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How to compare prices on over 125 million books for sale

Businesshackers Team — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:05:14 +0000

Books can be very expensive… sometimes you have to spend a lot because you can’t know all the prices in the world… is there any solution to this problem?
Of course… the solution is: Bookfinder

The founders describe the site in the following way: “BookFinder.com is a one-stop ecommerce search engine that searches over 125 million books for saleâ€”new, used, rare, out-of-print, and textbooks. We save book lovers time and money by searching every major catalog online, and letting them know which booksellers are offering the best prices and selection. Users can compare prices and buy the books they like directly from the original seller; we never charge a markup”.

Our impression is that the website works pretty well… it is not a complete source of data, but it is obviously very useful…
Pros:easy and fast, no registration required
Cons: not complete, poor graphic
Overall mark: 6/10

Interesting book in a nutshell: Dynasties

Businesshackers Team — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:04:26 +0000

“This is a book about family and business, success and disappointment, love and discord.” (p. ix) Family histories are more than a rich source of instructive anecdote. The contribution of family business to economic growth and development is too often overlooked by economic historians and policymakers. The majority of firms in Europe and the United States are family-owned, contributing one-half to two-thirds of GNP and jobs. In contrast to the “managerial model,” family firms are the best hope for successful development in “Africa, the Arab Middle East, much of South Asia, much of South America.” (p. xii) Not all industries are suitable for family management. The chemical industry for example, is characterized by technological change, requires highly specialized knowledge. Thus, early on the industry was organized in conglomerates. Growth, diversification, and technology all work against the continuity of the family firm. So does success, as later generations lose interest in the family work. Still, family businesses are more successful on average, and the managerial model has serious downsides, as illustrated by the collapse of Muhammad Ali’s campaign to industrialize Egypt.

The success of family dynasties over generations is determined by choice of sector (banking vs. high-tech) and the value a particular society puts on business activity and amassing wealth through enterprise. This book focuses on examples from the West because the countries of the West have led economic development and modernized and the operations and techniques developed in the West are examples for the rest of the world. Landes acknowledges the help of a long list of people, including Niall Ferguson, Henry and Nancy Kissinger, and Larry Summers. Finally, he thanks his own family and wife.

Find out more:wikisummaries

A Behavioral Approach to learning in Economics

Businesshackers Team — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:52:24 +0000

If you are looking for sth interesting to read have a look at:A Behavioral Approach to learning in Economics. It is a clever paper written by Prof. Tilman Slembeck. As the author says:

In economics, adjustment of behavior has traditionally been treated as a â€œblack box.â€ Recent approaches that focus on learning behavior try to model, test, and simulate specific adjustment mechanisms in specific environments (mostly in games).

Results often critically depend on distinctive assumptions, and are not easy to generalize. This paper proposes a different approach that aims to allow for more general conclusions in a methodologically more compatible way. It is argued that the introduction of the main determinants of learning behavior as situational restrictions into the standard economic model may be a fruitful way to capture some important aspects of human behavior that have often been omitted in economic theory.

Based on a simple model of learning behavior (learning loop), robust findings from psychology are used to explain behavior adjustment, and to identify its determinants (contingent learning). An integrative methodology is proposed where the â€œblack boxâ€ is not opened, but instead the factors that determine what happens inside, and the limits imposed by theses factors can be analyzed and used for model building. The paper concludes with testable hypotheses about learning behavior in the context of economics.

read the whole paper

TSB: The Well-Read Economist

Businesshackers Team — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 08:42:09 +0000

An informal survey of the Carnegie Mellon Economics and Finance Faculty resulted in the following list of books which individual faculty members consider insightful and readable in the fields of Economics and Finance.

Read here
source: link
2006

Capitalism and Freedom: Summary

Businesshackers Team — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 11:07:41 +0000

Capitalism and Freedom is a book by Milton Friedman originally published in 1962 which discusses the role of economic capitalism in liberal society. It has sold over half a million copies and been translated into 18 languages. In accessible, jargon-free language, Friedman makes the case for economic freedom as a precondition for political freedom. He defines liberal in European Enlightenment terms, contrasting with an American usage that he believes has been corrupted since the Great Depression. Ironically, many North Americans usually categorized as conservative have adopted some of his views.

