people at Cygnus have added many features which make this a remarkable game in its own right. For example, you can disable a ship rather than destroy it. If you successfully tow it back to back (using your tractor beam) your mission efficiency increases. You may also move close to a disabled enemy and use your transporter to transport space marines into the other ship. A boarding battle will ensue (with some nice sound effects) and you may or may not capture the enemy ship. If you capture the ship then his energy and any prisoners will be transferred to your ship. Taking prisoners back to a star base really increases your efficiency. Of course, towing ships and transporting prisoners has some hazards of its own. The Krellans may beam a spy aboard your ship or a prisoner might escape. In either case, they run amuck and cause damage until your security crew can capture or kill them.

You can use torpedoes as if they were mines. Laying a few torpedoes in various sectors is a very good tactic to use when Zaldron hunting as the mines are undetectable by Zaldrons or Krellans and the enemy may easily blunder into them. Unexploded mines may be retrieved and used again. By dropping 10 mines in the same sector as the star base, then docking, then leaving and retrieving those 10 mines, it is possible to have 30 torpedoes instead of the usual 20.

The Star Fleet Command format gives you a larger task than just seeing how many Krellans you can kill a certain number of days. The new features, including the laying of mines, vans, tractor beams and ship to ship combat adding a dimension, allowing the basic sequence of control and gives the players something else to consider whether a final performance.

The game is implemented on IBM PC, using the function keys have orders for the game. There are some excellent sequences of graphic character at the beginning of the game andsound is used effectively at various places. The two manuals which come with the game are very well organized. I especially liked the "Training Manual". As stated above, Star Fleet One is a truly remarkable update of the classic Star Trek game.

Fellowes Galaxy-E Electric Comb Binding Machine Review

Overview:

The Galaxy-E is the largest electric binding machine offered by Fellowes. It is designed for frequent use in medium and large sized offices.
This machine offers an ergonomic design that is intended to blend in with other equipment inside of your office.
It is the electric version of the Fellowes Galaxy manual plastic comb binding machine. It includes a high quality button activated electric punch and a heavy duty modular plastic comb opener.

Strengths / Features:

The Galaxy-E offers an electric punch that can punch up to twenty five sheets of 20# paper at a time. The electric punching mechanism is activated by a push button control on the right side of the machine and is exceptionally easy to use. With a punching capacity of 25 sheets, this machine is comparable to far more expensive electric binding punches on the market.
Like the entire line of Fellowes plastic comb binding machines, this machine offers a contemporary ergonomic design. the Galaxy-E folds closed when it is not in use. This allows it to provide a neat and tidy appearance for your office. Most other electric plastic comb binding machines on the market have an industrial look that tends to stick out in a contemporary office environment.
The comb opening device included on this machine is removable. This means that you can use the comb opener while it is attached to the machine or it can be removed and used by a second operator to help increase productivity. One user can punch documents while another uses the comb opener to insert the pages onto the combs.
This machine has a storage tray that slides out of the right hand side of the machine. The storage tray provides a document sizing guide that allows users to select the correct size of spine for their documents.

Weaknesses / Limitations:

Although the Galaxy E has a great punching capacity and an electric punch it is not an industrial grade machine. This machine is designed for use within an office environment. Users who need a production quality machine should consider a larger all metal machine such as the GBC CombBind C800pro, Akiles CombMac 24E or DFG E Titan Comb. The larger alternatives offer metal construction, foot pedal operation and industrial grade punching pins.
This machine is limited in its ability to punch custom length documents and legal sized sheets. Users who need to bind document sizes other than half letter size, letter size or A4 size should really consider a machine with fully disengageable punching pins.
Although the storage tray on the Galaxy-E seems like it should be incredibly useful, it is actually too small to be useful. Most users will find that the storage tray is only large enough to hold a handful of combs. Considering the capacity of this machine, it would probably have been better for Fellowes to simply leave this feature off when they designed this machine.

Recommendation:

The Fellowes Galaxy E electric comb binding machine is an excellent choice for organizations that are looking for a high quality electric comb binding machine for their office.
This machine has a selling price of around $500 and includes a competitive set of features that make it an appealing choice in its class.
Extremely large offices, print shops, mail rooms and schools who do a lot of binding will probably find that this machine is too small for their needs. Instead, they should really consider a heavy duty, all metal, commercial grade comb binding machine. However, these machines come with a pricetag starting at about $1400 and are obviously a big step up in terms of cost.
Still, this is one of our favorite electric desktop comb binding machines for the money and is definitely a good choice for many users.

A Review of Bejeweled Deluxe

Do you like to play online games? Well, I do and I used to spend most of my time playing games on my computer. I play a lot of games, but Bejeweled Deluxe is one of the games that I like to play the most. However, I haven't played it in a long time because when my computer crashed the game went along with it. I didn't want to pay for a second time so I decided not to download it again.

The gaming company refused to give me a new license key when I informed them that I lost my old one. I didn't hold this against them because I'm sure that a lot of people are trying to do this all the time. There would no way for them to know if these people are honest about it. Anyway, it's not really a big deal for me because I had played the game for so long that I was ready for something new.

I'm sure that you are going to love Bejeweled Deluxe if you like the original. It is a great game, and it greatly improves on the original version. However, you should not start playing This game unless you have to give a few hours free, so easily lost the game. Bejeweled Deluxe is very addictive, neglecting to wash the dishes or make dinner, because you're too busy, they are playing. I was so into the game in the past, people were found in my house, to make sure it was well involved.

