The lens is composed of 16 lenses in 10 groups including one super ED lens and two ED lenses, reducing chromatic aberration and achieving excellent image quality. Especially, super ED lens is used to reduces the fluctuations in chromatic aberration depend on the shooting distance. It enables to shoot minimum 1.4m close focus, maximum 0.22 x magnification ratio, and tele-macro shots with large bokeh effects.
The lens is equipped with a powerful five-stop image stabilization function (CIPA guidelines). This allows photographers to make maximum performance of the GFX's high image resolution even when taking telephoto shots where image shake might be obvious.
The lens' functionality includes a focus limiter to enable faster autofocus speed by restricting focus range, focus pre-set for memorize focus settings previously set into the lens, and 4 focus control buttons located at the lens front enable to operate focus lock or autofocus.
* An upgrade to the GFX50S firmware is required to operate the focus pre-set function and focus control buttons.
This functionality is included in the new version of the GFX50S firmware that will be released at the same time.
The linear motor to drive the focus lenses achieves high-precision, silent, and fast autofocus operation. In addition, the lens also now includes a new mechanism for fixing the linear motor position when turning the power off or playback, allowing the focus lens to be fixed.
The lens barrel is made with a magnesium alloy, ensuring both robust structural integrity and a light weight. Sealing has been applied to the lens in 18 different locations for dust and weather resistance and the ability to operate at temperatures of down to -10°C. A fluorine coating is also applied to the front lens element to repel water and dirt under tough outdoor situations.
Fujifilm is simultaneously launching the 1.4x teleconverter (GF1.4X TC WR) which allows for telephoto shooting at a focal length of 350mm (approximately 277mm in 35mm format equivalent) while maintaining superior image quality. The maximum aperture is reduced by one F stop. As both the lens and the teleconverter are high quality, there's hardly any deterioration in MTF when the teleconverter is attached.


We regret to announce that GarfieldPosters.com will be closing for good November 28, 2016.
Garfield thanks you from the bottom of his stomach. Shop for other cool stuff at http://garfield.com/shop or http://www.garfieldcollectibles.com Also check out all of our mobile apps at http://garfield.com/apps and fun games at http://garfield.com/games .


Quiksilver's Young Gun Instagram Challenge is well underway. Judges Kanoa Igarashi and Leonardo Fioravanti have whittled down all the frothed-out groms' entries to the final eight. Now it's up to you to vote on who will make it to the next round–details on how to vote are in Quiksilver's Instagram post below.
The three surfers with the most votes, along with one selection from the final eight chosen by the judges, will head to the Surf Ranch for a shot at the $10,000 prize.
It's official: here are your eight #YGSurfContest semifinalists, hand-picked by @lfioravanti and @kanoaigarashi. Congrats @samuel_pupo, @callummrobson, @noahbeschen, @_kianmartin, @justinbecret, @jettschilling, @marco_mignot and @mateusherdy! The catch? Only four will make it to the final at the Surf Ranch. From June 25 – July 2, we'll be dedicating a day to each of the semifinalists on our Instagram story. You, the public, will be able to use Instagram's poll feature to vote to send a Young Gun to the final. (Note: the poll will feature two options and both options will count as a "yes" vote — there is no such thing as a "no" vote.) After every Young Gun has been featured, the three with the highest amount of votes will go to the Ranch along with a fourth wildcard selected by Leo and Kanoa. So, who's it going to be? Hit our story next week and let us know.


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text:
Lehnhoff's Beautiful Take on Parsifal
Where to start. I've had this DVD set for a few years now and keep coming back to it as my Parsifal of choice. First off, Matti Salminen is simply terrific as Gurnemanz. While the voice may be a hair less gorgeous than 20 years ago it is wanting for nothing. Salminen remains a formidable stage presence and his grasp of Gurnemanz is complete. Even a slight grandiosity and arrogance in Act I cannot diminish the role's sincerity. Even as he watches the Grail Ceremony this Gurnemanz gives off an aura of superiority - even over Amfortas and Titurel. His transformation in the third act - fervent, wise fervor and in his wisdom, possessor of a truly inspiring humility and sense of order. It is a miracle of a performance . . . just amazing from every aspect.
Christopher Ventris is the most remarkable Parsifal I've encountered and plays him exactly how I've always felt the role should be played. This Parsifal is a wild child/animal boy in the extreme and Ventris looks terrific in his amalgamation of skins, sticks, enormous leather breeches, face paint and thick-as-rope coils of dreadlocks. Initially I had reservations about his sound - light textured . . . almost boyish - but my, oh my how this singer captures this character in every nuance and gesture, facial expression and body language and movement. Indeed Ventris's rare physicality almost defines the role in its totality. Where most Parsifals in the Act I Grail ceremony are directed to remain still and out-of-the-way, this Parsifal is climbing over every surface of the stage, examining everything and everyone: entranced, amazed and full of awe at the wonderment of all he is experiencing. I can't imagine Ventris's Parsifal being bettered.
Later, following "The Kiss" we witness Parsifal's shock and Ventris makes it a palpable experience of shared epiphany. All is made clear and he knows what he must do and the direction life now takes him. This is, of course, all there in Wagner's score, but Ventris, almost more than any Parsifal I've heard or seen, gets this across and it's an emotional, cathartic moment.
I've always felt that after his feet have been washed in humility by Kunrdy, Parsifal must remain barefoot for the balance of the opera. Too many Parsifals (including the Met's) don him in kingly/priestly garb, and I find this the wrong direction for this character. I've always believed Parsifal should be almost bared at this point - bringing a true sense of humility and openess as the realm of the Grail moves into another dimension, another "being." That Ventris, stripped of armor, and barefoot enters the temple and performs the rites this way is EXACTLY right! (Siegfried Jerusalem's early Bayreuth Parsifal in the late 70's also remains barefoot for the ceremony).
Waltraud Meier knows Kundry better than any singer alive. It might even be called her signature role. While the very top of the voice can be a little wild - tight and constricted - it is only those notes - which she still can it. Actually the upper range of her voice works well and, as already stated, she knows what this character is all about.
A giant giant eggshell/cocoon apparatus comprises the first part of Kundry's costume which dominates and then transmogrifies throughout Act II. Next is an 18th century looking gown, which leaves her inert and unable to move - which is finally shedded revealing a simple (and sweat stained) shift laying Kundry down to her bare essence. Powerful, powerful imagery.
Tom Fox's Klingsor is creepy, larger than life - almost Kabuki in its intensity. Suspended - balanced in some bizarre glass circle above the stage it lends a really sinister air to the proceedings.
Thomas Hampson is just a touch light of voice for Amfortas - but for once, it doesn't matter a whit. He is inside this role and I couldn't keep from crying at the torture - this eternal night of woe this King must endure. Hampson brings a sense of tragic horror to the role that adds yet another layer to this complex character. His sense of wonder and release, finally able to die at peace, released from the curse of his wound is profoundly moving.
I found myself crying - as I have since my first Parsifal at 14 years old. But this time by the end I was sobbing out loud. I probably would have held it together seeing this in the theatre, or in the company of others, but I'm glad I got to watch this all by my self and fall apart just as this work demands of me.
Nagano leads such a magnificent performance with nuances and shading that are rare indeed, not just in Parsifal, but in any work. The responses from the chorus and orchestra - the differences between even pianos and pianissimos is astonishing and add a gauze like delicacy in sections that make the score all the more moving.
I usually prefer my Kundry to die. I don't think it's a Victorian "judgment" call - it's what she wants. It's what she's waited for for centuries. Release and to sleep without waking.
I like the direction Lehnhoff takes this production. There is a sense of having to move on to keep the brotherhood of the Grail alive. We can sense the fetid stagnation of the present condition of the Knights. In the Act I ceremony the contrast between Parsifal - so youthful, so alive - with the Knights grey and stiff, could not be more vivid. Yet, the Grail sustains them still and the beauty of the ritual remains evident and enthralls Parsifal - even without his understanding.
Kundry does not die here, but rather leads Parsifal, and eventually we see the Knights, one-by-one following them down abandoned railroad tracks into the unknown, a procession into another realm, another order as Wagner's postlude offers promise, hope and redemption. An utterly beautiful ending which makes great dramatic and philosophical sense.
How special and rare it is to experience a production of so familiar a piece that continues to work on such a cathartic and profoundly emotional level - yet equally challenges and stimulates the mind as to its meanings.
This is easily one of the finest, best produced and most satisfying opera on DVD I possess.
Labels: Baden Baden, German Opera, Lehnhoff, Meier, Parsifal, regietheatre, Salminen, Ventris, Wagner

