text:
40 Guns to Apache Pass is a 1967 American Western film directed by William Witney and starring Audie Murphy.

Plot
In the Arizona Territory of 1868, the Apaches, led by Cochise (Michael Keep), are on the warpath. Army Captain Bruce Coburn (Audie Murphy) is tasked with escorting homesteaders to Apache Wells where they can concentrate their defense against the Apaches. But there is dissension in the ranks as some of the men under Coburn's command feel they are being driven too hard. Coburn has to discipline corporal Bodine (Kenneth Tobey) for stealing rationed water. In an attack at Apache Wells, one of the homesteaders, Harry Malone (Kenneth MacDonald), is killed. His two sons, Mike (Michael Blodgett, the eldest) and the younger and more timid Doug (Michael Burns), then join the Army.

In order to defend themselves at Apache Wells, they need guns. Coburn is sent to bring in a consignment of repeating rifles that is on its way, or at least prevent them from getting into the hands of the Apaches. En route, Coburn and his men are attacked. The inexperienced Malone brothers are left to guard the horses, but Mike disobeys orders and goes off to fight the Indians. He is last seen alive pleading for his younger brother's help, but Doug, never having experienced combat and badly frightened by the Apaches, is too afraid to come to his older brother's rescue. When the other soldiers discover Doug hiding behind some rocks and sobbing, he is scorned as a coward. His shame is complete when he subsequently overhears the disgusted Capt. Coburn say he has no use for "a worthless yellow kid".

The survivors of the patrol manage to rendezvous with the consignment of guns. On the way back to Apache Wells, Bodine and four other soldiers decide to take the guns and desert to Mexico, leaving Coburn and the wounded First Sergeant Walker (Robert Brubaker) tied up. After some hesitation, Doug again disappoints Coburn when he throws in his lot with the deserters, after Bodine promises to release the two captives. But Bodine intends to kill them, lighting a fuse on a keg of dynamite in the wagon to which Coburn is tied.

After Coburn frees himself from his bonds seconds before the wagon explodes, he helps the wounded Walker back to Apache Wells. He wants to go back and retrieve the rifles, but the commander, Col. Reed (Byron Morrow), says he cannot spare any men and orders Coburn to stay, threatening him with court-martial for the failure of his mission. Disobeying orders, Coburn sets off alone after Bodine anyway, who is attempting  to sell the stolen rifles to the Apaches for gold. Under a flag of truce, Bodine meets Cochise and agrees to take him to where the rifles are hidden.

Meanwhile, Capt. Coburn finds and single-handedly attacks the deserters guarding the cache of rifles. Doug, still smarting from being branded a coward by Coburn, summons new-found courage and enters the fray, helping Coburn kill the other deserters and recover the rifles. Coburn extends his hand to Doug to show that he now respects the youth as an honorable soldier, before ordering him to get the rifles to Apache Wells.

Cochise and Bodine pursue and catch up with Coburn. In a delaying tactic, Coburn distributes five repeating rifles in positions where he can fight off a number of Apaches. When Doug delivers the rifles to the garrison at Apache Wells and explains to Col. Reed what happened, the commander orders the rifles issued to the soldiers to rescue Coburn, with Doug leading them to the besieged captain's location. The rescue party arrives just as he is almost out of ammunition. After a fierce battle, the Apaches are chased off and Bodine flees alone with Coburn in pursuit. In a final shootout between the two foes, Coburn kills Bodine. Doug accompanies Coburn and the triumphant soldiers back to Apache Wells, where Coburn is welcomed by a grateful Col. Reed, and Doug is reunited with his family who had feared him dead.

Cast
 Audie Murphy as Capt. Bruce Coburn
 Byron Morrow as Col. Homer E. Reed
 Robert Brubaker as First Sgt. Walker
 Kenneth Tobey as Cpl. Bodine
 Ted Gehring as Trooper Barratt
   Willard W. Willingham as Trooper Fuller
 James Beck as Trooper Higgins
 Michael Blodgett as Trooper Mike Malone
 Michael Burns as Trooper Doug Malone
 Kenneth MacDonald as Harry Malone
   Kay Stewart as Kate Malone
 Laraine Stephens as Ellen Malone
   Michael Keep as Cochise

Production
The film was written by Audie Murphy's friend Willard W. Willingham and his wife. Willingham had appeared in many of Murphy's films (playing Trooper Fuller in this one) as a stand in, stuntman and occasional actor as well as writing several of his films. It was filmed in 1966 in Red Rock Canyon State Park (California) and Lancaster, California. Murphy's fee was $50,000.

See also
 List of American films of 1967

References

External links

1967 films
1967 Western (genre) films
1960s English-language films
American Western (genre) films
Western (genre) cavalry films
Apache Wars films
Films set in 1868
Films set in Arizona
Films shot in California
Films shot in the Mojave Desert
Films directed by William Witney
Films scored by Richard LaSalle
Columbia Pictures films
Audie Murphy
1960s American films


text:
using System;

namespace HackerRank
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Problem link: https://www.hackerrank.com/challenges/30-data-types
    /// </summary>
    class Day1_DataTypes
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            int i = 4;
            double d = 4.0;
            string s = "HackerRank ";

            // Declare second integer, double, and String variables.
            int inputInteger;
            double inputDouble;
            string inputString;

            // Read and save an integer, double, and String to your variables.
            inputInteger = Convert.ToInt32(Console.ReadLine());
            inputDouble = Convert.ToDouble(Console.ReadLine());
            inputString = Console.ReadLine();

            // Print the sum of both integer variables on a new line.
            Console.WriteLine(i + inputInteger);

            // Print the sum of the double variables on a new line.
            double resDouble = d + inputDouble;
            Console.WriteLine(string.Format(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("en-US"), "{0:N1}", resDouble));

            // Concatenate and print the String variables on a new line
            // The 's' variable above should be printed first.
            Console.WriteLine(s + inputString);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: i am not able get kannada text from .html file while i am running the program from browser i am having a perl program that get corpus from web using the wget command of shell,but while using lynx -dump command to extract data from html but this is working fine from the command prompt but when i am tying to run the same program form browser the kannada text from the files is not extracting from files i am able to get only the english text my program is like this
in $f.txt files i am only able to get english text while i am running perl program in browser but my $f having kannada text too. so please do help me
foreach my $f(@files)
system("lynx -dump $f > $f.txt");

A: You must use a block (curly braces) with a for statement (for and foreach are aliases):
use strict;
use warnings;

foreach my $f (@files) {
    system("lynx -dump $f > $f.txt");
}

You should also make a habit out of always using use strict; use warnings;. It may seem easier to code without them, but it is just an illusion.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Cottage "Chornogor" is designed for three rooms: on the ground floor - a junior suite with all amenities (toilet, shower); on the second floor - for a large company or parents with children - two spacious 2-bed rooms with folding chairs, a toilet, a shower room. Each room has a TV.
Description of the room: Double bed, the number of towels - 2 per person. On the floor there is a fridge, dishes, microwave oven, electric kettle, iron.
Описание номера: Double bed, sofa bed. Number of towels - 2 per person. On the floor there is a fridge, dishes, microwave oven, electric kettle, iron.
There is a kitchen for self cooking. The nearest café is a 10-minute walk away.
300 m from the center. Ski lifts: Yaremche "Bagrivets" - 5 km., Ski resorts: "Bukovel" - 35 km., Village Vorokhta - 25 km, s.Yablunitsa - 30 km.
Minutes to Yaremche from Ivano-Frankivsk every 20 minutes.


