Marineman

Aha, this is office politics, some of us have been through this. Looks like the sales manager, already demoted is worried about your wife's good performance and find it a threat. This is a odd situation, your wife is supposed to report to the SM but because she is a performer and have been there for quite a while, she reports direct to the GM, how come this situation arises? Who told her to do this or she just wanted to bypass the SM?. This sort of loose arrangements does happen in an organsiation, I am sure your wife will not be happy to report to the SM and as she has been reporting to the GM in the past, she continued doing so. Let's face it, it this is a common occurence (I mean preference) esp when your immediately boss got promoted and you still wants to report to him and he is obliged to accept that initially. Bear in mind this is only temporary, things will change after a while where the GM has more important things to do and will not find time to deal with your wife. The organsation chart will need to be adhered too, whether she likes it or not. It is a difficult situation for both your wife and the GM, in an organisation chart, your wife reports to the SM, if her GM cannot control this awkward situation, it can spell trouble for your wife, assuming that the MD is not aware of the SM's performance and find out about this ugly (yes, it can turn ugly) situation, the GM will be called in and at the end of the day the GM has to cover his backside and sacrifice your wife. As the GM is also a shareholder, I am not sure whether he can make tough decisions when needed. If your wife is a performer and works well with the GM, why is she not promoted? It sounds a bit odd, I suspect in the GM's eyes (to be frank and you may find hard to accept), your wife is only good as a sales exec and not of managerial material otherwise she would be promoted a long time ago. Something is missing here. Anyway, I suggest you wife have a heart to heart talk with the GM and find out the exact situation and make her decision based on the discussion. Your wife should report to the SM in the long run and with the politics she or SM is playing, it's a double edge sword. It cuts both ways. In the meantime, think carefully over her next course of action. You must also bear in mind that a lot of changes can be made during her absence and she may be squeezed out if the SM can convince his superiors and the GM is not protecting your wife for whatever reasons.

This is very true, today they know you and tomorrow they ignore you as if they have never seen you before (not all of them though), warm and cold treatment, like their weather of course.

Singapore is what it is today because of the govt. The country is posperous, govt dept efficient because civil servants are paid well unlike most countries, during bad times the gove comes up with incentives to hel business, it's a small country and the govt can manage better in terms of crisis. You don't have beggars (practically), majority of the population have their own property, the traffic signs are very clear, roads are clean, people are orderly, etc. what else do you want? Of course not everyone is happy with the govt, we are all humans and every individual is different. As the country develops, progress, people will be more educated and widely travelled, have better mannerisms etc, which you see in Taiwan, US, Australia etc. but then have you been to NY, the people (not all though) there are very aggressive, self centered, arrogant, greedy, money counts, dod eat dog type of personality etc, it's a big city and Spore is a city, like some of you says has such threads. If you go to the country sides, you experience a different level of life, but then Spore is a city, there is no country sides, but people in Spore are polite as far as I am concerned. Of course there are a few exceptions like anywhere in the world. I visit Spore regularly, I got lost in Pasir Ris and want a lift out to the town to catch a cab and asked a couple to give me a ride out, they asked me where I ACTUALLY wanted to go, I told them Pac marine, they took me all the way there. I then asked a pretty lady who drives a Mercs S class for a lift out to Pasir Ris for me to catch a cab to the MRT, no problems she gave me a lift, she also asked me where do I want to go, I told her Orchard, she wanted to drop me nearer like Serangoon, but I declined as I do not want her to go out of the way to help me. It happens that her husband owns Pac Marine! I always get help from Sporeans, banks, customs, immigration, shop assistants, public etc, I find them ALL very helpful. Sometimes when you visit a country, you don't see the ugly side the locals do, do you find that we are more willing to help foreigners than our own kind? I am sure most of you would say "yes". Theree it goes. As most of the reefers here are youngsters, students up to early thirties, I guess when you are into your forties with a family, you will appreciate your govt more. In my opinion, you have a good and efficient government, I am sure your parents have no complaints. The only exception is that they have failed in my opinion is that the govt is pretty vindictive and they don't like people to go against them and create trouble and swing public support or opinion against them, if they don't like you they will find the liitle wrong you have done and get you, like the SIA pilot, Dr Chee, the opposition, Jeyaratnam etc, in these situations, the govt has not acted in a matured manner demanded by a world class nation. Other than this, the govt is very good. This is politics. Anyway, Sporeans in general, to me a nice and friendly people, so don't be too critical of yourselves.

