Those of you not in this business possibly do not realize how outrageously expensive is the actual doing of science. In the same way that medicine is (artificially) expensive, suppliers of chemicals and equipment to scientists are ripping us off. And it's worse in Australia — there is a stupendous markup that is not accounted for by the obvious extra expense of shipping and storage.
The Black Queen last week discovered that by the simple expedient of sourcing certain not uncommon (and certainly not patented!) chemicals directly from a supplier in the US rather than a multinational distributor of exorbitantly-priced gear with a warehouse in Australia (mentioning no names, but think non-amateur times ten to the sixth), we can save about 12,000 dollars over six months to a year. Including shipping. Twelve grand! And we're not exactly a process lab — nor a manufacturing one.
It's good news for the lab, not least because I'm about to blow another 4 grand on these blasted microarrays. I'm also going to a conference in Maine at the end of June, the plane tickets for which — for some unfathomable reason — are going to cost more than the tickets I've just bought for London.
So every penny helps. Swings, roundabouts, etc.
Anyway. I have, he declared grandiloquently, A Plan.
You see, as the globe, because of the internets, keeps getting smaller, the price of actually oil keeps going up, making travel more expensive. Then there's global warming, fossil fuels are running out, omigodwereallgoingtodie etc., which is only going to make conferences and collaborations more difficult, especially stuck out here on the A E of N. So I'm going to do over a bank apply for money to construct a small fleet of tall ships on which there will be ultra modern labs and a helipad for emergency supplies. We'll cruise the world, working hard, collaborating with anyone who has money but a green conscience, immediately and imminently in touch with everyone via our satellite uplink.
Oh, and a couple of these in case PromegaQiagen pirates show up.
Comments
ah... the tickets via US at the moment are expensive - something to do with extra gas prices?!?
Or just the sheer fact that there are like four air companies in the whole country... My ticket to the "mother country" has never never been this expensive - and then I am even comparing the prices from 10 yrs ago.
Posted by: chall | May 28, 2008 01:59 AM
Chall,
I don't know. It's much cheaper for me to fly to LHR than to JFK. It might be because London will be shoulder season?
Posted by: bk | May 28, 2008 09:35 AM