Introduction

The introduction lays out the principles of Friedman’s archetypal liberal, a man who supports limited and dispersed governmental power. Friedman opts for the continental European, rather than American, definition of the term.

i. The Relation between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom

In this chapter, Friedman promotes economic freedom as both a necessary freedom in itself and also as a vital means for political freedom. He argues that, with the means for production under the auspicies of the government, it is nearly impossible for real dissent and exchange of ideas to exist. Additionally, economic freedom is important, since any “bi-laterally voluntary and informed” transaction must benefit both parties to the transaction.

ii. The Role of Government in a Free Society

According to the author, the government of a liberal society should enforce law and order and property rights, as well as take action on certain technical monopolies and diminish negative “neighborhood effects.” The government should also have control over money, as has long been recognized in the constitution and society

iii. The Control of Money

He discusses the evolution of money in America, culminating in the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Far from acting as a stabilizer, the Federal Reserve failed to act as it should have in several circumstances. Friedman proposes that the Federal Reserve have a consistent rule to increase the money supply by 3-5% annually.

iv. International Financial and Trade Arrangements

This chapter advocates the end of the Bretton Woods system in favor of a floating exchange rate system and the end of all currency controls and trade barriers, even “voluntary” export quotas. Friedman says that this is the only true solution to the balance of trades problem.

v. Fiscal Policy

Friedman argues against the continual government spending justified to “balance the wheel” and help the economy to continue to grow. On the contrary, federal government expenditures make the economy more, not less stable. Friedman uses concrete evidence from his own research, demonstrating that the rise in government expenditures results in a roughly equal rise in GDP, contrasting with the Keynsian multiplier theory. Many reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.

vi. The Role of Government in Education

The policy advocated here is vouchers which students may use for education at a private school of their choice. The author believes that everyone, in a democracy, needs a basic education for citizenship. Though there is underinvestment in human capital (in terms of spending at technical and professional schools), it would be foolish of the government to provide free technical education. The author suggests several solutions, some private, some public, to stop this underinvestment.

vii. Capitalism and Discrimination’

In a capitalist society, Friedman argues, it costs money to discriminate, and it is very difficult, given the impersonal nature of market transactions. However, the government should not make fair employment practices laws (eventually embodied in the Civil Rights Act of 1964), as these inhibit the freedom to employ someone based on whatever qualifications the employer wishes to use. The same principle was used by the Nazis in the Nuremburg Laws. For the same reason, right-to-work laws should be abolished.

viii. Monopoly and the Social Responsibility of Business and Labor

Friedman states, there are three alternatives for a monopoly: public monopoly, private monopoly, or public regulation. None of these is desirable or universally preferable. Monopolies come from many sources, but direct and indirect government intervention is the most common, and it should be stopped wherever possible. The doctrine of “social responsibility”, that corporations should care about the community and not just profit, is highly subversive to the capitalist system and can only lead towards totalitarianism.

ix. Occupational Licensure

This economist takes a radical stance against all forms of state licensure. The biggest advocates for licenses in an industry are, usually, the people in the industry, wishing to keep out potential competitors. The author defines registration, certification, and licensing, and, in the context of doctors, explains why the case for each one of these is weaker than the previous one. There is no liberal justification for licensing doctors; it results in inferior care and a medical cartel.

x. The Distribution of Income

Friedman examines the progressive income tax, introduced in order to redistribute income to make things more fair, and finds that, in fact, the rich take advantage of numerous loopholes, nullifying the redistributive effects. It would be far more just to have a uniform flat tax with no deductions, which could meet the 1962 tax revenues with a rate only slightly greater than the lowest tax bracket at that time.

xi. Social Welfare Measures

Though well-intentioned, many social welfare measures don’t help the poor as much as some think. Friedman focuses on Social Security as a particularly large and unfair system.

xii. Allieviation of Poverty

He advocates a negative income tax to fix the issue, giving everyone a guaranteed minimum income, rather than current measures, which he sees as misguided and inefficient.

xiii. Conclusion

The conclusion to the book centers on how, time and time again, government intervention often has an effect opposite of that intended. Most good things in the United States and the world come from the free market, not the government, and they will continue to do so. The government, despite its good intentions, should stay out of areas where it does not need to be.

source: link

Complete collection of Online Economics Textbooks

Businesshackers Team — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:43:49 +0000

Here you have a list of economic theory books that will help you to understand basic concepts and complicated issues of one of the most interesting subjects: economics.

