The things he says and does, decisions he makes, reverberate in ways he can’t begin to fathom.”In the year since his tenure as Governor of Montana came to an end, Carson Wirth’s life has been little more than a victory lap with time spent back in his hometown of Helena, free to make the perfunctory rounds as something of a minor celebrity. Someone to give the occasional guest lecture at the local college or to offer a sound bite on the evening news.His existence isn’t without its benefits, but when an opportunity presents itself to insert himself into a newly vacated United States Representative seat, Wirth jumps at it, envisioning an entirely new act for his career.An act that many others aren’t nearly as excited to see come to pass.Hours after stepping off the stage to receive his endorsement from the outgoing representative, Wirth wakes up alone in an old farm outbuilding. Handcuffed to a steel chair bolted to the floor, he embarks on a night painstakingly put together by his captors, each moment meant to impart the full repercussions of every decision he made overseeing the state.Some with consequences reaching far beyond anything he ever intended…or even imagined.

    

    Despite illegally entering the US and being abandonned by her father, Blanc’s mother has always made a way from them. Hustling in more ways than one, Magda carries her daughter on her back while gaining ranks and respect in the streets until envy causes Magda and her daughter to be deported. Nicolas DuBois is hood royalty. With his laid back and smooth persona he was able to conquer the game, flipping his earnings into streams of multi-million dollar businesses that had him set for life. Nicolas lived the life every men envied except he was missing something, a wife. Struggling in her native country, Blanc agrees to marry Nicolas for an opportunity to re-enter the states to live a life of glitz and glam. The fancy clothes, cars, shoes, and money does nothing to fill the void Blanc feels from being tied to a man she has no connection to. Milli, next in line to take over his Uncle Nicolas' empire, is different than his uncle in more ways than one. Unlike Nicolas, Milli is a ruthless thug who lives life on the edge. When instructed to look after his uncle's wife in his absence, the unthinkable happens. In Milli’s eyes, Blanc is the perfect fit for him. Without warning, an intense love affair begins to brew between the two Desperately pursing that hood love she so badly craved, Blanc is willing to risk it all but to what extent?

    When inexperienced entrepreneurs ask my advice about their idea for a tech startup, they often worry "What if Google decides to compete with us? They will crush us!" I respond that far more startups die of suicide than homicide. If you can avoid hurting yourself, then you are already better off than most of your competitors. Startups are a chance to build something entirely original with brilliant and ambitious people. But startups are also dangerous. Limited money means there is little room for mistakes. One bad decision can mean bankruptcy. The potential payoff attracts capital, which in turn attracts scam artists. The unscrupulous often lack the skills needed to succeed, but sometimes they are smart enough to trick investors. Even entrepreneurs who start with a strong moral compass can find that the threat of failure unmoors their ethics from their ambition. Emotions matter. We might hope that those in leadership positions possess strength and resilience, but vanity and fragile egos have sabotaged many of the businesses that I’ve worked with. Defeat is always a possibility, and not everyone finds healthy ways to deal with the stress. In this book I offer both advice and also warnings. I've seen certain self-destructive patterns play out again and again, so I wanted to document one of the most extreme cases that I've witnessed. In 2015 I worked for a startup that began with an ingenious idea: to use the software techniques known as Natural Language Processing to allow people to interact with databases by writing ordinary English sentences. This was a multi-billion dollar idea that could have transformed the way people gathered and used information. However, the venture had inexperienced leadership. They burned through their $1.3 million seed money. As their resources dwindled, their confidence transformed into doubt, which was aggravated by edicts from the Board Of Directors ordering sudden changes that effectively threw away weeks' worth of work. Every startup forces its participants into extreme positions, often regarding budget and deadlines. Often these situations are absurd to the point of parody. Therefore, there is considerable humor in this story. The collision of inexperience and desperation gives rise to moments that are simply silly. I tell this story in a day-to-day format, both to capture the early optimism, and then the later sense of panic. Here then, is a cautionary tale, a warning about tendencies that everyone joining a startup should be on guard against."

    Everything left to kill for. Stirling Hunt's parents were murdered when he was a child. Standing over their graves, he swore an oath of vengeance, and since that moment his life was dedicated to putting it right.When he discovers the identity of the terrorist who killed his family, the former Marine is duty bound to act. Stirling is owed a debt that he intends to collect.Driven by his need for justice, he carries out the mission he has prepared for his whole life: revenge. He goes deep undercover to infiltrate a criminal cartel and find its leader. Join Stirling on the covert operation which takes him from gun running in the Congo, to underground boxing in Angola, smuggling a diamond out of Zimbabwe, and dismantling a terror cell in Israel. In a race against the clock to save his friend, recover a diamond and kill his enemy, Stirling is thrust into a dangerous game between a ruthless criminal cartel and international intelligence agency. As Stirling hunts his enemy, can he keep his promise and overcome his demons?BLOOD FEUD is a thrilling page-turner about one man's quest to bring a terrorist to justice--and it's winner take all.