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
	#define USER_SETTINGS_DATABASE_H

#include "ObjectStream.h"											// Base class

class UserSettingsDatabase: public ObjectStream {

public:

	// Our constructor.
	UserSettingsDatabase(
		CString* pExecutablePath
	);
	~UserSettingsDatabase();

	int Initialize();

	wchar_t* GetDatabaseName()
	{
		return ( L"User settings database" );
	}

	////////////////////////////////
	// VERSIONING FUNCTIONS
	//
	// This database class does not currently implement
	// versioning.
protected:
	bool	UpdateOldObjects() { return true; }
	uHuge	GetCurrentFileVersion()	{ return 1; }
	//
	////////////////////////////////

protected:
	friend Persistent;

	// This is required for class registration/reindexing.
	Persistent* NewObject(
		ClassID classid
	);

	bool GetHeaderKey(
		uByte** ppKey,
		uShort* pKeyBytes
	);
	bool GetObjectKey(
		uByte** ppKey,
		uShort* pKeyBytes
	);

};

#endif	// USER_SETTINGS_DATABASE_H

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The announcement here by Mr. Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, followed an emotional 72-hour stretch.
On Monday, Mrs. Edwards reported pains to her doctor and learned that her cancer might have returned. On Tuesday, Mr. Edwards cut short a trip in Iowa to fly back on a charter plane. The couple, alone, went to the University of North Carolina hospital on Wednesday for a daylong battery of tests that confirmed the diagnosis.
The tests completed, the Edwardses summoned a handful of aides to the living room of their home near here at 6 p.m. Wednesday, where Mr. Edwards informed them of the diagnosis and Mrs. Edwards said the campaign would continue unabated, participants said. The session was described as emotional, with several aides fighting back tears.
Across Chapel Hill and back in Washington, Mr. Edwards's aides and supporters reacted to details of Mrs. Edwards's condition — that the cancer, if incurable, was treatable — with deep relief. The news of Mr. Edwards's cutting short his Iowa trip had created anxiety and alarm among his campaign aides and supporters familiar with her earlier battle with breast cancer.
Mr. Edwards's aides said he had not discussed dropping out or suspending his campaign with them. At a midday news conference Thursday, he suggested that in private talks with his wife he had offered to pull out of the race, but she had insisted he stay in.
Mrs. Edwards's doctor said at the news conference that she had metastatic, or Stage 4, breast cancer, meaning that it is in an advanced stage that has spread beyond the breast and lymph nodes, in her case to the bone.
According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, only 26.1 percent of patients with Stage 4 breast cancer live five years or more, but those figures are by nature outdated and do not reflect recent medical advances.
Mr. Edwards said many patients had lived many years, managing their condition in a way he likened to people with diabetes who rely on insulin treatment.
Mr. Edwards's political associates said the decision to continue the campaign was, characteristically of the Edwards family, made by Mr. and Mrs. Edwards alone and then conveyed to his aides. After finishing the medical and political update, the Edwardses instructed staff members to arrange the Thursday news conference before heading to an event that was part of a fund-raising retreat here.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwards spent the morning calling a few friends and supporters to tell them of her illness and his plans to continue the campaign. They arrived about 20 minutes late for the news conference at the Carolina Inn, the Chapel Hill resort where the Edwardses had their wedding reception 30 years ago, and which was also the site for parts of this week's fund-raising retreat.
Facing a wall of cameras and scores of journalists, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards — at times somber, at times emotional and at times even lighthearted —recounted what they had gone through since Mrs. Edwards went to the hospital for an X-ray of a rib she thought she had broken. It was there that doctors spotted something suspicious on another rib that, as Mr. Edwards said, turned out to be cancer.
His announcement capped a morning of intense speculation and news reports — including on the Web site Politico.com — that he would at least suspend his bid for the Democratic nomination.
Some Democrats said Mr. Edwards's decision to continue his bid could pose some risks should his wife's illness worsen and raise questions about his decision to continue campaigning in a race where he has often placed third in polls in an intensely competitive Democratic field.
Mrs. Edwards had a prominent role in his failed 2004 campaign for the president, both as a behind-the-scenes player intimately involved in the management of the campaign and on the trail on behalf of her husband. She was widely viewed as an effective surrogate for Mr. Edwards in 2004, particularly with blue-collar audiences. Since then, her struggle with cancer, chronicled in a best-selling book, "Saving Graces," has raised her profile across the nation and made her a popular and sympathetic symbol of a woman who had survived a bout with cancer.
To a large extent, aides said, her ability to play a similar role in this campaign would depend on the success in treating the disease as well as how difficult it might be to deal with side effects of treatment.
Mr. Edwards's two main Democratic opponents, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, offered expressions of sympathy and support.
The White House spokesman, Tony Snow, a survivor of colon cancer, also expressed his support.
Former President Bill Clinton said he watched the news conference after Mrs. Clinton called him to tell him it was on.
Mrs. Edwards received her original diagnosis of breast cancer at the end of the 2004 campaign, but deferred a public announcement until after the election results came in. Mr. Edwards has said he waited to announce a second bid for the presidency until the couple and her doctors were confident about her recovery.
The couple's son Wade was killed in a car accident in 1996, a fact that several of their friends noted in discussing this latest turn of events.
Several of the current candidates for president, or their spouses, have had their own bouts with serious illness, including John McCain's skin cancer, Rudolph W. Giuliani's prostate cancer and Bill Clinton's heart disease. Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, has multiple sclerosis. In 1992, Paul E. Tsongas, a former Democratic senator from Massachusetts running for president, said he had been cured of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He died five years later.
The diagnosis put to a halt a busy campaign schedule for Mr. Edwards. He was leaving Nevada, Iowa, heading for a meeting with Democratic legislators in Des Moines and a meeting in Altoona when his wife called him to tell that doctors had found "something that looked suspicious in a rib" in her visit on Monday and wanted her to return on Wednesday for more tests. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards spent Wednesday at the hospital, going from test to test.
"The biopsy showed that the cancer had returned; it was malignant," he said.
The couple sat down and told their two younger children about the change in their mother's condition. "They're fairly disappointed, but it doesn't look like I'll lose my hair with the next round of medicine," Mrs. Edwards said at the news conference.
Harrison Hickman, Mr. Edwards's pollster and a family friend for 10 years, said the couple had made the decision to continue the campaign on their own, and that there had been no political or strategy meetings to discuss the issue. Mr. Hickman said he had never taken a poll concerning Mrs. Edwards's health.
Mr. Edwards flew to New York City on Thursday night for a fund-raiser, where he said he felt "great," while Mrs. Edwards went with their two younger children to Boston for dinner with their daughter Cate. They planned to meet Mr. Edwards for a flight to Los Angeles for yet another fund-raiser.
Mr. Edwards is considered a top contender for the presidency. Although he has finished third in some national polls, he is leading in some early polls in Iowa and has distinguished himself in this campaign by offering a comprehensive health care coverage plan and pushing for an end to the war in Iraq.
Mr. Edwards finished second in the Iowa caucuses in 2004, but pulled out after the Super Tuesday primary in March. Senator John Kerry then chose him as his running mate.
Because of an editing error, a front-page article yesterday about the recurrence of cancer in Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of John Edwards, a Democratic presidential candidate, misstated Paul E. Tsongas's political status when he ran for president in 1992 after having been treated for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He was a former senator from Massachusetts, not a senator.
Because of an editing error, a front-page article on Friday about Elizabeth Edwards and her cancer diagnosis gave an incorrect description in some copies for the cancer that afflicted Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, who expressed support for Mrs. Edwards. He had colon cancer, not prostate cancer.
John M. Broder reported from Chapel Hill, N.C., and Adam Nagourney from New York. Patrick Healy contributed reporting from New York.