Introductory Economics

Cybernomics: A Semi-Interactive, Almost Multimedia Way to Learn Economics: An online principles text by Robert E. Schenk (Saint Joseph’s College, IN)
The Economics Net-TextBook by Ted Black (University of Maryland): This online text provides useful simulation and review material on an extensive collection of micro, macro, and international economics topics.
Essential Macroeconomic Principles by John Bouman (Howard Community College): An online macroeconomics text available in either Adobe pdf or Microsoft Word format.
Essential Microeconomic Principles by John Bouman (Howard Community College): An online microeconomics text available in either Adobe pdf or Microsoft Word format.
The Best of Economics by Arnold Kling: An online textbook containing a discussion of a wide variety of economics topics.
Essential Principles of Economics: A Hypermedia Approach by Roger A. McCain (Drexel University): The most extensive attempt at an online economics text using hypermedia.
Human Society and the Global Economy by Kit Sims Taylor (Bellevue Community College): This site contains an online version of a survey text in economics that relies on an institutionalist/Post-Keynesian approach. The text may be viewed online or Word 7.0 copies of the chapters may be downloaded.
A Pedestrian’s Guide to Economics by Orley Amos (Oklahoma State University): An online expanded version of his Economic Literacy book. This book is designed to provide an intuitive explanation of economic concepts to the general public (and struggling principles students).

Introductory Macroeconomics

Intermediate Macroeconomics

Graduate Microeconomics

Lecture Notes in Microeconomic Theory: The Economic Agent by Ariel Rubinstein: This text, published by Princeton University Press (2006) contains a set of lecture notes for the first quarter of a
graduate microeconomics course. These notes were developed by Ariel Rubinstein will teaching graduate microeconomics courses at Tel Aviv, Princeton, and New York Universities. A printable verion of this text, corrections, links, and minor modifications may be found at: http://arielrubinstein.tau.ac.il/index.html.

Agricultural and Resource Economics

Agricultural and Environmental Policies: Economics of Production, Technology, Risk, Agriculture, and the Environment by David Zilberman: An online agricultural and resource economics text at an intermediate to advanced level.

Auction Markets

Auctions: Theory and Practice by Paul Klemperer.: This is a near-final draft of the 2004 Princeton University text with the same title.

Bounded Rationality

Modeling Bounded Rationality by Ariel Rubinstein: The entire 1998 MIT Press text is available online at this site. This book contains an investigation of methods that have been used to introduce the effects of bounded rationality into economic models.

Computational Economics

Computational Economics by Hans M. Amman and David A. Kendrick: This online text provides an overview of computational economics.

Economics and Language

Economics and Language by Ariel Rubinstein: This website contains links to the full-text of this collection of five essays examining the relationships between economics and language. These essays are extended versions of the Churchill lectures delivered by Ariel Rubinstein in May 1998. Among other issues, these essays examine the relationship between mathematical language and natural language in economic analysis. This was initially published by Cambridge University Press in 2000.

