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Home Reviews	NuraLoop review: Phenomenal personalised sound
NuraLoop review: Phenomenal personalised sound
by Kelvin Bell May 14, 2020
Exceptional audio, top-notch ANC and a whole host of useful features place the NuraLoop among the very best earphones available
Superb personalised sound
Excellent ANC
Comfortable and stable fit
Limited touch control customisation
Automatic on function is a bit finicky
Following a few minor delays, the highly anticipated NuraLoop – the second pair of headphones from innovative Australian audio company Nura – are finally here.
Using the same proprietary technology that earned their predecessor the Nuraphone critical acclaim, the NuraLoop analyse your hearing before creating you a unique sound profile. This time around though, that tech has been squeezed into a pair of in-ear headphones in what is a distinct departure from the slightly odd hybrid in- and over-ear Nuraphone.
We may have had to wait a little longer than expected to get our hands on them, but with wonderful audio, highly effective noise cancellation and intuitive controls, the NuraLoop have been well worth the wait.
NuraLoop review: What you need to know
The NuraLoop are in-ear headphones that take the personalised sound and features that defined the Nuraphone and combine them with a more compact, portable design.
Each earbud is connected with a short length of wire but the connection between your phone and the headphones is wireless via Bluetooth 5, and Qualcomm's aptX HD codec is supported allowing for high-resolution streaming. Although you'll probably primarily use them wirelessly, the Nuraloop can also be used wired with a detachable analogue cable that terminates in a 3.5mm jack.
In what is an impressive feat of engineering, Nura has ensured pretty much every feature present in the full-size Nuraphone has survived the miniaturisation process. There's active noise cancellation, Social Mode, which lets through a limited amount of external sound, touch controls and Immersion Mode, which lets you boost the bass level.
Battery life is quoted at 16 hours at roughly half volume with Bluetooth on, which Nura describes as "industry redefining", and ten minutes on charge will get you around two hours of playback. The NuraLoop are also sweat-resistant, making them well suited to physical activity.
But of course, the NuraLoop's pièce de résistance is their ability to create you a personalised sound profile in the Nura app. I'll be taking a deep dive into exactly how this is done and what the results are like later in the review.
NuraLoop review: Price and competition
With all of those features, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the NuraLoop are at the pricier end of the in-ear headphone market, retailing at £200. Nura's personalised sound technology is patented, so the only other place you'll find it implemented is in the Nuraphone, which cost £350.
For in-ear headphones that offer similar wired and wireless flexibility, your options are rather limited. The RHA T20 are your best bet and come Expert Reviews recommended.
The Bowers and Wilkins PI3 are a great pair of neckband-style earphones that deliver excellent audio but have half the battery life of the NuraLoop and lack active noise cancellation. Should you want ANC, the B&W PI4 add that to the PI3 package and have longer battery life but you'll be paying £270 for those.
For a true wireless alternative with tremendous ANC, Sony's WF-1000XM3 are our favourite earbuds for cutting out unwanted noise. Although the list price of £220 is above that of the NuraLoop, you'll often find them at discounted prices.
There are plenty of cheaper options if you're just looking for a solid pair of in-ear headphones but you'll be making a number of sacrifices and of course, won't be getting an individual EQ profile made for you. The Powerbeats from Beats by Dre are one such option and while they don't feature any EQ controls or ANC, they offer big bass, sweat- and water-resistance, plus an extremely stable fit.
NuraLoop review: Design and comfort
At first glance, the NuraLoop look like many other wireless earphones, with their earbuds attached by a length of wire that runs behind your neck. On closer inspection though, there are a few design details that set them apart.
Housed in the centre of the cable is a magnetic connector that facilitates charging and enables the NuraLoop to be used when wired. When you need to top up your battery, the connector clips into a small dock on the end of the USB Type-A charging cable that comes in the box. You won't find this type of cable kicking around at home so make sure you don't lose it!
That's also true of the analogue cable, which connects to the headphones in the same manner. The cable is long enough to allow for the 3.5mm jack to be plugged into an in-ear monitor receiver on a musician's belt, which should go down well with will.i.am and Stevie Wonder, both fans of the Nuraphone.
The cables leading to each earbud are surrounded by a flexible sleeve which is looped over your ears and can be easily adjusted to ensure a stable fit. I'm a firm believer that earhooks are the most effective method of stabilising earbuds in your ears and the NuraLoop is a case in point. Once looped and tightened around your ears, they don't move around at all, even during the most vigorous of workouts.
This is, of course, also dependent on having a secure fit inside your ear too, which I was able to achieve using the largest of the four sets of ear tips included. These are a little shallower than your average tips but create a solid seal, provide good passive noise cancellation and don't cause discomfort when worn for long periods.
The outside surface of each earbud is home to what Nura calls TouchDials, which provide touch control over the NuraLoop. Commands such as play/pause music, next track and Social Mode can be assigned to a single tap on the left or right bud. Scrolling your finger around the dial allows you to gradually increase or decrease volume, social mode, or immersion.
It's an intuitive system and worked consistently throughout testing, although being able to assign just four functions feels restrictive. I'd have loved to have been able to assign further commands to a double or triple tap, and map every feature to a touch control. As it is, you'll have to head into the Nura app to make other adjustments.
My one other minor gripe with the design relates to the NuraLoop's neck cable: it doesn't lie flat against the back of your neck. This isn't a problem when you're wearing a t-shirt or collared shirt, but if you're wearing a hooded top or a jacket with a large collar, the wiring does catch occasionally. It's annoying, but the loops hold the earpieces in place so effectively you're never in danger of them becoming dislodged.
When it comes to accessories, you get the aforementioned sets of four eartips, a USB charging cable and analogue connector plus five spare eartip meshes, which can be used to replace the pre-installed meshes if they get damaged. Also included is a pocketable and soft zip pouch. The overall build quality of both the headphones and accessories is excellent.
NuraLoop review: Sound personalisation and setup
Sound personalisation is where the NuraLoop really set themselves apart from the competition. If you already own the Nuraphone you'll be familiar with the process but, if not, you'll be prompted to download the Nura app when you initially put the headphones on. Once logged in, you're then taken through the personalisation process.
