Deadweight Loss: The Importance of Holiday Lists

     

       For most people I've talked to, writing lists of gifts one wants for the holidays (or birthdays) makes one come across as greedy. Most people respond with an attitude akin to: "Excuse me, but I put an extremely moderate amount of thought into this gift thus you should be happy regardless as to whether or not you would ever use it in a million years because I thought of you for five minutes and that's a big deal." Of course being thought of for five minutes is a big deal and you should all be grateful that there are people in your lives who acknowledge your existence and are willing to engage in capitalist traditions of spending money on you. However, random, thoughtful gift giving with no guiding resource is not economically efficient in most cases and holiday lists actually show that a person cares about their loved ones enough to want them to optimally allocate their financial resources. Here's why:

The Race Is On! Apple Acquires PrimeSense

Only a matter of time...

       Good news everybody! Apple Inc. is moving to purchase PrimeSense, the company responsible for the development of the technology behind the first X-Box Kinect. The acquisition is set around $345 million dollars. I've discussed the implications of this acquisition with a couple trusted compadres and it's getting pretty heated and exciting. The main thing I could come up with as to what Apple would want to do with this kind of hands-free technology is for an Apple television–I can't see this ever catching on in the mobile technologies sphere, I think that would just look silly–where one would be able to access applications, type, play games, etc. all by waving one's arms around and sitting on a couch. So awesome! Don't worry ladies and gentlemen, that's not even the most exciting part. The most exciting part is that both Samsung and Google are reported to be working on their own gesture-based hands-free technology which means an all-out war has been waged for which technologies superpower will be the first to perfect this technology. Get ready for an awesome gladiator battle of technology between Apple–this being their first big opportunity for innovation since the death of Steve Jobs (may he rest in peace), Samsung–who allready have some really advanced televisions to work off of. Google–a giant monster, and Microsoft–who, in my opinion doesn't really stand a chance against these competitors. My surces and I believe Apple will pull out the first, most streamlined, and perhaps nicest looking design in the short run but that after a while Samsung will pull ahead with a more innovative and advanced system. I'm so excited about this. Stay tuned.

Apologies and Updates

     

Ha! Reminds me of my sister...

       Hello! To begin, I would like to apologize for how long it has been since I posted in here. I have, however, decided that I am going to try to post in here more often and see if I can grow this into a fruitful weblog. The reason why it's been so long since I've posted is because since my last post TONS of things have happened! So once again, I apologize for slacking but thank you for joining me while I get you caught up. 

The Economics of Friendship

     

So cute

       I know a lot of people who have a lot of friends. As a matter of fact, most people I know have more friends than I. I could go on forever with theories as to why this could be (mass political conspiracy, I presume) but this is no time to discuss sociology. Sometimes I think about my relative dearth of close friends and I feel some degree of sadness but most of the time I'm pretty okay with it. I've been thinking of reasons why that may be and what I came up with was a simile involving money.

My Week in the "Zempire"

       The giant trade show known as Outdoor Retailer (OR for short) visited, as it does twice a year, my city of residence this week. I, due to my family's connections in this industry, was called upon as a bit of a taskmaster for a footwear company called ZEMgear or just Zem. The name is a clever and catchy acronym for Zone of Endless Motion. I, being primarily a bicyclist, had never really looked into the minimalist "barefoot" footwear industry in which Zem is a frontrunner but I'm always happy to meet new people, make new connections, and support the allies and clients of my family's business so naturally I accepted the mission. My week in the Zempire was by no means one of menial errands and indentured servitude but instead a fascinating and priceless opportunity.

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

       You may have noticed that this blog is very... diverse, which may or may not be a euphemism for scatter-brained. One reason for this is because I'm new to this and another is simply because I too am scatter-brained and have too many interests for my own good. Furthermore, I think one will get more out of my writing if one knows a little about me so here are the top ten facts about the Noble Savage:

1. My name really is Noble. I'm kind of self conscious about this fact because I think it makes me sound pretentious. Of course, we can decide for ourselves whether or not I, in fact, am pretentious but I definitely don't want anyone deciding that as soon as they hear my name. Also, with a name like this I almost felt obligated to created a blog titled using silly wordplay. 
2. I like to ride bicycles. I don't care for cars and try to only use them when going on a date or giving a friend a ride as a favor so I try to commute on a bicycle as much as I can. I also race with a team called Saltcycle-Intelitechs, a spectacular group of smelly, bearded champions. I own an Iro fixed gear that I built myself from the ground up for commuting and a carbon fiber Bianchi for racing. 
3. I play the saxophone. I am primarily a jazz artist and mostly perform with jazz combos. I have never really been able to wrap my head around classical saxophone playing because I just don't really think the saxophone was designed for classical music but I have fiddled with some classical solos from time to time. Interestingly enough, though, I actually leave for a tour through Europe two days from now with a large wind ensemble. This is very strange because it is the first time I have ever played in a large group and I really have no idea how to do it; I am totally shooting from the hip. 
4. I love chess. I love to play chess and many of my friendships have been forged using the game's righteous flames. As you can see by my chess.com Elo score, I am a mediocre chess player at best but I think I can hold my own and I love to play even when I lose so long as it is a valiant and honorable defeat. Chess is cool! If you disagree you don't know anything. Also, feel free to challenge me if you have a chess.com profile and tell me you read this because it will make me feel really good if anyone actually sees this post. My username is Nobilis_Saeva. Huzzah!