text:
China's Loss Is Mexico's Gain As Barley Brawl Spills Into Beer
Chinese Steel Mills Hit By High And Rising Costs
China's Xi Jinping Is Really Going To Miss Donald Trump Despite Four Chaotic Years
Samsung Billionaire Heir Jay Y. Lee Sentenced To 2.5 Years In Prison For Bribery
Obama Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Elected Chair Of Top U.S.-China Group Ahead Of Biden Inaugural
Taiwan's Success Battling Covid-19 Has It Ready To Plan A Reopening Of Its Borders
Bad Times For China E-Commerce?
Nickel Soars And Could Keep Flying As Demand Rises And Supply Falls.
Yidu CEO Joins Ranks Of China Healthcare Billionaires And World's Richest Women
Malaysia's Newest Billionaire Automates Factories Around The Globe
Editors' Pick| Nov 17, 2020, 03:00am EST |
Huawei Sells Honor Unit 'To Ensure Its Own Survival,' But Loses Smartphone Synergy
Ralph JenningsContributor
A Huawei Honor store is pictured on November 11, 2020 in Yichang, Hubei Province of China.
Liu Junfeng/VCG via Getty Images
Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant once ranked as the world's largest smartphone maker and increasingly squeezed by Washington, announced Tuesday that it would sell its budget handset brand Honor to a government-backed consortium in a bid for the unit's survival.
Huawei has been struggling to overcome restrictions on crucial chip technologies by the U.S., which calls the company a national security threat. By breaking off, Honor can get smartphone supplies without Washington's blockade, but will lose access to Huawei's resources and may even face new U.S. restrictions in the longer term, analysts warn.
"This move has been made by Honor's industry chain to ensure its own survival," Huawei said in a statement. "Huawei's consumer business has been under tremendous pressure as of late. This has been due to a persistent unavailability of technical elements needed for our mobile phone business."
Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology is set to buy all Honor assets to "help Honor's channel sellers and suppliers make it through this difficult time," according to the statement. The buyer comprises more than 30 "agents and dealers" of the Honor brand.
Government-run Shenzhen Smart City Technology Development Group founded the consortium. It counts local government-linked energy, healthcare and investment firms as members. Chinese sports, retail and entertainment conglomerate Suning.com Group, one of China's largest private companies, is also on the list.
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Shenzhen Smart City Technology Development said in its own statement the investment is "market-driven" one aimed at saving Honor's "industry chain," including suppliers, sellers and consumers.
The sale will let Honor "get the ball rolling" on getting supplies, says Kiranjeet Kaur, a Singapore-based senior research manager at IDC's Asia Pacific client devices group. But it will miss the "synergy" it had established behind the scenes with Huawei, she notes. The two had shared R&D and original design manufacturing. "I'm not sure how easy it's going to be for Honor to detach from that," Kaur says. "I'm not sure how Honor is going to differentiate in the market from Huawei."
The consortium's state influence could land Honor in trouble if it wants approval from the U.S., Kaur adds.
"The fact that there is no strategic investor behind the deal, but rather a consortium of players, many of which are related to the government, sheds light on some of the deal rationale," says Alexander Sirakov, an independent Chinese financial technology analyst.
Huawei has hoped that a sale will give it an infusion of cash while protecting Honor itself from more U.S. sanctions, experts said last week when news first broke about a possible sale. Huawei's billionaire founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, had said last year that U.S. sanctions would cause company revenue to drop by billions of dollars.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei to an entity list of companies that are barred from doing business with organization in the U.S. An order that took effect two months ago placed 38 Huawei affiliates to the list and restricts transactions where U.S. software or technology would help develop the Chinese company's hardware.
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is not expected to cancel action against Huawei at the start of his term next year as he focuses on domestic issues, analysts said last week, but he might not add sanctions.
Huawei's statement does not disclose a selling price or mention the U.S. sanctions.
Honor was launched in 2013 as a budget brand to compete with Chinese rivals and sold throughout developing markets in Asia at an average price of $156. Honor has kept costs low and saved money by selling most of its phones online. Huawei would ship more than 70 million Honor phones annually. "We hope this new Honor company will embark on a new road of honor with its shareholders, partners, and employees," the Huawei statement says.
Huawei was ranked No. 2 in the world and No. 1 in China in the third quarter by IDC. It had reached the top spot in the previous quarter for its first time.
Ralph Jennings
As a news reporter I have covered some of everything since 1988, from my alma mater U.C. Berkeley to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing where I followed Communist
As a news reporter I have covered some of everything since 1988, from my alma mater U.C. Berkeley to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing where I followed Communist officials for the Japanese news agency Kyodo. Stationed in Taipei since 2006, I track Taiwanese companies and local economic trends that resonate offshore. At Reuters through 2010, I looked intensely at the island's awkward relations with China. More recently, I've studied high-tech trends in greater China and expanded my overall news coverage to surrounding Asia.


You only have to see the smiles of residents/club members to understand the significant role volunteers play in people's lives. Think what it's like for you when someone outside of your normal circle takes the trouble to focus on you - you feel important, special and valued. It is no different for our residents and club members.
In one of our homes, a lady who had not spoken or smiled following a stroke several years before, started slowly to respond to the volunteer who popped in and talked to her for 20-30 minutes once a week. No response was expected, she'd been told that it was not personal but that Brenda (not her real name) did not respond to anyone. Imagine the surprise and delight when slowly a smile started to develop on Brenda's face when she walked in the room. Now staff also benefit from that smile.
Club helpers and leaders regularly get told by their members that if it wasn't for the club, they would not speak to anyone from one week to the next! Brendoncare Clubs make a huge difference to the social life of people across Hampshire and in south Dorset and Poole. People, lonely and isolated from their local community, can now have an afternoon out, the chance to meet and talk to people of their own age, have a go at a new activity or game, learn something from a specialist speaker. These clubs make a real difference in people's lives and they are all run by volunteers.
In the care homes, our volunteers often work with the activities coordinators encouraging residents to be active in some way. Quizzes are popular, as are crosswords, crafts and puzzles. Volunteers mean more residents can be involved in each session.
An art class, run by a volunteer with a prestigious talent, is popular in one home. Some residents gain a sense of relaxation from this, for others it is a triumph in concentration. Either way, it is an achievement, as is the sense of pleasure or disappointment over the finished article. It is also something else to talk about.
In another home a volunteer uses her skills to give residents hand massages and manicures. Several grandmothers of the bride or groom have waved and shaken hands happily thanks to a volunteer's care and commitment. The gentlemen are not forgotten, they also get their hands massaged and nails shaped and they gain as much pleasure from this as the ladies. No matter your age, presentation is important and when someone helps you in a practical way like this there is a real sense of being valued.
What ALL the volunteers tell you is that they get far more out of it than they put in!


text:
The Villages Caribbean Sectional-at-Sea with Robert Todd - April 2020
ACBL SILVER Masterpoints®
Lectures with Robert
Open Pairs (stratified) worked around port schedule
Awards Party
Free wi-fi in-room and throughout the ship
Two complimentary evenings at each of two specialty restaurants
In 2010 Robert Todd founded Adventures in Bridge, a group of young talented bridge players with whom he teaches and promotes the game. He teaches in person and online, plays with students from club games to world championships, hosts cruises and destination seminars, and writes for various publications. Robert has twice finished in the top 20 of the Barry Crane list, winning over 1500 masterpoints each of those years, and won the inaugural 0-10,000 Knockout Teams ("Mini-Vanderbilt") at the Dallas NABC.
Alice Travel's bridge cruisers enjoy Robert's spot-on teaching style and his enthusiasm for the game.
Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale
Celebrity Cruises Equinox
ACBL-Sanctioned Sectional #2004368
Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel, George Town (Grand Cayman), Ft. Lauderdale
From $1998 pp
Includes lessons and lectures, tournament play, Awards Party, holiday celebration, shipboard gratuities for steward and main dining servers, Group Travel Protection Plan, current taxes and fees
You must book through Alice Travel to participate in this sailing.
Dec. 21, 2019 - April 4 – Depart Ft. Lauderdale (3:30 PM)
April 5 – Key West, FL (7:00 AM–5:00 PM). Ernest Hemingway made wild and colorful Key West his home. Still unique and still home to modern-day adventurers, artists and poets, the island's charming Old Town teems with restaurants, bars and unique shops. The beautiful sunsets are a cause for nightly celebrations.
April 6 – At sea
April 7 – Costa Maya, Mexico (8:00 AM–5:00 PM). Costa Maya boasts beautiful beaches and a sea ideal for divers and snorkelers who enjoy exploring the rich Banco Chinchorro coral reef that lies just off the coast. History buffs will surely love exploring the lesser-known Mayan ruins, Cacchoben and Kohunlich; there's something for everyone at the exciting new shopping mall.
April 8 – Cozumel, Mexico (7:00 AM–4:00 PM). Located on the largest coral reef in the West, this Caribbean island lures anglers, divers, snorkelers, and beachgoers. Fish the flats or head out to blue water to hunt for big game—mahi-mahi, marlin, sailfish, and more. Shop for beautiful Mexican silver, amber, and other artisanal gifts in San Miguel.
April 9 – George Town, Grand Cayman. (10:00 AM–6:00PM). Capital of the Cayman Islands, this upscale destination offers world-class restaurants, designer boutiques, and duty-free shopping, plus white sand beaches, brilliant blue waters, and teeming coral reefs. It's also home to one of the West Indies' few remaining tropical rain forests.
April 10 – At sea
April 11 – Disembark Ft. Lauderdale
Note: Itineraries are subject to change without notice.
Celebrity Equinox for more excitement, more options … just more! As part of a $500-million fleet-wide modernization, Equinox sports new amenities not available on any other Celebrity ship. Delight in your choice of ten exceptional dining venues. Enjoy craft beer and comfort food in the new Craft Social and sip refreshing frozen cocktails on the pool deck at Slush. A unique experience at sea, feel grass beneath your feet at the relaxing Lawn Club. Every imaginable comfort complimented by Celebrity's unrivaled guest services promises an unsurpassed cruise experience.
Details about the Celebrity Equinox.
Dimensions (sq. ft.): 174
Group Price: $1998
8 Oceanview
2B Verandah
Dimensions including verandah (sq. ft.): 194+54
1C Verandah
C3 Concierge
A2 Aqua
Prices are per person double occupancy. Prices subject to change without notice. Ask Alice Travel about single occupancy rates.
Alice Travel has purchased a Group Travel Protection Plan on behalf of all participants. A copy of the plan document will be provided with the confirmation of your reservation.
In the unlikely event that Robert Todd is unable to travel or attend scheduled functions due to illness or circumstances beyond our control, Alice Travel will not be liable, and no refunds for such inability to travel or attend functions and events will be owed by Alice Travel. Applicable cancellation penalties will apply. Alice Travel will attempt to provide a lecturer of equal caliber.
More in this category: « Robert Todd ACBL Regional - Western Caribbean - March 2020


