Stirring the Pot

“String Theory” is a science fiction story at the human level, rather than an epic. An American family on a boating holiday off the coast of Croatia is involved in a strange incident for which there is no logical explanation.
The “PhD Virus” is a humorous story about going back to work (or school) after the summer vacation. We all agree that holidays are too short. Take my advice and get a doctor to certify that you need an extra two weeks’ holiday.
“Economic Warfare” is a humorous story about academics (especially economists) partial to bad-mouthing one another in the open press. Still, a good controversy never harmed newspaper sales, isn’t that so?
“Cabin Fever” charts the mental break-down of a trapper living alone in his cabin in the mountains.
“Murder 101”, is set on the campus of a university. A professor of English Literature tries to liven up his course by studying books by crime writers. Meanwhile, a series of murders takes place on the campus, seemingly copying the lectures given by the professor. Naturally, the professor becomes the prime suspect.
“Pygmalion 400” is a Sci Fi story, a re-working of the Greek Myth of that name. This theme was used by George Bernard Shaw in his play Pygmalion, in the musical “My Fair Lady” and in the Roberts-Gere film “Pretty Woman”. This version is set 400 years after the first computer algorithm was written. Who is in control…. humans or computers?
The three stories entitled “How to Murder” are inspired by the famous film starring Jack Lemon, Virna Lisi and Terry Thomas. We learn how to murder your wife, your husband and your mother-in-law. Actually, no-one gets murdered. They are humous mix-ups.
“Meow…. Burp” is a lampoon of the contemporary obsession with dieting. The narrator is a greedy cat.
The second half of the book is a continuation of the series: “Big Companies for Dummies”. Anyone who has ever worked for a big organization should recognize some of these stock characters and situations.
The first story, “Bootblack”, is a humorous tale about a greedy financial advisor. A pity he never took the advice given to him by the man who polishes his shoes on the plaza outside the stock exchange.
“Alpha Male” lifts the lid on how appointments and promotions are made in big companies. Despite the official line, the committee charged with plotting the human resource strategy is simply an opportunity for the alpha males in the company to display their power.
The story “Black Dog” is a humorous tale about how people behave when things go wrong at work. If there is any mud flying around, you had better make sure that it does not land on you.
‘Schadenfreude” is the German word for the pleasure one derives from other people’s misfortunes. Do people really behave like this? You bet they do.
“Wheel of Fortune” charts the ups and downs of people’s careers. You can never be too sure what will happen at the next company re-organization, or the one after that, or the one after that.
“Terms and Conditions” is a philosophical story about failure. Does failure really exist, how is it defined and how does one cope with it?
“Ethics Training” is a farcical romp. Every time a big company gets caught out for wrong-doing, it responds by sending its staff on an ethics training course. The real reason is to exonerate management when the proverbial hits the fan. “It wasn’t me”, “I wasn’t informed”, “it was a rogue employee”. At the end of the training course, one has to pass a test. Take heart: no-one answers these tests truthfully. You would be stupid to do so.