text:
Claiming Offers
Best Race Horses of All Time
Best Mate Statue at Cheltenham Racecourse
Credit – Carine06 (flickr)
Horse racing is one of the oldest sports that still exists today, with the oldest of flat racing's five Classics dating back to 1776. Many races pre-date even the St Leger though and racing's origins certainly go back much further. In the well over 200 years that horse racing has existed there have been many wonderful horses but which are the best, the very best, race horses of all time?
This is a classic pub debate among fans of racing and, of course, it is impossible to give any definitive answers. For that reason, our look at the best horses ever is "in no particular order". We'll present the information and you can decide who you think should be considered the GOAT. What's more, whilst horse racing has fairly comprehensive records with regards results, other information is somewhat lacking when you start to go further back into the annuls of the sport.
As such, we'll focus most of our attention in this piece on horses within living memory, about whom we have at least some first-hand information and a decent amount of reliable information to back up our assertions.
Another obvious complication is that it is not really possible, nor fair, nor probably desirable, to compare a flat horse to a jumps specialist, or, for that matter, a chaser to a hurdler. As such we will consider the three main types of racing separately, looking at the best horses within each area.
Best Race Horses Ever: Chasers
We'll start with the horses the public tend to love the most, the biggest, bravest horses of them all: the steeplechasers. Having said that, we will not be ranking the horses in order, a great place to start with this task is by looking at Timeform's ratings.
Timeform was set up in 1948 in Halifax and was designed to provide the racing industry, at all levels, with information on horses and meetings. Their system of ranking horses looks at all races and the distances each horse beats another by in order to give each horse a ranking. US horses were only ranked in this way very recently so there is no historical data but most other major racing nations are considered, as are horses that only raced in the States but were active in the last 20 years or so.
For each category we'll look at Timeform's highest rated horses and below you can see a table of the top 10 chasers. All data is correct as of 2020, based on information from 1948 onwards and we've included the top 10, including ties.
Year Born
1st Arkle 212 1957
2nd Flyingbolt 210 1959
3rd Sprinter Sacre 192 2006
4th Mill House 191 1957
4th Kauto Star 191 2000
6th Desert Orchid 187 1979
7th Dunkirk 186 1957
8th Burrough Hill Lad 184 1976
8th Moscow Flyer 184 1994
8th Long Run 184 2005
Of course, there are horses beyond that fine list whom some would put among the all-time greats but here we are not looking at good horses, nor greats, nor even all-time greats, we are considering the very best race horses of all time.
And sadly that means that brilliant chasers like Denman, Cue Card, See More Business and even three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Best Mate don't quite make the grade. But who does?
Was Arkle the Best Ever Chase Horse?
Much as we aren't going to remove ourselves from the surprisingly comfy seat we have on the fence, Arkle is the highest rated horse in history and we're listing him first, so make of that what you will.
Arkle was an Irish horse, the grandson of super-stallion Nearco, who went 14 races unbeaten in the late 1930s, amazingly at distances ranging from 5f right up to 1m7f. Nearco was the "sire of sires" and his line links greats such as Arkle, Frankel, Black Caviar, Sea The Stars, Secretariat, Nijinsky and many more.
Arkle may well be the best of the lot, with three Cheltenham Gold Cups showing his class and an impressive return for a horse whose career was cut short by injury. He also won three Leopardstown Chases in the same years (1964-66), as well as many other big races including a King George VI, two Hennessy Gold Cups and the Irish Grand National.
Hugely popular with fans (winning big race after big race does tend to endear a horse to punters!) and a national treasure in Ireland, Arkle has to be in the mix in any discussion about the greatest ever race horse.
Kauto a True Star
Another horse that thrived at Cheltenham and was loved by fans, Kauto Star won two Gold Cups, becoming the first to regain the trophy in 2009 after winning in 2007. An incredible five King George VI wins mean he has to be thought of as one of the best of all time and his longevity is something not even Arkle can challenge.
Kauto became the only horse to win a Grade 1 contest in seven seasons in a row when he landed the 2011 Betfair Chase, a stunning achievement. His rivalries with Denman and Long Run got people truly excited and Kauto was a true star with bags of personality too.
Flyingbolt: Stats Don't Lie?
If Timeform's stats are to be believed, Flyingbolt cannot be ignored, as the only horse to get anywhere near Arkle in their weightings. Flyingbolt raced on both the flat and over hurdles and purely in terms of winning percentages he cannot be considered to be great.
What's more, he doesn't have the huge number of big wins of many of the other top horses, although he did win the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1966, as well as the Irish Grand National.
He gets into the discussion about all-time greats due to a spectacular run of form in 1965 and 1966 when he was routinely destroying top fields by huge margins. He won the 1966 Thyestes Handicap Chase by more than 30 lengths and the Champion Chase a couple of months later by 15 lengths.
He never met Arkle on the track and like his ratings rival his career was hit by injury. Many rated him a better horse at seven than Arkle and Ted Walsh, father of Ruby and Katie, said ""I would say that Flyingbolt was the best horse I ever saw. Arkle was super and a great horse, he rewrote the history books in terms of handicaps and all of that, but Flyingbolt did everything Arkle did and he did it better. He would carry the big weights and destroy horses."
The Greatest Grey
Was Dessie the greatest steeplechase horse of all time? Make your own mind up. But was he the greatest grey and most popular horse ever? We would say yes. Fans loved him for the big race wins, such as four King Georges, the Irish National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and others. But they really loved him for his longevity, personality, indomitable spirit and aggressive, front-running style.
Brave and brilliant as he was, Desert Orchid was a poor performer on left-handed tracks, unfortunately meaning his record at Cheltenham and Aintree was nowhere near what it might have been. This also hampered his all-time high rating but few doubt his status as a great, something enhanced by his longevity, both at the track and beyond.
What About Red Rum?
If we are talking about horses with an iron spirit who were loved by the public then Red Rum is a name many would think of. Red Rum also brings into question what we mean by the term "best" too but his record at the Grand National is unrivalled.
Some racing fans may disparage the Aintree spectacular but it remains the most high profile race in the country, if not the world. And Red Rum won three Grand Nationals, in 1973, 1974 and 1977. What makes that even more remarkable is that he finished second in both 1975 and 1976.
Talking of remarkable, Red Rum raced a whopping 100 times and whilst that alone is astonishing, even more amazing is the fact that he never fell. Such brilliance, consistency, longevity (he won his last National aged 12 and lived to the ripe old age of 30), and popularity means Red Rum deserves a mention in this feature.
Best Flat Horses Ever
So, let us now look at the best 10 (plus ties!) flat horses of all time (well, since 1948 at least!) according to the stats folk at Timeform:
1st Frankel 147 2008
2nd Sea Bird 145 1962
3rd Brigadier Gerard 144 1968
3rd Tudor Minstrel 144 1944
5th Abernant 142 1946
5th Ribot 142 1952
5th Windy City 142 1949
8th Mill Reef 141 1968
9th Shergar 140 1978
9th Dancing Brave 140 1983
9th Dubai Millennium 140 1996
9th Harbinger 140 2006
9th Sea The Stars 140 2006
9th Vaguely Noble 140 1965
As we can see from the table above, in terms of Timeform's ratings, little separates a number of all-time equine greats of the flat game. With more than 100 horses, including names such as Black Caviar, American Pharoah and Nijinsky, all rated between 139 and 135, picking out the very crème de la crème is no easy task. However, we think we know the place to start …
Is Frankel the Greatest?
Starting with the top-rated horse and the best horse of recent times seems very reasonable to us and we suspect few would take issue with Frankel being classed as one of the best race horses of all time.
His impeccable breeding, being a son of Galileo (and thus grandson of Sadler's Wells) out of Kind, a daughter of Danehill, certainly paid off, and this handsome stallion amassed almost £3m in prize money.
Big wins include the Dewhurst Stakes in his two year old season, the 2,000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes and many more in his Classic season and the International Stakes, Queen Anne and a defence of the Sussex Stakes as a four year old. In all he won 14 races (seven of which were Group 1s) before retiring unbeaten to an incredible stud career. He was twice voted European Horse of the Year as well as topping the World's Best Racehorse Rankings twice.
Indeed, the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings Committee stated that Frankel was the best they had ever seen since their ratings system was introduced (in 1977). In addition to these awards, his ratings dominance and all his huge wins, Frankel was a horse fans loved.
His power, style, grace and performances such as when winning the 2,000 Guineas by six lengths, considered by some pundits to be one of the best runs by a horse ever, all add substance to the argument that Frankel is the greatest. In addition, the fact he boasts wins at distances ranging from seven furlongs up to 10½ furlongs shows he was versatile too, and those lucky to have seen him race can count themselves privileged.
Don't Forget US
As said, until recently, horses that only raced in the US were not given Timeform ratings. That means there are many top American animals who don't feature on our table above and of those there is one who simply must be mentioned: Secretariat.
Secretariat was a big, powerful horse and some argue he was better than Frankel and indeed better than all the rest. He won 16 of 21 races at distances varying from just six furlongs up to 13 furlongs and in 1973 he won the US Triple Crown.
He sealed that piece of history by landing the Belmont Stakes in a run that it is easy to see as better than Frankel's 2,000 Guineas performance. He romped home by a whopping 31 lengths, a distance scarcely believable in any race, let alone one of a mile and a half. His time was a track record and also the fastest mile and a half ever on dirt and the fact that his time still stands as a world record almost 50 years later shows just how good he was.
The Beyer Speed Figure is, broadly speaking, a US equivalent of Timeform and its creator, Andrew Beyer, has stated that Secretariat would have been ranked on 139 following his Belmont demolition (the rankings didn't start until 1975).
There is no direct and precise method of comparing Timeform and Beyer but most accept that the former is typically 12 to 14 points higher than the latter. Taking the lower end of that would, in theory, see Secretariat rated at 151, some way higher than even Frankel.
There are so many other horses we could discuss, including US star of 1919 and 1920, Man o' War (20 wins from 21 races), Hollywood inspiration Seabiscuit, Timeform's number two Sea Bird, and Brigadier Gerard, who boasted 17 wins from 18 races with eight top level victories.
Moreover, Beyer argued that Count Fleet, who landed the 1943 Triple Crown, and won 16 races, might have had a Beyer Speed Figure of 150. That would imply a Timeform score of over 160, well clear of Frankel, so he is surely another in the argument.
Comparing any two horses is difficult. Do we rank them on pure speed, big race wins, overall win percentage, personality, track times, longevity or a mixture of all these things? Comparing horses from different eras and different countries of course adds even more complexity, and that is why we have looked past a number of the horses briefly mentioned above and others are overlooked altogether. All of these animals are legends of flat racing, but who do you think was the best?
Best Race Horses of All Time: Hurdlers
Last but by no means least, Timeform's 10 highest-rated hurdlers, once again including ties:
1st Night Nurse 182 1971
2nd Monksfield 180 1972
2nd Istabraq 180 1992
4th Persian War 179 1963
5th Comedy Of Errors 178 1967
5th Le Sauvignon 178 1994
7th Lanzarote 177 1968
8th Limestone Lad 176 1992
8th Bula 176 1965
8th Sir Ken 176 1948
8th Birds Nest 176 1970
8th Golden Cygnet 176 1972
8th Big Buck's 176 2003
Hurdling perhaps doesn't carry the same prestige as either NH racing over the biggest obstacles or flat racing. None the less, for racing fans, some, or even all, of the horses on the list above are undoubtedly considered to be greats of the sport.
Big Buck's Backers Bag Big Bucks
For modern, or younger, lovers of horse racing, it is probably the last name on the list above that evokes the fondest memories. On a ratings list that is tightly packed, Big Buck's is only six pounds worse off than Night Nurse but many will remember him well from his phenomenal record at the Cheltenham Festival.
Paul Nicholls' imposing bay won the feature World Hurdle four times in a row between 2009 and 2012 and did the "triple-quad" by landing the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree and Newbury's Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle in the same years. Those 12 wins were at the core of a five year period where he won 18 consecutive races and were it not for a bad injury he may well have continued that streak.
Istabraq Another Cheltenham Hero
Big Buck's is perhaps the greatest ever staying hurdler but Istabraq, who was at his peak around a decade earlier, was a faster hero, having initially been bred for the flat (his damsire was Secretariat!). He won two from 11 races on the flat but switched to hurdles and was reborn, landing 23 wins from 29 races, including three Champion Hurdles (1998-2000) and taking the Irish Champion Hurdles in those years and 2001.
With four non-consecutive wins in the Grade 1 December Festival Hurdle, plus a number of other big-race wins, Istabraq certainly ticks the boxes of wins, big wins and sustained brilliance.
Night Nurse Versatile Great
Timeform's highest ever rated hurdler boasts three flat wins and 13 victories in chases but is best remembered for his 19 wins over hurdles. This Irish-bred, Yorkshire-trained bay might not quite have the tally of wins in the most prestigious events that some of his rivals for "Best Hurdler Ever" have but he certainly had a season to remember in 1975-76.
Peter Easterby's charge went the whole season unbeaten, winning 10 races including a trio (Welsh, English and Scottish) of Champion Hurdles. He won races over an extended period but peaked between 1975 and 1977 and in this period there seems little doubt he would have been a match for just about any other hurdler.
In his later years he was a more than proficient chaser and was very well backed for the Cheltenham Gold Cup on more than one occasion. His best performance was a second place finish in 1981 but his place in the pantheon of the best race horses of all time is for his hurdling.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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New York State Leader In Non-Profit Sector
Marek Uliasz, Getty Images
According to a report released on Tuesday from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York State's nonprofit organizations have helped to stabilize employment during and after the Great Recession, making New York the nation's leader in nonprofit employment with more than 1.4 million jobs and total wages of just over $78 billion in 2017.
DiNapoli says, "Nonprofits play an important role in every region of New York, delivering vital services to New Yorkers, from hospital care and education to legal services and environmental protection. They also have a measurable impact on our economy, providing one in every six private sector jobs statewide."
Nonprofit jobs grew faster than the rest of the private sector in most New York regions between 2007 and 2017. In addition, wages at nonprofits have also grown at a faster pace statewide than the rest of the private sector and the public sector in that same time period.
What nonprofit jobs paid most? Educational services have the highest average annual wage at just over $65,000 while social assistance industries, including home care aides and child care workers, had the lowest, at just over $30,500.
Source: New York State Leader In Non-Profit Sector
Filed Under: Thomas DiNapoli
Categories: State news