First, the app tests to see how well the earpieces fit in your ear. It's a simple step but an important one; if you don't create an appropriate seal in your ear canal the subsequent tests won't produce accurate results. The headphones then run a quick measurement of your hearing using their internal microphones. If any issues with the fit are detected, you'll be prompted to readjust the headphones and rerun the test or proceed regardless.
The third stage sees the NuraLoop play a range of tones into your ear and this is where the magic happens. When the ear processes sound, it generates its own sonic responses, known as otoacoustic emissions. These are inaudible to the human ear but the NuraLoop's microphones are able to pick them up and decipher information about how you heard the initial sound.
By playing sounds at various frequencies, the headphones build a profile that reflects how sensitive you are to sound at all levels on the human hearing spectrum. This information is then taken and used to create an EQ profile that's unique to you. It's a simple and painless process that doesn't take more than a few minutes to complete.
The aim of all this is to ensure you're able to hear every aspect of a piece of audio clearly. If you're particularly sensitive to high range frequencies, they'll be toned down in your profile so they don't dominate. If you're not very sensitive to bass tones, these will be enhanced, bringing them to prominence so you're better able to pick them out.
When setup is complete, you're left with your very own EQ, which is displayed graphically within the app. The graphic isn't scientifically exact, instead serving as a striking aesthetic representation of your hearing sensitivity. If you treat your profile like a clock, 12 o'clock represents low tones with tones getting higher as you move in a clockwise direction.
NuraLoop review: Sound quality
So that's a simplified scientific explanation of the technology; the big question is, does it work? Having created multiple profiles and listened to each extensively, I can confidently say the answer is a resounding yes.
You can create up to three profiles and I began by doing just that to see if I got consistent results. I sought out a quiet space and, while there were very slight variations across the three, the general pattern was the same. It turns out I'm most sensitive to very high frequency tones and mildly sensitive to upper mid-range and extreme bass tones. The two main areas I proved least sensitive to were at the higher end of the bass frequency range and in the lower mid-range.
Next up, I listened to a variety of songs, comparing how they sounded with my personalised profile against the NuraLoop's neutral profile. The difference was like night and day. While I wouldn't go as far as saying I could hear parts of songs that I'd not noticed before, my personalised profile sounded significantly better: everything was extremely well balanced and each aspect of every track felt defined. Higher pitch parts of songs that were ear piercing in the neutral profile and through other headphones suddenly became bearable and there was a real richness to the music overall.
My girlfriend then created a profile and we listened to them side by side, which proved to be an illuminating experience. Her sensitivity to frequencies throughout the bass range and lack of sensitivity through the mid-range resulted in a profile that sounded distant and washed out to me. Gone was the balanced, detailed musical representation I'd become accustomed to. It's not that it sounded terrible, it just didn't sound right. The same proved true with other members of the household – their profiles didn't sound nearly as good to me as the profile created specifically for my ears.
NuraLoop review: Active noise cancellation and additional features
While personalised sound is undoubtedly the NuraLoop's biggest draw, it's important not to let it overshadow just how good their active noise cancellation is. External noise isn't eradicated completely but sounds like the washing machine, kettle and my obnoxiously loud PS4 fan were reduced dramatically. While sitting in the garden without any music playing I could still hear the faint, high-pitched tweeting of birds but not much else – no chatter from the noisy neighbours or the sound of cars rumbling past the front of the house. Overall, it's the most impressive implementation of ANC in any earphones I've used.
ANC is linked to Social Mode, which allows a certain amount of sound in from your surroundings. The two operate at opposite ends of a spectrum; when ANC is fully engaged, Social Mode is turned off, and vice versa.
Social Mode functions well as long as you're listening at somewhere close to half volume. Any louder than that and I struggled to make out what people were saying over my music. It's probably still easier – and more polite – to pause your music or take out your earbuds when talking to others but the feature will come in handy when listening out for important announcements or in crowded environments.
The final sonic feature you get to play around with is the Immersion Mode slider. The original Nuraphone implemented this by using haptic feedback to physically vibrate the over-ear cups, thus creating a feeling of being at a live performance. At maximum immersion, I found the vibration of the earcups overwhelming and uncomfortable to listen to for long periods. The Nuraloop abandon that method, simply using a standard, but effective, EQ bass boost. Given there's no other way to adjust your personal hearing profile, the freedom to add a bit of extra bass when desired is very welcome.
Microphone clarity proved impressive, too. I used the NuraLoop for a number of Zoom meetings and phone conversations and had no problems being heard. Calls were distortion-free and the NuraLoop picked up very little background noise.
One feature I did have a few teething problems with was the earphones' automatic on/off function. When you take out your earbuds, the NuraLoop automatically pause your music and, after a brief period of inactivity, enter deep sleep mode to conserve battery. This part worked perfectly well but getting them to wake up consistently proved a bit trickier. The NuraLoop were occasionally finicky about registering when the earbuds were back in my ears, which resulted in me having to fiddle around a bit before they turned back on. It's far from a dealbreaker but was a little frustrating.
NuraLoop review: Verdict
The NuraLoop offer a unique and very personal audio experience. I loved mine – the headphones provided me with some truly memorable musical journeys. On top of the sensational sound, they offer exceptional ANC, hi-res streaming, a stable fit, outstanding battery life plus the ability to be used both wired and wirelessly. There's just so much to like about them.
Granted, they'll set you back a fair bit but given they're probably the only in-ear headphones you'll ever need, the NuraLoop are worth every penny. If you're still on the fence, there's something that may sway you. Nura is so confident you'll love the NuraLoop that it's offering a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don't like them, simply send them back. I think you'll probably want to keep them, though.
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Le Tussauds Group est depuis 2007, avec sa nouvelle maison-mère Merlin Entertainments, le second groupe de loisirs au monde derrière la division parcs à thèmes de Disney. La société est basée à Leatherhead dans le Surrey au Royaume-Uni.