Econometrics

A Course of Econometrics by D.S.G. Pollock.: This online text contains a discussion of econometric theory written at an advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level.
Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation by Kenneth Train.: The entire text of the 2003 Cambridge University Press text is available here in PDF format for personal research and study.
Econometrics by Michael Creel: An open source econometrics textbook.
Handbook of Econometrics, vol. 1-5: Elsevier has now placed the first 5 volumes of the Handbook of Econometrics online in Adobe pdf format.
Lectures in Optimization by Pravin Varaiya.: This is the text of a book that has been out of print since 1975. It provides a discussion of mathematical programming, optimal control, and dynamic programming.
Lectures in Introductory Econometrics by D.S.G. Pollock.: This online booklet contains a discussion of basic econometric theory written at an advanced undergraduate or graduate
level.
Probability Theory with Economic Applications by Efe A. Ok: This online text contains a graduate-level discussion of basic concepts of probability theory. Economic
examples are used throughout the text.
Structural Analysis of Discrete Data and Econometric Applications, edited by Charles F. Manski and Daniel L. McFadden: The complete text of this classic 1981 MIT Press volume is available in either Adobe PDF or Postscript format.
Numerical Recipes in C: The entire 2nd edition of Numerical Recipes in C is available on ths site.
Numerical Recipes in Fortran 77: The entire 2nd edition of Numerical Recipes in Fortran 77 is available on ths site.
Numerical Recipes in Fortran 90: The entire 2nd edition of Numerical Recipes in Fortran 90 is available on ths site.
Topics in Econometric Theory by D.S.G. Pollard.: This work consists of a series of essays on applied econometric topics.
Urban Travel Demand: A Behavioral Analysis by Tom Domencich and Daniel L. McFadden: The entire text of this 1975 North-Holland volume is available at this site in both Adobe PDF and Postscript formats.

Game Theory

Bargaining and Markets by Martin J. Osborne and Ariel Rubinstein.

This is an online version of the text published by Academic Press in 1990.

Strategy and Conflict: An Introductory Sketch of Game Theory by Roger A. McCain

This online text contains a brief, nontechnical solid introduction to game theory concepts and their application to economics.

Statistics

Electronic Statistics Textbook by StatSoft: An online statistics textbook from the company that provides the statistical software package, Statistica.
HyperStat Online Textbook by David M. Lane.: An online statistics textbook containing Java and Javascript applications.
Lectures in Mathematical Statistics by D.S.G. Pollock.: This site contains a series of detailed lecture notes on statistics at an advanced undergraduate or introductory graduate level.
Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models, and Applications by David W. Stockburger.: This online text contains an introductory discussion of basic statistical concepts.
Statnotes: An Online Textbook by G. David Garson.: This online text contains a discussion of basic statistical concepts.
SurfStat Australia: An online introductory statistics text in HTML format.

Economists: do they all speak a different language?

Businesshackers Team — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:14:33 +0000

I have just finished to read “Freakonomics”, which is one of the books a businesshacker described some time ago…. the book is very well written and clever… the blog the authors have is witty and ironical as well…. recently they have discussed the topic of how economist talk and write… this is what they said…:

I try to keep up with the current economics literature, which means reading quite a few papers and a whole lot of abstracts. Most of the literature isnâ€™t very interesting or meaningful to me (this is simply a matter of preference); and some of it might be interesting or meaningful but I am unable to tell. Why? Because the language of economists is often â€“ not always, certainly, but often â€“ deeply obtuse. Now, again, this is my problem, having to do with my preferences and my skills. Research economists, like most academics, are writing for their peers, not the laity. And as much as I might like their research to be written in plainer English â€“ especially since it is subsidized in part by my tax dollars and yours â€“ I understand that technical language is sometimes vital and that all guilds have their own dialects that reside beneath the very big tent that is American English.

That said, sometimes I just have to laugh. Here, from the National Bureau of Economic Research, is the abstract of a recent paper by James H. Stock and Mark W. Watson, who I assume are very smart people and good economists. The paper is called â€œHeteroskedasticity-Robust Standard Errors for Fixed Effects Panel Data Regression,â€ and is summarized thusly:

The conventional heteroskedasticity-robust (HR) variance matrix estimator for cross-sectional regression (with or without a degrees of freedom adjustment), applied to the fixed effects estimator for panel data with serially uncorrelated errors, is inconsistent if the number of time periods T is fixed (and greater than two) as the number of entities n increases.

Like I said, I donâ€™t think this paper is for me. (But if itâ€™s for you, please check it out here.)

