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Police Organizational Question(s)

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Serack:

--- Quote from: Renfield on December 26, 2010, 10:01:57 AM ---Great stuff Serack! Thanks! Good to have a mix of threats, I also need to look into Marine life, both old and new, as a the major parts of the story will center around aquatic-based events.

--- End quote ---

My favorite shark teeth that I find are megoladon .  The biggest I found was about 3 inches long but some lucky shark teeth hunters find them just barely over 7 inches long.  Here's a pic of one that measures 6.92"



These sharks are estimated to have grown to around 60 foot long. (the great whites grow to around 25') and lived as recently as 1.5 million years ago. 

As far as modern sharks go, the Florida coast has a lot of shark bites per year but the vast majority of these come from black tip reef sharks and similar.  Most of these sharks are exclusively interested in eating fishies and occasionally get distracted by a flash in the water they aren't sure what it is and take a nibble and then leave the swimmer alone because it's not another fish.  Their upper and lower jaws are loaded with teeth that are shaped a little like razor sharp nails and are designed to grab a fish and hold on.  Other sharks only have this type of tooth on the lower jaw, and their upper jaw is loaded with teeth that are serrated like a steak knife (I have literally cut my finger on a 3 million year old megoladon tooth, just barely running it down the blade and although the biggest, these teeth aren't the nastiest looking).  The Bull shark is an example of a shark with this type of dentition and it is responsible for a huge percentage of all fatal shark bites.

I used to volunteer at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and a graduate student I was talking to there said that there are 2x as many doctorates in marine biology as their are jobs, which makes for a tough job market, which might help you with your character's origin, although I'm not sure how much education your going to blow on his marine background...  They always liked to say that we know less about the bottom of our oceans than the moon, and it's harder and more costly to go down there to boot. 

Ren:
Yeah the tough job market is one of the reason I have never pursued my kids dream dream to get into Oceanography/Marine Biology. I still have a fascination for the Oceans, due in large part to having grown up with the "Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" though sadly I've only ever been scuba diving twice, though I have snorkeled a few times. The highlight of my childhood, and I wish I could remember it better, was meeting Jacques Cousteau when I was a lad of maybe 8 or 9. He was and always has been on of my Heroes and definitely one of the coolest guys who ever lived. For him alone I will never bash the French...8)
One of my lifetime/bucket list goals is to go swimming in all of the Oceans and Seas before I die...so far I've managed two oceans and the Gulf of Mexico...8P
The idea for this series at least partially stems from that love of the Undersea World and I already have a fair amount of knowledge already and thankfully there is the internet to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and memory.

I plan to include a Megoladon at some point int this story or at least at some point in the series, I have a certain fondness for the big boys after a long-ago Shadowrun campaign I ran that involved a Christmas Vacation to Hawaii where the characters went shark-hunting...and caught a Megolodon...good times!

Snowleopard:
There are several books out that include Megs in them.
There's Meg and I think the sequel is Trench.
Frankly I'm not much fond of these - the writer writes all woman as b*ll busters
really NOT nice ones, including the heroine or rather the hero's woman.

I remember the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, Renfield - loved it.

Serack:

--- Quote from: Renfield on December 26, 2010, 10:27:01 PM ---I plan to include a Megoladon at some point int this story or at least at some point in the series, I have a certain fondness for the big boys after a long-ago Shadowrun campaign I ran that involved a Christmas Vacation to Hawaii where the characters went shark-hunting...and caught a Megolodon...good times!

--- End quote ---

I think your gonna need a bigger boat

Ren:
That was the same game the that convinced the groups dumb-as-a-rock troll that "Jeep-Hunting" was  a sport in Hawaii, so he would go hunting Jeeps with a giant steel spear.

As an fyi; I have decided to make the character a professor at the U of Miami Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science. Teaches Marine Biology, Oceanography and some Marine-related History & Archaeology (read, Treasure-hunting) courses on the side. Also does part-time and consulting work for the Fish & Wildlife Service as well as occasionally getting called in for consultations by a School friend who is a Lieutenant with the Miami Police Department. One of the other primary characters is a National Park Services Ranger. With his friend in the MPD and work with the FWS he gets the clout he needs in most cases and ability to conduct independent investigations. I originally had the other primary character be a local priest but I may elevate the Lieutenant to take his place. I'm trying to minimize the number of primary characters to three or so, but have some decently-detailed secondary and other supporting characters.

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