Any of you guys bored with NS, do some dancing like the guy here:- My Webpage

However, she was told by her boss that he will decides who he wanted to hand over her clients to and that she have no say of it. If that is the case, the boss has the final say and your wife cannot do anything about it. Also, he told her that during her 2 months maternity, 100% of her commission will be awarded to the colleague assigned by him. This depends on the company's policy and how they handles the commission scheme, for example if you wife is already negotiatiing a new contract and her colleague finalise it, then she should be getting some share since she is the one who started off the contract, but again this depends on the company's current practice which your wife need to find out. The final shock was that she may not take back the clients after her 2 months maternity if he feels that the colleagues that have taken over her client does not want to release them back to her. Again this is the prerogative of the boss, unless she can proof she is discriminated, then she has a case, if so she has to be prepared to leave the company and go for the damages. During the discussion, my wife have highlighted to him that this is not the current practice as most of their competitors are doing otherwise and the reponse she got from him is, "Then you join that company loh". Looks like the boss does not like your wife, is the boss the owner? If not better talk to someone at a higher level. So what is their practice? Any precedent set? I am saddened by his remark as my wife has worked in this company for about 7 years and all this while she has meet all performance indicators he have given. Sorry to say, maybe she has become too expensive for the company as they can replace her with someone with lesser experience for a lower pay. Take an example of a 50 year old dirver who has worked for 20 years, he may be getting a basic pay of $3000 before OT etc. where a new driver in his 20s can also do the job with 50% of his pay. It's the smae job but different costs to the company. Those in Human Resources will get a better picture, they put a "VALUE" to the job and not how long you have work there! This may not apply to your wife's case. She is also one of the top producing sales executives and last year, 2004 her boss has even commited to reward me with an Rolex watch (But till now have not received yet). An indication of bad signs. Most of her clients are gotten through hard works by cold calling and following up for the many years she has known them, how can her boss take it away from her just because she is going for maternity? Is maternity so wrong that she has to be punished by taking away all her clients? Well, it's really up to the boss, fair or not. In conclusion, it's your wife's call, does she really enjoy working there? If not pack up and find another job. Is her boss the owner? If he is try talking to him nicely and find out more about the company's practice, if she feels that she is being discriminated and has no future in this company, then it is time to leave. If he is not the owner, then talk to the owner or someone more senior to explain her situation and find out about the company's practice relating to staff's maternity leave.

Yup, that's your name for this month only

ha ha ha aha aha aha aha aha aha ahah a a hahahahahahahahahaha!

Looks to me that it is slowly wasting away, nothing to do with nitrates level. BTW, elegance loves nitrates and not the other way round as they are often found in muddy areas in the sea. Those who has success with elegance are few and far between, so it depends on your luck as the success rate is very low for keeping this coral.

Dyed coral actually suffers and will take time to revert into it's original colour if you are luck otherwise it will slowly waste away after a few months. The LFS should know that this is coral is dyed as they have been in this trade long enough, anyway they have acted responsibly to take it back for a full refund. Other commonly dyed corals are goniopora/flowerpot, sinularia/finger corals and brains to name a few. Common dye colours are bright yellow and pink. Most LFS are here to make a profit and if it sells they will bring them in, whether it's fishes or corals, they don't pay much attention to whether it is hardy or dyed, fast in fast out policy as the mortality is high for this trade so are the risks.

Not many has success in keeping this coral, doesn't look good to me. I have failed 4 times in keeping this coral and will not take further risk.

I suppose they used to live in the US where you can sue and be awarded US$1 million for being stung by a bee. In Spore, the law applied is English Law, so claims must be supported by calculation which must be reasonable. Emotional stress? I think we are all being stressed up by his claims, so can we ask Khattar Wong to take a class action on the plaintiff for collateral damage he caused us at sgreef? If successful, we all can afford an upgrade! If someone would stinge on a tank costing S$600+, it would not make sense if the equipment is that expensive, sames goes to the livestock. Old furniture a little wet also must claim full amount, marble floor cannot get damaged so easily, give it a good polish it will be brand new. I suppose equipemnt must be his golf clubs (use old clubs at driving range and left expensive set at home) or Hi-Fi, water creeps up! His lawyers fees must also cost him a bomb, hoping to get a big law firm to claim big amount, at the end of the day the law firm is smiling! Guys, if this case is successful, better place all you valuables and also junk (which used to be expensive albeit outdated and of no use) near your pumps and tank and slaughter chicken everyday and pray to to God the fish tank WILL crack and start to make a claim!.................but then all LFS will insist you read the disclaimer and limited liability clause before they sell you....so back to square one Better learn fom the Medical Detectives, CSI series and become Marine detectives!

