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Home > Newsroom > Press Releases > Campbell Reports Third Quarter Results
May 21, 2009 | Press Release
Campbell Reports Third Quarter Results
Adjusted Net Earnings Per Share Increased 12 Percent to $0.48
CAMDEN, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 21, 2009–
Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) today reported net earnings for
the quarter ended May 3, 2009 of $174 million, or $0.49 per share,
compared to $532 million, or $1.40 per share, in the prior year.
Excluding items impacting comparability, adjusted net earnings were $171
million in the current quarter compared to adjusted net earnings of $165
million in the prior year's quarter. Adjusted net earnings per share
were $0.48 in the current quarter compared to adjusted net earnings per
share of $0.43 in the prior year's quarter, an increase of 12 percent.
Reflecting a stronger U.S. dollar, adjusted net earnings per share for
the quarter were negatively impacted by $0.04 due to currency
Douglas R. Conant, Campbell's President and Chief Executive Officer,
said, "We delivered strong earnings growth this quarter. Reflecting our
previous pricing actions and ongoing productivity improvements, gross
margin performance improved versus the prior year, as expected.
Following increased spending in the first half to launch new products,
we reduced marketing expenses, as planned, particularly in U.S. Soup.
"Despite softer sales in the quarter, year to date we've delivered one of
the strongest U.S. Soup sales performances in years, with sales up 6
percent. Consumers continued to view soup as a simple, nourishing and
affordable meal. In particular, condensed cooking soups provided strong
growth, as our value marketing message resonated with consumers. We also
are pleased with the introduction and ongoing performance of 'Campbell's
Select Harvest' and 'Campbell's' 'V8' ready-to-serve soups and 'Swanson'
stock."
Conant continued, "Beyond U.S. Soup, our Sauces business turned in a
stellar quarter with double-digit sales growth and very strong earnings
growth. Pepperidge Farm also delivered double-digit sales gains in
'Goldfish' snack crackers and 'Milano' cookies. On the other hand, our
beverage and North America Foodservice businesses have been negatively
impacted by the poor economy.
"Internationally, we delivered solid performance in Asia Pacific, behind
double-digit sales gains in the Australian soup business. However, our
European business declined in the face of a very challenging operating
environment. In emerging markets, we continued to build our capabilities
in Russia and China."
Conant concluded, "We are successfully managing our way through the
challenging economic conditions, we are gaining momentum in our key
areas of focus and we are on track to deliver solid full-year results."
Fiscal 2009 Guidance
On a currency neutral basis, the company expects to deliver sales
growth, excluding the negative impact of one less week in the fiscal
year and divestitures, within its long-term target range of between 3
and 4 percent; adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) growth
slightly below its long-term growth target of between 5 and 6 percent,
reflecting the impact of one less week, higher marketing spending and
increased investment spending in Russia and China. On a currency
neutral basis, Campbell now expects growth in adjusted net earnings per
share (EPS) to exceed the 5 to 7 percent range from the fiscal 2008
adjusted base of $2.09.
The company expects its fiscal 2009 sales, EBIT and EPS growth rates
will be negatively impacted by approximately 5 percentage points as a
result of currency translation.
Third Quarter Financial Results
The items impacting comparability of third-quarter net earnings are
summarized below:
(millions, except per share amounts)
Earnings EPS Earnings EPS
Net earnings, as reported $ 174 $ 0.49 $ 532 $ 1.40 *
Continuing Operations
Earnings from continuing operations, as reported $ 174 $ 0.49 $ 54 $ 0.14
Adjustment for restructuring charges and related costs 4 0.01 100 0.26
Net adjustment on commodity hedges (7 ) (0.02 ) – –
Adjusted Earnings from continuing operations $ 171 $ 0.48 $ 154 $ 0.40
Discontinued Operations
Earnings from discontinued operations, as reported $ – $ – $ 478 $ 1.25
Adjustment for gain on sale of Godiva Chocolatier – – (467 ) (1.23 )
Adjusted Earnings from discontinued operations $ – $ – $ 11 $ 0.03 *
Adjusted Net earnings $ 171 $ 0.48 $ 165 $ 0.43
* Does not add due to rounding.
A detailed reconciliation of the adjusted fiscal 2009 and 2008 financial
information to the reported information is attached to this release.
For the third quarter, sales declined 10 percent to $1.686 billion. The
decline in sales reflects the following factors:
Volume and mix subtracted 6 percent
Price and sales allowances added 6 percent
Increased promotional spending subtracted 1 percent
Currency subtracted 6 percent
Divestitures subtracted 3 percent
Additional Third Quarter Financial Details
Gross margin was 40.6 percent compared to 38.6 percent a year ago. The
current year included $6 million of costs related to initiatives to
improve operational efficiency and long-term profitability and a
favorable net adjustment of $11 million related to commodity
hedging. After adjusting for these items, gross margin percentage for
the quarter was 40.3 percent. The increase in gross margin percentage
was primarily due to pricing, productivity improvements and favorable
mix, partially offset by cost inflation.
Marketing and selling expenses decreased by $38 million to $246
million primarily due to the impact of currency and reduced
Administrative expenses decreased from $158 million to $129 million,
reflecting the benefit of cost reduction efforts, lower long-term
compensation costs and the impact of currency.
Excluding items impacting comparability, earnings before interest and
taxes were $281 million as compared to $254 million in the prior-year
quarter, an increase of 11 percent. Currency translation adversely
impacted earnings growth before interest and taxes by eight percentage
points. Earnings before interest and taxes improved primarily due to
lower administrative costs, improved gross margin performance and
lower advertising.
At the end of the quarter, net debt, or total debt minus cash and cash
equivalents, was $2.521 billion compared to $2.066 billion a year ago,
an increase of $455 million. The prior year reflected proceeds
received from the sale of Godiva which were subsequently used to
repurchase shares.
Net interest expense declined to $26 million, compared to $37 million
in the prior year due to the significant decline in the company's
short-term borrowing rates.
Year-to-Date Financial Results
The current and prior period's net earnings included items that impacted
comparability. These items are summarized below:
Net earnings, as reported
$ 1.85 $ 1,076 $ 2.79
Earnings from continuing operations, as reported $ 663 $ 1.84 $ 582 $ 1.51
Adjustment for restructuring charges and related costs 14 0.04 100 0.26
Adjustment for unrealized losses on commodity hedges 9 0.02 – –
Benefit from resolution of a state tax contingency – – (13 ) (0.03 )
Earnings from discontinued operations, as reported $ 4 $ 0.01 $ 494 $ 1.28
Adjustment to taxes on gain on sale of Godiva Chocolatier (4 ) (0.01 ) – –
Adjusted Earnings from discontinued operations $ – $ – $ 32 $ 0.08
Net earnings for the first nine months were $667 million, or $1.85 per
share, compared to $1.076 billion, or $2.79 per share, in the year-ago
period. Excluding items impacting comparability, adjusted net earnings
were $686 million compared to $701 million in the year-ago period.
Adjusted net earnings per share were $1.90 in the current period
compared to $1.82 in the prior period, an increase of 4 percent.
Adjusted net earnings per share growth benefited from a decline in
average diluted shares outstanding. In the first nine months of 2009,
adjusted net earnings per share were negatively impacted by $0.08 due to
currency translation.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2009, sales were $6.058 billion, a
decrease of 4 percent. The change in sales for the period reflects
the following factors:
Additional Year-to-Date Financial Details
Marketing and selling expenses decreased $31 million to $868 million,
primarily due to the impact of currency and lower selling
expenses, partially offset by higher advertising costs.
taxes were $1.075 billion compared to $1.082 billion in the prior
year, a decrease of 1 percent. Currency translation adversely impacted
earnings growth before interest and taxes by four percentage points.
Average diluted shares outstanding declined to 361 million from 385
million primarily due to repurchases utilizing net proceeds from the
divestiture of the Godiva business and Campbell's strategic share
repurchase programs.
During the first nine months, Campbell repurchased 13 million shares
for $409 million under its June 2008 strategic share repurchase
program and the company's ongoing practice of buying back shares
sufficient to offset shares issued under incentive compensation plans.
Summary of Fiscal 2009 Third Quarter and Year-To-Date Results by
U.S. Soup, Sauces and Beverages
Sales for U.S. Soup, Sauces and Beverages were $808 million compared to
$811 million a year ago. The change in sales reflects the following
factors:
Decreased promotional spending added 1 percent
The acquisition of "Wolfgang Puck" soups, broths and stocks added 1
Total soup sales for the quarter decreased 2 percent, driven by the
Sales of "Campbell's" condensed soups increased 2 percent. Condensed
cooking varieties achieved solid gains, benefitting from increased
at-home eating, which were partially offset by a decline in eating
varieties.
Sales of ready-to-serve soups decreased 7 percent primarily due to
declines in sales of the convenience platform, which includes soup in
microwavable bowls and cups.
Broth sales decreased 2 percent.
Further details of the sales results of this segment's other businesses
Beverage sales decreased primarily due to a decline in "V8" vegetable
juice.
Sales of both "Prego" pasta sauce and "Pace" Mexican sauces
experienced double-digit growth as consumers increased at-home eating
during the economic downturn.
Operating earnings were $195 million compared to $172 million in the
prior-year period, an increase of 13 percent. The increase in operating
earnings was due to lower advertising and lower administrative expenses.
For the first nine months, U.S. Soup, Sauces and Beverages sales
increased 4 percent to $3.134 billion. A breakdown of the change in
sales follows:
For the first nine months, soup sales increased 6 percent:
Sales of condensed soup increased 6 percent with gains in both cooking
and eating varieties.
Sales of ready-to-serve soup increased 4 percent due to the successful
launches of "Campbell's Select Harvest" and "Campbell's" "V8" soups,
partly offset by lower sales of "Campbell's Chunky" varieties.
Broth sales increased 10 percent due to the growth of the base
business and the successful introduction of "Swanson" cooking stock.
year-ago period. The increase in operating earnings reflected the higher
level of sales, partly offset by a decline in gross margin percentage,
as pricing and productivity improvements were not sufficient to offset
cost inflation.
Baking and Snacking
Sales for Baking and Snacking were $431 million, a decrease of 14
percent from a year ago. A breakdown of the change in sales follows:
Further details of sales results include the following:
Sales of Pepperidge Farm products increased, driven by double-digit
growth in "Goldfish" snack crackers and in "Milano" cookies, as well
as the introduction of Granola cookies.
On a reported basis, Arnott's sales declined due to the divestiture of
certain salty snack foods brands, the discontinuance of the private