text:
Men's Hoops
Women's Hoops
CSJ Classic
HomeCollege Sports JournalNCAA Division I SportsFCS Football2019 NCAA Division I College Football Team Previews: Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
2019 NCAA Division I College Football Team Previews: Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
Location: Boiling Springs, NC
Coach: Carroll McCray (24-44), 4th season at Gardner-Webb
Stadium: Ernest W. Spangler Stadium (Capacity: 9,000)
CSJ Projections:
7th: Big South
13th: North Carolina
102rd: FCS
232nd: Division I
2018 In a Sentence: Win or lose last year, one thing was for certain in Gardner-Webb games: it would not be close. The closest margin of victory in every game the Bulldogs played was 16 points – a 16-0 loss to Charleston Southern. Non-competitive games and a 3-8 record made for a long season for Gardner-Webb.
Biggest Shoes to Fill: The cupboards were pretty bare for the Bulldogs, but LB Corey Horne was a bit of a bright spot on the defense. The senior led the team with 90 tackles – 15 more than the next highest total on the team – and added one sack and a fumble recovery. In a hard to recruit state like North Carolina, his production may be difficult to replace.
Key Players: RB Jayln Cagle was the best offensive player for Gardner-Webb last year. He was the team's leading rusher with 474 yards in 10 games played. Cagle also added 4 touchdowns. This year, the senior will be looked to as a leader on the offense and will need to improve his production in order for the Bulldogs to have a shot to win games.
Fearless Prediction: With a tough out of conference schedule including two matchups against FBS teams, it seems possible that Gardner-Webb may go through the 2019 season winless. The Runnin' Bulldogs' home game vs. Hampton will go a long way in figuring out whether that will happen.
2018 College Football Team Previews: TCU Horned Frogs
CSJ Men's Hoops Preview: Marshall at Western Kentucky, How to Watch and Fearless Prediction
Lehigh Football 2018 Season In Review: Disappointing Season Salvaged At End Of Year With 4th Straight Over Lafayette
Jamie Williams
Jamie is a proud 2002 graduate of James Madison University. He's witnessed the growth of the program from no one in the stands in 1998, to the hiring of Mickey Matthews, to the 2004 National Championship, to the 2008 team, to the struggles in the early 2010s, and finally the rebuild under Mike Houston. He also allegedly really enjoys Washington, DC-based Stanley Cup winners.
Reach him at:
Tags:2019, Big South, Championship Subdivision, Division I, FCS Football, Gardner Webb Runnin Bulldogs Football, NCAA, Team Preview
CSJ's 2018 Week 1 Game Preview: New Hampshire at Maine
Mountaineers Get First Shutout Of Season On ESPN2, Beat Ragin' Cajuns 24-0
Statesboro Blues Continue For Georgia Southern Against Appalachian Stae, Fall 34-10
Jamie is a proud 2002 graduate of James Madison University. He's witnessed the growth of the program from no one in the stands in 1998, to the hiring of Mickey Matthews, to the 2004 National Championship, to the 2008 team, to the struggles in the early 2010s, and finally the rebuild under Mike Houston. He also allegedly really enjoys Washington, DC-based Stanley Cup winners.Reach him at:
Chuck Burton
David Coulson
Kent Schmidt
Preston Adams
Ben Schleiger
Wayne Otto
2019 NCAA Division I College Football Team Previews: Central Connecticut State Blue Devils
2019 NCAA Division I College Football Team Previews: UConn Huskies
2019 NCAA Division I College Football Team Previews: Northern Colorado
2019 NCAA Division I College Football Team Previews: Prairie View A&M Panthers
2019 NCAA Division I Group of Five College Football Team Preview: All 65 Teams, Ranked
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LOS ANGELES - July 10, 2017 - Topco Sales is extending its ANME Founders Show meeting schedule in anticipation for its summer releases, which include expanded brands and the kind of material innovation that put the iconic manufacturer on the map more than three decades ago. With new additions to Penthouse®, CyberSkin®, Climax, and more, including continued growth into private label and OEM, Topco Sales has forged a unique path in this competitive industry and looks forward to giving customers a first-hand look during next week's industry event.
"I joined Topco Sales as COO just one year ago and time certainly flies when you're working hard to build something new and even better than before," Topco Sales COO Autumn O'Bryan said. "Around this time last year, the Topco Sales team implemented a strategy dedicated to relationship-building via transparency and follow-through, all while enhancing production, design, and delivery, and the industry response has been palpable. We are now positioned to bring back what the Topco Sales brand is best known for - material innovation and private label manufacturing - while giving our customers the support they need to maintain strong and steady sales."
Having seen particular success this year with its fast-selling remarkably lifelike masturbators and strokers, Topco Sales will introduce a new series that features an innovative material never before seen by the industry, as well as upsells and support materials for the now-famous CyberSkin Vulcan collection. A new line of tools and accessories built for sexual stamina and endurance also will debut alongside expanded OEM, private label, and brand licensing capabilities that have made Topco Sales a go-to for high-level business development.
To accommodate the flux of customer interest, Topco Sales will have its full sales team and support staff on-site at ANME and new meeting slots have been opened this week to assure customers have a chance to see the new products and services in-person.
To secure your spot, please email your preferred representative; to schedule a meeting with O'Bryan directly, email her at autumn@topcosales.us.
"I love the opportunity to meet with new, potential, and existing customers face-to-face not only to show off what we've built, but also to hear firsthand what their challenges, concerns, and goals are for the year," O'Bryan said. "This kind of customer service is a top priority and I look forward to seeing new and familiar faces at this summer's show. I encourage all industry members to visit the Topco Sales booth and see what's in the pipeline for the second half of 2017."
The ANME Founders Show is scheduled July 16-18 at the Marriott Burbank Airport in Burbank, Calif.
For more information about the new direction of Topco Sales, please visit http://www.topcosales.com/.
Topco Sales is one of the world's largest manufacturers of adult products and intimate goods and has played a pioneering role in the establishment and growth of the American sexual wellness industry. Since 1972, Topco Sales has invented, advanced, and streamlined the production process in order to bring retailers the best and most-marketable product lines, including the now famous CyberSkin, Penthouse, Climax, and Farrah Abraham collections. Boasting one of the only FDA-registered facilities in the adult industry, Topco Sales creates everything from vibrators to lubricants and personal care cosmetics with a renowned private label and contract packaging service that makes it possible for brands, inventors and celebrities to better monetize their reputations. This forward-thinking approach to business and relationships has put Topco at the top of the line and positions the company as an American adult industry mainstay.


