Rules for the promotion of greater office harmony:

1. If you decide to listen to iTunes at the office, make sure that you plug your headphones into the correct jack on your Powerbook.

2. If Rule 1 is not in effect, make sure that it takes less than thirty seconds for the thought to cross your mind, “Hmmmm, the sound is weaker and tinnier than I expected. I wonder if it’s coming from the built-in speakers?”

3. If neither Rule 1 or Rule 2 are in effect, make sure that you are playing something relatively hip or inoffensive. Which is to say not the high-pitched screeching of “Owner of a Lonely Heart“.

On the plus side, many of my coworkers who share their iTunes libraries have the same execrable taste that I do. Which means I can listen to Erasure or Alphaville or whatnot without actually having to buy those tracks and pollute my own hard drive. Excellent!