Le groupe gère un portefeuille de lieux de loisirs de plusieurs marques dont les musées de cire Madame Tussauds, les parcs Legoland, les centres aquatiques Sea Life et les différents parcs britanniques Alton Towers, Thorpe Park et Chessington World of Adventures.

Historique

Le Tussauds Group a été fondé en 1926, un an après l'incendie de 1925 qui ravagea le musée mais qui épargna les moules. Cela permit de recouler les grands personnages historiques.

En 1940, une bombe allemande tombe sur la salle de cinéma et le restaurant occupant l'aile ouest du bâtiment.

En 1958, le cinéma de l'aile ouest est remplacé par un planétarium, le planétarium de Londres inauguré en présence de Philip Mountbatten, duc d'Edimbourg.

En 1970, le groupe inaugure son premier musée en dehors de Londres, le Madame Tussauds Amsterdam.

En 1973, le groupe investit dans le Wookey Hole Caves and Mill, un musée éducatif situé dans le Somerset. Il sera revendu en 1989. Un autre investissement suit en 1976 avec Tolgus Tin, un moulin situé dans les Cornouailles. Il est transformé en musée en 1979 mais revendu en 1980.

En 1977, le planétarium accueille un spectacle de laser, le Laserium (fermée en 1990).

En 1978, le Tussauds Group est acheté par S. Pearson and Son, propriétaire du zoo de Chessington. Le zoo est intégré aux actifs du groupe et deviendra le Chessington World of Adventures en 1987. La société de Pearson sera renommée Pearson plc quelques années plus tard.

En 1982, le groupe achète le Château de Warwick et en fait un lieu touristique avec une reconstitution d'une fête royale de 1898. Le jardin de roses victorien du château a été rénové d'après les plans de 1868 et rouvert en 1986 en présence de Diana, la princesse de Galles.

En 1983, le groupe ouvre, en partenariat avec British Rail, Royalty and Railways Exhibition dans la Windsor & Eton Central railway station à Windsor. Le nom a été changé en 1984 : Royalty and Empire. L'exposition met en scène l'arrivée de la reine Victoria en gare de Windsor pour son jubilé de diamant en 1897. L'exposition a été vendue en 1991 et fermée à la fin des années 1990.

En 1989, le groupe ouvre Rock Circus au deuxième étage du London Pavilion à Piccadilly Circus, un musée de cire sur le thème du rock et des pop stars. Le musée a fermé en 2001. Les figures de cire du Rock Circus ont été exposées à Heide Park en 2002.

En 1990, le groupe achète le parc Alton Towers pour 60 millions de livres. Michael Herbert et Ray Barratt du Tussauds Group cherchent de nouvelles opportunités de développement en Europe. Un investisseur les informe qu'un parc de loisirs développé par Anheuser-Busch cherche des partenaires, il deviendra Port Aventura.

En 1993, Tussauds Group réalise  d'euros de bénéfices et reçoit annuellement 8 millions de visiteurs. En 1993, la banque espagnole La Caixa, la société espagnole d'électricité FECSA et Tussauds Group achètent 80 % des actions de Grand Peninsula dans Port Aventura. Tussauds accepte d'être à la fois investisseur et exploitant de ce parc. L'actionnariat se répartit donc entre Tussauds Group avec 40,01 %, La Caixa avec 33,19 %, Anheuser-Busch avec 19,9 % et FECSA avec 6,7 %. Pearson via Tussauds Group investit 37,5 millions de livres sterling pour sa participation dans le parc.