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The Girton Capital Growth Letter is a quarterly publication providing you with our latest economic and market analysis and portfolio company updates. A sample Girton Capital Growth Letter ("Investing in Growth Stocks You Can Believe In"), the March 2012 edition, is available at the bottom of this page. Please contact us via email for subscription and sample log-in information.
"A Sea Change in Telecom and Media Companies"
There is a sea change occurring in media/ telecom companies. Due largely to Netflix's success in content delivery and subsequent content creation, media companies are repositioning to take advantage of high-speed telecom delivery paired with their own media creations. Recently, Disney completed a $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox entertainment assets and is planning its own content delivery service. Apple is rolling out its new streaming video/news/music service, and HBO/Time Warner also plans to do so.
Meanwhile, telecom companies have added content to complement their delivery capability. Verizon now owns AOL and Yahoo, and AT&T recently bought Time Warner, Inc. Social media companies are getting in on the action as Facebook owns the messaging company WhatsApp, Alphabet owns YouTube, and Amazon Prime has added streaming video.
The big changes in media/telecom explain why the S&P500 recently combined two of its industry sectors, adding telecom stocks Verizon, AT&T and Comcast to media companies Netflix, Disney, Alphabet and Facebook to form the S&P 500 Communications Services Sector. Read the January 2019 Girton Capital Growth Letter: "A Sea Change in Telecom and Media Companies" ...) to see a pie chart showing the company allocations in this new sector.
"Investing in Big Data Software Companies"
In the 2017 book, Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us about Who We Really Are, Seth Stevens-Davidowitz captures big amounts of data from people's Google searches, providing deeper information about their lives and inclinations. For example Google local searches for flu symptoms or muscle aches have proven to be important indicators of how fast the flu is spreading in different parts of the country. Likewise, in his book Factfulness, Hans Rosling uses big data to show that, contrary to popular opinion, many things are getting better on planet Earth, including child survival rates in many poorer countries.
Much of big data now resides on the "cloud," which is defined as "shared pools of computer system resources and services that can be rapidly provisioned, often over the Internet." Big cloud service providers include AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, The IBM Cloud, and others. According to IBM, with public cloud services, users don't need to purchase hardware, software, or supporting infrastructure, which is owned and managed by the cloud providers.
"Investing in Natural Beauty Products"
The beauty industry is one of the oldest businesses in the world, dating back 7,000 years to the early Egyptians and Greeks. Today, the beauty industry is divided into cosmetics and skin care, hair care, and fragrances. The $62.5 billion US beauty market is split into premium and mass market lines, with luxury dominated by L'Oréal and Estée Lauder. According to the chart below, cosmetics sales tend to grow fairly steadily, and are considered a defensive investment, as cosmetics stocks tend to perform better in recessions than typical growth stocks.
Beauty product distribution ranges from kiosks at department stores such as Nordstrom or Macy's, to standalone beauty salons, such as Bluemercury, Sephora, Sally Beauty and Ulta Beauty. Network marketing companies such as Avon Products, Mary Kay Cosmetics and NuSkin Enterprises play an important role as do online companies, including Amazon.
"Organic & Natural Foods Are Going Mainstream"
In the just-published book Hippie Food, author Jonathan Kauffman explores the long and flavorful history of organic and natural foods from Los Angeles' Aware Inn and Health Nut restaurants in the 1950s, to today's Whole Foods and Hain Celestial. Hain is one of the major purveyors of hippie food today with its Celestial Seasonings tea, Imagine soup, and Garden of Eatin' organic corn chips. Hippie Food presents many of the diet crazes of the hippies, including brown rice, tofu and tempeh, brown bread exemplified by the classic Tassajara Bread Book, and vegetarian food, highlighted in the Moosewood Cookbook. These trends have evolved into today's fresh, organic and local food movements.
In 2017, the Organic Trade Association marked the 20th year of its survey and over that time sales of organic foods have multiplied by 15 times, starting from $3.4 billion. As you can see in the chart to the right, organic food sales in the US grew 6.4% to a record of $45 billion in 2017. At 5.5% of total food sales, organic foods are certainly in the mainstream, and organic food growth continues to far outpace overall food growth, which was up only 1.1% last year.
"Investing in Coffee, Tea or Chocolate?"
A few years ago, we invested in Peet's Coffee stock, which was taken over in 2012 for nearly $1 billion, or $73.50 per share, by Joh. A. Benckiser (JAB Holding Company - private) of Germany. JAB went on to take over Keurig/Green Mountain Coffee, which earlier had acquired a number of smaller roasters, such as Dietrich's Coffee. Today, that leaves Starbucks as the only major US public coffee company to invest in.
From an investment perspective, coffee, tea, and chocolate have a couple of things in common: they have high profit margins, and people enjoy them daily — sometimes several times per day. This combination makes them a great source of cash flow and business growth. Particularly profitable are high-end products, such as Kona coffee, organic dark chocolate, and estate grown Darjeeling tea. In addition, recent stories have extolled the heart and health benefits of dark chocolate, as well as drinking coffee (in moderation).
"Retail's Dynamic Shift from Shopping Malls to E-Commerce"
There is a sea change happening in consumer spending that affects how we invest in retail and other stocks. First, there is a long term shift from shopping at malls to online e-commerce (see graph). Second, the hurricanes that affected Houston, Texas and southern Florida will have a short term negative effect on retail sales. Third, even before the hurricanes, there was a slight weakening of retail sales growth in recent months. However, retail sales could improve in the future, particularly if there is higher employment, wage growth or even better, a tax cut for the middle class.
The retail sector is under siege right now, with many announcements of weaker same store sales trends, fattening revenues, and lower profitability. This is largely due to the shift from brick and mortar store shopping to on-line shopping, with quick shipments directly to your home. To date, e-commerce has largely been composed of the electronics, home & kitchen, and clothing and shoe businesses, but with Amazon's recent purchase of Whole Foods, it is likely to increasingly affect groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables.
"Surveying the IPO and Spin-off Markets for New Ideas"
A good source of new investment ideas are IPOs (initial public offerings) and spin-offs (companies distributed from larger companies). One way to find recent IPOs and spinoffs is by using software to screen the market for stocks that didn't exist one or two years ago. Another way is to read the IPOScoop or RenaissanceCapital IPO websites and discover new IPOs there. Using these techniques, we surveyed over 100 recent IPO and spin-off companies, searching for new ideas that meet our sustainable and financial investing criteria.
In reviewing IPO and spin-off companies, we are looking for a unique company that has an attractive business model. We also like companies with high glassdoor.com scores — that means they are good to their employees. When we looked at recent IPOs, we tried to find profitable companies that had something unusual to offer, as opposed to companies with commodity-like products. Companies that own unique market niches do not have as much competition as those in hot market sectors.
"The Growing Market for Probiotics and Fiber to Help Your Microbiota"
In the past few years, a remarkable number of books have been written about the microorganisms, also known as your microbiota, living and feeding in the human gut. A sampling of book titles range from 10% Human (meaning only about 10% of your cells are truly your own and not bacteria living on or in you), I Contain Multitudes (same idea), Grain Brain, The Good Gut and many more. Along with these books, a panoply of new cookbooks will not only help you feed yourself properly, but also will feed the little friends in your gut. Because if the beneficial bacteria in your gut are happy, that helps make you happy too.
According to the book, The Good Gut, by Justin and Erica Sonnenburg, your microbiota is composed of 1200 to 1600 species of microorganisms or bacteria. Sometimes called another human organ, your microbiota contains upwards of 2 million genes (called the microbiome), which is 100 times more than the 20,000 genes in the human genome. Beneficial bacteria can protect your gut, and can digest plant material not normally digestible by humans. Your microbiota is also thought to send cues to your immune system when things get out of balance.
There are two key ingredients for ..
"Precision Oncology: A New Way to Diagnose and Treat Cancer"
The Human Genome Project culminated on April 14, 2003, with the sequencing of a reference copy of the entire human genome. When the sequencing of the approximately 20,000 human coding genes was complete, human genome scientists moved on to new goals, such as the sequencing of individual genomes with all their traits and mutations. Human genome sequencing led to personal genetic tests like 23andMe's. These provide information about your health and heritage including traits such as hair and eye color, and where your ancestors are from. There are even stories of people finding long lost relatives using the service!
While it took over ten years to sequence the initial reference human genome, in 2015, Edico Genome, using its Dragen processors and "next generation gene sequencing," lowered the time to sequence an individual's genome to just 26 hours. Similarly, the cost of sequencing one human genome (at least the active protein-coding regions, or the "exome") has fallen dramatically to under $1,000, and it continues to drop. These trends will soon provide genomic sequencing of the DNA of a person's cells, one cell at a time, in order to help diagnose cancer and other diseases. This detailed access to genetic information has ushered in a new era of personalized medicine.
"What Stock Market Humor Can Teach Us About Investing"
Buy low, sell high! Buy high, sell higher! The market is like a roller coaster! These are some of the stock market aphorisms that have been quoted over the ages to ease heart palpitations as the market gyrates wildly from day to day, or perhaps, to ease boredom on those days when nothing is happening. There are times in the market, such as a recent day when the Dow Jones was down 400 points, when humor is needed to stay on an even keel, and to remember not to "plan according to your hopes and act according to your fears."
On weak market days, as market technician Dale Ames says, "we have the breakfast cereal stocks: They go snap, crackle, and DROP!" whereas on strong market days, people sit back, and enjoy their genius as they bask in the profits. But wait, didn't the pundit say "Never confuse genius with a bull market?" When stocks are up, it's easy to think you are brilliant, but humility returns with the next market correction.
"The Global Water Infrastructure Needs More Investment! "
Matt Damon, the star of the movie Good Will Hunting, which was set in Boston close to MIT, spoke at the 2016 MIT commencement ceremonies, discussing how students can help solve the world's problems. One of the problems he introduced was how to get fresh water to people in poverty-stricken areas such as Africa and India, and he referred the students to the website www.water.org. This charitable organization offers micro-loans to poor people so that they can get access to fresh water, and also to install sanitary toilets.
Closer to home, the cash-strapped city of Flint, Michigan recently suffered a major setback when they, with the approval of State of Michigan, decided to switch their water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The Flint River is polluted, so after the switch, the city's public drinking water tasted foul and the corrosive water increased lead levels as well. Children who drank the water had higher levels of lead in their blood, which causes intellectual impairment. It took a local doctor to sound the alarm, which, after denials, eventually led to the reinstatement of the good water. The Flint water system is just one of many outdated water systems in the United States, which on average, need to be repaired or replaced every 50 to 100 years.
The market for water services is divided into public water utilities and private water utilities. The difference is that one is owned by municipalities and the other by public companies, but both need access to capital from the public markets.
"The Best Companies to Work For and to Invest In!"
In March 2008, we discovered in our report The New Nifty Fifty: The Best Places to Work Worldwide, that companies that are better to work for also performed better in the stock market. This link between job satisfaction and company stock value is probably due to higher employee motivation, lower turnover and better productivity.
In his recent TED Talk, The Social Responsibility of Business, Alex Edmans, professor at the London Business School, says that "caring about society is not at the expense of profit – it supports it." In his 2012 study, The Link Between Job Satisfaction and Firm Value, With Implications for Corporate Social Responsibility, he shows that the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For stocks outperformed their peers by 2-3% annually over a 26 year period (see http://alexedmans.com/research/).
"Benefitting from the Record Mergers & Acquisitions Trend"
Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2015 are on track to exceed the $4.6 trillion record set in 2007 (see chart below), with the US now at over $2.0 trillion, according to Dealogic.com.
Recently announced mega-mergers include Pfizer buying Allergan for $160 billion, Anheuser Busch buying SABMiller for $106 billion, and DuPont merging with Dow Chemical. Below these mega-mergers are smaller mergers in the so-called "middle market." For example, JAB, which bought Peet's Coffee a few years ago, is now buying Keurig Green Mountain for $13.9 billion, a 78% premium to its pre-deal value, and over 3 times its annual sales.
Our portfolios have benefitted this year from several acquisitions as Kraft merged with Heinz, Cellular Dynamics was bought by Fuji Film for $16.50 per share in cash, and Diamond Foods announced that it is being bought by Snyder's-Lance. As growth investors, we focus foremost on the growth of the company; however, we think it's instructive and helpful to imagine that the company might be acquired, and who the logical buyers might be.
"Cutting Carbon through Solar Power & Battery Storage"
According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the US installed 1.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar electricity generation in the 2015 second quarter to drive the industry to over 20 GW of total photovoltaic capacity.
This year 90% of all new electric generation in the United States came from renewable resources such as solar and wind power, while coal plants have declined in production.
However, since the sun is not always shining, or the wind blowing, most of the nation's electrical power is provided by coal and natural gas plants, which poured 2 billion metric tons of polluting carbon into our atmosphere in 2014.
Riding to the rescue, Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk said in his most recent conference call that if utility scale battery storage systems become ubiquitous, one/half of all carbon-based utility power plants could be shut down.
"Investing in 'Clean, Fresh and Organic' Foods"
Americans are, perhaps surprisingly, continuing on their healthy eating and lifestyle trend. According to the US Department of Agriculture, "American adults are eating better, making better use of available nutrition information, and consuming fewer calories coming from fat and saturated fat, consuming less cholesterol and eating more fiber." More people are buying clean, fresh and organic foods at Whole Foods Market and visiting restaurants such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Zoe's Kitchen, which provide fresh and natural ingredients in their menus.
Even old line, Big Food companies are getting into the organic/fresh food act. According to a recent Fortune article, "major packaged-food companies lost $4 billion in market share alone last year, as shoppers swerved to fresh and organic alternatives." Kraft Foods and Yum Brand companies Taco Bell and Pizza Hut (as well as Panera Bread) recently decided to eliminate additives and preservatives from their foods in the new "fresh food" trend.
Many food companies have engaged "the Non-GMO Project" (see box below) to label their foods as GMO-free or containing no "genetically modified organisms."
The internet ecosystem continues to evolve, changing the face of media, advertising and commerce throughout the world. A surge in US venture capital investment -- $33 billion raised in 2014 -- has created new private internet-enabled companies, such as taxicab replacements Uber and Lyft, real estate rental firm Airbnb, collector's website Pinterest, storage site Dropbox, and many more that are challenging or surpassing the established players. However, these established internet giants (see chart below) sometimes "get even" by purchasing the young upstarts. For example, Facebook bought messaging firm WhatsApp last year for $19 billion and OpenTable, a restaurant reservation company, was bought by Priceline for $2.6 billion.
Select internet giants, ranked by stock market capitalization.
New companies and business models have appeared that were unimaginable just a couple of decades ago. Take Yelp for example, a "free speech" app that allows public reviews of local restaurants and other establishments. You can visit a restaurant, order your food, and write a restaurant review on your mobile phone and rate your experience on a five star system. It turns out that any restaurant that is rated over 4 stars is awfully good (if the reviews are not rigged, that is!). Angie's List provides a similar service for local home service businesses like plumbers, furnace repair, and building contractors.
Growth Stocks You Can Believe In: The Innovators!
In our March 2012 letter, "Growth Stocks You Can Believe In!" we pointed out that finding excellent products or services is a good way to find investment ideas. These ideas come from sustainable industries that we closely follow, such as community banks, social networking, the Best Companies to Work For, women-led companies, positive medical products, cleaner air and water, and organic and natural foods, among others.
The legendary investor Peter Lynch says to, "invest in what you know," and we might add, "invest in what you believe in." We see innovation implemented by an excellent management team as the key to searching for exceptional stocks that Peter Lynch called "10 baggers," or companies that might provide a ten-fold return on investment over time.
Innovation is important because it boosts productivity and often provides delightful new products or services for consumers. Product innovation is easily demonstrated in new products such as Apple's iPhones, Tesla's electric vehicles, and Nextera's solar and wind power systems.