So imagine how delighted I was to see another recent paper, â€œOn the General Relativity of Fiscal Language,â€ by Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Jerry Green, which admits that the language of economists (well, the ones who write about finance at least) is essentially meaningless. From the abstract (emphasis added):

A century ago, everyone thought time and distance were well defined physical concepts. But neither proved absolute. Instead, measures/ reports of time and distance were found to depend on oneâ€™s reference point, specifically oneâ€™s direction and speed of travel, making our apparent physical reality, in Einsteinâ€™s words, â€œmerely an illusion.â€ Like time and distance, standard fiscal measures, including deficits, taxes, and transfer payments, depend on oneâ€™s reference point/reporting procedure/language/labels. As such, they too represent numbers in search of concepts that provide the illusion of meaning where none exists. This paper, dedicated to our dear friend, David Bradford, provides a general proof that standard and routinely used fiscal measures, including the deficit, taxes, and transfer payments, are economically ill-defined. Instead these measures reflect the arbitrary labeling of underlying fiscal conditions. Analyses based on these and derivative measures, such as disposable income, private assets, and personal saving, represent exercises in linguistics, not economics.

Iâ€™d like to thank Kotlikoff and Green for daring to tackle, even if in a narrow measure, the language of economics. While I donâ€™t have a pressing need to be able to understand heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors, it might be fun to try.

No time to read books…? No problem…

Businesshackers Team — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 13:17:19 +0000

Life is becoming more and more dynamic… we don’t have so much time as we used to have…
Nowadays, most people are extremely active. We juggle careers, family, and leisure time – slurping coffee to stay awake while we watch a TV show or finish a business report – when we should be peacefully sleeping. Who has time to read anymore?

Audio Books

More and more books are being published in audio format. You can download them online in MP3, WMA, or proprietary formats. Big online booksellers like Amazon sell audio productions on CD – but there is a plethora of free resources as well! Try internet searches such as:

* free audio books
* free books on CD
* free book recordings

You will locate thousands of websites! Some websites provide public domain classics, complete from cover-to-cover. Try searches similar to the following to locate thousands of hours of free material:

* free audio robinson crusoe
* free audio tale of two cities

What? You Don’t Have Time to LISTEN to Books Either?

EVERYONE has time. If you own a small MP3 or WMA player with earbuds, you can listen while performing activities such as:

* Commuting to work via car, bus, or subway
* Housecleaning
* During bathroom breaks
* Standing in line at the bank or grocery store
* Waiting for long downloads on your computer
* Weeding the garden
* Shoveling snow
* Exercising and jogging

Anytime you are performing repetitive tasks, you can plug in and listen. If you usually fall asleep to a TV in the bedroom at night, consider switching to audio recordings instead.

Safety First

There are some important steps you must take to safeguard your hearing and to avoid accidents.

1. Be very careful when setting the volume level. It should be only one or two notches above the spot where you must strain to hear what is being said.

2. If using noise-cancelling earphones or earbuds, or the type with memory-foam noise reduction, be very sure that you can hear things like the telephone and smoke alarm (while indoors) or ambulance sirens and car horns (while driving).

3. Never listen when navigating city traffic or performing activities that require your full concentration.

Create Your Own Recordings

Your computer operating system probably has a built-in function to rip audio from CDs and convert everything to MP3 or WMA. WMA is more compact than MP3, and there are many audio players that support both formats. You can also find freeware and shareware which will convert to/from WAV, MP3, WMA and other proprietary formats. Try a search like:

* convert MP3 WMA

This Recording is Too Loud but I Can Hardly Hear The Rest!

You will probably experience wide fluctuations in volume when downloading off the internet and even when creating your own recordings. However, there is software that will quickly equalize the volume of all your MP3s to a predetermined level. MP3Gain is freeware for Windows that works very efficiently. There are other programs as well, including MacMP3Gain. Try searching for:

* MP3 Gain
* MacMP3Gain
* equalize volume MP3

Audio Books Make Great Gifts

Audio books are excellent gifts for just about any occasion. Why? You can find audio recordings for almost any subject – including language lessons, alphabet rhymes for children, management programs for business people, ‘how to’ titles, and sound tracks for movies.

Are Books Dead?

I firmly believe that there will always be a place for books – whether in print form, on the internet, or in ebook readers. Let’s not lose touch with one of the greatest art forms – literature. Take a few minutes now and then to experience and enjoy the thoughts put into words by the great literary artists of today and yesterday.