En 1995, le parc Port Aventura ouvre en Espagne. Le groupe avait une prise d'intérêt de 40 % dans le capital du parc (300 millions de livres) et prend la gestion du parc. En 1995, Tussauds Group occupe la  place en termes de fréquentation à l'échelle européenne derrière Disneyland Paris.

En 1996, le parc ouvre son premier hôtel avec le Alton Towers Hotel adjacent au parc Alton Towers. La célèbre Chambre des Horreurs du musée de Londres est rénovée pour la somme de 1 million de livres.

En 1997, une exposition itinérante est lancée en Asie-Australie. Elle débute à Melbourne en Australie et doit passer à Singapour

En 1998, Tussauds revend sa part dans Port Aventura afin d'acheter le parc situé dans le sud-est de l'Angleterre Thorpe Park. Ses 40,5 % sont achetés par Universal Studios à hauteur de 37 % et par Acesa, contrôlée par La Caixa, à hauteur de 3,5%. De plus le groupe est racheté par Charterhouse Development Capital.

En juillet 1999, le musée Madame Tussauds Las Vegas ouvre à l'intérieur et en même temps que l'hôtel-casino The Venetian.

En 2000, le groupe prend la gestion du London Eye, propriété de British Airways, la plus haute tour d'observation de Londres située sur la rive sud de la Tamise face au Parlement. L'exposition itinérante d'Asie s'installe de manière permanente dans la Peak Tower de Hong Kong, devenant le Madame Tussauds Hong Kong tandis que le Madame Tussauds New York ouvre sur la 42e rue en novembre de la même année.

En 2001, le groupe achète le parc Heide Park en Allemagne.

En 2005, le groupe est acheté par le fonds d'investissements Dubai International Capital pour 1,5 milliard de $

En 2006, le groupe achète le London Eye à British Airways.

En 2007, le groupe acquiert deux nouveaux hôtels le Safari Lodge à Chessington et le Port Royal à Soltau près de Heide Park.

En mars 2007, Dubai International Capital vend la majorité de ses parts dans le groupe à Merlin Entertainments pour 1,5 milliard de £. DiC conserve une party de 20 % dans le nouveau groupe.

Attractions
 musée de cire Madame Tussauds
 Londres
 New York
 Las Vegas
 Amsterdam
 Hong Kong
 Shanghai
 Washington, D.C.
 Hollywood

 The British Airways London Eye
 Château de Warwick

 Quatre parcs à thèmes :
 Alton Towers dans le Staffordshire
 Thorpe Park dans le Surrey
 Chessington World of Adventures dans le Surrey
 Heide Park à Soltau

Hôtels
 The Alton Towers Hotel, Staffordshire,
 Splash Landings Hotel, Staffordshire,
 Safari Lodge Hotel, Surrey,
 Port Royal Hotel, Soltau,
 Alton Towers Conference Centre, Staffordshire,

Notes et références

Notes

Références

Liens externes
 The Tussauds Group
 Merlin Entertainments
 Madame Tussauds
 The British Airways London Eye
 Alton Towers
 Heide Park (en allemand et anglais)
 Thorpe Park
 Chessington World of Adventures
 Warwick Castle
 Annual Pass Site

Entreprise de gestion de parc de loisirs
Entreprise du tourisme ayant son siège au Royaume-Uni
Entreprise fondée en 1926

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Pennsylvania Parents of Blind Children (PPBC) is a division of the NFB of Pennsylvania focused on providing information and support for the raising of blind children to be successful, contributing members of society.
We specialize in reliable information and positive attitudes about blindness and the abilities of blind people. We don't view blindness as a tragedy or as the defining factor in a child's life; instead, we see it as just one of the child's many characteristics.