A recent Bloomberg article called Paper Clip-Sized Heart Devices Open New Industry Markets reports that a tiny device called the Reveal Linq, made by Medtronic, can be inserted under the skin of the chest to report heart abnormalities that might occur only twice a year. Medtronic and St. Jude Medical are also making tiny pacemakers that can be threaded into the heart via an artery and have the battery power to operate there for a decade. Advances like these in medical technology, which some might call miraculous, are creating new solutions for heart health, new robotic surgical techniques for the knee, hip and spine, and many other healthful cures for the body.
These new products are helping many leading medical technology companies to grow revenues in the mid-single digits, and at much higher rates for newer products. An Ernst & Young report indicates that the US medical technology industry had revenues of $210 billion in 2012, led by companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, St. Jude Medical and Stryker.
Recent press reports on the melting West Antarctic ice sheet confirm that climate change and global warming are serious problems. Carbon dioxide atmospheric levels have increased to over 400 parts per million, up over 24% since 1958, which could eventually lead to a large rise in sea levels. President Obama and the EPA have responded to climate change with a plan to reduce US carbon emissions by 30% by the year 2030, largely by reducing emissions from the 600 coal plants in the US, which produce about 40 percent of US electricity.
The West Coast has been a leader in regulating carbon emissions, with California requiring that 33% of its electricity be generated from renewable energy by the year 2020, a good ten years ahead of country as a whole. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) says that they have already exceeded a target of 20% renewables. Unlike the Midwest and East Coast power utilities, where coal often amounts to 40% to 70% of electricity generation, coal plays a minor role in west coast power generation. In addition, California utilities such as PG&E and Edison International have pledged not to build additional nuclear plants as they focus more on renewable energy sources.
When we first wrote on initial public offerings or "IPOs" in June 2010, there was a scarcity of new companies going public following the financial crisis of 2008-09. This led us to suspect that those few companies that managed to go public could be investment gems, and in retrospect, that seems to have been true. Looking back at our 2010 IPO list, a number of stocks rallied smartly and some, such as Ancestry.com, were taken over.
Since then, many more companies have gone public, particularly in 2013 (see graph). Our earlier letter covered the basics of IPOs, so we will focus this letter on new ideas generated from IPOs over the last twelve months.
US Solar Power Boom Helps Light up the Grid!
The combination of reduced solar panel costs per watt, higher electricity prices and programs such as California's Solar Initiative, has spurred the rapid growth of utility and residential solar installations (see chart below).
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the US installed 930 megawatts of photovoltaic solar power in the third quarter of 2013, up 35% from last year. Total US installations have surpassed 10 gigawatts cumulatively with over 400,000 individual solar projects now operating. Solar and wind energy have become a leading source of new electricity generation in the US today.
The shrinking personal computer industry is being supplanted by new mobile devices, including cellular smart phones, iPads and other tablets, and ultra-light computer notebooks. However, even growth in cell phones and tablets has started to slow as we enter the fifth generation of Apple iPhones, the Apple 5s and 5c models, and fourth generation Samsung Galaxy 4 Smartphone. So the technology market is preparing to introduce the next big thing: wearable computer devices!
Today there are several types of wearable computing devices: smart watches, fitness monitors, and computer eyewear such as Google Glass, currently in beta testing. "Smart watches" have been in the marketplace for some time—Microsoft even launched a smart watch in 2004! In addition to telling time, they attach or "pair" to smartphones, quietly relaying information from the phone to the user regarding texts or phone calls. The latest smart watches include the $150 Sony Smartwatch, $300 Qualcomm Toq, and $299 Samsung Galaxy Gear, which features the largest, most vibrant smart watch screen, but needs to be charged daily. Apple is thought to be working hard on its iWatch, but has been secretive as to when it might be launched.
Wearable fitness and health monitors such as the Nike Fuelband or the Fitbit are devices used for fitness and health to measure how far you've walked or run and how many calories you may have used. The Nike Fuelband is a waterproof wristband that measures and reports your daily physical activity and reports it to your phone. San Francisco based Fitbit makes a device that tracks both physical activity and your sleep habits. The company claims that its users take 43% more steps with Fitbit. The Fitbit also tracks the quality of your sleep at night and can wake you in the morning.
Whole Foods Market Inc., purveyor of organic and natural foods, recently announced that by 2018 all products sold in its U.S. and Canadian stores must be labeled as to whether they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The company, which already sells about 3,500 non-GMO items, supported California's failed Proposition 37 last year, which would have mandated genetically engineered food labeling. Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb said, "We're responding to our customers who consistently asked us for GMO labeling. We are stepping up our support of certified organic agriculture, where GMOs are not allowed."
Now that President Obama has been reelected, it appears as though Obamacare, or The Affordable Care Act, is the law of the land for at least the next four years. Most analysts agree that there will be 25 to 30 million new patients receiving healthcare coverage over the next few years. This additional demand may lead to an increase in the square footage required for hospitals, medical office buildings, senior living centers and skilled nursing facilities. Obamacare is also expected to reduce healthcare spending over the same timeframe mostly through cuts in Medicare reimbursement. However, one area that seems largely immune to cuts in Medicare is private-paying senior living communities.
The demographics over the next decade or two clearly favor senior living communities. The first baby boomers were born around 1946, or 66 years ago, so the aging of America is in full swing. As you can see from the graph, the over 85 group is projected to grow from 5.5 million in 2010 to 14.5 million in 2040, while the over 65 group doubles from 40.3 to 81.2 million.
As we all know, the Midwest has suffered a severe drought this year, with a major loss in the corn crop, resulting in corn prices surging to recent highs (see graph). Also this year, big Hurricane Isaac hit New Orleans with record rainfall and flooding. Persistent changes in global weather patterns, such as major droughts and hurricanes caused by global warming and other factors, will require new and enhanced water strategies for the world. New technologies discussed in this report, such as desalinization, dewatering, and efficient irrigation promise to provide a sustainable growth opportunity for investors in the years ahead.
According to a presentation from Xylem Corporation, a leading water equipment manufacturer, the global water industry is a $500 billion business consisting of water infrastructure, which includes water transportation and treatment, and applied water, which includes irrigation, and industrial and building usage. A subset of the global water industry is equipment and services, a $280 billion market, consisting of pipes, valves and pumps, as well as high-technology areas such as energy efficient pumps and water analytics.
The most vibrant and fastest growing area of the internet today is the social networking field including Facebook and LinkedIn. These massively linked social networks allow communication between millions (or billions!) of people daily as well as the sharing of news, sports, business and entertainment information between their users. Social networks have been so successful that they are emerging in business enterprises such as Salesforce.com's Chatter application, and a service called Yammer, which was recently purchased by Microsoft for $1.2 billion.
The leader in social media is Facebook (FB), with over 900 million active users (see map to right [in report]), followed by LinkedIn (LNKD) with over 150 million users, and Twitter with over 100 million users. The www.dreamgrow.com site tallies the US market share of the top 10 social networking sites from 2008-2012. Leading the space is Facebook with a 63% market share, followed by Google's YouTube with 20.1% and Twitter a distant third with 1.8%. Reviewing the Top 10 chart on the dreamgrow website we found that Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Pinterest (an online picture posting board) have been among the fastest growers this year.
Investing in Growth Stocks You Can Believe In!
In September 2011 we wrote a piece called Total Return through Dividend Growth Stocks in which we discussed how to benefit from a core portfolio of income plus dividend growth stocks. In this letter we focus on adding growth to portfolios by investing in sustainable growth stocks. We find original growth ideas by looking for an excellent product or service that is growing rapidly. We hope to spot a trend that is not a "flash in the pan" but one that may last for many years into the future. Some examples of these trends may be right in front of you. Perhaps you are reading this report on an Apple iPad. Maybe, like Alec Baldwin, you play Words with Friends while travelling. Or you may wonder who makes a new food product you like. From everyday life, and by studying stocks and the business world, we can find products or services that may be good investments at the right time.
By investing in excellent products that you use around your home or office, you can save resources and possibly find a good investment in the process. When we researched the water industry, we found that a PUR water filter could improve water quality while eliminating plastic bottles, and so we installed a water filter. In our last letter on LED lighting, our research resulted in the installation of energy-saving Cree and Phillips LED bulbs and fixtures around the house and office. We have also examined and invested in various renewable utilities in order to earn back the cost of our electric, water and telephone bills (and hopefully more).
When I was a kid, my dad used to walk around the house turning off lights that were not in use. That was my first lesson in energy efficiency and today I walk around turning off lights. Energy efficiency does not bring thrills to the household (more like chills), but it does save money on power bills. By making wise choices, you can improve the quality of light (and life) in your home, saving resources in the process. In addition, this path leads to some companies that may be good investments at the right time.
The United States economy has become more energy efficient as a result of higher oil prices both in the 1970s and in the past decade. The US has increased its industrial production at a faster rate than its energy consumption over the last 40 years. In addition, new technologies are driving electric efficiency to the next level with use of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles, efficient lighting, and efficient appliances. New car regulations have boosted efficiency to 33.8 miles per gallon in 2010 from 28.5 miles per gallon in 2000.
In addition, the nation's electricity grid is getting smarter as products such as Itron's smart meters and Johnson Controls' smart thermostats help to save electricity. The book Green Investing says that American utilities could reduce peak energy demand by as much as 7% and save $15 billion a year by deploying "demand response" energy systems enabled by utilities through smart meter readers and sensors in homes and businesses.
In this time of historically low fixed income and money market yields as well as volatile equity markets, we think it makes sense to invest in dividend stocks for increased income and related safety of principal. This is why we continue to invest a substantial portion of our portfolios in dividend securities with 8 out of 10 of our largest holdings currently being dividend stocks. Dividends are one component of the "total return" investment strategy with the other component being the potential capital gains return from the stock. We always look to growth stocks as the key way to increase investment returns, but view the total return strategy as a good base strategy for many portfolios.
As an example of total return, one of our holdings, Kraft Foods, currently pays a dividend of $1.16 per share annually on a stock price of $33.71 per share resulting in an annual "dividend yield" of 3.4%. But Kraft is also projected to grow its earnings by 11% next year from $2.27 per share to $2.52 per share (this example ignores the company's split). Assuming that the stock maintains the same P/E ratio on its next year's earnings estimate, Kraft common stock might also be expected to appreciate by 11%. If you add that annual 11% capital gain to Kraft's 3.4% dividend yield, you get an "expected" annual total return of 14.4%. Not bad. Of course, there is the risk that Kraft's earnings could fall, or its P/E ratio could shrink, meaning its stock might go down instead of up next year. But even in that event, Kraft is likely to pay the 3.4% dividend which helps investor safety.
If we can solve the world's energy problems, we will have taken a giant leap towards world peace and prosperity. The Japanese earthquake, tsunami and subsequent meltdown and radiation disaster at the Fukushima plant has caused a major re-evaluation of electric power generation worldwide. Specifically, countries such as Germany, China, India, the United States, and Japan itself, are reconsidering how much nuclear power they should use, if any, for their electric power generation needs. Germany has closed seven nuclear power plants and has put its remaining nuclear power plants on hold. Switzerland plans to phase out all its nuclear power by 2034. The immediate effect of this is an electricity "power vacuum" since at least 11 gigawatts of nuclear energy have been shut down in Japan and Germany with more to come.
We undertook this study in order to find companies with women's leadership that can give us excellent investment returns. This work is an offshoot of our March 2008 Growth Letter, The New Nifty 50: The Best Places to Work Worldwide. It turns out that in the Fortune 1000, there are only 27 women CEOs or 2.7%. It seems likely that these few women who have made it to the top are the cream of the crop. Thus, our intuition is that many of these women leaders are superior managers, leading to potentially better financial performance at their companies. A number of sources quoted in the paper Gender Equality as an Investment Concept by Joseph F. Keefe, CEO of Pax World Funds support this idea.
In addition, these sources and others indicate that women managers are better team builders and take lower risks in developing the franchise value of their businesses. This may lead to lower volatility in women-managed businesses, leading to lower volatility in their stock prices. For example, Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times, while visiting the global Davos conference, asked attendees "whether we would be in the same mess today if Lehman Brothers had been Lehman Sisters. The consensus is that the optimal bank would have been Lehman Brothers and Sisters."
The $18.8 billion dental industry is poised for increased growth as the aging US population focuses on maintaining their teeth and as we exit the recession. Dental technology continues to progress with noteworthy advances being 1) the replacement of mercury amalgam with tooth-color fillings, 2) technology to replace crowns in a single dental visit, 3) advanced orthodontic technology such as Align Technology's Invisalign, and 4) better toothpaste, floss and toothbrushes, among other things.
Why invest in the dental industry now? The dental industry is considered to be a defensive place to invest as many of the dental companies have strong earnings and cash flow and good balance sheets. At the same time the dental industry has not been completely immune from the recession. As a number of these stocks have fallen off in price, this gives us a potential opportunity to buy them at a good value. In addition, we view the dental industry as providing generally positive products and services for people.
The dental industry is made up of several different categories. First there are personal consumables which includes toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash and dental floss among other things. Then there are professional products used by dentists on an everyday basis including prophy's (see the photo), impression trays, cements, and other products. Finally there is dental capital equipment such as X-ray machines, drills and dental lasers.
The Return of the Electric Car – This Time for Good!
Our quarterly Growth Letter of June 2008 Solar Outshines Oil – From Solar Rooftops to Electric Cars conveyed the world's "post-petroleum" message that energy distribution and transportation will shift from hydrocarbon-based to alternative energy/electricity-based. In the next 20 to 50 years we envision a world where solar and wind power will become the dominant electricity generation sources needed to propel electric cars, trains and buses, with a "leave no trace" zero pollution and carbon footprint.
The electric car and its related ecosystem of components, such as batteries and electric motors, is poised for rapid growth over the next several years. As batteries improve and charging stations become plentiful at work, at home, and on the road, electric and plug in hybrid cars are expected to replace gasoline vehicles. Tesla Motors went public in late June, raising $238 million, and its $109,000 Tesla Roadster is the only electric car in production now cruising US highways. Tesla announced the Roadster 2.5 last month, and with 1200 Roadsters sold, Tesla is in final design for its 2012 S sedan.
One of the best sources of new investment ideas are companies that are "going public." This means that they are offering shares on the public markets for the first time—hence the term "initial public offering" or IPO. IPOs are often the result of a venture capital backed company that is hopefully prepared for life as a public company. New public companies may also form as a spin-off of a larger company or the re-emergence of a private company that was formerly public. In addition, existing public companies may raise supplemental capital through a "secondary offering."
Public companies these days need to be larger than in prior times, due to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which resulted in much higher than previous annual auditing expenses for public companies. This among other factors has resulted in many fewer small companies going public. This could be one reason why the leading underwriter of small to mid-size technology firms, Thomas Weisel Partners, recently decided to sell its firm to Stifel Financial.
Investing in Natural and Organic "Slow Food"
The movie Food, Inc., featuring Fast Food Nation writer Eric Schlosser and food guru Michael Pollan, and the book Righteous Porkchop by Nicolette Niman, are both highly critical of "factory farming." Factory farming involves feeding animals mostly corn and soybeans in warehouses using more antibiotics than for animals in traditional free-range farming. In addition, livestock's concentrated waste often ends up in lagoons, which can pollute surrounding groundwater, fields and streams. The Food, Inc. film suggests that organic chicken, pork or beef that has been fed a vegetarian diet with low or no antibiotic use along with open air livestock management is better for you. Organic farms also spread manure over a manageable area so that it can fertilize the next year's grass and hay.
Read the entire March 2012 issue of the Girton Capital Growth Letter: Investing in Growth Stocks You Can Believe In.