label biscuit and industrial chocolate businesses associated with the
closing of a production facility in Australia and the
unfavorable impact of currency. Excluding these factors, sales
increased, driven by solid growth in both savory and sweet biscuit
products with especially strong growth in Indonesia.
Operating earnings were $57 million compared with a loss of $92 million
in the prior-year period. In connection with the previously announced
restructuring initiative, the current quarter included $1 million in
costs compared to $144 million in the prior year's quarter. The
remaining increase in operating earnings was due to gains in
Pepperidge Farm and Arnott's, partially offset by the unfavorable impact
of currency.
For the first nine months, sales decreased 10 percent to $1.380 billion.
A breakdown in the change in sales follows:
Operating earnings were $193 million compared to $48 million in the
year-ago period. In connection with the previously announced
restructuring initiative, the current year included $3 million in
accelerated depreciation and other exit costs, compared to a $144
million restructuring charge in the prior year. The remaining increase
was primarily due to significant growth in Arnott's, partially offset by
the negative impact of currency.
International Soup, Sauces and Beverages
Sales for International Soup, Sauces and Beverages were $297 million, a
decrease of 26 percent compared to a year ago. The change in sales
reflects the following factors:
Currency subtracted 16 percent
Excluding the unfavorable impact of currency and divestitures, further
details of sales results include the following:
In Asia Pacific, sales increased primarily due to double-digit gains
in the Australian soup business and Malaysia.
In Europe, sales declined due to declines in Germany and France.
In Canada, sales declined primarily due to lower soup sales.
Operating earnings were $29 million compared to $40 million a year ago.
The prior-year quarter included $6 million in restructuring charges. The
decrease was due to the unfavorable impact of currency and lower
earnings in Europe, partly offset by gains in the Asia Pacific region
and Canada.
A breakdown of the change in sales follows:
Excluding the impact of currency and divestitures, sales were comparable
to a year ago, as gains in the Asia Pacific region and Canada were
offset by declines in Europe.
year-ago period. The prior year included $6 million in restructuring
charges. The decline was due to the unfavorable impact of currency and
costs to launch products in Russia and China.
North America Foodservice
Sales were $150 million, a decrease of 10 percent compared to a year
ago. A breakdown of the change in sales follows:
Operating earnings were $13 million compared to a loss of $4 million in
the prior period. In connection with the previously announced
accelerated depreciation and other exit costs, compared to a $22 million
restructuring charge in the prior-year quarter. Excluding these charges,
operating earnings were flat versus the prior-year quarter.
For the first nine months, sales were $476 million compared to $509
million in the year-ago period. A breakdown of the change in sales
Operating earnings were $34 million compared to $40 million in the prior
period. In connection with the previously announced restructuring
initiative, the current year included $18 million in accelerated
depreciation and other exit costs, compared to a $22 million
restructuring charge in the prior year. The decline in operating
earnings was primarily due to lower volumes.
Unallocated Corporate Expenses
Unallocated corporate expenses decreased from $34 million a year ago to
$8 million in the current quarter. The decrease was primarily due to a
hedges, lower long-term compensation costs and lower expenses associated
with the company's North American SAP implementation. For the first nine
months, unallocated corporate expenses decreased from $97 million to $83
million. The decrease was primarily due to lower expenses associated
with the company's North American SAP implementation and lower long-term
compensation costs, partially offset by a net $14 million unrealized
loss on commodity hedges.
Non-GAAP Financial Information
A reconciliation of the adjusted fiscal 2009 and 2008 financial
information to the reported financial information is attached to this
Campbell will host a conference call to discuss these results on May 22,
2009 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. U.S. participants may access
the call at 1-866-219-5631 and non-U.S. participants at 1-703-639-1122.
Participants should call at least five minutes prior to the starting
time. The passcode is "Campbell Soup" and the conference leader is Len
Griehs. The call and accompanying slides also will be broadcast live
over the Internet at www.campbellsoupcompany.com
and can be accessed by clicking on the "Shareholder Event / Webcast"
banner. A recording of the call will be available approximately two
hours after it is completed through midnight May 29, 2009 at
1-888-266-2081 or 1-703-925-2533. The access code is 1359864.
Reporting Segments
Campbell Soup Company earnings results are reported for the following
U.S. Soup, Sauces and Beverages includes the following retail
businesses: "Campbell's" brand condensed and ready-to-serve soups,
"Swanson" broth and canned poultry businesses, "Prego" pasta sauce,
"Pace" Mexican sauce, "Campbell's Chunky" chili, "Campbell's" canned
pasta, gravies and beans, "V8" vegetable juices, "V8 V-Fusion" juices,
"V8 Splash" juice beverages, "Campbell's" tomato juice, and "Wolfgang
Puck" soups, stocks and broths.
Baking and Snacking includes the following businesses:
"Pepperidge Farm" cookies, crackers, breads and frozen products in U.S.
retail, "Arnott's" biscuits in Australia and Asia Pacific, and
"Arnott's" salty snacks in Australia.
International Soup, Sauces and Beverages includes the soup, sauce
and beverage businesses outside of the United States, including Europe,
Mexico, Latin America, the Asia Pacific region, as well as the
emerging markets of Russia and China, and the retail business in
North America Foodservice includes the Away From Home
business in the U.S. and Canada.
Campbell Soup Company is a global manufacturer and marketer of
high-quality foods and simple meals, including soup, baked snacks, and
healthy beverages. Founded in 1869, the company has a portfolio of
market-leading brands, including "Campbell's," "Pepperidge Farm,"
"Arnott's," and "V8." For more information on the company, visit
Campbell's website at www.campbellsoup.com.
This release contains "forward-looking statements" that reflect the
company's current expectations about its future plans and performance,
including statements concerning the impact of marketing investments and
strategies, pricing, share repurchase, new product introductions and
innovation, cost-saving initiatives, quality improvements, inflation,
commodity hedging, currency translation and portfolio strategies,
including divestitures, on sales, earnings, and margins. These
forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions and estimates
that could be inaccurate and which are subject to risks and
uncertainties. The factors that could cause the company's actual results
to vary materially from those anticipated or expressed in any
forward-looking statement include (1) the impact of strong competitive
responses to the company's efforts to leverage its brand power in the
market; (2) the risks associated with trade and consumer acceptance of
the company's initiatives; (3) the company's ability to realize
projected cost savings and benefits; (4) the company's ability to manage
changes to its business processes; (5) the increased significance of
certain of the company's key trade customers; (6) the impact of
fluctuations in the supply or costs of energy and raw and packaging
materials; (7) the risks associated with portfolio changes; (8) the
uncertainties of litigation; (9) the impact of changes in currency
exchange rates, tax rates, interest rates, debt and equity markets,
inflation rates, economic conditions and other external factors; (10)
the impact of unforeseen business disruptions in one or more of the
company's markets due to political instability, civil disobedience,
armed hostilities, natural disasters or other calamities; and (11) other
factors described in the company's most recent Form 10-K and subsequent
Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company disclaims any
obligation or intent to update the forward-looking statements in order
to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (unaudited)
May 3, April 27,
Net sales $ 1,686 $ 1,880
Costs and expenses
Cost of products sold 1,001 1,154
Marketing and selling expenses 246 284
Administrative expenses 129 158
Research and development expenses 27 30
Other expenses / (income) (3 ) –
Restructuring charges – 172
Total costs and expenses 1,400 1,798
Earnings before interest and taxes 286 82
Interest, net 26 37
Earnings before taxes 260 45
Taxes on earnings 86 (9 )
Earnings from continuing operations 174 54
Earnings from discontinued operations – 478
Net earnings $ 174 $ 532
Per share – basic
Earnings from continuing operations $ .50 $ .14
Earnings from discontinued operations – 1.28
Net earnings $ .50 $ 1.43
Dividends $ .25 $ .22
Weighted average shares outstanding – basic 350 373
Per share – assuming dilution
Weighted average shares outstanding – assuming dilution
In fiscal 2009, the company recorded pre-tax restructuring related
costs in cost of products sold of $6 ($4 after tax or $.01 per
share) related to the initiatives announced in April 2008 to improve
operational efficiency. In fiscal 2008, the company recorded a
pre-tax restructuring charge of $172 ($100 after tax or $.26 per
share) related to the previously announced initiatives.
In fiscal 2009, the company recognized in cost of products sold an
$11 ($7 after tax or $.02 per share) favorable net adjustment on
commodity hedge positions.
In fiscal 2008, the company recognized an after-tax gain of $467
($1.23 per share) in earnings from discontinued operations from the
sale of the Godiva Chocolatier business.
The sum of the individual per share amounts does not equal due to
rounding.
Other expenses / (income) (5 ) 4
Earnings before interest and taxes 1,040 910
Interest, net 83 121
Earnings before taxes 957 789
Taxes on earnings 294 207
Earnings from continuing operations 663 582
Earnings from discontinued operations 4 494
Net earnings $ 667 $ 1,076
Earnings from continuing operations $ 1.87 $ 1.54
Earnings from discontinued operations .01 1.31
Net earnings $ 1.88 $ 2.85
costs in cost of products sold of $21 ($14 after tax or $.04 per
In fiscal 2009, the company recognized expense of $14 ($9 after tax
or $.02 per share) in cost of products sold related to unrealized
losses on commodity hedges.
In fiscal 2009, the company recognized a $4 (or $.01 per share) tax
benefit in discontinued operations related to the sale of the Godiva
Chocolatier business.
In fiscal 2008, the company recognized a $13 (or $.03 per share) tax
benefit in continuing operations related to the favorable resolution
of a state tax contingency.
SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULE OF SALES AND EARNINGS (unaudited)
May 3, April 27, Percent
2009 2008 Change
U.S. Soup, Sauces and Beverages $ 808 $ 811 0%
Baking and Snacking 431 502 (14%)
International Soup, Sauces and Beverages 297 400 (26%)
North America Foodservice 150 167 (10%)
Total sales $ 1,686 $ 1,880 (10%)
U.S. Soup, Sauces and Beverages $ 195 $ 172 13%
Baking and Snacking 57 (92 ) 162%
International Soup, Sauces and Beverages 29 40 (28%)
North America Foodservice 13 (4 ) 425%
Total operating earnings 294 116 153%
Unallocated corporate expenses (8 ) (34 )
Earnings before interest and taxes 286 82 249%
Interest, net (26 ) (37 )
