Building a good network is on the to-do list of every business professional, and many have questions about how to create that network. Well, if you’ve got a few million dollars sitting around, we have just the solution for you! You can follow this example and buy yourself a couple dinners with Warren Buffett. That’s exactly what one man did, and now he’s buying stocks for Berkshire Hathaway – no doubt one of the most coveted jobs for anyone working in finance. The dinners were bought at Buffett’s “Power Lunch” auction at around $2.6 million each. Apparently Buffett and the winner got along well and a job offer was given and accepted. This approach may not be quite so practical for most people, though, so I don’t think LinkedIn has to worry about being forgotten in favor of a new trend quite yet.

Source: Yahoo!

This article offers an economic analysis of the piracy that takes place off the Somali coast. This piracy has received a lot of media attention over the past few years, and understandably so as the pirates seem to be increasing the number of ships they take over and their ransoms have increased as well. From 2005 to 2009, the typical ransom was increased by 100 times. This escalating ransom is a form of price discovery on the part of the pirates. It may be asked why shipping companies put up with these problems, but it’s actually cheaper for them to pay the ransom than to lose the ship and the military will not always get involved. Most of these pirates are former fishermen who have decided to give up fishing for piracy because of the money. Many in Somalia make about $600 a year, but a pirate can make $10,000 by taking over a single ship. That may not be much to Jack Sparrow, but it’s certainly more than a typical fisherman in Somalia makes!

Source: Wired

In a new study, it has been shown that creative ideas are often not accepted for the very reasons people seem to seek them in the first place. It is often heard that people are looking for innovation and creativity to find new solutions and ideas, but this study would seem to indicate that people do not back this talk up with action. The main reason creativity is often rejected is the uncertainty that it often carries with it. By their very nature, creative ideas tend to be more unpredictable in their effects which seems to cause some people to reject them in favor of simpler but more proven ideas. Therefore, it is recommended that perhaps we should spend less time promoting the idea of creativity and more time helping those with creative ideas to find ways to implement them.

Source: Freakonomics Blog

The Chinese government has increasingly had to deal with officials who use government funds to buy themselves a car for “official purposes”. The Car Connection examined some of the dimensions of this problem, noting that:

• Being a government official entitles you to many perks including a car. Government figures often use fake fuel expenses to pad their incomes.
• Nearly 12% of all new cars registered in China were for official use.
• Operating these vehicles is thought to eat up to 12% of the Chinese government’s budget.
• The majority of the cars are imported from abroad.

You can find out more about the specific new rules that the Chinese government has enacted, limiting engine size and price of cars, as well as why these efforts will probably fail to solve the problem by clicking here.

Source: The Car Connection

Prostitution is legalized in Germany, but the taxes that officials are meant to be able to collect from the industry are often evaded. One city in Germany decided to try out a new system.

• To roam the streets, prostitutes must pay 6 euros a night. Similar to a car park system, the prostitutes pay the money to a machine which produces a ticket, and the prostitute must keep this ticket with them while they’re out.
• The machine costs $11,575 and is built by Siemens.
• The city government spends over $100,000 to pay for security in the area, in an effort to protect the sex workers.

Click here to read more about the consequences for being caught without a ticket, and what prostitutes think about the new system.

Source: The New York Times

One statistic that seems to defy all common sense is that Americans are more likely to be killed by a vending machine than by a shark. As noted by the author of this post, though, a bit of context is needed. This statistic is based on all Americans, regardless of whether they live near shark infested waters or not. Therefore, someone who lives in the Midwest and does not travel to either of the coasts has no chance of being attacked by a shark; however, vending machines can be found everywhere. Regardless, it is an interesting fact that highlights one drawback of statistics – while statistics can be very useful, the numbers they produce must be kept in perspective. After all, a surfer in California is likely to be in more danger of a shark attack than a farmer from Nebraska. And it’s likely a safe assumption that movie-goers will continue to prefer sharks over vending machines as the antagonists in the films they watch!

Source: Freakonomics Blog

Before the banking crisis, in the 90s, Torre de David was intended to be a proud building at the very heart of Venezuela’s financial district. The Guardian reports that in 2007 squatters forced their way into the unfinished project. Some interesting points from the report include:

• The building has a formal management structure divided into bureaucratic departments ranging from health to security.
• “It’s a city within a city” with shops, salons, cybercafés and other establishments on various floors of the building.
• There is no sewage system and so water is delivered by lorry.
• Housing is allocated according to needs. Older people who have difficulty with stairs (there are no functioning elevators) are given lower level spaces.

To read more about what separates home owners from a 30 foot drop, as well as what the government thinks about the development click here.

Source: The Guardian

In a recent study done by researchers at the University of Houston, claims about the positive effects of school uniforms were put to the test. In their findings, researchers were able to determine that school uniforms did not help students perform better in the classroom, but attendance did increase among students and the retention rate for teachers at schools that adopted uniforms also increased. Therefore, it seems that requiring uniforms to be worn by students may have some positive effects, but increased test scores and grades are not among them.

Source: Freakonomics Blog