There are many free versions of Bejeweled luxury on the Internet, but these free games are available only for a limited time.These are only trial versions, so you have to pay for the rest of the game when the time of the trial expires. The trial version of Bejeweled Deluxe can help you decide if you would like to purchase the full version or not even if it may not be long enough of a trial.

There are also free versions of Bejeweled Deluxe online, but these come with expensive costs because they are not legal. These free versions are often infected with spyware, malware, and a ton of viruses that can cripple your computer. These games are for free but they also allow hackers to mess with your computer. Of course, the creators of Bejeweled Deluxe will never do this to you because they are honest businessmen who want to earn an income in an honest manner.

Online Buyers - Save Money with Online Shopping Malls and Portals

The latest trend for shopping online is to use a portal, which would serve as an entrance to minor and major stores online. The difference between shopping at conventional shopping malls and shopping using portals would be that the latter offer cash back. It would be like strolling through a conventional shopping mall while receiving a coupon book from each store.

These shopping malls are able to offer their merchandise in virtually all categories and sub-categories. These categories would include music, arts, computers, accessories, home and garden, health and beauty, leisure and hobby and a lot more. Online shopping malls definitely make the shopping experience of the online buyer a breeze. It is a one-stop shop, which allows you to get your money back for every purchase you would be making. There are even stores that have monthly specials, as well as free merchandise and fee shipping.

Portal online shopping malls do require you to sign in, after which you would be allowed to shop at any store. This is so that they could keep track of the purchases you will be making so that you would be getting credit for them. Stores that are in this kind of mall usually offer cash backs that range from 1 to 40 percent.

A couple of examples would be if you would be going to a store like Target, you would get a cash back of 3 percent; or you could go to Golf Galaxy and also get a cash back of 3 percent; or go to Babies R Us and get a cash back of 3.5%. There are so many online stores with various categories that you can choose from, so you would certainly be able to find a great deal on something that would interest you, on any of these online shopping stores.

Online shopping malls and portals truly offer great shopping options to save a lot of money.

FIFA 2008 PS3 Review

FIFA football games have always been compared to the opposite Pro Evolution Soccer (also known as Winning Eleven) game (as both are usually released only a week apart). For years it has been the general admission that while FIFA games have better graphics and are presented a lot better (along with correct team and player names), Pro Evo games have the real meat where it counts - in the gameplay. It seems that this year the distance between the games is shorter than ever, and E.A. have really been focusing on getting the gameplay of FIFA 2008 PS3 as realistic as possible, whilst retaining the fun element. While the game is fairly easy to pick up and play for a non-regular, there is a fairly steep learning curve; meaning it might take you a few matches to really get a feel for the game before you start knocking passes around like Arsenal.

While FIFA 2008 PS3 is not perfect, it is undoubtedly the best FIFA offering ever to be released, and a massive step in the right direction for E.A. Once again the graphics are spot on, and everything from the grass to the members of the crowd have been drawn in supreme detail. Another strong point is the lighting effects. There's nothing nicer than playing a tea-time kick-off game at Wembley and seeing the sun gently setting in the distance.

Another thing that FIFA 2008 PS3 is significantly better than Pro Evo 2008 is with the commentary. With Martin Tyler and Andy Gray, playing a match feels like watching a Champion's League game (as the commentators are the same), and the level and depth of different phrases means you won't hear the same thing too often, which adds to the realism.

Strange Cases - The Lighthouse Mystery Game Review

In Strange Cases - The Lighthouse Mystery, FBI Agent Tom died in a bizarre circumstances and it is now up to long time partner, Agent Claire to solve the case.

Gameplay
The story line is presented in story telling mode. There are 6 chapters to finish in this mystery. When I play this game, I thought...oh, here is another hidden object game. Little did I know that to get to the hidden object games, you have to follow the cards to get to the correct rooms to discover the missing items. This includes a bit of the escape room feature here.

When you click too many times on the wrong object, a cursor penalty will initiate. It will go round and round for a while and will not let you move the cursor. This is quite successful in preventing me to click vigorously and blindly on the objects as the cursor penalty is a little annoying here.

If you are stuck, use the Hint button. The "hint" button will recharge each time you use it. As for the Inventory, the key items of the investigation are kept there. If you want to use a key item, select it from your inventory and use it in the scene. There are also some special cursors when you need to solve a puzzle or use inventory that you have to unlock the missing item. Good thing is that the hidden objects here are not too tiny, so I do not have to stress my eyes out while trying to play this game.

There are different cards that Tom himself left the clue for you. Each card has a different type of hidden object list. The blue card has a standard text list of items to find. The red card has three fragmented items to find; click on the icons at the bottom to switch between items. The green card shows the silhouettes of items you need to find. The crossed-out eye indicates that the card is not yet visible.

Overall for the six chapters, you have start investigating by going to Tom's apartment building. From there proceed to Sarah's house. And then get to know Tom's last trip and the underground lab. The last couple of chapters are involving the hidden object scenes for Ryde Corporation and The Talismans.

Graphics
The lines that each character speaks are put in quite a simple and monotonous layout. I wish the developer could make the characters livelier and have more movement. This makes the story telling part a bit dull. Nevertheless, the graphics and colors are quite appropriately real and serious looking here for a mystery solving case.

Overall, I did get quite excited when I started playing Strange Cases - The Lighthouse Mystery. However, when I was stuck at the hidden object games for the clues, I feel that the game became too dragging and I lost my momentum while playing this game. However, I will leave it up for you to decide. I would rate this game a 2.5 out of 5 ratings.