Taxes on earnings (86 ) 9
Earnings from continuing operations 174 54 222%
Net earnings $ 174 $ 532 (67%)
Earnings from continuing operations $ .49 $ .14 250%
Net earnings $ .49 $ 1.40 (65%)
operational efficiency. The restructuring related costs were
recognized in the following segments: North America Foodservice –
$5, and Baking and Snacking – $1. In fiscal 2008, the company
recorded a pre-tax restructuring charge of $172 ($100 after tax or
$.26 per share) related to the previously announced initiatives. The
restructuring charge was recognized in the following segments:
Baking and Snacking – $144, International Soup, Sauces and Beverages
– $6, and North America Foodservice – $22.
commodity hedge positions. The favorable net adjustment is included
in Unallocated corporate expenses.
U.S. Soup, Sauces and Beverages $ 3,134 $ 3,001 4%
Baking and Snacking 1,380 1,525 (10%)
International Soup, Sauces and Beverages 1,068 1,248 (14%)
North America Foodservice 476 509 (6%)
Total sales $ 6,058 $ 6,283 (4%)
Baking and Snacking 193 48 302%
North America Foodservice 34 40 (15%)
Total operating earnings 1,123 1,007 12%
Unallocated corporate expenses (83 ) (97 )
Earnings before interest and taxes 1,040 910 14%
Interest, net (83 ) (121 )
Taxes on earnings (294 ) (207 )
Earnings from continuing operations 663 582 14%
Net earnings $ 667 $ 1,076 (38%)
Earnings from continuing operations $ 1.84 $ 1.51 22%
Net earnings $ 1.85 $ 2.79 (34%)
$18, and Baking and Snacking – $3. In fiscal 2008, the company
losses on commodity hedges. The losses are included in Unallocated
corporate expenses.
BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited)
Current assets $ 1,448 $ 1,584
Current assets held for sale – 26
Plant assets, net 1,812 1,892
Intangible assets, net 2,292 2,624
Other assets 290 381
Total assets $ 5,842 $ 6,507
Current liabilities $ 1,633 $ 1,638
Current liabilities held for sale – 25
Long-term debt 1,954 1,767
Other liabilities 1,125 1,178
Non-current liabilities held for sale – 3
Shareowners' equity 1,130 1,896
Total liabilities and shareowners' equity $ 5,842 $ 6,507
Total debt $ 2,582 $ 2,116
Cash and cash equivalents $ 61 $ 50
Net debt $ 2,521 $ 2,066
Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Quarter Ended May 3, 2009
Campbell Soup Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures as
defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in certain
communications. These non-GAAP financial measures are measures of
performance not defined by accounting principles generally accepted in
the United States and should be considered in addition to, not in lieu
of, GAAP reported measures.
Net Debt
The company believes that net debt is a non-GAAP measure that provides
additional meaningful comparisons between the company's financial
position at May 3, 2009 and April 27, 2008, and also a useful
perspective on the financial condition of the business. Interest income
earned on cash and cash equivalents partially offsets interest expense
on debt. Cash and cash equivalents are available to repay outstanding
debt upon maturity.
The table below summarizes information on total debt and cash and cash
equivalents:
Current notes payable
Less: Cash and cash equivalents
Items Impacting Gross Margin and Net
The company believes that financial information excluding certain
transactions not considered to be part of the ongoing business improves
the comparability of year-to-year results. Consequently, the company
believes that investors may be able to better understand its gross
margin and earnings results if these transactions are excluded.
The following items impacted gross margin and/or net earnings:
(1) In the third quarter of fiscal 2009, the company recognized in cost
of products sold an $11 million ($7 million after tax or $0.02 per
share) favorable net adjustment on commodity hedge positions. The
aggregate year-to-date impact from open commodity hedges was $14
million ($9 million after tax or $0.02 per share) of unrealized
losses. Beginning in fiscal 2009, unrealized gains and losses on
commodity hedging activities are excluded from segment operating
earnings and are recorded in unallocated corporate expenses as these
open positions represent hedges of future purchases. Upon closing of
the contracts, the realized gain or loss is transferred to segment
operating earnings, which allows the segments to reflect the
economic effects of the hedge without exposure to quarterly
volatility of unrealized gains and losses. The volatility associated
with the unrealized gains or losses will be treated as an item
impacting comparability. In prior periods, unrealized gains and
losses on commodity hedging were not material.
(2) In fiscal 2008, the company announced initiatives to improve
operational efficiency and long-term profitability, including
selling certain salty snack food brands and assets in Australia,
closing certain production facilities in Australia and Canada, and
streamlining the company's management structure. In the third
quarter of fiscal 2009, the company recorded expenses of $6 million
($4 million after tax or $0.01 per share) in cost of products sold
related to these initiatives. The aggregate year-to-date impact was
$21 million ($14 million after tax or $0.04 per share). In the third
quarter of fiscal 2008, the company recorded a pre-tax restructuring
charge of $172 million ($100 million after tax or $0.26 per share).
For the year ended August 3, 2008, the company recorded pre-tax
restructuring charges of $175 million and $7 million of expenses in
cost of products sold (aggregate impact of $107 million after tax or
$0.28 per share) related to these initiatives.
(3) In the second quarter of fiscal 2009, the company recorded a $4
million tax benefit ($0.01 per share) in discontinued operations
related to the sale of the Godiva Chocolatier business.
(4) In the third quarter of fiscal 2008, the company recognized a
pre-tax gain of $707 million ($467 million after tax or $1.23 per
share) in earnings from discontinued operations from the sale of the
Godiva Chocolatier business. The total after-tax gain on the sale
was $462 million, or $1.20 per share, for the nine months ended
April 27, 2008, and $1.21 per share for fiscal 2008.
(5) In the second quarter of fiscal 2008, the company recorded a
non-cash tax benefit of $13 million ($0.03 per share) in earnings
from continuing operations from the favorable resolution of a state
tax contingency in the United States.
The tables below reconcile financial information, presented in
accordance with GAAP, to financial information excluding certain
transactions:
(millions, except per share amounts) Third Quarter
May 3, 2009 Apr. 27, 2008 % Change
Gross margin, as reported $ 685 $ 726
Deduct: Net adjustment on commodity hedges (1) (11 ) –
Add: Restructuring related costs (2)
Adjusted Gross margin $ 680 $ 726 (6)%
Adjusted Gross margin percentage 40.3 % 38.6 %
Earnings before interest and taxes, as reported $ 286 $ 82
Add: Restructuring charges and related costs (2) 6 172
Adjusted Earnings before interest and taxes $ 281 $ 254 11%
Interest, net, as reported $ 26 $ 37
Adjusted Earnings before taxes $ 255 $ 217
Taxes on earnings, as reported $ 86 $ (9 )
Deduct: Tax expense from the net adjustment on commodity hedges (1) (4 ) –
Add: Tax benefit from restructuring charges and related costs (2) 2 72
Adjusted Taxes on earnings $ 84 $ 63
Adjusted effective income tax rate 32.9 % 29.0 %
Earnings from continuing operations, as reported $ 174 $ 54
Deduct: Net adjustment on commodity hedges (1) (7 ) –
Add: Net adjustment from restructuring charges and related costs (2) 4 100
Adjusted Earnings from continuing operations $ 171 $ 154 11%
Earnings from discontinued operations, as reported $ – $ 478
Deduct: Gain on sale of Godiva Chocolatier business (4) – (467 )
Adjusted Earnings from discontinued operations $ – $ 11
Adjusted Net earnings $ 171 $ 165 4%
Diluted earnings per share – continuing operations, as reported $ 0.49 $ 0.14
Deduct: Net adjustment on commodity hedges (1) (0.02 ) –
Add: Net adjustment from restructuring charges and related costs (2) 0.01 0.26
Adjusted Diluted earnings per share – continuing operations $ 0.48 $ 0.40 20%
Diluted earnings per share – discontinued operations, as reported $ – $ 1.25
Deduct: Gain on sale of Godiva Chocolatier business (4) – (1.23 )
Adjusted Diluted earnings per share – discontinued operations * $ – $ 0.03
Adjusted Diluted net earnings per share $ 0.48 $ 0.43 12%
* The sum of the individual per share amounts does not equal due
to rounding.
(millions, except per share amounts) Year-to-Date
Gross margin, as reported $ 2,393 $ 2,507
Add: Unrealized losses on commodity hedges (1) 14 –
Add: Restructuring related costs (2) 21 –
Adjusted Gross margin $ 2,428 $ 2,507 (3)%
Earnings before interest and taxes, as reported $ 1,040 $ 910
Add: Restructuring charges and related costs (2) 21 172
Adjusted Earnings before interest and taxes $ 1,075 $ 1,082 (1)%
Interest, net, as reported $ 83 $ 121
Taxes on earnings, as reported $ 294 $ 207
Add: Tax benefit from unrealized losses on commodity hedges (1) 5 –
Add: Tax benefit from resolution of a state tax contingency (5) – 13
Adjusted Taxes on earnings $ 306 $ 292
Earnings from continuing operations, as reported $ 663 $ 582
Add: Net adjustment from unrealized losses on commodity hedges (1) 9 –
Add: Net adjustment from restructuring charges and related costs (2) 14 100
Deduct: Benefit from resolution of a state tax contingency (5) – (13 )
Adjusted Earnings from continuing operations $ 686 $ 669 3%
Earnings from discontinued operations, as reported $ 4 $ 494
Deduct: Tax benefit from the sale of the Godiva Chocolatier business
(3) (4 ) –
Deduct: Gain on sale of the Godiva Chocolatier business (4) – (462 )
Adjusted Net earnings $ 686 $ 701 (2)%
Add: Net adjustment from unrealized losses on commodity hedges (1) 0.02 –
Deduct: Benefit from resolution of a state tax contingency (5) – (0.03 )
Adjusted Diluted earnings per share – continuing operations $ 1.90 $ 1.74 9%
Diluted earnings per share – discontinued operations, as reported $ 0.01 $ 1.28
(3) (0.01 ) –
Deduct: Gain on sale of the Godiva Chocolatier business (4) – (1.20 )
Adjusted Diluted earnings per share – discontinued operations $ – $ 0.08
Adjusted Diluted net earnings per share $ 1.90 $ 1.82 4%
Year Ended
Earnings before interest and taxes, as reported $ 1,098
Add: Restructuring charges and related costs (2) 182
Adjusted Earnings before interest and taxes $ 1,280
Interest, net, as reported $ 159
Adjusted Earnings before taxes $ 1,121
Taxes on earnings, as reported $ 268
Add: Tax benefit from restructuring charges and related costs (2) 75
Add: Tax benefit from resolution of a state tax contingency (5) 13
Adjusted Taxes on earnings $ 356
Adjusted effective income tax rate 31.8 %
Earnings from continuing operations, as reported $ 671
Add: Net adjustment from restructuring charges and related costs (2) 107
Deduct: Benefit from resolution of a state tax contingency (5) (13 )
Adjusted Earnings from continuing operations $ 765
Earnings from discontinued operations, as reported $ 494
Deduct: Gain on sale of the Godiva Chocolatier business (4) (462 )
Adjusted Earnings from discontinued operations $ 32
Adjusted Net earnings $ 797
Diluted earnings per share – continuing operations, as reported $ 1.76
Add: Net adjustment from restructuring charges and related costs (2) 0.28
Deduct: Benefit from resolution of state tax contingency (5) (0.03 )
Adjusted Diluted earnings per share – continuing operations $ 2.01
Diluted earnings per share – discontinued operations, as reported $ 1.30
Deduct: Gain on sale of the Godiva Chocolatier business (4) (1.21 )
Adjusted Diluted earnings per share – discontinued operations * $ 0.08
Adjusted Diluted net earnings per share*
Source: Campbell Soup Company
Leonard F. Griehs (Analysts), 856-342-6428
Sanzio (Media), 856-968-4390