text:
Why Won't My Husband Lead?
with Dave and Ann Wilson | October 1, 2020
FamilyLife Today hosts Dave and Ann Wilson answer a wife's question about responding to a husband who doesn't lead.
Find resources from this podcast at https://shop.familylife.com/Products.aspx?categoryid=95.
Check out all that's available on the FamilyLife Podcast Network. https://www.familylife.com/familylife-podcast-network/
Have the FamilyLife Today® podcast and resources helped you? Consider becoming a Legacy Partner, a monthly supporter of FamilyLife. https://www.familylife.com/legacy
Dave and Ann Wilson
Dave and Ann Wilson are hosts of FamilyLife Today®, FamilyLife's nationally-syndicated radio program. Dave and Ann have been married for more than 38 years and have spent the last 33 teaching and mentoring couples and parents across the country. They have been featured speakers at FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember® marriage getaway since 1993 and have also hosted their own marriage conferences across the country. Cofounders of Kensington Church—a national, multicampus churc...more
FamilyLife Today hosts Dave and Ann Wilson answer a wife's question about responding to a husband who doesn't lead.
With Dave and Ann Wilson
Bob: Dave Wilson has always been a confident take-charge kind of guy; but early on, leading his family spiritually—that was intimidating for him.
Dave: I felt like I could lead in other areas of my life better than I could lead my wife, spiritually, and my kids, spiritually. Part of it was I was trained as an athlete, so I could walk on a field and feel confident. I got a degree/I went to seminary; I have an understanding—I'm not saying I'm great—but I can preach. I know how to lead a church; I know how to cast vision. I know how—
And then I walk in my back door; and I felt a paralysis, like, "I don't know what to do."
Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Thursday, October 1st. Our hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson; I'm Bob Lepine. You'll find us online at FamilyLifeToday.com. What should a man do if he feels inadequate to lead his family spiritually, and is there anything his wife can do to encourage him? We'll talk more about that today. Stay with us.
And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us. I would imagine, as you talk to wives about frustrations in marriage—about the things that they wrestle with/the things they wish could be fixed, or could be different, or could be better—what we're going to talk about today is probably, if it's not at the top of the list, it's top three; don't you think?
Ann: I think so. After 30 years, I'm amazed that this still rises to the top—
Bob: Yes; yes.
Ann: —of issues that women are so frustrated with and are looking for answers.
Bob: The issue is a wife's frustration when a husband is failing to initiate—to take the lead/to lead the relationship—specifically, to lead it spiritually; but it can just be his failure to lead in general/to be passive; right?
Ann: I sat down with a woman, a couple of weeks ago, and she said, "I'm thinking of filing for divorce." I said, "Tell me what's going on." She said, "I'm married to a good man; he's a good father, but he is the most passive man I've ever met. He doesn't lead spiritually at all. He never wants to initiate anything. I'm always leading the family. When I hear, biblically, what this should look like, it doesn't look like it should; and I'm the one always leading. What should I do?"
Bob: She's thinking, "What I should do is—I should bail."
Ann: She's thinking, "There must be someone else out there that would do a better job."
Bob: The level of discontentedness that comes from a husband's failure to lead spiritually/to lead in general is something that—it's not just an annoyance—this goes to the heart of what we long for in a marriage relationship.
Ann: Right; I don't think all women are to that point of saying, "I might file for divorce"; but I think they're lost in thinking, "What do I do? Can I do anything besides pray for my husband?" So I'm here with two experts. [Laughter]
Dave: No; I was just thinking the opposite; I was thinking, "Okay, honey."
Ann: No! [Laughter]
Dave: Bob and I are sitting here with a wife.
Ann: No; no; no. We're not turning it on me. I'm saying, "Guys, help us to know how to respond."
Dave: Wait; wait—okay; here is my first question then: "What do women want? What do you want from your man in the area of leading spiritually?"
Ann: Well, I think, as women, we hear what it looks like to be a spiritual leader. Maybe, that involves initiating prayer with our family, or some sort of dialogue about God with our kids, or initiating saying, "Hey, kids/hey, honey, let's get ready and go to church,"—instead of a wife saying, "Are we going to church today? Are you going to go with me? Are you going to go with the kids?"—someone who is modeling their pursuit of Jesus.
Bob: Now, you've acknowledged that you had kind of an idealized vision of what that was supposed to look like when you first got married.
Dave: Oh, yes; she did!
Bob: You thought Saint Dave was going to do it a particular way. [Laughter] You had to do some correction to your thinking; because your expectations were—I mean, we talk about Saint Dave—somebody would have to be a saint in order to live up to what were your expectations.
Ann: I think we do that as women. We have a picture of what godly men are doing in their homes. Mine was Dennis Rainey—Dennis would talk; and I thought, "Dennis is leading his family every day in prayer, reading the Scriptures. He's calling them together, and they are all sitting at his feet, saying, 'Dad, teach us,'"—I was hoping Dave would initiate that, at least, some sort of a time with Jesus as a family. Is that not a realistic expectation?
Dave: Well, I mean, first you've got to go back and say, "Is that really what happened in the Rainey household?" [Laughter] The answer is, "No!" I mean, I'm not saying it was bad; but it wasn't that.
Dave: I think a lot of wives do what you did. It's like they glorify or they actually create an unrealistic—
Ann: —expectation.
Dave: —view. They see it [in their mind]; it's not even real. Same thing they do with "I'm going to marry Prince Charming,"—
Dave: —sort of this—
Ann: —romantic.
Dave: —glamorized thing. I think you have to go down and say, "What should it look like?"
But then, as the man, you've got to ask, "Why am I not leading?"
Bob: So with your wife—who is thinking, "My husband is spiritually passive; he never does anything,"—maybe, the first place to start in your conversation with her is: "What is the expectation?" Is that a realistic expectation, and are you expecting him to be more than most men are capable of being?—which is not to say that a guy shouldn't step up and do something—maybe, this guy is doing nothing—but I do think some wives need to have their glorified image adjusted before we get in and start talking about how the man needs to get in shape; right?
Ann: I think that's true.
Bob: Yes; I remember a conversation we had a number of years ago with Elisabeth Elliot when she was still alive. She used an illustration I've never forgotten. She said if you walk up, and there is a guy, who has got on a plain white shirt—a business shirt/dress shirt—but he's had an ink pen in his pocket, and that ink pen has leaked; and there is a quarter-sized purple spot at the bottom of his pocket—she says, "Where do your eyes go, and what do you focus on?" You focus on the spot that's there. She said, "Now, how much of the shirt is still white?"—most of the shirt/99 percent—"but your eyes keep getting drawn to the flaw/to what is wrong."
I think that is another part of this equation, where husbands or wives can become so fixated on the flaws that we see in our spouses, that we fail to remember and to recognize the good things that we've come to take for granted.
Ann: I think you are right, Bob. We can focus on the weaknesses; we see the things that need to change. We do that ourselves, as women; instead of looking at ourselves holistically in the mirror, we look at all the flaws; and we don't see any of the good. It's easy to do that in marriage.
I think, too, especially if you are a stronger woman and a woman that is a leader—and maybe, our husband isn't as strong—we expect him to become this man that is stronger than us. That may never happen.
Dave: I know that—I don't know if you want to bring this up—but I remember, Ann, back before COVID, you said you got a text from a woman in our church that said, "I want to leave my husband; because he doesn't want to go to church, because he doesn't want our kids around this virus."
Ann: "He won't shake hands."
Dave: Yes; he doesn't want to go to church. She's like/Ann just sort of relayed this story—I said, "What are you going to say to her?" Tell them what you said, because I thought it was really beautiful.
Ann: She was looking at the negative; she said, "He's being a bad example to our kids, because he's being unfriendly to other people." What I said was: "Oh, isn't it good that you have a husband, who is being protective of you, who is watching out for you, who is watching out for the kids? Maybe, you approach him in that vein of saying, 'Thank you for being such a protective husband and a protective father.'"
Bob: So, again, we're talking to a wife, who is frustrated about her husband not leading the relationship spiritually. We're saying: "Do you have a realistic expectation? Are you valuing the good things about your spouse?"
The principle we are following here is: "Before you go to try to fix your spouse, have you looked at your own eyes?—the logs that are in your own eyes. Have you gone through a checklist and said, 'Okay; I need to really think this through carefully rather than just jumping on the one thing that's frustrating to me right here'?"
Ann: Let's talk about this: "As men, what motivates you? Maybe, you tend to be more passive, as a man, or not as strong of a leader; how can we, as a wife, motivate you in those areas of leading?"
Dave: Every man is motivated by praise, by affirmation, by appreciation—every woman is, too, actually—but I know that, when you and any wife sort of critiques or is disappointed, and you sort of think, like, "I'm going to be the coach that's going to kick him in the rear-end, and it's going to get him going,"—
Ann: I thought that was helping. Was it not working? [Laughter]
Dave: No; I mean, obviously, there are times where that does work—there are coaches that use that, at times, and it works—but generally, I think, for me, as a man—I can't speak for Bob—but I've talked to a lot of men that feel that demotivates.
Yet, when you praise—I've said this many times—when you started praising who I was, as a man, I actually didn't think I was that good that you were saying I was; but I wanted to be. It motivated me to be the man you said I was that I wasn't yet—[Laughter]—which doesn't make any sense—but it was motivating. Again, I'm not saying every man is motivated that way; but it made me step up.
Ann: I agree with that. Bob, would you?—is that true for you?
Bob: I think it is. I've said, for years, that guys are not going to keep playing a game that they are not any good at. Guy goes out and plays golf three or four times. He goes, "I'm just not getting the hang of this"; he's not going to keep trying to conquer it. He'll just say, "I'm going to go to something that I'm good at."
Well, if he's tried leading his family, spiritually, three or four times, and he just goes, "This does not work at all; I feel like a failure," then he is not motivated to try the fifth time. He just says, "I'm going to try something else; because this, obviously, doesn't work."
If a wife can come along and say, "Here is what I saw in that…"—it's what you did with Dave; you've shared the story on FamilyLife Today about acknowledging the power he had in your sons' lives, and how they listened to him, and how they gravitated. You pointed it out, and you said, "I'm jealous of the power you carry."
Ann: "…the power that you carry."
Bob: When Dave heard that, he goes, "Oh, there is something here that I'm good at"; and you leaned into that.
Dave: For me—and I've talked to enough men to know this is common—I felt like I could lead in other areas of my life better than I could lead my wife, spiritually, and my kids, spiritually.
Ann: Why is that?
Dave: Well, part of it was I was trained as an athlete; so I could walk on a field and feel confident; you know? I know what to do; I know how to read this coverage; I've prepared: "Give me the ball; let's go." I got a degree/I went to seminary; I have an understanding—I'm not saying I'm great—but I can preach. I know how to lead a church; I know how to cast vision. I know how—
And then I walk in my back door; and I felt a paralysis like, "I don't know what to do. I don't know what she wants. Her expectations are way up here. I'm supposed to walk in and be [with powerful voice] Dennis Rainey; you know? [Laughter] And I don't even know what that means; but I hear it all the time." Nobody's really—I don't remember a class in seminary about leading your family—by the way, there should be—