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In or out? Analyzing 11 teams on the bubble
by Shane McNichol
Rooting for a team on the NCAA Tournament bubble is a unique experience. Unlike any other sport, teams on the fringes of success pray for a chance to keep playing, with only so much control over the situation. Sure, they could win their conference tournaments, but many face long roads and brutal opponents between themselves and a conference tourney title.
Unlike the first college football team left out of the playoff, most of these teams are supremely flawed. They didn't win their conference and weren't ranked near the top of the polls all year. These are teams that just want a chance to prove they aren't mediocre and make some noise in March. With conference tournaments very much underway, here's our look at 11 bubble teams hanging on by a thread. Some have a chance to earn their way, but others are already at home, watching and hoping.
1. Notre Dame
The Irish are one of the most interesting bubble teams in years. Notre Dame is only 20-14 on the season, but lost nine of those games without star forward Bonzie Colson. The Irish were also without the services of point guard Matt Farrell in four of the games they lost without Colson. The selection committee has long claimed to take injuries into consideration. Notre Dame will put that theory to the test. Colson and Farrell are both back in the lineup, leading to a win over Virginia Tech early in the conference tournament. The Irish then lost to Duke Thursday, which would have been the kind of win to earn them a bid. Now, like the other teams listed here, they wait.
2. Louisville
Despite all the drama of Rick Pitino's firing and the Brian Bowen implications in the FBI scandal, first-year head coach David Padgett has the Cardinals on the cusp of an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. Sadly, they may fall just one game, and one second, short of that mark. Louisville led top-ranked Virginia by four points within the game's final second last week, and through a series of costly mistakes, lost in mind-numbing fashion. The Cardinals were gifted another crack at Virginia in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, but lost again. If Louisville heads to the NIT, they may have just one second of game-time to blame for missing out.
The Crimson Tide find themselves in a similar situation as Texas, with a lot of losses thanks to a brutal schedule. KenPom ranks Alabama's schedule as the 13th-toughest in Division I, which explains the Tide's 18-14 record this season. Had they lost to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, we may have seen the last of Alabama basketball this season. Instead, Collin Sexton sank a game-winning floater as the buzzer sounded, moving the Tide into the semifinals. Alabama is safer after that game, but by no means completely safe. Should they beat in-state rival Auburn Friday, the Tide can then likely breathe easily.
4. Marquette
Like Oklahoma State trying to stretch the Big XII to a 9th bid, Marquette wants to be the 7th Big East team invited to the Dance. The Golden Eagles are 19-13 after being blown out by Villanova at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament. Marquette finished conference play 9-9, including home losses to bottom dwellers Georgetown and DePaul, without ever knocking off Villanova or Xavier. Combine that with the fact that Marquette didn't beat a single tournament-bound team out of conference and it would be a surprise to see the Golden Eagles in the bracket.
5. UCLA
One of college basketball's biggest blue bloods could be worried when the brackets are announced Sunday. Unlike some other teams on this list, the Bruins can still earn their way into the field with a win. Beating local rival USC in the regular season finale helped, but left more work to be done. The Bruins are only 9-9 versus the RPI top 100 currently. That speaks to UCLA's tough schedule, but doesn't inspire confidence in their ability to win games in the NCAA Tournament. This week, UCLA has advanced to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, avoiding an early round heartbreaker. Beating Arizona on Friday gets them in for sure.
6. Oklahoma State
If Oklahoma and Texas can get in, we may as well invite the entire Big XII, right? We're getting really close to doing so. Oklahoma State probably has the ninth-best case of any school in the ten-team conference, yet their chances don't seem super far-fetched. The Cowboys swept Kansas in the regular season, and they have wins over Texas Tech, West Virginia, and Florida State. Oklahoma State also split both meetings with Texas and Oklahoma. The Cowboys have 13 losses, but all 13 came at the hands of a KenPom top-50 team. The Cowboys may have come up just short when they were unable to upset Kansas a third time in the Big Xll Tournament. If they are excluded but Oklahoma or Texas make it in, there will be unhappy fans in Stillwater.
7. Arizona State
Speaking of teams that collapsed down the stretch, Arizona State is in freefall. The Sun Devils were the last undefeated team in college basketball at 12-0 and ranked in the top five. The Pac-12 slate was unkind to Arizona State. Bobby Hurley and company went just 8-10 in conference play and dropped their opening round game in the Pac-12 Tournament. Arizona State has won just once since February 10, a home win over dismal Cal. Like Oklahoma, the Sun Devils likely survive the bubble thanks to their early-season wins. They blew out Xavier and won at Kansas, which trumps any other bubble team's top wins.
8. Oklahoma
How in the world is it possible for Oklahoma to miss the NCAA Tournament after the way they started this season? Trae Young was the talk of the town, leading the Sooners to a 14-2 record with two wins over TCU and wins over Wichita State, USC, and Texas Tech by mid-January. Since then, the Sooners have gone 4-11, including a six game losing streak. The Big XII is the toughest conference in basketball, but that kind of collapse could leave the Sooners on the outside, looking in. Oklahoma's early wins should keep them safe, though they may start the tournament in Dayton at the First Four.
9. Texas
The Longhorns are almost an inverse of Saint Mary's situation. Texas has 14 losses on the year, but played the nation's third-toughest schedule per KenPom. Nine of the Longhorns' losses came against teams with a KenPom ranking of 22nd or better. Making matter worse, Texas lost four overtime games this year. The selection committee is clear that it's not just enough to play good teams but you must prove you can beat them. Texas does hold wins over Butler, Alabama, TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, and tourney-bound Lipscomb, and the Longhorns swept Oklahoma. That resume probably puts them on the safe side of the bubble.
10. Saint Mary's
Is it really possible for a team with only five losses to miss the NCAA Tournament? Saint Mary's is going to answer that question for us. The Gaels were ranked in the AP Poll most of the season, yet played a laughably soft schedule. Saint Mary's played only two games against an NCAA Tournament team, both against conference rival Gonzaga (though Harvard could still win its way into the tourney, giving the Gaels one more such game). Even crazier, Saint Mary's played zero non-conference games outside the state of California. The furthest East they travelled all year was Provo, Utah to battle BYU. They won at Gonzaga, but no other game on the Gaels' schedule proves they deserve a tournament bid. Their record and reputation will still likely earn them a bid, but with a lower seed than they'd like.
11. Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders were unique among college basketball's 351 teams. This season, Middle Tennessee was the only mid-major school sitting on the bubble if they failed win their conference tournament. The Raiders were the top seed and favorite to win the Conference USA Tournament, yet many mid-majors from years past would attest that is no sure thing. Middle Tennessee was 16-2 in conference, but lost in the quarterfinals of the tournament Thursday night. Without the automatic bid, they have shaky hopes at an at-large spot. The Raiders' RPI is ranked 28th, but their best wins are at Murray State, at Vanderbilt, and versus Ole Miss. Compared to other teams on this list, that's likely not enough to make the field.
Shane McNichol covers college basketball and the NBA for Larry Brown Sports. He also blogs about basketball at Palestra Back and has contributed to Rush The Court, ESPN.com, and USA Today Sports Weekly. Follow him on Twitter @OnTheShaneTrain.
Alabama Basketball, Arizona State Basketball, Louisville Basketball, Marquette Basketball, Middle Tennessee State basketball, Notre Dame basketball, Oklahoma Basketball, Oklahoma State Basketball, Saint Mary's Basketball, Texas Longhorns Basketball, UCLA Basketball