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Q: I need to merge two datasets in pandas according to their timestamps I'm new to pandas and I want to merge 2 datasets with the stats of a machine.
The first dataset contains application stats (pressure, volume, etc) and the second one contains the error stats.
The thing is, they are from the same timeline of 3 months and I want to merge them according to the timestamps.
Usually, the error timestamp is a few minutes after or before the application timestamp as when there is an error, there's no application.
The error stats
Application stats
I currently used the following code to merge the two datasets:
d_two = pd.read_csv('Error.txt',delimiter='\t',engine='python',header=0)
d_three = pd.merge(d_one, d_two,on, left_on='Uhrzeit',right_on='Uhrzeit')
d_three.to_csv('output.txt',sep='\t', index=False)

But I could only merge 500 rows of the big datasets and most rows didn't get copied.
I'd be grateful for any help!

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World Now
« Previous Post | World Now Home | Next Post »
Pakistani girl shot by Taliban arrives in Britain for treatment
LONDON -- A Pakistani teenager who was wounded by Taliban gunmen opposed to her support of education for girls arrived in Britain on Monday for medical care and rehabilitation.
Malala Yousafzai, 14, was transported by air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates from the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi to Birmingham in central England and taken to the Queen Elizabeth hospital. She will receive post-trauma treatment, skull reconstruction and neurological rehabilitation for damage caused by a bullet that penetrated her skull.
The newly built hospital where she will be treated is Britain's main receiving unit for military casualties, specializing in the treatment of firearms and burns victims. A brief hospital statement announcing her arrival said she was "currently stable and being assessed by a team of multi-specialist doctors," including "clinicians from neurosurgery, imaging, trauma and therapies."
PHOTOS: Malala Yousafzai
Medical director David Rosser said Malala will be treated by a team whose long experience in battlefield wounds predates the opening of the hospital. "We've taken every British battle casualty for over 10 years now," he told reporters.
Malala, a resident of Pakistan's Swat Valley, was sought out and shot by gunmen who boarded her school bus last week. She is not believed to have suffered severe brain damage. Two of her classmates were also hit; one remains hospitalized in serious condition.
The Taliban took responsibility for the shootings, with its spokesmen saying Malala was targeted in retaliation for promoting Western culture, secularism and education for girls. She came to public attention in 2009 when her diary entries were publicized through the BBC Urdu Service website. They chronicled the Taliban's draconian rules limiting girls' education and the defiant decision by her and her classmates to continue their studies.
"Malala's bravery in standing up for the right of all young girls in Pakistan to an education is an example to us all," British Foreign Minister William Hague said Monday. "The public revulsion and condemnation of this cowardly attack shows that the people of Pakistan will not be beaten by terrorists."
Pakistani girl shot by Taliban gunmen being moved to Britain for treatment
Arrests made in attack on Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai
Wounded Pakistan teen is now face of girls education movement
-- Janet Stobart
Photo: Pakistani students sing as they hold pictures of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was shot Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for girls, during a tribute at the Pakistani Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday. Credit: Kamran Jebreili / Associated Press.

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ARTICLES WEIRD WORLD 5 INSPIRING REAL-LIFE STORIES OF THE LITTLE GUY WINNING
5 Inspiring Real-Life Stories Of The Little Guy Winning
Alex Hanton
Peter I. Santiago
Casper Orens
The classic underdog story gives us hope. Hope that even the most powerless can come out on top in the end through the sheer power of will, pluck, and training montages. But that's not how things really work, right? In reality, Davids get squished by Goliaths, and Daniel-sans get swirlied by Cobra Kais. But not always! Sometimes a real-world underdog squares up against the fat cats and actually manages to hit them right where it hurts the most: the crotch. Or the wallet. Whatever works.
5 A Lone Salesman Took Down A Massive Phantom Debt Racket
You might want to sit down for this: People who work in payday lending and debt collection aren't always the straightest of arrows. We'll give you time to gather your displaced monocles. Anyway, the scummiest tactic found among this crowd is called "phantom debt." Sharks and collectors try to convince downtrodden debtors to pay fake debts, knowing they don't have the energy to fight back. Unfortunately for the phantom debt industry, they made a formidable enemy. No, not the IRS, the CIA, or the Avengers. Some guy named Andy.
In 2015, ace salesman Andrew Therrien started getting calls saying he owed $700 on a payday loan which he'd never taken. Therrien, a straight shooter, told the collector to buzz off. Then he threatened to come over and rape Therrien's wife. (Did we mention these people have rats for souls? We didn't? Well, they do.) So Therrien did what every middle-class white-collar husband would do: He launched a years-long scorched-earth crusade against the U.S. debt collection industry, with the goal of discovering who had fabricated his phantom debt and make him pay.
We dare you to read that and not hear a clap of ominous thunder.
Therrien, a dogged moralist and virtuoso phone negotiator, turned himself into the Dick Tracy of tracing dicks. At night he would harass collectors by phoning them nonstop until they gave up a name, slowly building a network of scumbag informants. When the leads went cold, he would occasionally make small payments on his fake loans just to see where the money would travel. To his family and friends, he was but a promotional salesman who spent a bit too much time locked away in his home office. But to loan sharks, he was the main character from Taken -- Liam Taken, we're pretty sure his name was.
Therrien tracked the kingpin of this massive network of phantom debt collection to Kansas City. Joel Tucker had packaged $7.7 million in fake debt through loan packages and sold it off to the shadiest bidders, including the person who threatened Therrien. Therrien confronted Tucker over the phone, whereupon he claimed he had no idea his company had systematically and intentionally ruined thousands of people's lives. But that only made Therrien angrier. He leaned on his network of contacts until he obtained hard proof of Tucker's heinous crimes. He mailed all his evidence to the FTC, who nearly tripped over their own shoes bringing him in to help bring Tucker's empire down.
In 2016, Joel Tucker was ordered by a judge to pay $34.2 million -- money he claimed not to have and which, in what had to be the sweetest of ironies, would permanently drown him in debt.
Related: The Real Phantom Of The Opera Lived In Atlanta, Georgia
4 A High School Newspaper Exposed An International Human Trafficking Ring
Before 1999, the biggest story a high school newspaper had ever broken was "Pigeon Disappearances Linked To New Chicken Finger Tuesdays." But then along came a team of plucky journalists from Berkeley, California, who launched an investigation so hard-hitting that it made Woodward and Bernstein look like E! reporters making puns about Hugh Jackman's odd sweater choices.
In 1999, a bunch of boring, grown-up newspapers reported on the passing of Sitha Vemireddy, an Indian teenager who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a rundown apartment building in Berkeley. But seeing as cautionary tales about building safety codes aren't sexy, the papers quickly moved on. All but one: The Jacket, Berkeley High's paper. Editor Iliana Montauk was puzzled that, despite living in their neighborhood, she had never heard of Vemireddy. She asked Meghan Greenwell, a junior, to look into the story.
Together, working on tips from Indian-American students at their school, the pair uncovered some strange facts about Sitha. For starters, she and her sisters attended none of the schools in their district. Instead they worked full-time in a restaurant owned by Lakireddy Bali Reddy, one of Berkeley's wealthiest businessmen. Also strange: The apartment Sitha lived and died in wasn't the address her supposed parents lived at. Something smelled fishy, and this time it wasn't that weird kid with the fish thing.
Instead, it was the weird kid with the $69 million real estate empire.
After barely a week, Greenwell and Montauk had uncovered a sinister evil all the adults in Berkeley had been missing for years. With evidence in hand, they broke the story. The deceased girl (whose real name was Chanti Prattipati) and her sister had been the victims of a human trafficking ring orchestrated by Reddy. For decades, he and his son abused the Indian caste system, returning to their hometown in India to lure low-caste women with promising work in America.
Once the women arrived, they would treat them as slaves, imprisoning them in shitty tenements and pushing many into prostitution. This high school newspaper story prompted police to launch their own investigation, which landed Reddy in jail. In addition, the discovery of such a seedy underbelly in liberal Berkeley was so jarring that it led to serious reforms in California's trafficking laws. Not bad for a bunch of meddling kids.
Related: Media Scandals From Around The World (That Make America Look Sane)
3 An Unlikely Couple Took Down An Evil Prison Warden
It sounds like a weird Lifetime movie. Frances Jalet became one of the first American women to graduate with a law degree, but found there was no work for female lawyers, so she spent some time as a housewife before finally returning to the law in her 50s. Fred Cruz was a clever 20-something man from the wrong side of the tracks who got himself locked up for armed robbery. When they met, they fell in love. But, somewhat importantly, they also changed the Texas penal system forever.
Back in the '60s, George Beto ran Texas prisons like Hell on Earth. Prisoners were isolated, beaten, and even tortured for the smallest infractions. If The Shawshank Redemption had been set in Texas, it would have been called Hostel 4. But Beto was untouchable, because no one was insane enough to go after a sociopath with government backing who was willing to break every statute in the Geneva Convention for kicks. No one but Fred Cruz. In 1967, fed up with the inhumane treatment he and his fellow inmates were receiving under Beto's regime, Cruz wrote to Jalet, whom he had read about in the papers. She agreed to visit Cruz, who told her horrifying stories about his prison time. And amidst the blood, oppression, and human rights violation, the two fell in love.
Jalet Family/Texas Monthly
Gives a whole new meaning to the term "jailbait."
For the next five years, the couple were huge thorns in Beto's side, with Jalet filing lawsuits and Cruz recruiting other prisoners as plaintiffs. Then, in 1972, Cruz was finally released. He and Jalet got married as quickly as possible. But just when things were looking up, Beto tried to drag Jalet into it. The crooked director intimidated three prisoners into testifying that Jalet had tried to incite a riot. She faced years in prison, but fought to the end, discrediting the evidence in court. The sensational climax of the trial came when one of Beto's witnesses had an attack of conscience and asked to retake the stand, whereupon he admitted to lying. This shattered Beto's plan, and after some impressive testifying from Cruz and legal maneuvering from Jalet, the case was won.
Beto was forced to resign in disgrace, but the lovebirds weren't going to stop there. By 1980, they had taken the case to the Supreme Court, and it was decided that the entire Texas Department of Corrections had acted unconstitutionally. This forever changed the way they treated prisoners in the Lone Star state. All because of one couple. And they lived happily ever after ... until Cruz got addicted to drugs, they divorced, and he overdosed at the age of 47. J-just like in The Shawshank Redemption?
Related: 6 Crazy Methods Prisoners Used To Escape Execution
2 It's Free To Sing "Happy Birthday" Because Of One Determined Filmmaker
Have you ever wondered why "Happy Birthday" is the go-to birthday song for the entire English-speaking world? That was the question filmmaker Jennifer Nelson had, so she created an entire documentary about the song. When we have questions, we google them or just live with disappointment. Different strokes.
When Nelson was making her documentary, she learned she would have to pay a $1,500 fee to record label Warner/Chappell, which claimed to own the copyright on the song. This was odd to Nelson, who knew that was, to put it in legal terms, a big ol' lie. During her research, she had discovered that the song's tune dated all the way back to 1890s, when sisters Patty and Mildred Hill, both kindergarten teachers, copyrighted a melody called "Good Morning To All" through the Clayton F Summy Company. But the copyright was only for the melody, there was no evidence or documentation attributing the famous lyrics to the Hill sisters. And yet that didn't stop the Summy Company from filing a copyright on the wildly popular birthday song in 1935, using their melody copyright as claim of legal ownership.
Pictured: the most lucrative music copyright ever. Yes, really.
In 1988, Warner gulped up the Summy Company for $25 million, and with it, "Happy Birthday." Through ruthless enforcement of this shaky copyright, Warner/Chappell squeezed about $2 million each year out of movies, TV shows, and ... high-profile birthday parties, maybe? They also argued that according to the 1935 copyright registration, they could keep the copyright going until 2030.
Nelson took her findings to lawyers and launched a class-action suit to challenge the giant record label's claim. Realizing they might get hit with charges for much shadier dealings, Warner/Chappell paid $14 million in copyright compensation to avoid a court hearing about the fees they had collected. In 2016, the song became public domain again for the first time in over 85 years. So thanks to Nelson, everyone is free to use the birthday song in their art, movies, weird YouTube edits, etc.
Related: Happy Birthday, Badass - August 4
1 A Hospital Chief Went Undercover To Take Down Government Corruption
In 2003, Edward Hospital CEO Pamela Davis wanted to build a new medical office in Plainfield, Illinois, where ailing folks had to undergo a 20-minute jungle navigation to get their rashes checked out. But before she could even present her plan to the board, banker P. Nicholas Hurtgen told her she needed hire a very specific contractor if she wanted approval. Davis knew extortion when she heard it, ignored the threat, and ... got outright rejected.
But instead of playing ball, Davis decided to kick them right where it hurt. A novice in the vigilante department, she had to ring up directory assistance for the FBI, which agreed to put a wire in her bra and listen in on a meeting with Hurtgen and the shady contractor. Mere minutes into the conversation, the feds called Davis on the phone to tell her she was being extorted and needed to get the hell out of there.
On that day, Davis became both an undercover informant and the catalyst for something called Operation Board Games, a statewide sting to expose and destroy a "pay to play" extortion racket. Over the years, Davis helped exposed multilevel government corruption, even netting Governor Rod Blagojevich when he tried to sell President's Obama's former Senate seat to the highest bidder. Davis kept up the charade for seven months, until an article in The Chicago Sun-Times exposed her as a spy, which must've been quite the breakfast read for her husband and three kids.
U.S. Marshals Service
After which political corruption in Illinois was cleaned up forever ... r-right?
Once past a few more petty roadblocks, Davis and the Plainfield folks finally got their free-standing emergency center. After her retirement, the community gave her a holiday -- something even Batman doesn't have. Where's the justice in that?
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Related: 6 Hilariously Blatant Episodes Of Greed And Corruption


