Nature only abhors a vacuum because she doesn't have co-workers

Ted E. may be gone but, in a fine example of office Darwinism run amuck, La Mondaine (who, I'd like to point out, was trying to convince us earlier today against all evidence to the contrary that Ted was actually a really nice guy) rushes to fill the newly-vacant niche in the office ecology.

In other words, every village must have its idiot.

La Mondaine: "How did Ted know about this?"

Stress Fiend: "Because he'd read every email the rest of us were sending so he could tell us what we were doing wrong."

La Mondaine: "He what?"

Me: "He'd read all the sent emails."

La Mondaine: "What would he read?"

Me: "The emails."

La Mondaine: "But why would he do that?"

*****

Next up, the global economy...

"Why do we always have to follow America? Why does our housing market have to follow theirs?"

"Because they have, what, 25% of the worlds' wealth, and our markets are greedy?" offers the Stress Fiend.

"Who has the rest? Australia must have at least that much! Who has all the rest of the money?"

"Asia will have a fair bit. I think China by itself owns a lot of the US debt..." without thinking, I blunder into the madness. Even as I say it I know I'm going to regret entering the conversation - the only question is exactly how - but it's been a long, slow day and the words are out before I can stop them.

"So why can't we be more like China?"

I pause. Surely she can't ... no, wait. Yes. Yes, she is perfectly serious.

"Because they're a repressive, totalitarian regime with a terrible human rights record?"

La Mondaine opens her mouth, closes it, and blinks in surprise. Presumably this is what happens when she tries to accommodate more than one idea at a time.

Then she gives up and goes home, which is a surprise win.