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Thanks to Ravinia Festival's Reach*Teach*Play education programs, NSSD112 4th and 5th graders were treated to a fabulous morning of music and learning at Ravinia's Bennett-Gordon Hall. Students enjoyed WindSync, a collective of five outstanding North American wind musicians from Houston, Texas who came together as performers and educators. The group, who loves to engage students in music education, spent time cleverly introducing each of their instruments: flute, oboe, bassoon, french horn and clarinet. They played a variety of music including dances from West Side Story, Ballero, and a Texas-style Hoedown. The performance provided an engaging, interactive opportunity to learn about music. Students took part in a robust question and answer session too! The 112 Education Foundation is grateful to Ravinia's Reach*Teach*Play education programs for providing unique musical experiences, like this one, to our students.


Chess generations - how long?
The World Championships in 2005+2007 as well as Kramnik who refused to play.
If the candidates were KO, I just took the quarter finals. If the candidates were a big round robin, I took the top 8.
If there was no obvious candidates tournament I discarded that sample.
I took the following years: 1951, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, i.e., 24 cycles.
By checking the overlap between all pairs of cycles, i.e., 276, I get the following graph. This gives me a a time constant (the time it takes to reduce the overlap from 100% to 37%, i.e., by a factor of e) of 8 years.
Another question you might ask is, how many years must pass before all players have been gone? That gives me about 14-34 years, with the mean at 23 years.
The largest difference between two tournaments that still shared at least a player is 33 years: 1951-1984 (due to Smyslov).
The smallest difference between two tournaments that shared no player is 14 years: 1981-1995.
Finally, one can do some cluster analysis between these candidates tournaments. This would give a meaningful estimate of how many eras there have been.
Five eras: 1951-1962, 1965-1981, 1984-1993, 1995-2005, and 2007-2018. Interestingly, all of these except 1965-1981 are roughly one decade.


Exhilarating descents are cycling's way of saying a big thank you for the climbs. And they can be more fun than scary if you follow our top tips, says Andy Cook.
Consciously relax your death grip on the bars and release the tension from your arms and shoulders. A stiff body will move with the bicycle as it reacts to bumps, and correcting all that unwanted movement – you weigh far more than the bike, and have considerable inertia – is tiring. It can also make things feel sketchy. Keep plenty of weight on the pedals and allow the bike to float and shimmy beneath you if it needs to, soaking up bigger ridges by using your legs as suspension. Keep your pedals level on the straights to help with that.
Most long descents come after a hard climb, so suddenly relaxing your legs and then stopping pedalling – especially in a racing tuck – will make them stiffen up. To avoid this, make sure you do some pedalling on the way down, even if it isn't to make you go significantly faster. That way when you get to the next rise in the road your legs won't let you down.
Remember that neither you nor the rider in front has brake lights, so you might get no warning if they have to suddenly brake or swerve. For this reason, make sure you look well ahead down the road – not just at the wheel of the bike in front – and always leave enough room for your reaction time. How far is enough? 'Only a fool breaks the two-second rule.' Why not apply the Highway Code technique to the gap? If they really are too slow, wait for clear place and pass them quickly, leaving as much space as possible.
Correctly anticipating dangers – corners that tighten, changes in surface, wet patches, manholes, riders behind or in front of you and cars in side roads – comes from constant observation.
Signs warn of junctions, pedestrians and other moving hazards, treelines and phone poles hint at the road around blind corners, overhanging trees warn of damp patches, worn white lines mean cars regularly cut the corner, rough Tarmac means heavy-braking traffic and perhaps a surprisingly tight corner, tight corners can mean manholes (it's where the pipes underneath tend to clog) and crossroads mean drivers can't look all four ways at once. And might not even look in two.
Focus well ahead and leave your peripheral vision to do what it's fastest at: picking up movement in black and white and quickly processing it to the brain. Covering your brakes at all times, even with a forefinger of each hand, will help you react quickly.
Just as going aero will make you descend faster, if you want to wipe some speed off a descent without having to resort to protracted, rim-wearing braking, then sit upright and catch some wind. Switching your hands to the hoods or tops helps add drag too, as does sticking out your elbows and knees.
Using your body as a natural brake also helps add control, as it's a much more stable position should you lock a wheel, and an easier position in which to support your body weight while braking hard.


