I am now more bitter than ever that I can't get a job.

There are various satellite images hung on the walls of our basement lab; whether to reduce the dungeon-like atmosphere, or to inspire us to geophysical greatness I don't know. One of our visiting students, a supposed expert in remote sensing from Beijing, asked what the large image above my desk was. I was somewhat floored by the question, coming from a PhD student in a geography department, but I hid my surprise.

'That's Australia', I replied.
'Ah, Australia'. She smiled and nodded. 'And this is South Africa, yes?' she asked, pointing to another image.
'Umm, no, that's North America.'

I have been trying to think of a pithy, caustic and pointed comment, but this one has me completely floored. Time for a new poll, I think.