> have been using all the research skills I developed in the phd ...
:-)
that is great
:-)
> I just love business and business analysis and writing clients strategy and marketing plans ... it satisfies me, especially when they come back and say it's improved their profitability etc.
:-)
Then you haven't sold out
:-)
IMO 'selling out' is about doing something you hate for more money than you would have got doing something you liked when the money you would have got doing something you liked would have been adequate to meet your (and your dependents) needs.
Like.... (dare i say it)... Applied Ethics would be for me...
Or Applied Stats would be for a Calculus freak...
Though don't get me started on issues of global justice ;-)
> Wow possum stuff sounds interesting.
Mmm. Kinda semi ;-)
> If they altered the possum gene to make sterile male possums it would wipe out the possum population totally within a few years. Weird huh ...
Yeah. They have developed a virus that has something like 2/3 liklihood of making the infected females unable to have baby possums. (In case other people are following along possums are a pest they are systematically destroying the native bush). The virus only infects marsupials and all the marsupials in NZ are pests (there are wallabies that are also sytematically munching their way through native bush).
The trouble is they wanted to introduce the virus into genetically modified carrots. People freaked out about the 'genetically modified' business and also about the notion of introducing a virus when it is possible the virus could mutate to infect other critters... Maybe even people. It could also endanger NZ / AUS relations as AUS would worry about the virus getting to australia and seriously threatening their possums and kangaroos and wallabies and koalas and so on and so forth (where some species are protected).
I did some work on what should be done about the possum problem a while ago (kinda selling out lol). It was kinda interesting to consider the costs / benefits to trapping vs poisoning vs hunting vs fencing vs virus vs deporting the suckers to aussie where they are protected (lol) vs a combination of the above.
Seems that there really isn't much hope for eradication. Can only hope for maintenence. So... Support the NZ possum fur industry people! Buy your possum fur nipple warmers lol!
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