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Episode 50: DataStax NoSQL solutions built on Apache Cassandra with Kathryn Erickson, Open Source and Ecosystem Strategy
July 7, 2020	Marina Andjekovic	Podcast	0 Comments
Mike Schwartz: Hello and welcome to Open Source Underdogs. I'm your host, Mike Schwartz, and this is episode 50 with Kathryn Erickson who helps lead open-source strategy at DataStax. Founded in 2010 and currently employing about 500 people, DataStax was one of the first and most successful companies in the Apache Cassandra big data Ecosystem.
Kathryn has an engineering background. You can listen to some of her great deep dives into the tech on the DataStax website. In her role on the strategy team, she's helping to lead the company into its next phase of growth and community engagement. I hope you'll enjoy this episode. And if you do, don't forget to share a link on social media. You can find all the episodes on opensourceunderdogs.com, or you can retweet our announcement by following us on Twitter. Our handle is @fosspodcast. So, without further ado, let's carry on with the interview.
DataStax Origin
Mike Schwartz: Kathryn, thank you for joining us today.
Kathryn Erickson: Sure, of course, thank you.
Mike Schwartz: Most of our listeners probably know about Apache Cassandra, one of the most popular databases for big data, but how did DataStax evolved in relation to the Cassandra project.
Kathryn Erickson: DataStax was founded by Jonathan Ellis and Matt Pfeil, both employees of Rackspace. Jonathan, being contributor to Apache Cassandra and Project Share as well, was considering leaving Rackspace, and Matt Pfeil went to talk to him and say, "Hey, there's some really cool stuff going on here, you should really consider staying." And by the end of the conversation, they were founding a company together.
And so DataStax was founded to support Apache Cassandra. Over time, we began adding Enterprise features and selling an Enterprise distribution of the database with these features added, and then, of course, more recently, the cloud platform as a service offering as well.
Evolution Of Support Offering
Mike Schwartz: Actually, I didn't realize that you started out providing support. Because when I first ran into DataStax, I guess I had just known it as a distribution of Cassandra. And now, I see that you're also providing support for the open-source distribution. Can you talk a little bit about how that's evolved over time? Has it always been there or has there been a focus on for or against doing that?
Kathryn Erickson: It hasn't always been there. When DataStax was founded 10 years ago, there wasn't really a playbook for how to build and run a successful open-source company.
We were founded around the premise of providing support and consulting for Apache Cassandra. Over time, we did, all for the Enterprise Edition, but what you see with most Enterprises is that they have a mix of the Enterprise version and open source. For some customers, that's dependent on the criticality of the data, and for other customers, it's dependent on the features or the distribution, being the as-a-service offering or self-installed on-prem.
And so, what we saw in the last year was that there were some obvious things that we weren't doing, and our customers needed support and consulting around open-source Cassandra. We are beginning to open-source a lot more of the features that would build Cassandra abundance, and so, it made sense to bring those offerings back.
Astra – DataStax Cloud Offering
Mike Schwartz: Okay, and you mentioned that DataStax launched a new hosted service called Astra. Do you see that product as a driver for revenue, or is it just an easier path for customers to test drive the product?
Kathryn Erickson: I think that will evolve over time. I think at launch, it is the easiest way to learn Apache Cassandra. And I think as we launched the hybrid option, I believe that's later this year, that would become a more significant line of revenue.
Mike Schwartz: Most of the revenue today I guess is from the license Enterprise product, so focusing on that, a lot of open-source businesses are moving towards consumption-based pricing. And I'm wondering, what kind of metrics do you use to determine what is consumption?
Kathryn Erickson: You know, a cloud-based offering consumption is based on capacity. And with our licensed product and with Luna, the open-source support offering, our focus this year has been around simplification of the pricing model. And we revisit that each year.
With the Enterprise product, we previously charged for the Enterprise license, and then, an optional additional fee for advanced workloads, like Spark analytics and graph. That's confusing for the customer, they just want a simple pricing mechanism. So, we collapse that pricing. And then, of course, for larger deals ,we would have ELAs, or special terms to accommodate those customers.
Mike Schwartz: That consumption is based on, like, per CPU, per server, or how do you actually figure out what is the size?
Kathryn Erickson: It's true capacity-based, the size of the data set being stored. And as we move to Astra hybrid, which will be that offering on-prem, I think we'll consider that pricing option there as well.
Mike Schwartz: Data persistence is like the most horizontal market on the planet. Every company basically needs to store data. When you can sell to everyone, it's sort of a blessing and a curse. Do you segment the market at all vertically or by use case, or do you just not segment the market?
Kathryn Erickson: It's hard to segment when you're serving a pretty broad market. What we try to do is have as easy of an on-ramp for the different verticals as possible. We see data models look similar between IoT use cases, inventory and messaging data models would be similar.
So, we don't segment the market for go-to-market strategies, but we try to find places of repeatable consulting efforts to speed up the successes for those customers.
Mike Schwartz: When you took on the role of director of strategic Pprtnerships, you probably did a survey of the range of partnerships that exist. Can you talk about like what is the partner landscape look like at DataStax?
Kathryn Erickson: I ran our technology partner program, and there's two other sides of that, SI partners and the cloud partners. On the technology side, you want to make it easy as possible for customers to consume your product.
So, in a technology partner program, you want to understand the user journey to get to your product, and make sure that those adjacent technologies have the simplest most repeatable easy to build, easy to test integrations as possible over time. If you want to think about specific companies and integrations, every database needs an ODBC and JDBC connector. And customers want those for BI, for reporting, for simple ways to move data in and out of the system, but in the last few years, most customers also want to see Kafka connectors and more high-speed ingest Pub/Sub integrations. So, we want to accommodate those as well.
Mike Schwartz: Coming on the System Integrator side, you know, at Gluu, we found that those have been essential for us, to be able to focus on innovating the product versus getting involved in specific projects. But there's such a broad range when you're serving a global market of the System Integrators. Do you consider them channel partners or integration partners?
Kathryn Erickson: We usually consider them strategic partners when we take those types of partnerships on. And the goal is usually to help us penetrate markets that we don't currently have field team in, or packaged, or cookie-cutter solutions. If you look at some of the stuff that we've done with VMware and with partnerships at Dell, we want to assert that the product stack works as recommended for customers that are used to seeing these reference architectures from these larger integrators and technology companies.
Most Important Partnerships For Driving Revenues
Mike Schwartz: Which partnerships, do you think are the most important for actually driving growth?
Kathryn Erickson: Deloitte's been in a role to our federal business, they know that space better than any startup could hope. VMware for helping to modernize Enterprise platforms. Enterprises that are looking at Cassandra and looking at DataStax are usually going through some type of digital transformation. And the product that they already have in place is VMware. So, everything that we could do to make that migration to know SQL smooth was helpful to those customers. VMware has been a pretty big partner in my journey.
Open Source Strategy
Mike Schwartz: Some of the companies we've interviewed are moving to a 100% open-source strategy, specifically Chef and Cloudera. In the past, the value property DataStax, it had improved distribution of Cassandra.But do you see DataStax maybe moving more in the direction of open-sourcing its platforms and some of that technology it's developed?
Kathryn Erickson: We are open-sourcing a lot more. We try to stick to simple rules for open sourcing, simple rule is, it's a Harvard Business review article, simple rules for a complex world.
And so, simple rules for open source, if it increases adoption Cassandra, it should be open-sourced. And if it's Enterprise feature that's more specific to Enterprise customers, like security features or advanced replication options, then that would be kept proprietary.
And then, where should something be open-sourced? Well, if it makes a change to the core of Cassandra, of course it should go to the Apache project. And if it increases abundance, but it's not impactful to the core of the project, then it still should be open-sourced, but maybe able to exist in a DataStax repo or different foundation.
Does Open Source Help?
Mike Schwartz: Do you think the wider open-source community A Cassandra helps DataStax too?
Kathryn Erickson: Of course, open source is all about positive sum games. I think it was Thomas Jefferson that said, "If use my light to light your torch, then we both have light." And that's how open-source works. The more communities and more companies that you can move from being other to being self, the larger the positive sum game that you're playing. So, it's open source, and open-source abundance is absolutely essential to the success of any open-source company.
Thoughts About Open Source Foundations?
Mike Schwartz: Any thoughts about Cassandra being hosted at the Apache Foundation versus perhaps Linux Foundation or the CMSF?
Kathryn Erickson: I don't have any opinions on the other foundations, but I think that Apache Cassandra will always be at home with the ASF. They have their simple rules for what it means to protect the open-source nature of a project, and they don't waiver. And for a vendor backing an open-source project, that can be like a Northern Light, you can lose your way, and you can always look back up and reorient towards the community.
But you know, there's nice things when you see CNCF, you know, the marketing wing, and the power of the CloudNative messaging that's there. But there's no reason that projects can't have pieces that exist in different foundations either.
We see ourselves and others that build communities operators or management APIs or drivers is an example, they should live in a project, but management tooling that exists that the maintainers of the project wouldn't want entry. So, something like that maybe should live in a CNCF type of foundation that's focused on CloudNative. But no Apache Cassandra will remain Apache, and that's a tome.
Industry Changes In The Last 10 Years
Mike Schwartz: So, DataStax is one of more mature, well-established companies in the open-source ecosystem today. What are some of the challenges you think that you are looking at now that were different than when you got started?
Kathryn Erickson: When I started a DataStax, it didn't always feel like we had a lot of competition. And I think as other good distributed databases emerged, we adjusted to having competition. I think the obvious answer that most people would expect is pressure from the public Cloud vendors. But if you stay oriented on the positive sum nature of open source, then that becomes easy to embrace as well.
So, there's changes in understanding the virtuous cycles of open-source, understanding how to build software as-a-service more quickly as Kubernetes has matured that's become a lot easier. So, I think the ecosystem around us has matured a lot, the playbooks around how to build a company around open source have matured. And there are more senior projects that kind of exist in our ecosystem that we can work with and learn from as well.
Is Open Source Table Stakes For Databases?
Mike Schwartz: You know, most of the databases that have been released in the last, let's say five to eight years or so, have been open source. Is being open source basically like table stakes now? So, is it a non-differentiator in the database market?
Kathryn Erickson: I think that if you're moving from a proprietary relational system, and moving towards NoSQL, then you're obviously moving into an open-source world. And if you can choose something that has a security life, security blanket that you know will outlive any vendor behind it, then you should consider those options first.
I think that it would be hard to start proprietary databases without the support of the community and of these foundations. I think Snowflake has done an exceptional job and is kind of the exception to the open-source game. But, you know, they were disruptive in a much different way. NoSQL in general is an open-source family.
Data Platform Trends
Mike Schwartz: Just a general database question about the database market. So, we've interviewed a probably more database companies on this podcast than any other type of company, but have you ever seen a real shift in the way that customers think about databases.
In the old days, I think you just used to get one database and hope it did everything, but have you seen a sort of on the technology side a shift in the way that companies are thinking about data and databases now, with more SaaS hosted offerings and more database offerings, like in general.
Kathryn Erickson: Yes. I think I think this is definitely the age of data platforms. With Cassandra, we see customers considering NoSQL when they're using the relational system. And it can't support the throughput that they need anymore, or they need to replicate more geographies, or exist in a multi-cloud or hybrid environment.
And so, that's when you consider Cassandra. If you look at when you might consider Mongo, you want to get quick start with a developer friendly environment that's great for mobile. What you start to see is that there's a certain fit for purpose that the different NoSQL databases have. We've started to see an emergence of multi-model systems that move forward. And consolidating those capabilities, we have that with our Enterprise products and their integrations for graph analytics and search, we want to help customers build high-growth applications, high-speed transactional applications are the sweet spot of any Cassandra deployment.
Advice For Startup
Mike Schwartz: This is a question, a sort of a generic question for entrepreneurs who want to launch a business around an open-source product. I'm wondering if you have any advice, for let's say, startups? And it could be general and it could be about partnerships.
Kathryn Erickson: You don't have to invent a path to success, you can listen to the A16 podcast, you can look at other companies that are out there. You can go through so many success stories on podcasts like this, you can listen to Cockroach, and there are Open Source Underdogs podcast talk about how they're thinking about licensing other companies. You know, having similar conversations, really understand what has made other companies successful, and don't try to invent that yourself.
How To Improve Tech Diversity?
Mike Schwartz: Last question. As you've might noticed, there aren't enough women in the tech business, including there haven't been enough women on my podcast, so thank you for joining. What can we do to reverse that trend?
Kathryn Erickson: I think there's a lot that we can do. as You are on the side of making mistakes, just try things, and if it's not the right thing or if it doesn't work, try something else. We're going to do a program at DataStax, you know, Jumpstart, if you're a woman or a person of color, and you want to learn Cassandra, and you don't know where to start, just hit the button, sign up. Somebody from the team will meet with you for 30 minutes and help you get started. That might work, that might fall flat, but we're going to just start trying stuff. And I think everyone should just start trying the ideas that they have, and we should all tell each other what's working.
How'D You Get Started?
Mike Schwartz: How did you get started in the tech industry?
Kathryn Erickson: Well, my dad taught Computer Science, Community College, and I was going to be a DNA researcher. And I just wasn't very good at it, and I thought, "You know what dad's over Computer Science, we've been playing with computers all of our lives." That sounds more like playing then working, it's been that way ever since. It feels more like playing than working every day,
Mike Schwartz: That's great. Thank you so much for joining us today, Kathryn, and sharing your insights. And best of luck at DataStax.
Kathryn Erickson: Sure. Thank you.
Mike Schwartz: Thanks to the DataStax PR team for helping us to schedule some time with Kathryn.
Editing by Ines Cetenji. Transcription by Marina Andjelkovic. Cool graphics by Kamal Bhattacharjee. Music from Broke For Free, Chris Zabriskie and Lee Rosevere.
Next episode we're excited to have Cornelia Davis, author of Cloud Native Patterns, a Manning book that needs to be on every software architect's bookshelf. She's also the CTO of Weaveworks. She was fantastic, so don't miss it. Until next time, thanks for listening, and stay safe.
Episode 55 – Miguel Valdés Faura, CEO and Co-Founder of Bonitasoft
Episode 54: Justin Borgman, CEO of Starburst, the Company Behind the Presto Project
Episode 53: Hasura – A GraphQL Data Middleware Startup; interview with Co-Founder Rajoshi Ghosh
Episode 52: Melissa Di Donato, CEO of SUSE
Episode 51: Cloud Native Agility, Reliability and Stability with Weaveworks CTO Cornelia Davis
About Open Source Underdogs
Open Source Underdogs is the podcast for entrepreneurs about open source software. In each episode, we interview leaders from successful open source software companies and bring their stories to you!
© 2019 Open Source Underdogs
Episode 55 – Miguel Valdés Faura, CEO and Co-Founder of Bonitasoft December 2, 2020
Episode 54: Justin Borgman, CEO of Starburst, the Company Behind the Presto Project October 27, 2020
Episode 53: Hasura – A GraphQL Data Middleware Startup; interview with Co-Founder Rajoshi Ghosh October 12, 2020
Episode 52: Melissa Di Donato, CEO of SUSE August 25, 2020