Rare and poor survival rates.

This is not a green algae, it is turtle weed, will not last for more than a few months at most. Sometimes the plant will die and regrow a few times before it eventually dies off. Very difficult to keep, not much info on how to keep this plant for long term although it requires strong lighting and water movements.

There is always some negativity in allowing casinos to operate, things like vices, loan sharks, suicides etc will continue to rise, but then if you don't allow casinos in, gamblers will go abroad, the rich ones of course, but the poor gamblers are the likely ones to suffer, already not earning enough they will gamble away the little they may have for their family. Spore aims to be a hot tourist destination and will need casinos to atrract more flow of foreign exchange into the country, I suppose the govt. has done a lot of evaluation and is willing to live with the down side, besides you can bet online too.

Ya, if you have time before the move then set up the new tank first. If not and you have space in your new place, you can keep them all in the tub with lights and all while waiting for the new tank to mature, then you have the best of both worlds. Otherwise you have no choice but to sell to avoid losses/death of LS as new tank will need to go through all the cycle again.

I am going there for the first time end of this month, MATA Travel Fare on this weekend, I pay RM498 + RM22 Airport Tax for 4D/N inclusive of air fare from KL/Redang/KL by Berjaya Air and staying at Berjaya Redang. Diving costs is separate, ranging from RM50-80 per dive. Departures on Sunday and weekdays at this price. Cheap.

My goodness, as yours is a new tank which is not matured yet, you should not be starting off with angels. Furthermore moorish Idols are not easy to keep by any means, also the PBT and butterfly fishes..

Of course, they bought it from Spore!

Not too sure you need one as most of the new buildings comes with a trip switch, that's why some of you only got mild shocks with the power being cut off. Unlike old buildings where there is no trip switch (the powers goes off if there is a trip, or leak or even a fused bulb), a GFI is highly recommended. Better check with an electrician before hand though. There was a case in KL recently where the guy was repairing his water heater and got electrocuted, his son saw him lying motionless in the bathroom and called his mother who rushed home. She went to touch his body and she got electrocuted as well, sad case.

I think they are terebellid worms, the Loimia Medusa species . Not harmful at all, they have an active detritavore lifestyle (consumes detritus) very common in most aquariums. Ideal for DSB and refugiums.

I supposed you are still as confused as before because of different opinions from reefers here. Bound to be differences in opinion. By the look of it, NUS is generally preferred because it is more established and an older University (I think). For you to decide, you need to find out what are their respective syllabus and choose the course which you think will benefit you. The other thing to look for is to look at the depth of the courses offered at both Universities, some maybe general and the other maybe more focused. If you are going to further your studies in pschyology, then your choose the course which will allow you to do that. Bear in mind that different Uni have different titles for the same course, for example, Accounting may be under Social Science faculty in one Uni and under Arts or Business in other Unis. That's why you need to look at the contents of the courses offered at bothe Unis to decide and not the title of the degree.. Normally you choose the degree which the Uni is famous for and not the Uni itself. The only thing is that you cannot compare track records as NTU is offering this degree the first time. I hope this helps yoyu to decide.

Nice tank. Advantages of small tank is that it is easy to maintain with regular water changes. If you are low on bioload and not simply dosing of additives (which can drastically change the water parameters as it is a small tank, I am sure you are aware of this), regular water changes with good lighting is good enough.

congrats! Good thing if you can practise what you teach!

I am afraid your stand does not look too steady, the legs looks thin. Then again looks can be deceiving. BTW I have also upgraded my tank this way, transfer the whole LR and livestock over and some sand from the old tank. I premix the saltwater a few days earlier and add in about 50% of new LR as most of the LR are already cycled at the LFS.

Good to know that but looks like you are going about the same way with your fish hobby, like getting AT, Clams, Chevrons etc....livestock some of which are not easy to maintain and cost quite a bit of money too. Good that you have realised this before you waste more money. Good luck to you and your hobby.