text:
By Reuters September 2, 2019 11:17
M&S Shares Drop as It Faces Relegation from FTSE 100
The 135-year-old retailer's shares have lost about 40 percent of their value since January 2018 due to tough competition — particularly online — in the food and clothing space.
M&S St Helens store | Source: M&S Multimedia Library
LONDON, United Kingdom — Marks & Spencer shares fell 1 percent on Monday and were languishing at the bottom of the FTSE 100 index on expectations the 135-year old retailer will be relegated from London's blue-chip stock market for the first time as part of the quarterly review.
Goldman Sachs reinstated its coverage of the stock with a "sell" rating, also hurting sentiment.
At 0833 GMT, shares were down 1 percent, lagging the index which was up 0.9 percent.
M&S shares, which have been part of the FTSE 100 since its inception in 1984, have lost about 40 percent of their value since January 2018 as the icon of the British high street has struggled with tough competition in both clothing and food, particularly online.
Losing FTSE 100 membership means it is no longer in funds that only track the index of Britain's top companies.
The review will be based on closing prices on Tuesday, with the results announced after the end of trading on Wednesday and going into effect on September 23.
It is ranked 112th in the FTSE 350 of large and mid-cap companies based on Friday's market capitalisation.
That would trigger an automatic booting out. In order to avoid constant changes to the index as a result of day-to-day price volatility, companies are only demoted when they drop below 110 in the ranking.
By Josephine Mason; editor: Louise Heavens.
The Entire World Is Watching Fashion. So What Do We Want Them to Know?


Dame Penelope Margaret Lively DBE FRSL (born 17 March 1933) is a English writer of fiction for both children and adults. She has won both the Booker Prize (Moon Tiger, 1987) and the Carnegie Medal for British children's books (The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, 1973).
Lively is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is also a Vice-President of the Friends of the British Library.
↑ "Friends of the British Library Annual Report 2006/07" (PDF). Retrieved 7 September 2009.
This page was last changed on 28 March 2017, at 06:11.


text:
UB Radio Djs > Dave Clarke
Next Show: Sun 21 July, 2019 03:00 - 04:00
Become a Fan?
Dave Clarke is a DJ with an anarchist streak a mile wide and punk in his soul.
Technologically, he's an early adopter with the studio to prove it, but he also
embraces sounds outside the staunch electronic dance remit, from Nick Cave to
Savages to old favourites Bauhaus. Such music informs his attitude as, using Serato
on a 13" Macbook Pro Retina for his ruthlessly effective, fat-free club sets, he pushes
the worldwide boundaries of what techno and electro can be. After a break , recent
years have seen him make his presence as a producer felt again, working with Dutch
partner Mr Jones (Jonas Uittenbosch) as _Unsubscribe_ and dropping remixes
ranging from John Foxx's seminal synth-pop gem 'Underpass' to Gesaffelstein,
Detroit Grand Pubas and Octave One. Not a week passes when he doesn't live up to
his nickname, the Baron of Techno, a moniker given him by the late, great BBC
Radio DJ John Peel.
"I still love DJing with a passion," Clarke enthuses, "Keeping a balance with
technology so it doesn't take over. Anything in a DJ set-up has to provide something
extra, as opposed to being there as smoke and mirrors. There's too much of that sort
of thing going on, especially since the American EDM explosion…"
Dave Clarke was born and raised in Brighton, England, but currently resides in
Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The offspring of a technology loving father and a
disco-soul loving mother, it was always evident that Clarke would cut a swathe
through music. As a youth he ran away from home, sleeping in car parks and on
beaches. He took lousy jobs in shoe shops, living off £5 a day, to subsidise his
income from badly paid local DJ gigs - anything to further his involvement with music.
"I didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t really engage at all with the outside world," he recalls, "I was your typical
disenfranchised JD Salinger-inspired young adult that used to hide in and behind
Clarke's debut release was in 1990 on XL, around the time the label was launching
The Prodigy. He used the name Hardcore, a guise he then took to the legendary
Belgian techno-rave imprint R&S where he released various EPs (some as
Directional Force). By 1992 Clarke's own label, Magnetic North, was on the rise and
he unveiled the classic 'Alkaline 3dh' (as Fly By Wire), among others. A next level
career boost was round the corner when his 'Red' trilogy were unleashed in 1994.
These catapulted Clarke into a different league and he suddenly found himself
remixing the likes of Kevin Saunderson's Inner City, The Chemical Brothers, New
Order, Depeche Mode, Moby, Leftfield and Underworld. Undisputed landmarks in
techno, DJ Mag rightly incorporated 'Red' in its All Time Techno Top 100 list.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
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text:
Q: Flutter decide between fingerprint and pattern I have to add local authentication to the flutter app. Found great solutions local_auth which is easy to integrate.
authenticated = await auth.authenticate(
          localizedReason: 'Let OS determine authentication method',
          useErrorDialogs: true,
          stickyAuth: true,
          biometricOnly: false,

      );