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2016 burst the VR hype bubble — Epic's Tim Sweeney thinks that's not a problem
By Adi Robertson@thedextriarchy Dec 28, 2016, 11:31am EST
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Epic Games is still working on its first full-length virtual reality game: an arcade shooter called Robo Recall for the Oculus Rift. But the studio best known for Unreal Tournament and Gears of War has already made a huge impact on VR through its popular Unreal Engine, which is being used to create games like space simulator Adrift and Myst successor Obduction.
Last year, Epic CEO and co-founder Tim Sweeney predicted that between three and five million VR headsets would be sold in 2016, calling it the "most revolutionary change that's happened in the history of computing." While nobody has exact numbers for the first wave of consumer VR headsets, sales seem to have been lower than expected for some. But Sweeney remains a prominent supporter of the medium, which he says is just getting started.
Now that people no longer have huge hardware launches to look forward to, what should we expect from the next year in VR? How should early VR developers, who have jumped on board a nascent platform where sales are often scant, support themselves? As VR reflects more of our physical bodies, will this humanize our online relationships, or will we still find ourselves boxed in by hostility? We asked Sweeney these questions and more about how VR will shape up in 2017.
Interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Did virtual reality live up to your expectations of where it would be this year?
Yeah, you know, I think it's been a big success among early adopters. I'd compare this to the first year of the personal computer industry, in which a grand total of 23,000 personal computers were sold. Virtual reality is a completely new market with no precedent. And so we've always expected it to grow slowly, especially in this early stage, as developers are learning the ropes of it.
I think what's happening this year is, we're building a foundation of almost a million really hardcore, dedicated VR gamers and tens of thousands of VR developers, which will grow by a factor of three or four every year for the next five to seven years, until we eventually reach a billion users with VR and augmented reality. So I think it's a good start.
How do we set expectations for the next year, now that the hardware hype has died down after all 2016's headset launches?
I think all developers are making early investments in VR right now, and they're building up products, ideas, names, and brands that will be incredibly valuable as VR grows. They're not making a lot of money — I think there are some small VR development teams that are paying their costs by releasing small VR apps on Steam, and that's a great way to get started. I think really what we're looking at now is forward investment that's going to pay off really big as there are tens of millions of VR units adopted. And right now it's a time for invention rather than profiting.
In the meantime, how should developers stay afloat? There are definitely independent developers who have been sort of disheartened by how little money they've been able to make.
"Right now it's a time for invention rather than profiting."
Well, I think there are lots of sources of project funding available. I think Oculus is one; I hear rumors that Valve is also giving developers grants to help build their apps. Epic is giving out Unreal developer grants to worthy projects using the Unreal engine. And there are also the possibilities for early VR game developers funding their early VR efforts by consulting, and other projects with the other industries that are adopting VR. There's going to be huge industry-wide adoption of VR outside of the game industry, and I think there's a neat opportunity for game developers who are proven as great 3D content creators to participate in that as a way of providing early funding.
It seems like there are at least two distinct parts of the VR entertainment ecosystem. There's live-action and animated film VR, and game VR. Do you see those merging more?
I think they are merging. If you look at the absolute best storytelling experiences, like Oculus's Henry demo, it's not completely like a movie, because there are parts of the demo where the action will wait until you look in the right area so that you don't miss what's happening. There are also parts of the demo where the characters will look at you and make eye contact with you wherever you are, and it's something that couldn't happen with a pre-recorded linear medium. And if you look at [VR] survival horror games, they're kind of a hybrid between a game and a movie. I think the most interesting things happening in VR are going to be somewhere in between what you call a traditional game and what you call a traditional movie.
If VR is starting with "hardcore gamers" as its core base, a small number of them have been very critical of anything they see as not being game-like enough. Is that a problem going forward?
"It's necessary for VR to start with an early adopter audience that's highly engaged, and I think that means gamers."
I think that will change over time as the audience widens. I think it's necessary for VR to start with an early adopter audience that's highly engaged, and I think that means gamers. They're the ones who have the high-end hardware and the expertise and the patience to sort through the uncertainty of it all. But I think over time, more and more of those transitional experiences in between games and movies are going to get more traction. And even if a hardcore gamer doesn't like it, when they bring over their real-world friends to try out different VR experiences, I think they'll find their friends like those things and are much more open to them than maybe even the gamers themselves.
My father, who is 86 years old, has a Samsung Gear VR device, and he's tried a lot of things. He's never played a VR game, but he's done a lot of these interactive movie experiences and found them quite interesting.
How do you think that VR games are going to change the way games fit into people's lives? I spend shorter sessions playing a physically active game like The Climb, for example, than a console shooter. I can't sit next to my husband and play some games because I'll accidentally hit him.
Well, that's evolving quickly. Right now, VR games are for the most part a solitary experience. It seems almost anti-social. But the next step with the VR hardware is to have cameras pointing in toward your face and out to pick up your body motion, and picking up all of your facial and body motion and being able to replicate it in real time over the internet to other VR users.
And so I think in a few years we're going to see a very rapid emergence of social VR experiences that are incredibly compelling, that enable you to get together with friends and do things that are completely impossible in the real world. I think it's going to change really rapidly over time, and we can't really predict all of the ramifications of it, but I think it's going to be a much more positive social experience than a multiplayer game today, where you can't really convey your emotions.
There are a lot of people you don't want to interact with online, though. The more self-expression people allow in multiplayer games, the more toxic and hostile people often seem to get. How is VR going to deal with that?
"VR might be something that's humanizing, as opposed to forums and multiplayer games today being dehumanizing."
Well, both multiplayer games and online forums have this property of virtual anonymity. Other people can't really see you, they don't really know who you are. And so the sort of social moderating mechanisms in real life, and your desire not to offend people around you, don't really adjust. I think that's the root of the toxic behavior.
Once your VR avatar really looks like you, and people can see you, and you can see them and their faces and emotions, I think all of the normal restraining mechanisms will kick in. If you insult somebody and you see that they have a sad look on their face, then you're going to feel really, really bad about that. And you're probably not going to do it again.
And so I think VR might be something that's humanizing, as opposed to forums and multiplayer games today being dehumanizing. But I think we also have to consider that with VR, the experiences may be so intimate that you will choose instead of playing with random strangers on the internet to only play with people you know.
So far, harassment has definitely still been an issue in VR social spaces. Is that just because the technology's not advanced enough, or is it a fundamental problem?
That's a good question. I think that's one of the big burning questions of the day that nobody really knows the answer to. But in AltspaceVR and Pool Nation and other apps, you see the other player's head positions and hand positions and rotations, and that's all. I think as soon as you can actually see the human emotional reactions, that may change the equation really significantly.
Do you think there was common wisdom about VR that we got really wrong over the last few years?
For the most part, I think the software predictions were pretty solid. Everybody recognized very quickly that the type of entertainment experiences that work well in VR are not going to be exactly the same as the genres of games that are popular today.
I think the only [wrong] thing some pundits were predicting was that in the first year VR would sell many millions of units, and of course that didn't happen. And that causes some people to say "Oh, VR has failed, it's not going anywhere." But I think what really matters with VR isn't the smallness of the starting point, but the exponent it grows by every year. Because if it doubles and triples every year, it's not going to matter that it's small today. In a few years, it's going to be huge.


