>What's the term for spending the last hour searching for that table you
>saw six hours ago and finally talked yourself into buying that one item
>you passed on (provided it was still there) and can never find the table
>again?

I've heard tale of these "ghost stalls" before.  Story has it you come
across them early, before sunrise, when the only thing guiding you is the
dim setting (out of respect for others) of your headlamp LED.  These tables
will typically be captained by some unusual salt with a name like Todd or
summat  who imparts the uncanny feeling (despite repeatedly referring to
himself as just a "slowhead") that  he knows way more about the item you're
interested in than he lets on.  And if you try to lowball him on price, he
may ask to examine it again, feigning ignorance, and then suddenly fling it
further than humanly possible into an overgrown field or into the dark
waters of the adjacent container ship canal... then gives you a knowing
wink that leaves you both dumbfounded and terrified.  You make a vow to
loop back later in the day and catch him when he's more desperate to deal,
only to find you can't find the space again.

I've never experienced this myself because I have this special app called
"Hey Kirk!".  You simply say, "Hey Kirk, where did we see (describe item
here)" and like magic it will come up with the isle number (and
probably geo coordinates if you really need them).  It's the kind of
resource you only read about in PG Wodehouse stories.  But you can only use
it on the West coast and occasionally in Ohio.

-Paul, in SF, heading down for some Friday night shop time.