![]() What we didn’t like about the Diletta Mio All in all, the Diletta was a good-looking, user-friendly machine that feels worth the expense. So if you are upgrading, you won’t be able to use the same tamper). The pressure gauge consistently showed reliable brewing between 8–10 bars and the portafilter felt nice and heavy in hand (do note that this and most high-end machines use a 58-mm portafilter while less expensive machines use a 54-mm one. According to the temperature gauge, the Diletta did heat up in just a few minutes, although after speaking with one of the designers behind the machine, we did wait at least 10 minutes to allow the temperature to stabilize. That cuts the heat-up time, which is typically substantial on nicer espresso machines, quite a bit. It also has an adjustable eco mode that that puts the machine to sleep after a selected amount of time to save energy without turning it off. The Diletta has a digital PID that is easy to adjust, again, with simple button presses (the letters stand for proportional integral derivative, but what a PID controller does is precisely control the water temperature during brewing). Because it’s on its own circuit, we were able to use it immediately without waiting for the machine to shift from brew mode to steam mode as we did with the Breville. Speaking of the steam wand, it’s connected to its own heating circuit, which you can turn on or off-better to leave it off and save energy if you are just drinking espresso shots. It uses buttons for all of its functions instead of switches and dials, which not only looks sleeker, but offers a much better user experience of the steam wand-toggling on or off immediately instead of manually opening and closing a valve. Machine size: 7.7” x 12.6” x 11.8” Basket size: 54mm Cup clearance: 5” ![]() Finally, the wand auto-purges after use, which is nice, but it caused a small amount of milk to spray on to the counter. It also requires a little more milk than we typically use in our drinks to work correctly because the jug needs to have a certain volume in it to trigger a sensor. ![]() And while the automatic milk steaming is a really useful feature for beginners, it comes with a couple downsides: To accommodate the process, the steam wand doesn’t rotate the way it does on lots of machines in this price range, it just slides up and down like a lever. There is no hot water dispensing function, so you’ll need to use a kettle for an Americano. ![]() While it’s possible to get a sense of how the extraction is going by just watching the coffee come out, the information from the gauge is helpful. What we didn’t like about the Breville Bambino PlusĮven though it’s really not necessary with this machine, a pressure gauge would be nice. We cannot emphasize enough how big of a plus that is in a category filled with counter hogs. And it includes a hot water dispenser for Americanos. ![]() When it came to milk drinks, the steam wand on the Solis is powerful and made terrific flat whites. Shots were nicely extracted with a striped layer of crema on top. The espresso shots we pulled from the Solis were great and in line with the semi-automatic Breville Machines- the Infuser, the Barista Express, and the Barista Express Impress. Solis is the Swiss brand behind the beloved entry-level burr grinder, the Scala and their espresso maker is a terrific balance of simplicity and customizability. As a result we’re putting the Solis Barista Perfetta Plus back on top. We still think it is a good machine, but after more than six months of consistent use, we found an issue that made us reconsider: The built-in grinder would jam with lighter roasted coffee beans (more on this below). Our top pick for much of 2022 was the flashy Breville Barista Express Impress. This is an example of how longterm testing of a product can be valuable. ![]()
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![]() ![]() Tucked into wooded seclusion at the edge of Hideaway Falls, guests of Hidden Creek can enjoy their time relaxing inside the cabin and play on the cabin grounds in privacy. Constructed in Hideaway Falls and outfitted with the most popular rental amenities, Hidden Creek is a sprawling 6 bedroom, 4 bath lodge style retreat that can accommodate up to 12 guests without using a sleeper sofa or futon! Less than 15 minutes from the world class rapids of the Ocoee River, home of the 1996 Olympic Games whitewater events, the new luxury cabin Hidden Creek. Bring your hiking shoes and even your mountain bikes for the nearby Tanasi Trail System. This cabin rental is perfectly located to enjoy and explore the Ocoee area as well as the Ocoee Whitewater Center. This impressive 6 bedroom Ocoee River cabin rental near Copperhill and McCaysville offers a spacious luxury mountain retreat in a tranquil and secluded mountain landscape. Please Click Here to see the free fun included with Cuddle Up Cabin Rentals** **Free Activities Included! To enhance your vacation experience, Cuddle Up Cabin Rentals includes Xplorie, which means free admissions and rentals everyday of your stay at select popular attractions in the area. ![]() ![]() ![]() It’s also handy for travelers who may want to look up English translations for languages other than German. This app’s huge variety of languages makes it a great choice for multilingual people who want to see German translations in more than one language. No clutter or distracting typefaces here, just a cheerful color scheme and an easy-to-navigate layout.