Fagaras mountains are part of the Carpathian mountain chain located in Romania. Fagaras mountains are by far the most impressive mountains in Romania, the highest point being Moldoveanu Peak at 2544 m.
To explore the hidden natural beauty of the Romanian mountains tourists have multiple access routes. Arrived in Romania, the tourists can pick a route to the mountains, either by car from Sibiu or Brasov cities, or by train. There have been built many guesthouses and lodges at the foot of the mountain and along the valleys of the Fagaras where tourists can stay the night. Some of the most popular inns where people chose to stay in the mountains is Valea Sambetei Inn which is located at the entrance in the massif. Podragu Inn is situated in the Podragu Valley can be found by tourists who want to rest while climbing the mountain, at 2136 m. This inn offers a great opportunity for exploration of the area at this height, and also visiting the Podragu Lake which is a very beautiful experience.
Visiting the mountains should always be done with proper equipment. The weather in the Romanian mountains above 1800 m is very cold. Winters are long and very cold in the mountains. The coldest month is January with -9°C. The warmest temperatures are peaking at a highest average of 25°C in July. People are usually advised to take a tent, proper clothes, a sleeping bag, boots for trekking, winter hat, gloves, and a burner and gas bottle. Also to take food and a map of the mountain, because there is low chance to find a place to buy one in the massif.
Camping and hiking are very popular in the Fagaras mountain. Popular camping areas are at the Avrig, Caltun, Capra, Podragu and near the touristic refuges. There are springs of fresh water near the lakes. The hiking tracks reveal very beautiful views of the surroundings and the mountains. Climbing is also very popular and easier to do since the mountain doesn't have tall walls, but tourists definitely need to bring their own climbing equipment.
Shops are rarely found in the mountains, so make sure you get everything you need beforehand. Souvenirs and some food can be found at Balea lake, but also in Brasov, Sibiu and other big cities that are close to Fagaras mountain.
Romanian mountains are such a beauty and everyone who visited them was impressed by their beauty and wilderness. Next time you want to go to the mountains, put Fagaras on your list. You won't be disappointed.


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text:
package iso20022

// Communication device number or electronic address used for communication.
type OtherContact1 struct {

	// Method used to contact the financial institution's contact for the specific tax region.
	ChannelType *Max4Text `xml:"ChanlTp"`

	// Communication value such as phone number or email address.
	Identification *Max128Text `xml:"Id,omitempty"`
}

func (o *OtherContact1) SetChannelType(value string) {
	o.ChannelType = (*Max4Text)(&value)
}

func (o *OtherContact1) SetIdentification(value string) {
	o.Identification = (*Max128Text)(&value)
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
June 2020 Visa Bulletin – Significant Forward Progress for EB-1 India and EB-3 Generally
Click here to view June 2020 Visa Bulletin.
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) published the Monthly Visa Bulletin for June 2020, which most notably showed significant forward progress for EB-1 India as well as EB-3 and Other Workers for all chargeability areas, along with minor forward progress across the remaining backlogged preference categories and chargeability areas.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed on its website that beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions should use the "Final Action Dates," or "priority dates," rather than the "Dates for Filing," when filing adjustment of status ("green card") applications during the month of June.
Please refer to the chart here for the specific updates reflected on June 2020 Visa Bulletin.
Beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant petitions who may become eligible to file adjustment of status applications in June should initiate the process of filing soon with their Foster immigration attorney.
Foster LLP will continue to track immigrant visa availability and provide updates about any developments via Immigration Updates©, articles and blogs on our website at www.fosterglobal.com.