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Pomona adopts resolution for investigation of…
Pomona adopts resolution for investigation of missing Mexican students
By Monica Rodriguez | morodriguez@scng.com | Daily Bulletin
POMONA >> The City Council adopted a resolution Monday night calling for an international investigation into the disappearance of 43 Mexican college students.
Council members voted unanimously in support of the resolution.
The students, who attended the rural Ayotzinapa Normal School in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, disappeared in September following an attack that left six dead and more than 20 injured, according to news reports.
The incident occurred in Iguala, Guerrero, and the mayor of that community and his wife are suspected of being involved, according to news reports.
Prior to the vote, eight people said they were in support of the matter before the City Council.
Jose Calderon, president of the Latino-Latina Round Table of the Pomona and San Gabriel Valleys, addressed the council while a group of about 20 community members stood behind him.
Pomona residents asked council members John Nolte and Cristina Carrizosa to support placing the resolution on the agenda following a community festival in the city. Residents in attendance spoke about having lost family members as a result of violence affecting some areas in Mexico.
Carrizosa said Tuesday the unanimous approval of the council showed council members recognized the situation in Mexico that so many residents have been talking about.
"People were asking for this," she said. The council action "recognizes the residents' concerns" over the situation.
Pomona's population is 70 percent Latino if not more, Carrizosa said. Latino residents may be far away but they are watching what happens south of the border.
"What happens (in Mexico) affects people here," Carrizosa said.
The resolution said the council supports the relatives, students and public demanding "an independent international inquiry into the events that happened in Iguala, including a full investigation into the disappearances, and exhaustive establishment of all responsibilities and the prosection and effective condemnation of the responsible at levels in line with international standards of justice."
The call for the prosecution of those responsible for the students' disappearance shows courage on the part of the City Council, Calderon said.
The resolution also recognizes Pomona residents who make contributions to the city and who have been touched or impacted by violence taking place in Mexico, Calderon said.
The resolution will be sent to President Barack Obama and several federal and state lawmakers.
Last month in San Bernardino, activists held a rally outside the Mexican Consulate office there. There was also a vigil held outside the office in support of getting answers related to the missing students.
The council's adoption of the resolution has drawn the attention of Spanish language media as well as the attention of the Mexican press, Carrizosa said.
"La Jornada," a respected Mexico City daily newspaper, published an article about Pomona's resolution, she said.
Monica Rodriguez | reporter
Monica Rodriguez covers Pomona for the Daily Bulletin.
morodriguez@scng.com
Follow Monica Rodriguez @PomonaNow


