20 December 2016

Have WWII saboteurs infiltrated your company?

In 1944 the Office of Strategic Services (the precursor to the CIA) created the formerly secret Simple Sabotage Field Manual [PDF] for OSS operations officers
and resistance organizers living in Axis-occupied countries.

There are tips on physical sabotage common to insurgents, but the list of methods (and desired outcomes) for volunteers to interfere from within organizations reads startlingly like the dark sides of today's American corporate and government workplaces. The common weaknesses of executive and middle management as well as front-line workers (specialists, coordinators, analysts, etc) are clearly evident in this list of

 "universal opportunities to make faulty decisions, to adopt a noncooperative attitude, and to induce others to follow suit...may involve nothing more than creating an unpleasant situation among one's fellow workers, engaging in bickerings, or displaying surliness and stupidity." 

(11) General Interference with Organisations and Production 


  • Insist on doing everything through "channels." Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.

15 June 2016

Tech sector ironies of the 2010s

from Phil Nash, London.
Welcome to the new decade: Java is a restricted platform, Google is evil, Apple is a monopoly and Microsoft are the underdogs.

16 May 2016

My 1999 coverage of minor-league pro wrasslin' in Oxford

I was a contributing writer to Oxford Town from 1997 to 1999. That's the Oxford Eagle's free, weekly entertainment supplement, sort of a cross between the Memphis Flyer and the Commercial Appeal's GoMemphis. 
My editors included Rob Robertson, Jamie & Kelly Kornegay, Jimmy Thomas and others.
While they would publish just about anything I felt like writing, my most rewarding experiences were typical arts/entertainment/leisure assignments that somebody was going to have to write.

Pro Tip: The end of this post includes a glossary of pro wrestling terms.



Are You Ready to Rummbulllll?
Loudmouthed Wrestling Manager Issues Challenge to Ole Miss Sororities

Professional wrestling makes its defiant return to Oxford Friday night as the Dallas-based International Wrestling Federation stages several championship matches at the National Guard Armory on University Avenue.

“We want to see all the wrestling fans in the area come out,” said Mr. Sensational, manager of the controversial Sensational Stable, “including all our fans on your Sorority Row!”