What is it about meeting someone's eyes in the office hallway that's so frought with danger? I was thinking about this today as I reflexively reached for my cell phone when I saw someone walking down the hall towards me. He was doing the same thing. As he passed me, he put it back into his pocket.

It's a sort of mutually understood pretense in an office -- someone's coming towards you and you pat your pocket suddenly, as if looking for a cell phone or a PDA you forgot about. You whip out the appliance of your choice and begin pounding buttons quickly, as if an emergency has just come up, and -- oh, hi there, person passing me, can't talk now, sorry! Terribly busy! They're doing the same thing, of course.

Funny, that.