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In case you're seeking for a Dubai Casino, you must know that because gambling in Dubai is forbidden there are not casinos in Dubai; neither in Dubai nor the rest of the UAE. Dubai and the other emirates of the UAE have laws that are based on Islamic laws, and according to the Islam, any form of betting or gambling is forbidden. Be aware that there are many other Muslim countries that follow these laws as well. It's important to highlight the fact that there are severe consequences for breaking the laws in Dubai.
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A couple weeks ago, I was trying to decide if it was worthwhile to leave deleted files in the Google Desktop Search index. After all, if the file is gone, do I really care to know that I deleted that thing I am now looking for? Today, I got my answer. Since Desktop Search caches the text in its index, it can be quite useful to retrieve things that are no longer around. In my case, I was looking for an Outlook Note that I had inadvertently deleted some time ago, so long ago that it was not present in the deleted items folder either. Google still had the text in the index, so I was able to recreate what I had previously hosed. So, long story short, it is probably a good idea to leave the Remove Deleted Items option unchecked.


Permanent residency is now available only to those who have lived and worked in TCI for a stipulated period. Previously such residency was available to individuals who made a specific level of investment in TCI: since September 2012, that is no longer the case.
can maintain himself and his dependents for the duration of his residency without engaging in gainful occupation.
This type of residence permit may be granted for a period between 1 and 3 years (and on the expiration of that period, is readily renewable under current rules). There is a non-refundable Government application fee of $150.00 with a basic annual fee payable to Government of $1,500.00. There is a once off additional fee of $150.00 in respect of each person (spouse and dependent children) who are endorsed on that residence permit.
A person (i) who has invested not less than $500,000.00 in a business or home for himself on Providenciales, its outlying cays or West Caicos (or half that sum on a business or residence elsewhere in TCI), (ii) who does not intend to engage in any gainful occupation (other than undertaking such activities that are necessary to oversee his investment) and (iii) who can maintain himself and his dependents in the islands without engaging in any gainful occupation other than overseeing his investment, may obtain a residence permit for up to 10 years.
The application fee, the annual fee and fee for endorsement of dependents is the same as in the previous category.
In essence, by virtue of his having made the required investment the applicant can get his residence permit at the outset for a period of up to 10 years (instead of 3) and the limitation on gainful occupation is not as broad: the applicant can take such steps as are necessary to oversee his investment.
From time to time, the Immigration Department, as a matter of policy requires the submission of additional documentation: check with us.