(thanks to: link)

Best business books: Sane investing in an Insane world

Businesshackers Team — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 10:37:26 +0000

Just few words about a book written by Cramer… probably one of the most controversial people in the world…

In the beginning of “Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World” inside the acknowledgements, James Cramer says: I got rich using commonsense principles, not elite precepts and training, and I know you can, too,” and those principles are what this remarkable book is about.

In the first three chapters, the author talks about his investing years, the mistakes he made, and how his wife Karen showed him the difference between investing and trading. As a result, I got the sense that, for Jim Cramer, investing is doing it in a grand style with highly profitable returns and little risk; although, he advises taking risks carefully and doing an enormous amount of homework and getting lots of practice in trading.

After memorizing the fourth chapter, the next step for the reader is to continue Cramer’s training basics with the fifth chapter where he tackles stock moves, large cap investing, the importance of the Fed, and getting in and out on time. When it comes to getting in and out on time, Cramer has a wonderful recipe that most any investor should learn to invest with.

Next chapter hands out Cramer’s ten commandments and twenty-five investment rules for picking stocks. Then, the seventh chapter shows how to create a discretionary portfolio. Following chapters are about spotting bottoms and tops with the final chapter outlining advanced strategies for the more daring speculators, and then, an epilogue ends the book.

About “Real Money” the author says” “This book is the distillation of everything I have learned.” In fact, he shares a lot with the readers and encourages them not to have a defeatist approach to investing. I sincerely believe that James Cramer wants everyone to be a winner.

“Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World” has 300 pages and is in hard cover with an ISBN: 743224892. The book contains Acknowledgements, Introduction, ten chapters, Epilogue and an index.

The author, James J. Cramer, grew up in Wyndmoor, PA and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. After he worked as a journalist for a few years, he went back to Harvard Law and obtained a Juris Doctor degree. Next, Cramer worked for Goldman Sachs and created his own hedge fund company. Then, he co-founded TheStreet.com and went to work in CNBC, making his program “Mad Money” CNBC’s most popular show.

In addition to “Real Money,” James Cramer’s other books are: “Confessions of a Street Addict,” “You Got Screwed! Why Wall Street Tanked and How You Can Prosper,” and “Jim Cramer’s Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich” with Cliff Mason.

“Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World” is a real book with energy, which is very enjoyable to read due to the author’s chatty, comfortable, and engaging style and his sincere way of looking back at his mistakes.

This book entertains and informs with brilliant ideas and great wisdom. Read it and see.

(read more at: ezine)

Quality personal finance books

Businesshackers Team — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 14:30:33 +0000

It is pretty difficult to choose between hundreds of business books… simpledollar provides some good advices on what to choose… and I perfectly agree with them…

I’m interested in building a collection of quality personal finance books, mostly from the perspective of a beginner getting his/her finances in order. I’ve read countless posts on other sites about personal finance books, and these are among the most common selections.

The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton
I’ve consistently heard that this is a great one, but also that it is a “read once and forget it” book. It is apparently written in a novel-like form, using a story to imbue some basic financial logic on the reader. I’m somewhat ambivalent about this one, but it is recommended over and over again.

Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
I’ve heard almost exclusively good things about this one, with only a few peeps indicating that it can be overly simplistic in places and a faint whiff of criticism that it has a Christian perspective to it. Neither factor particularly bothers me, especially since I’m finding my own way through understanding personal finance.

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Another book I’ve read many strong reviews about, this one seems to focus on the frugality of the lifestyle you need to have in order to build up your personal net worth. This is the work that appeals the most to me on this list, based upon reviews.

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke and 9 Steps To Financial Freedom by Suze Orman
My personal feelings on Suze Orman aside (I’ll save those for another post), I’ve seen both of these at the local bookstore and they both seem like solid reads. I do appreciate the fact that Orman realizes that there is more to life than merely money; a spiritual side is a vital aspect of life as well.

I’d like to add at least one book specifically on thrifty living, but I haven’t see one specific “best” book in that category yet, so I’ve not added it to the list. I’d also like to find a good reference book that explains how a lot of things work from a simple perspective, almost like a basic financial encyclopedia.

And now I turn to you, the reader: what books not on this list do you suggest, or are there any of these you’re deeply opposed to? Why?