01 My Jewish mom? Stoneware! | ARISE! LET US BE GOING!
← Homily 2019 03 21 My child: Stay in hell!
01 My Jewish mom? Stoneware!
Mom has a very mysterious personal history. I know only very little. As far as I know, she was officially Catholic before I was born. Everything points to her being born and raised Jewish. And even as I conjecture that to be the case, recent condemnations of her from someone are ringing in my ears. That person has enlisted the help of others through the years and right throughout the country to attack my understanding that she is Jewish.
I'd like to present a rather nostalgic series on mom, highlighting this or that indication of her Jewishness. I'm told that I will fail before I even begin, that nothing can be proven, that it is all futile, that I am foolish, that it doesn't make any difference anyway (for one), that this needs to involve eugenics (for another), that this must mean that mom is… (and this is where violent condemnations come into play for yet another).
This is a quest, of course, for my own family identity, something I cherish. I invite you to come along for the ride in the detective work.
Let's start with that which is mundane, white stoneware with two blue stripes. That was mom. There were a number of occasions through the years that she ever so nostalgically, reflectively, thoughtfully mentioned to me that this style was her favorite style of stoneware, going out of her way to – out of the blue – bring my attention to this or that artistic piece, as if she wanted to say more, and using these as a conversation starter. It had to be roughly white. Heavy. Solid. With two blue stripes, two mind you. It didn't go without notice. I remember occasions when she did this, in the living room / dining room / office of the house I grew up in after we moved from when I was one year old until I was twelve years old. The same stoneware followed in a move outside of town, and then again with another move into a suburb just before both mom and dad died.
When I was older and knew something of the world, I mentioned to her that the double blue stripe on white on rough and heavy stoneware reminded me of the Israeli flag. That immediately put her into a gentle, quiet, reflective mode and, though agreeing, she didn't expand on this, being ever so subtly evasive. I knew there was more to the story. Once she almost told me something, taking me from the stoneware in one room over to a hand painted portrait of her mom in another room. But then she fumbled for words, looking wistfully at the portrait in its antiqued frame. Yes, thought I, there's more to this story.
I am breaking my lenten fast from the internet to tell you you are not alone. My mother had the same "thing" for white and two blue stripes, as well as my aunt. It would show up all over the house. stoneware, linens, clothes. I, myself, preferred white sneakers with two blue stripes. Now one must ask, why were they able to find all these items with two blue stripes, anyway?
Of course, Mother Teresa of Calcutta had the same preference: her choice of two blue stripes for her order's uniform was even challenged by Israel! But her choice was made years before they chose the theme for their flag, I understand. I would say (as Father G put it) that these are common strands in the tapestry of God.
That some are so set against your mother's history being known suggests there is something important to know. I look forward to hearing more about her.
Fr George – there is a website which gives a world map showing where various surnames are most common. Not foolproof obviously but if you were to type in your mum's maiden name it might reveal a clue.
I did this with my mother's maiden name which she always believed was German (and consequently was not happy in revealing it!) and discovered it was most prevalent in Switzerland.


Do you know what kind of selfishness of women turns men off? The things in the list below are totally understandable for girls as what they would do "because I like him!" But, it is a big burden for him, so it is a scary difference of view that might lead a sudden end of a relationship.
Unless you realize fundamental parts of the reasons why this difference occurs, you are going to keep making the same mistakes and that might make it harder for you to get married. In other words, as long as you know them, you can build a happy relationship.
The base of the selfishness is your childhood desires that weren't fulfilled.
It is not unusual for kids to be selfish. Parents train and teach those animal-like kids how to live in the society as a person, but the parents are human too, so it could be hard to come face-to-face with their kids every time.
Everyone has the experience that you acted up wanting something and were told no and scolded. Because the kids don't want to get scolded, they start to stop being selfish gradually, but the frustrations they felt stay and get pushed in the back of their minds.
When you become an adult who can do anything freely, you unknowingly try to work off your childhood frustrations. Also, you want the person you love the most to fulfill the desires… From this viewpoint, let's take at look at the list.
She doesn't apologize even if she is wrong.
She gets mad if the present is not expensive.
She tells me to come immediately!
She tells me to contact her everyday.
She gets mad if I don't act the way she wants.
In addition to these, there are other things that would really trouble your boyfriend if you tell him, such as "Which is more important between your work and me?" "Please buy that for me," "Do you like me? How much?" "Don't talk to other girls," and etc. Probably, this would ring a bell for many people.
All of these are methods to measure his love for you, right? Well, isn't it totally same as what you were doing to your mother? Isn't your "want to be loved" an extension of being selfish as a child wanting someone who can be a substitute of your mother?
But it's okay. If you can realize that, you are already seeing the path to the real happiness with him.
Once you realize that the selfishness that is troubling your boyfriend is coming from your childhood frustrations, you can start to build your true matured love then.
The first step is to comfort the little you. If your request for him to "text me everyday!" was turned down, try to think about it as if you were a mother listening to a young girl.
How would you, the mother of this little girl, listen to her complain, "○○ doesn't text me, even though I want it every day"? Perhaps, you would put your hands on her shoulders and want to lead her to the right path.
"I see. That's sad. Wouldn't it be great if he texted you. But, I don't think ○○ is not texting you because he wants to be mean to you. If he has something he has to do, he can't text every day, right?
If △△ (You) is texting all the time without doing what I asked for, then I would get mad. And, if ○○ keeps asking you to text him while you are working hard, then don't you think you won't feel good about it?
Actually, if he said he would wait because △△ was busy, wouldn't you like him more?
If you could realize you were not being reasonable, you have passed the selfishness already. By remembering what "the mother" said, you can stop yourself before making the same mistakes.
If you couldn't stop yourself, you just need to think about it as "the mother" to see what went wrong.
Thus, you as a mother who wants to love her kid, love you who wanted to be loved, again. Then, you will understand how your actual mother who was busy felt and your childhood frustrations would be worked off little by little.
Actually, regardless of what kind of an adult you are, for both men and women, we all live with the frustrations. By doing the things mentioned above, not all the frustrations can be worked off, but you can accept your partner's childishness if you have that experience.
Once you understand that, the ways to both love and be loved would change. You are not the only one who wants to be comforted. So does he. If you give the comfort to him first, you will be the person he can trust the most in the world.
However, what you should not forget is that you and your partner are equal. You can't just be a mother. He needs to be a father too. It means you depend on him when you can.
You might get worried if depending on him is same as being selfish but don't worry. It is not the same because you've become the mother already.
If his girlfriend who is a saint always accepting his desires, depends on him this time, then he would accept her more generously. He is a man after all. Men naturally think that they want to protect women, so he would try to be the father hard enough to make you laugh.
If he can't do it and is just going back to be a child, then you should just let him go. He is not a much of a man as we call it.
The relationship where both of you can accept the childishness and comfort each other, is strong. You can strengthen the real bonds between you and him and you will want to stay together forever. And, the marriage will be very happy one. Don't you want to have a talk once with the little you about where the "I want to be loved" is coming from?


"The Pope" D'Angelo Dinerovia Twitter was told about an article naming him as the most underused wrestler in TNA Wrestling. He responded, "Thanks again, but SERIOUSLY, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Pope is underused...... Or does it??"
It seems that technology has it covered when it comes to health. Obviously, you guys, for a few years now, have been accelerating those uninsured discounts. Each state and their respective cities are based on six criteria.The Six CriteriaThe Well Being Index, which began in January 2008, is based on six criteria.
Additionally, all blood donors are automatically entered to win a variety of other delicious prizes.Potential blood donors can volunteer beginning at age 16 with a parent's consent, and 17 year olds can give independently. Because the only thing that's important for someone like me, who will be dedicating his life to serving his country, is that my government lets me waste away until I become a shell of my former self..
Good morning, everyone, and welcome the Health Net, Inc., Second Quarter 2013 Conference Call. That is why many herbal remedies and all natural products are generally not supported my most of the medical industry. In 1994, he became Chief Executive Officer of Esso Benelux, a large Exxon affiliate in Europe.


The Gathering Place-Chicago – Presence. Love. Power.
We are a church committed to the Presence, Love, and Power of God. It is our mission to create an environment where people can experience the Presence of God in our community. We believe that when someone experiences God's presence, they will encounter God's love through Jesus Christ. Through that love, they will experience the Power of God.


Dogs Bite Decatur Al: CINCINNATI OH - LET'S REVISIT THIS PIT BULL ATTACK: TAMMY TUCKER RAISED HER DOGS FROM PUPPIES AND SLEPT WITH THEM - SHE HIRED A TRAINER WHEN THEY BIT HER THE FIRST TIME - THEY ALMOST KILLED HER THE 2ND TIME!
CINCINNATI OH - LET'S REVISIT THIS PIT BULL ATTACK: TAMMY TUCKER RAISED HER DOGS FROM PUPPIES AND SLEPT WITH THEM - SHE HIRED A TRAINER WHEN THEY BIT HER THE FIRST TIME - THEY ALMOST KILLED HER THE 2ND TIME!
CINCINNATI (Deb Dixon) -- Dogs that were raised from puppies and even slept with their owner nearly killed her.
Police had to kill one of Tammy Tucker's pit bulls to stop the attack. A move Tammy says saved her life. Local 12's Deb Dixon talked with her as she recovers from one of the most severe maulings the University of Cincinnati Medical Center has ever seen.
Tammy Tucker doesn't know what set the three dogs off. She was attacked by the pit bull mix dogs in a sort of feeding frenzy Sunday after she started the mower.
"Every time I can still see face and mouth on my leg, and mouth licking lips with blood all over him they were eating me like a toy," Tucker said.
Neighbors and Tammy's son tried to beat the dogs away. When two police officers got to the yard, Tammy told them to shoot to kill. Officers fired into the ground and two dogs let go. The third didn't until he was shot and killed. Tammy says after she was bitten a year and a half ago she followed expert advice to identify triggers for the aggression.
"I didn't want to kill them, I wanted to change myself but here it was the dogs," she said.
Two of the dogs in on the attack have been put to sleep. Blood vessels, tissues and muscles were torn from Tammy's arms and legs. Tammy says she doesn't want to come back to the yard where she was nearly killed. Tuesday she met the officers she believes saved her life.
"If it weren't for them I wouldn't be here," she said.
Tammy's doctor says it's too early to tell if there will be permanent damage from the injuries.