Original 1st printing 8&1/2 x 14" concert flyer for the one and only Little Feat (featuring Lowell George) appearing with Law at the Renaissance Valentine Theatre in Toledo, OH on 10/6/1974.
Designer unknown/not credited, thin flat stock flyer is in very good (B/B+) condition; a hint of toning, a 1" pull tear with a 1/2" bend and a tiny stain in the bottom right edge/corner, a 1" diagonal bend in the bottom left corner, a series of tiny thin horizontal/diagonal bends and tiny nicks along the top/bottom margins and a few scattered light handling/pinch dings, otherwise fine.
ULTRA-uncommon (and VERY cool-looking) mid-'70's concert flyer from the classic Lowell George-fronted edition of Little Feat.


As you know from my last post (and the statement above); in honor of it being National Pasta Month, The National Pasta Association and The Recipe Redux are hosting a Pasta Recipe Challenge for Recipe Redux members.
As pasta is something I don't mess with too often – I figured I would take on the challenge and post one recipe to enter the contest and be done with it.
One and done – right?!
Last night, sauteed peppers and black beans were on the menu…simple and quick and easy as my daughter and I had a "dine and dash" kind of night – actually it was more like a "dash and dine and dash some more" kind of night!
The mix of soaked cashews and pumpkin and cumin, coriander, chili, turmeric, cayenne, and paprika had our taste-buds humming – and quietened that high maintenance hamster and mumbling teen in the process!
This sauce is slightly spicy – but more or less chili and cayenne can be used according to your preference. Mixed with the peppers and pasta and beans – my daughter suggested this was worth an entry into the contest too.
This dish -from start to finish- took less than 25 minutes, it is extremely budget friendly and perfect for an energy-draining night of "dash and dine and dash some more"!
Good Luck to all the Redux-ers!
Love all the spices in this creamy sauce!
PUMPKIN CASHEW SAUCE?! YES. I NEED this for breakfast…err..dinner maybe.
But maybe for breakfast because it's closer than dinner. Whatever, I want it. Looks so good girl! Pinned!
yum! pinned! This sauce sounds amazing!
Haha – thanks Tara -yupthat was my daughter's consensus too! Hope you are doing better friend.
I'm loving cashew cheese lately. This dish looks so good!!
Thank you bunches! Cashew cream is dabomb isn't it? so so versatile and good sweet and savory!
Sashi…. So great to connect with you! Your daughter (and you) make me laugh. The pasta dish looks amazing…going to share on the blog's FB page—everyone loves unique recipes like this one! Total YUM!
Hey Mary – Great to connect with you too! Thanks so much – you are way too kind – I so appreciate you sharing it!
I'm definitely trying this sauce with zoodles, sounds too good to pass up!
Thanks Mike – would sure love to know if you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Loved the creamy cashew sauce!! I am always for the homemade sauce, it brings in the flavor and healthy nutrients rather than the store bought sauces.
Thanks Shibi – I am not a huge fan of store bought sauce either!
I just want a kilo of this pasta now. Never prepared a sauce using cashew cream: it's time for me to throw together a delicious vegan pasta sauce! You're recipes are always very inspiring.
Thanks so much Daniela – I so hope you try the sauce – it is so so good!
What an invention Shashi. That sweetness and spiciness from the spices – perfect fit with the pasta.
Aww – thanks so much Lisa! Welcome back!
Now that is a really creative and delicious dish. Love the sauce. Everything you used is perfect together. Love it Shashi!
Thanks so much Suzanne – I sure hope you try the sauce – it is so so good and so easy if you have the cashews soaked.
Slightly spicy and mixed with the bell peppers and pasta and beans . . LOVE it!! and done in under 30 minutes?! Winning!
Wow! What an amazing combo of flavors! And this is the sort of dish I really like — using whatever I have in the refrigerator for inspiration. Very creative — thanks for this.
Your creativity in the kitchen always amazes me – that sauce is incredible sounding!!!
I hope that tonight is quite as jam packed for y'all!!
Wow that pasta dish looks just gorgeous and amazing, what colors! And very cool sauce!
Thanks so much Charlie – the heat really makes it pop!
That sauce!! It sounds utterly amazing! And slightly spicy?? Even better!! And budget-friendly is always always a plus!
The sauce is amazing and I LOVE creating things from stuff I find in the refrigerator. Well done you!
I honestly wouldn't even know there was pasta in that dish! Ha! I would be TRICKED and then I would take a bite and say OH NOOOO! Because I cannot eat pasta! ha!
Wholesome and delicious! I'll have to try cooking with cashew puree.
wow!cant resist.I am both pasta & pepper lover…can imagine the flavourful taste!
It looks so creamy and flavourful. Thanks for sharing, Shashi.
You and my wife will get along so well. Hahaha!
I need to try this cashew sauce – sounds gorgeously creamy!
YES!!!! this is flawless. love the cashew sauce! making this for sure!
This is soo my food, no doubt! Pepper, cashew pumpkin, this could be a fusion/goan dish. Will save this for oen of these days. Thanks!


Nancy moved from Edmonton, AB to Vancouver, BC to pursue her Masters of Public Health degree at Simon Fraser University. Her public health interests are in the areas of mental health literacy, youth mental health, and youth capacity building. Before trading the snow for rain, Nancy completed her Bachelor of Science: Psychology Specialization at the University of Alberta where her contributions to youth mental advocacy first began through Jack.org. In 2016, she had the opportunity to share her involvements with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during the Royal Tour 2016 alongside a group of other Jack.org youth. During her free time, Nancy can be found exploring new areas around Vancouver, dancing Ballet, or reading but let's be honest, she can most likely be found cuddling and playing with her dog, Noelle – like any other proud dog mom!


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The Art of Revenge by Joe Giordano (Review)
Posted by Laura at Library of Clean Reads on June 21, 2022 in Adult Book Reviews Crime Fiction Italian-American authors Joe Giordano mafia thriller | Comments : 0
Fans of crime fiction, Italian mob stories, and well-written thrillers will certainly enjoy the Anthony Provati thrillers including this one.
Title: The Art of Revenge (An Anthony Provati Thriller Book 3) by Joe Giordano
Category: Adult Fiction, pages
Genre: Thriller, Crime Fiction
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press
Content rating: PG-13 + M (for a few graphic violent scenes associated with organized crime, no sex, no f-words.)
The Art of Revenge is a riveting, action-packed, suspenseful and at times terrifying chase around the world that will have gritty thriller lovers salivating for more - a must-read for those who like hanging on the edge of the cliff by only their fingers.
The Art of Revenge features two unlikely heroes. Anthony Provati is a jazz pianist, art gallery owner, and sailor, who has a mob boss uncle. Valentina Esposito was orphaned at birth but is rewriting her destiny by becoming a brilliant computer programmer. They undertake a global pursuit of murderous Russian and North Korean operatives to foil a terrorist plot funded by forgeries and the ransom of stolen paintings.
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani
I was eagerly anticipating the third book in the Anthony Provati thriller series after having read the first two books. I enjoy Giordano's writing style and the way he can so easily create flawed characters we care about. With a few bold phrases, crisp descriptions, and smart dialogue, he can seamlessly transport us into another country and easily shift the mood from one scene to the next.
In this third novel, Anthony's story continues from where it left off in the previous novel, Drone Strike. His baby daughter Angelica and his former girlfriend Nori are in Portugal. Nori needed some space after her accident and Anthony is still trying to adjust to her fall into depression and the fact that he is now a father. Typical of Anthony, he gets mixed up in unsavory business in Greece and ends up running to New York, where his Uncle Frank, a Mafia underboss, resides. But trouble always follows Anthony, and he once again gets in over his head. Fortunately, he has help from newcomer Valentina, a kickass and whip-smart female protagonist.
One of the things Giordano does best is characterization. Each character is distinct and jumps off the page. He knows how to create memorable characters, both good and bad. I could very well see this novel as a movie. Interspersed throughout the narrative are moments of humor, and for me who understands the Italian culture, I couldn't help but smile at some of the expressions. I never know what to expect when it comes to the plot because it's unpredictable with great twists, except that it will be satisfying with a very good ending and no loose plot threads. And if you are an art aficionado, this particular plot will satisfy all the more.
Fans of crime fiction, Italian mob stories, and well-written thrillers with lots of action will certainly enjoy the Anthony Provati thrillers including this one. Although this is a stand-alone novel, I suggest starting with the first book Appointment with ISIL to increase your enjoyment of the core characters who show up in all three books.
If you want to know more about the first two books in the Anthony Provati thrillers, here are my reviews: Appointment with ISIL and Drone Strike.
Note: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Joe Giordano was born in Brooklyn. His father and grandparents immigrated to New York from Italy. He and his wife Jane now live in Texas.
As a former 3M International Executive Vice President, Joe experienced the global cultures and locations he writes about.
Joe's stories have appeared in more than one hundred magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, and Shenandoah. His novel, Birds of Passage: An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story (2015), and Appointment with ISIL: an Anthony Provati Thriller (2017) were published by Harvard Square Editions. Rogue Phoenix Press published Drone Strike in 2019 and his short story collection, Stories and Places I Remember, in 2020.
Joe was among one hundred Italian American authors honored by Barnes & Noble to march in the 2017 Manhattan, Columbus Day Parade.
Visit Joe's website at https://joe-giordano.com/


a place where a guy can get away from the outside world. tends to have alot of manly things in there.
"hey guys, come over later and we can chill and drink beer in the man cave." "alright sounds like a good time. be over at six" "see you there."