Dave: —so I'm on my own. "Okay; what did my dad do?—oh, he left."—okay; so I don't have that—"What did my pastor do at the church I grew up?—I have no idea." Again, you feel this—
Ann: —inadequate.
Dave: —paralysis. You're scared; because you know there is an expectation—I could feel it at the dinner table—the kids are sitting there; there is Ann, like, "Come on; do your thing." I'm like, "What's my…"
I think, sometimes, fear paralyzes you; so instead of doing the wrong thing, you do nothing. That's like the worst thing; because your wife is like—oh, she's so disappointed.
Bob: We're back to expectations; because it may be that you were not doing nothing—
Dave: Right.
Bob: —but you weren't living up to Ann's idealized view of things. This is where I think a wife needs to look at her husband and say, "Okay; what is he doing? Is he modeling godly character?"
Ann: That's a good point.
Bob: "Is he an honest person?" "Are there things that he is—
Ann: "Is he hard working? Is he providing?"
Bob: Right; can we lean into some of those things and just say, "I'm so grateful that our kids are growing up, seeing somebody, who values hard work,"—
Bob: —or "…who is honest"? This is so important; a lot of kids don't have that.
We've said for years that, as parents, our kids are going to pay more attention to what is caught than what is taught. If parents only had one option: "You can either have devotion times with the kids and do all the formal training—quiet times, all of the/read bedtime stories—but don't model anything spiritually"; that's one option. The other option is: "Don't do any of that stuff but model godliness." If you had to pick one, pick "model godliness"; right?
Bob: Because at the end of the day, that's what's going to make a bigger impact in a child's life. The point is—you don't have one—it's not an either/or; it can be a both/and. I think a wife can acknowledge and validate, "These are the things you are doing that are making spiritual deposits in our kids' lives, and I'm grateful for that."
Ann: I think, too, to have the conversation with your spouse of saying, "What would it look like?—let's dream together of what we want, spiritually, for our family." Is that intimidating if a wife asks that question?
Dave: It depends how.
Dave: If she does it like you just did, that's pretty tender—still a little bit scary for a man to enter that conversation—but I think we had that conversation. What I learned over the years is—you didn't need me to be Dennis. All you said, really, was: "Just lead anyway you want,"—because you finally gave up the: "It's going to look like this,"—and stepped back and said, "It's going to look like the way God's made Dave."
The way God made me was—I want to teach through life. You encouraged me to say, "Well, grab those moments then; because you are good at that. When you're watching TV, or when you're in a moment, just turn it and go, 'Hey, let's go vertical here.'" Hopefully, that's what I'm doing anyway in my life.
I remember—and again, I'm like a lot of guys—I'm like, "Just tell me what to do/just tell me what to do, and I'll do it." I remember doing a Lions' chapel—I don't know; 20-some years ago—and a guy came up after and said, "My wife wants me to lead her spiritually. I don't know what to do." I said, "I know what to do. Here's a devotional,"—it's a daily devotional—"read it with her. There is a little prayer at the end. It'll take you five minutes. Do that every day. This is a tool." I gave him something out of the toolbox.
He did it, and I didn't know he did it. He never said another word about it for several weeks. Then I run into Rebecca, his wife, somewhere; and she goes, "Oh my goodness! Thank you." I go, "What?" "My husband is now leading me spiritually, and it's because you gave him this little devotional book. We do it every night. It's unbelievable; it's changed our entire marriage." I'm like, "Oh, that's good!"
Again, it was just—and what do we have?—FamilyLife® has all kinds of tools. We have The Story of Us, where it's all the speaker couples writing little devos that you can do daily. There is a tool; just take it, guys. I can make a guarantee: "One hundred percent of the wives listening right now are going to say, 'If my husband said, "Let's do this," I'm in.'" I doubt if any of them are going to say, "No; I don't want to do that." They are going to say, "I'm in, because he's going to…"
Small simple way to initiate—that's really what it came down to. You just said to me, "Just initiate. It doesn't have to be a big prayer; it doesn't have to be a long Bible study. All you have to do is just take a step, and we'll all follow." It changed our family.
Ann: It was interesting—I was leading a Bible study with Detroit Lions' wives, probably, around 20 of them. They are all in their 20s and 30s; and one wife said, "It's interesting what we've been doing. Every morning, my husband wakes me up, and we do a YouVersion Bible app devotional together before he leaves for work."
The wives stopped; there was silence, and they were like, "Wait. Wait. Wait. What do you do?" She said, "Yes; it's only takes ten minutes, but we read that together—it's Scripture—then we pray quickly. It's not very long." There was so much jealousy in the room. Yet, all they are doing is reading it together, being intentional of taking the time; but every wife was longing for that.
Bob: You know, I think most guys, when they hear that, they are thinking to themselves, "Okay, I could try that; but honestly, I will feel like a poser and like a fraud if I say to my wife, 'Let's read this devotional.' It's like she's going to be thinking,—
Ann: "What?!"
Bob: —"'Oh, who do you think you are?'"
Ann: Really?
Bob: Sure; we think, "You know me; you know the flaws. You know that I'm not Dennis Rainey."
Ann: "I'm not the initiator."
Bob: Right; so if I do this, you're going to go, "What do you want?" or "This is not…"—
Ann: "How long will it last?"
Bob: Yes; right.
Dave: Although, could it be—and I hope the wife would look at this—and a husband could go the other way—it's like [wife:] "Wait a minute,"—if you said, "Hey, tomorrow morning, I'm getting up; I'm going to start a workout program." It might be like [wife's potential response], "You've never done that before, dude"—but it'd be like [wife's preferred response]—"Wow! That's inspiring; good for you!"
Well, it's the same thing—it's like, "I want our marriage to be different. I'm not very good at this; I've never even done it before, but will you go with me? Let's start a workout program together called Devotions,"—or whatever you want to do—maybe, it's a five-minute/one-minute prayer. Why not aspire to something better and greater than where you are right now?
Ann: Maybe, you start with once a week—
Ann: —if you haven't been doing anything.
Dave: Yes; although you are not going to lose 20 pounds once a week. You're going to have to do it every day. [Laughter] No, three times a week—that's what you need.
Ann: I think, too, for us as women, not to become resentful; because there is a seed of bitterness and resentment that can start to grow that vanquishes your feelings for your husband.
Dave: Let me add this—just one last thought; it just hit me/I was thinking—"Okay; if you think like an athlete, or business person, or whatever, and you want to be the first stringer"—I mean, I was a quarterback. I didn't want to be the backup; I want to be the starter. If I'm the backup, and the starter is better than me, what am I going to do if I want to get that job? Man, when he goes to bed at night, I'm working out. When he's—
Ann: This is Voddie Baucham who says this.
Dave: —I'm watching film; I'm doing whatever it takes to get first place.
I know a lot of guys say, "My wife is more spiritually mature than me. She's probably a better leader than I could be." I'm like, "When she goes to bed, get in the Word," "Get in a small group with guys." If you're like you're not there yet, let's rise to the place and win that job; because it's the job God gave you. Why wouldn't you say, "This is more important than anything else"?
I'm looking at men right now and saying, "Dude, be the starter. You can do it. It's going to take some time and practice. You can do it; and when you take it, your wife is going to fall right behind."
Bob: What did you say to the wife, who said, "I'm frustrated. I want to get a divorce, because he's passive and won't lead our family spiritually"?
Ann: I pointed her to the good things. I also said, "God has made you a natural leader,"—and this probably hurt her feelings a little bit—and I said, "You are a little bit scary. You are so strong that it probably scares him to the point of not knowing what to do, because he's going to be scared he's doing it wrong." I said, "If you could pull back just a little bit. You're a natural leader—if he doesn't pray—pray. If you're going to bed, and you're talking about spiritual things, and he doesn't jump on the page with you, then it's okay. Tell him he's a good man; see the things and say the things that you see that are really great about him."
She went on to say, "He loves Jesus. He just doesn't know how to pursue Him in the way that I do." I said, "It's not going to look like the way you're doing it. It will look different, and that's okay."
Bob: Yes; Dave, you mentioned tools that you recommended to guys. The couples who speak at our Weekend to Remember® marriage getaways have collaborated on a devotional that couples can read once a week together to facilitate a spiritual conversation and have a time to pray together. Now, again, it's once a week; so we're trying to make this as easy and doable for couples as possible. Set your date—plan that every Sunday night or every Thursday morning, whenever you want to do it—you're going to get out The Story of Us devotional, read that week's devotional, spend a little time praying together. That's a step in the right direction.
You can go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, to find out more about The Story of Us devotional. You can order it from us, online; or you can call to order. Then I'd just recommend, guys, read your book, Vertical Marriage. In fact, what I'd suggest is that you read a few pages of that book out loud together as a way, again, to have some spiritual dialogue in your marriage. The book by Dave and Ann Wilson is called Vertical Marriage: The One Secret that Will Change Your Marriage. Go to FamilyLifeToday.com to order copies of the book, or call us at 1-800-358-6329 to order a copy—that's 1-800-"F" as in family, "L" as in life, and then the word, "TODAY."
You know, I sometimes wish our listeners could just spend a couple of days with us listening to some of the phone calls that come in, reading the emails/the letters that we get from people, hearing about the impact FamilyLife Today is having in the lives of people all around the country. There are marriages that are still together because of this program. There are children who are being pointed in a new direction because mom and dad are listening to FamilyLife Today. Those of you who support this ministry—you're the ones making that possible. You're the ones who are providing the practical biblical help and hope that so many couples are looking for today. Every time you donate, you're investing in their marriages and in their families.
If you can make a donation right now to help support the ongoing work of FamilyLife Today, we'd love to say, "Thank you," by sending you a copy of a book written by Heather DeJesus Yates, who joined us this week on FamilyLife Today. It's a book about infertility and adoption and about how God can meet you in the midst of that journey and give you a bigger vision for your life, your marriage, and your family than maybe the one you started out with.
Maybe, you know somebody, who is on that path right now, and you want to get a copy of the book to give to them as a gift. Make a donation to FamilyLife, either online at FamilyLifeToday.com, or call to donate at 1-800-FL-TODAY; ask for your copy of the book, A Mother of Thousands, by Heather DeJesus Yates. We're happy to send it to you as our way of saying, "Thank you for partnering with us in the ongoing ministry of FamilyLife Today." We appreciate you.
We hope you can join us, again, tomorrow when we're going to hear a conversation that happened recently as Ron Deal, who gives leadership to FamilyLife Blended®, spoke with Sandi Patty and her husband, Don Peslis, about what happens when a marriage begins in the midst of a lot of brokenness. That conversation comes up tomorrow. I hope you can be here for that.
I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our hosts, Dave and Ann Wilson, I'm Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.
FamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas; a Cru® Ministry. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow.


