It now appears that my flight should leave SJC at or about 8:36. I've moved from the general terminal area to the secured area near my gate. Trying to find a place where I can plug in my laptop (so as to not drain the battery if I don't have to), I walked over to a designed "Business Operation Center" in this gate-area. Basically, it's a groups of partitioned desks with power outlets in range of one of the wireless hotpoints. But one desk is occupied by a guy reading a book, and two of the desks are enveloped by a three-woman chit-chat session, which has also consumed the chair of a third desk. So I asked if they knew what had happened to the chair, trying to be non-aggressive about it. Hoping that they might take the hint that someone might actually want to use the desks for work. One woman said, "Yes, I have it. We're just having a little talk together."

Hey, here's a thought: move to the chairs where everyone else is sitting. You know, the chairs that aren't part of the BUSINESS CENTER, where the absence of power outlets won't bother you in the least.

Best part: One of the others says to the one I spoke with, "I guess he just felt he needed to say something, to express himself." Yes. That is it exactly. I was expressing the fact that you are all inconsiderate gits who could have made a simple move and shown some basic consideration. If I were truly as rude as you were implying, I'd have outright asked you to move, instead of simply saying that what I wanted the chair for was not that important.

OK, I suppose the long day I've been through is starting to get to me... but I do hope that through some weird quirk of fate, she reads this.