I know this is a cliched gripe, but seriously, what is up with businessmen with cellphones at airport gates? It's like they specifically seek me out (typically, I'm off in a quiet corner somewhere trying to read or nap). They invariably sit down in the seat directly behind me, whip out the infernal device, and start speaking in a booming, perfectly-modulated baritone about delayed motherboard shipments and the Johnson account. And they don't stop with one call. Oh, no. They dial and dial and dial, as though the phone itself were their very lifeline, and to sit in silence for even a few moments would negate their existence. Do they train to do this somewhere? Do they not realize that cellphone technology has evolved to the point that idiotic bellowing is unnecessary? Could this be some sort of bizarre mating display? I honestly think they're too oblivious for that to be the case.

I say "businessmen" because in my experience, it's usually guys that do this. Female business travelers don't seem to thunder into their phones quite so obnoxiously, though I'm sure there are many who are plenty annoying.