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Alfredo Valente (born November 6, 1980) is a former Canadian soccer midfielder who formerly played for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL First Division (USL-1). Valente played 11 seasons with the 86ers/Whitecaps organization, winning USL championships with the club in 2006 and 2008. He also played indoor soccer with the Edmonton Drillers of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) early in his professional career.  Internationally, Valente has represented Canada with the under-18, under-20 and under-23 national teams.

Early life
Growing up in Burnaby, British Columbia, a neighbouring city east of Vancouver, Valente began playing soccer at the age of four years. He joined the local youth and amateur Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club (CMFSC) program at 12 and debuted with the men's team in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League's Premier division three years later.

Valente attended and graduated from Alpha Secondary School in Burnaby, where he also played for the high school's soccer club, the Aztecs, leading them to a provincial championship.

Playing career
Valente was drafted by the Vancouver 86ers (renamed to the Whitecaps in 2001) as the club's top pick in the 1998 A-League Player Draft.  He made his professional debut with the 86ers at the age of 17 years in the USISL A-League and scored four goals in 14 games to be named Vancouver's top rookie that year in 1998.  He recorded his best season with the 86ers in 2000, leading the team in scoring with 10 goals. In 2002, Valente led Vancouver in assists with 10, finishing tied for fifth overall in the USL First Division.

Under the leadership of head coach Bob Lilley, hired in 2004, Valente's playing time began to decrease. He did not get off the bench in the 2005 playoffs. The next season, however, after scoring a goal and an assist in the regular season, he started the title game against the Rochester Raging Rhinos; Valente helped the Whitecaps to their first USL championship, defeating Rochester 3–0. Attempting to defend the Whitecaps' league title in 2007, Valente appeared in 24 games, while starting in 14. Coming off the bench in the club's two playoff games, Valente and the Whitecaps were defeated in the quarterfinals.

On February 7, 2008, the Whitecaps re-signed Valente for an 11th season.  At the time of the signing, he ranked seventh in Vancouver's all-time combined playoff and regular season scoring list with 32 goals and 35 assists in 234 games.  As Lilley was replaced by Icelandic Teitur Thordarson as head coach, Valente's playing time increased, becoming a regular starter.  After finishing with the second best regular season record in 2008, the Whitecaps won their second USL championship in three years, defeating the Puerto Rico Islanders 2–1 at Swangard Stadium on October 12, 2008.  Valente was instrumental in the Whitecaps first goal in the 56th minute, directing a corner into the Islanders' box, where Charles Gbeke headed the ball in.