Everything works cool, But the authentication asks only for fingerprint.
In my phone i have (face id, fingerprint, pattern) mostly i use pattern because Fingerprint works sometimes, sometimes not, maybe my phone was damaged or i don't know.
But i wanted to have an option to decide between pattern and fingerprint. Is it possible? if i turn off fingerprint then auth_local asks for pattern, and if it would be the end user, he won't get it, he simply won't be able to pass the authentication.
If it possible i would like to turn off biometric leaving only (pin,pattern,password) lite security, ideally to select between pattern or fingerprint.
Is there any solution, this makes to refuse from local_auth, Please Advice.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The tumultuous life of Maharana Udai Singhji (1537-1572 A D) stands in marked contrast to the tranquility and beauty of the city that today bears his name. After narrowly escaping an assassination attempt, Udai Singhji lived for years in exile in Kumbhalgarh. He ascended to the throne in 1537 A.D., backed by the nobles of Mewar and returned to Chittorgarh to continue his rule.
Emperor Akbar besieged Chittorgarh in 1567 A.D. Maharana Udai Singhji, having foresight into the barbarity in battle that would ensue and desiring that the Mewar line should continue, left Chittorgarh and sought safety in the valleys of the Aravali hills.
Years earlier, Maharana Udai Singhji had created a lake and named it Udai Sagar. After his safe arrival in 1559 A.D. he founded the city of Udaipur and began to build a new palace on the shores of Lake Pichola. Thus, Udaipur, became the new capital of Mewar with its man-made network of Lakes.
Today the city of Udaipur is renowned the world over for its natural beauty. The lakes, gardens and once abundant flora and fauna form a picturesque setting for the magnificent palace complex to be found here. Udaipur is often referred to as the "Venice of the East" and such praise is testament to the far-sightedness of Maharana Udai Singhji and his successors.
Today at the beginning of the 21st century, we are standing at the cutting edge of urbanisation, growth and development . In the 20th century, much of this development has been a product of unplanned hazard growth which has lead to environmental degradation. The issues of development and maintenance of environmental balance are inextricably linked. An amalgamation of these issues for environmental growth has been a central tradition to the House of Mewar. The city of Udaipur has served as a model of sustainable development from its conception to its current progressive development.
The Maharana Udai Singh award is a national award. This award has been instituted to honour work of permanent value in protecting and enriching the environment, hand-in-hand with future development.
The spirit of this great cause has been pursued by all the Maharanas of Mewar, and is epitomised by Maharana Udai Singhji's creation of Udaipur.


text:
Q: Showing that a limit is equal to 0 Let's consider a function
$$f(t) = \frac{t^z}{z} \bigg(e^{-t} - \sum_{k=0}^{n} \frac{(-t)^k}{k!} \bigg), \qquad t > 0, \qquad -1-n < \text{Re}(z) < -n.$$
I would like to show that
$$\lim_{t \to 0^+} f(t) = 0.$$
I tried using some standard ways but unfortunately I failed. I would appreciate any hints or tips.

A: The expression in parentheses is $O(t^{n+1}).$ And $|t{^z}| = t^{\text {Re z}}.$ Thus the absolute of the expression equals
$$\frac{1}{|z|}O(t^{n+1-\text {Re z}}) \to 0.$$

A: As in the proof of Taylor's Theorem, one can prove by induction and integration by parts,
$$
e^{-x}=\sum_{k=0}^n\frac{(-x)^k}{k!}-(-1)^n\int_0^x\frac{(x-t)^n}{n!}\,e^{-t}\,\mathrm{d}t\tag1
$$
Therefore, for $x\ge0$,
$$
\begin{align}
\left|\,e^{-x}-\sum_{k=0}^n\frac{(-x)^k}{k!}\,\right|
&=\int_0^x\frac{(x-t)^n}{n!}\,e^{-t}\,\mathrm{d}t\\
&\le\frac{x^{n+1}}{(n+1)!}\tag2
\end{align}
$$


All it takes is one minor tweak to make your website inaccessible. WordPress is a quite robust content management system (CMS). On the positive side, finding the error that made your site inaccessible (by using support forums) is incredibly easy. 404 error is a common problem faced by most of the WordPress users. Read further to know how to fix posts returning 404 error in WordPress.
How to fix 404 Error in WordPress?
404 Not found error usually affects a single blog post. This means that the user can access their blog's main page and WordPress admin area. The affected post does not lose its content, and it's completely safe, so there's no need to worry.
Sometimes the .htaccess file gets deleted, or something goes wrong with the rewrite rules, causing the 404 Not found error. You need to fix the permalinks setting in this case.
You'll have to go to Settings » Permalinks and click on Save Changes button.
The above step will update your permalinks settings and flush the rewrite rules. WordPress posts 404 error should be fixed by this solution in most cases. In case it does not work for you, then you'll probably have to update your .htaccess file manually.
To update your .htaccess file manually, log in to your server using FTP. After logging in, modify the .htaccess file located in the same location where folders like /wp-content/ and /wp-includes/ are located.
The above solution shall resolve the error 404 Not found error. We hope that this article helped. If you know any other method of fixing posts returning 404 error in WordPress, please share with us in the comments section.


And somewhere deep within its Mountainview lair, something which used to be a search engine began to chuckle….
Well that's two bad futures averted.
I know that once we start changing things it becomes impossible to assume a sequence of events (there's no guarantee that the traveler's futures included the disaster events in sequence), but assuming things did happen in sequence, I wonder how Linna's predecessors shut down the moon. Or how Corvus' predecessors fought off the martians? For example, in their futures did the Guardian Moon lead the push against the Martians? Or was there an Iron Mother which won the war and then was eventually shut down?
That I think is open to speculation!
Iron Mother vs. Moon Brother 2: 'Goodnight Moon'. Last film released before the global winter shut Hollywood down.