    

    It is a book I recommend." --Scott Guthrie, Corporate Vice President, .NET Developer Platform, Microsoft Corporation "A must-read for a concise but thorough examination of the parallel programming features in the .NET Framework 4." --Stephen Toub, Parallel Computing Platform Program Manager, Microsoft "This wonderful book is a great reference for developers of all levels." -- Chris Burrows, C# Compiler Team, Microsoft When you have questions about how to use C# 4.0 or the .NET CLR, this highly acclaimed bestseller has precisely the answers you need. Uniquely organized around concepts and use cases, this fourth edition includes in-depth coverage of new C# topics such as parallel programming, code contracts, dynamic programming, security, and COM interoperability. You'll also find updated information on LINQ, including examples that work with both LINQ to SQL and Entity Framework. This book has all the essential details to keep you on track with C# 4.0. Get up to speed on C# language basics, including syntax, types, and variables Explore advanced topics such as unsafe code and preprocessor directives Learn C# 4.0 features such as dynamic binding, type parameter variance, and optional and named parameters Work with .NET 4's rich set of features for parallel programming, code contracts, and the code security model Learn .NET topics, including XML, collections, I/O and networking, memory management, reflection, attributes, security, and native interoperability

    Feuding co-chefs have to put their differences aside before Christmas to give their siblings a great reception. A ruined wedding and failed business are not on the menu. But romance just might be... SEASON OF MIRACLES. New beginning or new heartbreak? A shy nurse starts over in a small town after breaking up with a demanding celebrity. The last thing she wants is to fall for her patient's grandson, a pro football player set on reaching sports glory. SEASON OF JOY. A successful travel reporter returns home for the holidays, and sparks fly between her and her first crush, now a single father. When his youngest son writes a letter to God asking for a Mom for Christmas, she agrees to help him find the right woman. But can this reunion be a second chance for these best friends? These books were previously published as solos. SEASON OF MIRACLES and SEASON OF JOY were also published in the set In Love by Christmas. This set contains religious themes. If this offends you, please steer clear. Everyone else, please read on!

    Imperial Valley’s biggest crime is detailed through volumes of official records and interviews with witnesses, relatives and investigators.Serial killer Robert Eugene Pennington not only murdered Sayers, but was a suspect in killing Dorothy Minor-Hindman in Fresno and possibly fifteen other innocent victims from coast to coast including one victim attributed to the Boston Strangler.Extensive research provides the reader with details of Pennington’s life before and after his encounter with Brenda.

    Explore applying the Hexagonal Architecture within your application, whether within an open source framework or your own bespoke system. Finally, look into integrating Bounded Contexts, using REST and Messaging approaches.

    It is an outrageously funny, often touching, and continuously shocking tale of a modern sea gypsy. Cap'n Fatty's story is too bizarre to be fiction. Father wears floral skirts; mother is a tad vague. Sister Carole isn't interested in her millionaire suitor; she's too busy smooching with the kid in the cesspool truck. Their strange live-aboard boat caravan includes Mort the Mortician, Backwards Bernie, Ruby Red the Conman, Barefoot Benny, Geeper Creeper, Para the Paranoid, Lusty Laura, Xlax, Shark Boy, the Pawtucket Pirate, Bait Broad, Colonel Crispy, Scupper Lips, Bob the Broker, the Pirate Queen, Otto the Owner, the Twin Slaves of Green Slime-and even a terribly long-winded fellow named (Hurricane) Hugo. All seem hell-bent on avoiding the cops, the creeps, each other, and especially the Dreaded Dream Crushers. Dive in!

    Anything you do inside your own home is allowed.Is she a cop with a cause or a devil in disguise?Terra Kris failed when she was supposed to look the other way during an assignment.For that act and her unrepentant attitude, she has powerful people gunning for her.Now, someone has decided to use a new AI embedding program snuck in during an emergency operation.Where she goes, they can follow.Until she figures out what is going on.Then there will be hell to pay.

    She's not out here trying to hustle dudes out of their money. She's actually out here making her own. With the help of her brother, Isiah and her two best friends, Harlem and Ryan; Alani is able to form a trio of elite killers. Alani and her team aren't nothing nice when it comes to doing their job and getting that paper. Hustling is Alani's only motive and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Between the jobs that she's hired for and getting caught up in dead end relationships, Alani realizes that there is more out there than just money. She wants love, but not just any kind of love. She wants that ride or die hood love. More importantly, she wants someone that is going to ride for her. Ques decides to pursue Alani when he falls for her exotic look and her one of kind personality. To top things off, he seems to be the rider that Alani so desperately seeks. However, with secrets exposed and when the truth reveals itself will this be a match made in heaven? Or, will they realize that they have both bitten off more than they can chew?

    This hands-on guide provides invaluable insight for creating successful test-driven development processes. With source code and examples featured in both C# and .NET, the book walks you through the TDD methodology and shows how it is applied to a real-world application. You'll witness the application built from scratch and details each step that is involved in the development, as well as any problems that were encountered and the solutions that were applied.Clarifies the motivation behind test-driven development (TDD), what it is, and how it works Reviews the various steps involved in developing an application and the testing that is involved prior to implementing the functionality Discusses unit testing and refactoring Professional Test-Driven Development with C# shows you how to create great TDD processes right away.

    A new four-part organizational structure increases the flexibility of the text, and all material is presented in a straightforward manner accompanied by an array of examples and visual diagrams.