Several months later, Valente was released by the Whitecaps, as the club chose against his 2009 contract option, on December 8, 2008, along with fellow veterans Steve Kindel and Jeff Clarke.  Club president Bob Lenarduzzi and coach Thordarson cited "philosophical differences" for the roster changes.  Valente left the Whitecaps second all-time in franchise assists.  At the end of the 2008 season, Valente, Kindel and Clarke, all long-time members of the club, had voiced their concerns over Thordarson's coaching style in separate one-on-one meetings with him.

Following his release from the Whitecaps, Valente rejoined the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Wolves of the Vancouver Metro Soccer League's Premier Division in 2009.  He has been involved with CMFSC, his old youth and amateur soccer club, since 2005 as youth coach and head coach of technical operations, as well.

International play
Valente has represented Canada with the under-18, under-20 and Olympic under-23 national teams. He played with Canada's U-18s for a tournament in Italy in March 1998 and the U-20s several months later in August 1998. The following year, he was chosen to represent Canada at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg. In 2000, Valente went on tour with the Canadian Olympic team in Mexico as a 19-year-old.

Personal life
Alfredo is married to Kristen Valente and has a son, Noah, born on December 19, 2007.

Awards and accomplishments
Named Vancouver 86ers Top Rookie in 1998.
Led Vancouver Whitecaps in goals (10) in 2000.
Led Vancouver Whitecaps in assists (10) in 2002.
Won a USL First Division championship in 2006 and 2008.

Honors

Vancouver Whitecaps
USL First Division Championship (2): 2006, 2008

References

External links
USL profile of Alfredo Valente
Edmonton Drillers: Alfredo Valente

1980 births
Canadian soccer players
Canada men's youth international soccer players
Association football midfielders
Edmonton Drillers (1996–2000) players
Living people
National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players
People from Burnaby
People from Coquitlam
Soccer players from Vancouver
USL First Division players
Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players
Pan American Games competitors for Canada
Footballers at the 1999 Pan American Games

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Prophet, Israel Oladele Ogundipe Sentenced To Jail For Fraud
Lagos State High court has on Wednesday sentenced popular prophet and Sheperd-in-charge of CCC Genesis Global, Prophet Israel Oladele to two-year imprisonment for defrauding a London-based woman.
The trial judge, Justice Olabisi Akinlade sentenced Prophet Oladele after she found him guilty of two-count charges out of the seven he was charged with.
Oladele was charged with seven counts charges bordering on fraud and obtaining money by false pretenses, preferred against him by the Lagos State government sometimes in 2007.
Ogundipe was arraigned before the court following a petition filed the UK-based architect, Mrs Olaide Williams-Oni, who accused him of obtaining a total of N17m from her with the promise to help her procure some landed property.
In her testimony before the court, Williams-Oni told the court that she met prophet Ogundipe in 2002 during her visit to Nigeria when she was taken to his church for prayers by her step-sister.
He had however pleaded not guilty to the charge when he was brought before the court.
Justice Akinlade in a judgment that lasted for about four hours sentenced the defendant, Prophet Oladele to a year imprisonment for count two and four each.
She however discharged him of counts 1,3, 5 ,6 and 7 for lack of evidence against him.
British parliament proposes international probe On Nigerian Government
Police To Pay N100m Ransom To Bandits Who Kidnaped Six ASPs


