Knowledge ProblemCommentary on Economics, Information and Human ActionSports betting with furniture, II- October 26, 2007 Michael Giberson Yesterday, NPR's All Things Considered ran a story on the Jordan Furniture Red Sox promotion that we discussed here earlier. An excerpt: So with the Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies now facing off in the World Series, some of the couch potatoes watching from home are rooting to win the very couches they're sitting on. Nate McKinnon is one of them. The decor in his bedroom says "Red Sox fan." The furniture says "25-year-old bachelor on a budget." With one exception. After...http://www.knowledgeproblem.com/archives/002260.html Blogger Vanity Posting- October 26, 2007 Michael Giberson From the Economist's Free Exchange blog, on blogging: We should expect those with strong resums but lackluster ideas to abstain from extensive blogging, while those whose critical and analytical skills run ahead of the experience and education categories on their CVs should embrace blogging as a means to signal their exceptional fitness. We would expect those with most to gain from blogging to blog more. Signaling exceptional fitness. That's what I'm talkin' about, baby!http://www.knowledgeproblem.com/archives/002259.html Zitzewitz asks: Is sports betting legal if you bundle it with furniture- October 24, 2007 Michael Giberson At Midas Oracle, Eric Zitzewitz asks, "Is sports betting legal if you bundle it with furniture" A furniture retailer in Boston offered furniture that would be free to customers purchasing a mattress, dining table, sofa, or bed between March 7 and April 16, if it turned out that the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series. According to the Boston Globe, one customer spent $40,000 during the promotion, and will get it all back if the Red Sox win. A total of 30,000 bets -- er,...http://www.knowledgeproblem.com/archives/002258.html California Fires- October 24, 2007 Lynne Kiesling My best wishes and good vibes to those in the fire zone in California. I hope the winds calm down soon. The thing that really disgusts me is that three of the San Diego fires were set intentionally by an arsonist. What kind of sick person does thathttp://www.knowledgeproblem.com/archives/002257.html Airlines prefer customers take delay risks rather than face market mechanisms to allocate capacity at JFK, other congested airports- October 24, 2007 Michael Giberson A New York Times article reports on negotiations initiated by the U.S. Department of Transportation seeking to get airlines to voluntarily give up landing slots at Kennedy Airport, one of the nations most congested airports. (Many other stories on this topic are available.) After a pep talk by the secretary of transportation, Mary E. Peters, and the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Bobby Sturgell, the airline executives were taken to separate...http://www.knowledgeproblem.com/archives/002256.html |