I called my friend from the office today. The fact that he was too busy to talk was quickly made clear. “Can’t talk,” he bellowed; “call you back.” The phone went dead before the sentence had even come to a close. He rang back a couple of hours later and we arranged to catch up that evening. We were sitting on my couch having a beer and his girlfriend called. “Sorry,” he said, “I’ll just let Angie know I’m busy.” He answered the phone as he walked out of the living room. He didn’t know but I could hear him talking through the thin wooden door. He went through the greeting process and explained a little about his day. The conversation had been going for a few minutes before he even mentioned anything about being at my house. After a moderately heated discussion he managed to end the communiqué. The whole ordeal lasted at least five minutes. We’d managed the same in less than two seconds.