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SAR's Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Learn more.
Date of Incident: August 13, 2018
Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances | Imprisonment | Prosecution
Institution(s):Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin
Region & Country:Western Africa | Nigeria
New or Ongoing:New Incident
On August 13, 2018, Nigerian Police force reportedly clashed violently with peaceful student protesters from Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin. Police further arrested five students who allegedly organized the protest.
The protest was in response to a boycott led by lecturers at the college whose salaries were allegedly withheld over several months. As a result of the boycott, students at the college were unable to finish their final exams.
According to media sources, students participating in the protest carried posters with information on the faculty strike, sang songs, and demanded that the Kwara State Government pay their professors. The students reportedly left the college campus and peacefully marched towards the Government House Grounds in Ilorin to voice their demands to the Governor and attempt to find a solution. The Department of State Security reportedly accompanied the students during their march. En route, however, riot police intercepted the students and reportedly fired teargas at and clashed with the students as well as civilian bystanders. Police ultimately arrested five students who allegedly organized the protest. As of this report, the status of the arrested student protesters, including whether they have been officially charged or released, remains unknown.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent force by police and arrests of students in connection with a peaceful protest — conduct that is expressly protected under international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a party. State authorities have a responsibility to refrain from restricting or retaliating against peaceful student expression, and to ensure the security of higher education communities. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, such incidents have a chilling effect on academic freedom and institutional autonomy
https://www.herald.ng/police-unleash-tear-gas-on-protesting-college-of-education-students/
Police arrest five as Kwara college students protest non-payment of staff salaries
Police disperse protesting students with tear gas
https://www.pulse.ng/communities/student/students-protest-over-nonpayment-of-their-lecturers-salary-id8726160.html
http://www.kwarareporters.com/2018/08/just-in-coed-ilorin-students-on-protest.html
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Americans have become better at reducing drunk driving and alcohol-related car accidents. Through awareness programs and tough new laws, the percentage of accidents caused by drunk driving has plunged from over 60% in the 1970s to around 37% today.
While encouraging, this very much avoidable problem persists. These days, ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are being hailed as the newest potential factors in reducing this number.
Uber, in particular, lays claim to reducing drunk driving. Conceptually, hailing a ridesharing service after a night out drinking should have a similar impact to selecting a designated driver. In fact, for the past three years Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has partnered with Uber in various campaigns as another avenue for raising awareness and reducing drunk driving accidents.
New Drunk Driving Study Produced Mixed Results
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania decided to take a closer look. In their recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the team examined whether a correlation exists between the presence of the ridesharing service Uber and the number of alcohol-related crashes.
They used an interrupted time series approach to evaluate the data, focusing on U.S. cities where Uber was available, interrupted or stopped for a period of time, then resumed. The question of interest was whether increased during the interruption period, then decreased once Uber was reintroduced.
The team, led by senior author Douglas Wiebe, associate professor of epidemiology in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, focused on four cities: San Antonio, TX, Reno and Las Vegas, NV, and Portland, OR. Results were decidedly mixed, but also presented some intriguing new avenues to explore for research.
The strongest correlations appeared in San Antonio and Portland, where alcohol-related accidents fell 40% and 62%, respectively, once Uber resumed service. In Reno, no significant change occurred. The data collected in Las Vegas was incomplete.
Another recent study, which looked at urban statistics nationwide, found no correlation between the presence of Uber and a reduction of crashes. Yet a different study from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center did find an estimated 25% to 35% reduction in traffic accidents in New York with the introduction of Uber.
More Questions Raised
The varied results reflect a need for more research and clarity. According to Wiebe, "The observed variability may be due to the different conditions within these cities."
A number of factors could be affecting the results, indicating that the impact of ridesharing might vary due to localized conditions. Cities differ in their available modes of transportation, the costs associated with using them, and the ease of use.
Geography might also come into play, with density and distance influencing a ridesharing decision. Another interesting side-effect might come from the presence of other ridesharing services, as most of these studies focused on Uber.
Mixed Results May Not Be So Bad
With drunk driving involved in a third of all traffic deaths, safety and responsible drinking remain top priorities for cities and towns alike. While current studies are showing mixed results, the bright side is that ridesharing programs like Uber do not contribute to drunk driving.
At the end of the day, proof of a positive impact on drunk driving may be a boon for ridesharing service promotion and advertising. The bigger advantage, however, will mean fewer related deaths and injuries. Even if it's just a few incidents prevented, everyone benefits.
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Rae is a graduate of Tufts University with a combined International Relations and Chinese degree. After spending time living and working abroad in China, she returned to NYC to pursue her career and continue curating quality content. Rae is passionate about travel, food, and writing, of course.
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Posted By futuregolf
The Future Golf Pathway continues to support traditional clubs
Most companies don't like sharing stories of when they lose a customer. At Future Golf, we're a little bit different and we genuinely celebrate when a member of ours joins a traditional membership at a partner club.
At the moment an average over 20 Future Golf members are joining a partner club every week, the best part is many of our members continue to maintain both their Future Golf and traditional club membership, which is great for the industry as a larger number of bricks and mortar golf facilities get supported.
Now for some numbers, If we conservatively assume the average young member will stay at their new club for 3 years and annual membership fee is $2000, at 20 members a week this results in $120,000 of lifetime value that is being directly injected into traditional clubs and the golf industry from just this channel. This doesn't even include the social rounds, golf events, guest passes, referrals, lessons, food & beverage and pro-shop.
The best part about it, is these are younger members who are mostly aged 25-39 years old, who've never been part of club or are returning to golf. Which means our partner clubs aren't poaching members from other traditional clubs, these are golfers who are new or re-entering the ecosystem.
Here is a message we received yesterday from Michael Walsh who recently joined Yarra Yarra, he's is one of 7 number of members who's joined Yarra Yarra over the past 12 months.
"I'd like to thank you and the Future Golf team for making the experience so positive. Future Golf was the perfect way for me to start playing golf again, to get to know other golfers, and to play some different courses around Melbourne. Despite playing regularly as a junior, I joined Future Golf after several years of not playing at all. Future Golf provides a much needed pathway for people like myself to start playing again, rediscover their love for the game, and go from only playing once or twice a year to being a full time member of a club playing every week. With golf struggling to attract new players globally, it's great to see Future Golf offer an alternative to the traditional model, providing a flexible and approachable option for new and returning golfers. Keep up the great work, and I'll try and join a few Future Golf events as a guest in the future."
The thing we love the most about our model is that it's having a meaningful impact on the future sustainability of golf at all levels. Our model is also nurturing the next generation of leaders in our sport, who will carry the torch and continue the the great work done by our past presidents, club captains, boards, committees, staff and members who have built the amazing clubs and course that we're privileged to play.
We want to ensure that legacy of Australian Golf and our industry is thriving at all levels.
#growthepie #partnerships #golf
If you're a Golf Club/Course and would like to discuss working with us visit: https://futuregolf.com.au/about/partner-with-future-golf/
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text:
Optometry in Practice (OiP), the College's quarterly CPD journal, covers the latest research, analysis and opinion from your profession, and provides up to 4 CPD points.
Editorial: All change
Non-UK candidates
About OIP
Myopia Public health
One thing is certain: I wasn't expecting the events of the last 10 weeks to take place when I wrote my last Optometry in Practice editorial in February this year.
Firstly, I do hope that our readers and their families are safe and well, and are managing their way through the myriad of challenges we all face both personally and professionally.
Whilst the future remains opaque, the easing of the UK Government's lockdown measures reveals green shoots for our profession. Since lockdown began in our four nations, many colleagues have had to close their practice doors to patients, whilst others have been able to undertake essential, urgent and emergency clinics with a skeleton staff in either primary or secondary care settings. Given the nature of our profession, it will take time to return to any sense of 'normal', but as we transition from the red to amber phase of the pandemic, we must innovate and seize all opportunities to advance our profession to provide the best possible care for our patients. I encourage readers to access the College of Optometrists' Covid-19 guidance. Updated regularly, the College provides current guidance for practitioners in each nation on how to adapt working practices as we move into the next phase of the pandemic.
Despite this recent turbulence, and through the tenacity and hard work of our authors and editorial team (huge personal thanks from me), I am pleased to say that this month's issue of Optometry in Practice brings you four more evidence-based articles on a diverse range of topics.
We begin with a timely review article by Claire Mc Donnell and colleagues from BUCCLE (British and Irish University and College Contact Lens Educators) on the use of lissamine green in clinical practice. Following the General Optical Council's recent statement clarifying the legal position for eye care practitioners wishing to use lissamine green dye for anterior-eye examination, the article outlines the advantages of using lissamine green in conjunction with sodium fluorescein as part of an anterior-eye examination. The authors conclude the evidence indicates that lissamine green plays a valuable role in aiding the evaluation and understanding of ocular surface damage and, as such, it should be viewed as in the patient's best interest to utilise such techniques.
Our next review article by Neema Ghorbani Mojarrad and Louise Terry tackles the age-old question of whether myopia is a genetic or environmentally induced problem. Their paper outlines the evidence used to demonstrate the complex aetiology of myopia development, and discusses how the supposed opposing influences of genetic factors and environmental influences can be used together in a complementary manner to further our understanding of the refractive state. The authors hope that their review will help clinicians further understand the modifiable and unmodifiable risk factors for myopia, to better advise their patients in clinical practice.
Our penultimate paper in this month's issue considers how the ocular surface microbiome may influence clinical optometric practice. Arthur Okonkwo and Hema Radhakrishnan of Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and the University of Manchester, respectively, remind readers that exposed surfaces of the human body are covered in bacteria that play a vital role in preventing infection, and that an infection can occur when the quantities and variety of these bacteria are altered. Consequently, the authors conclude that understanding the homeostatic balance of these single-celled organisms is of relevance to optometry and, in particular, patient management in contact lens practice.
Returning to the need for optometry to innovate and advance following the Covid pandemic, our final paper by Nita Odedra and colleagues at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust outlines a case study of the evolving role of optometrists in emergency eye care. The authors present data comparing a cohort of patients attending eye casualty over a 1-week period to an audit carried out in 2010. The main categories audited included the source and mode of referrals, diagnosis, appropriateness of the referral, evidence-based management and attending professionals. In conclusion, the authors suggest that the introduction of multidisciplinary teams, including optometrists, helps to reduce demand within emergency eye care, and is also a platform for the training and development of community optometrists, facilitating communication and practice between primary and secondary care settings.
Professor Leon Davies FCOptom PhD FAAO SFHEA
Leon Davies is currently Head of Optometry and Professor of Optometry and Physiological Optics at Aston University. He is a past Clinical Editor of Optometry Today, and is currently Editor-in-chief of Optometry in Practice.
Leon was a recipient of the inaugural College of Optometrists Research Fellowship Award and the inaugural Neil Charman Medal for research in optometry, optics and vision science. He is a Fellow of the College of Optometrists and the American Academy of Optometry and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
E: leon.davies@college-optometrists.org
Supporting optometrists in their vaccine decisions
We believe that vaccine uptake will be maximised where staff are supported to make their own decisions, having been provided with clear, evidence-based information on the benefit and value of vaccinations.


text:
package com.intellij.designer.designSurface.tools;

import com.intellij.designer.designSurface.EditableArea;
import com.intellij.designer.model.RadComponent;
import com.intellij.openapi.util.SystemInfo;

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;

/**
 * @author Alexander Lobas
 */
public class SelectionTracker extends TargetingTool {
  protected final RadComponent myComponent;
  private boolean mySelected;

  public SelectionTracker(RadComponent component) {
    myComponent = component;
  }

  @Override
  protected void resetState() {
    super.resetState();
    mySelected = false;
  }

  protected Cursor calculateCursor() {
    return myState == STATE_INIT || myState == STATE_DRAG
           ? getDefaultCursor()
           : super.calculateCursor();
  }

  @Override
  protected void handleButtonDown(int button) {
    if (myState == STATE_INIT &&
        (button == MouseEvent.BUTTON1 || button == MouseEvent.BUTTON3) &&
        !myArea.isSelected(myComponent)) {
      performSelection();
    }
    if (button == MouseEvent.BUTTON1) {
      if (myState == STATE_INIT) {
        myState = STATE_DRAG;
      }
    }
    else {
      if (button == MouseEvent.BUTTON3) {
        myState = STATE_NONE;
      }
      else {
        myState = STATE_INVALID;
      }
      handleInvalidInput();
    }
  }

  @Override
  protected void handleButtonUp(int button) {
    if (myState == STATE_DRAG) {
      // Control clicking on a Mac is used to simulate right clicks: do not treat this as
      // a selection reset (since it makes it impossible to pull up the context menu with
      // a multi-selection: the right click action causes the selection to be replaced
      // with the single item under the mouse)
      if (SystemInfo.isMac && myInputEvent != null && myInputEvent.isControlDown()) {
        return;
      }

      performSelection();
      myState = STATE_NONE;
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void keyPressed(KeyEvent event, EditableArea area) throws Exception {
    super.keyPressed(event, area);
    if (event.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_ESCAPE) {
      myToolProvider.loadDefaultTool();
    }
  }

  private void performSelection() {
    if (mySelected || myArea.isTree()) {
      return;
    }
    mySelected = true;
    performSelection(this, myComponent);
  }

  public static void performSelection(InputTool tool, RadComponent component) {
    if ((SystemInfo.isMac ? tool.myInputEvent.isMetaDown() : tool.myInputEvent.isControlDown())) {
      if (tool.myArea.isSelected(component)) {
        tool.myArea.deselect(component);
      }
      else {
        tool.myArea.appendSelection(component);
      }
    }
    else if (tool.myInputEvent.isShiftDown()) {
      tool.myArea.appendSelection(component);
    }
    else {
      tool.myArea.select(component);
    }
  }
}