ĭict.cc includes a wide variety of phrases and idioms in its dictionary, which means that you can search an idiomatic German phrase and find out not only what it literally means, but also see its English equivalent. also stands out due to its clean, minimal graphics. It also features a user-friendly search bar that suggests possible searches as you type, and word look-up in both of your selected languages. So even when you don’t have internet access or cell reception, this app will never leave you stranded without a dictionary.ĭict.cc has an option to listen to the pronunciation of each word, and its extensive definitions include context-specific word use and identification of regional dialects. This dictionary app is available in 51 language combinations, so if you speak Spanish as well as English, for example, you can look up German translations in both languages! Simply download the language pack for each language you want to search in, and you can search words offline at any time. ![]() (Download) The 5 Best Free Dictionary Apps for Learning German This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy. The 5 Best Free Dictionary Apps for Learning German.We’ve gone ahead and selected five of the best German dictionary apps currently available. So which is best for you? It all depends on what you want to use your dictionary for! Not to mention, there are tons of handy smartphone apps out there that can replace your old, printed German dictionary. You can follow blogs written specifically for German learners or watch high-quality YouTube videos to learn German. JanuThe 5 Best Dictionary Apps for Learning GermanĪs a German learner living in the internet age, so much is available at your fingertips. ![]() ![]() ![]() She and her husband Corvus form a powerful team in combat, though their weapons can be turned against one another. During the final battle in Infinity, she’s even able to transform the Hulk back into a surprised Bruce Banner. Like Corvus’ glaive, her weapon of choice is a powerful artifact forged by Thanos, and contains the energy of an exploding star. She also holds her own against an entire team of Avengers thanks to her spear. In Infinity, she is initially described as the cruelest member of the Black Order, but she’s actually the most measured and diplomatic of the team, accepting Namor’s surrender when she attacks a war-weary Atlantis. Other than her blue skin, she could easily pass as human, wearing a goofy pronged helmet that would make Galactus proud. With Supergiant gone, Proxima Midnight is the sole female member of the Black Order. Proxima Midnight throwing her spear in Avengers: Infinity War. While Maw may be used as the religious mouthpiece for welcoming our new alien overlords, Corvus will probably still be the one to lead Thanos’ genetically engineered army of Outriders and throw down with the Avengers while trading some nasty barbs. In the Infinity comic, Corvus travels to various worlds as Thanos’ most loyal emissary and herald, but in an interview with JOE.ie, Infinity War co-director Joe Russo suggested that honor may have been given to Ebony Maw. Every good villain team needs a classic sadist. He’s cruel and arrogant, and delights in the suffering of others. But Corvus’ defining feature is a deliciously evil flair for the dramatic. He’s a capable melee fighter with a unique glaive - that’s a pole arm with a blade on the end of it - that slices through atoms and grants him immortality, as long as the glaive remains whole. While ultimately answering to Thanos himself, Corvus could be considered the leader of the Black Order. Marvel Studios/Disney Corvus Glaiveĭraped in black robes, with pale skin and sharp teeth, Corvus Glaive looks like he wandered off a Lord of the Rings set. Let’s take a look at the four members of the Black Order, the Avengers’ primary foes in Infinity War - aside from the big man himself. And judging by a few clips in the trailers, we’ll be seeing more of Thanos in flashbacks to Gamora’s backstory, necessary exposition for a character who has thus far done little more than sit on a chair and dramatically put on a gauntlet. Both Gamora and Nebula were raised, and genetically enhanced, by Thanos himself. There’s been one more big change in the move to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel has introduced the Black Order under the name “Children of Thanos,” potentially linking them to two members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s an easy cut - even though her eventual defeat at the hands of Lockjaw, the teleporting Inhuman dog, remains one of the best highlights of the comic. Supergiant’s role in Infinity was mainly to attack the X-Men, and her powers of mind control overlap with Ebony Maw’s. Jonathan Hickman, Jim Cheung/Marvel Comicsįor Avengers: Infinity War, the roster has been reduced to four, and one member has gotten a name change: Black Dwarf now goes by Cull Obsidian, while Supergiant has been cut completely. Bottom (left to right): Proxima Midnight, Black Dwarf, Ebony Maw and Supergiant. They all also sport suitably ominous, spacey names: Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Ebony Maw, Supergiant and Black Dwarf. ![]() The five members of his Black Order refer to one another as siblings and spouses, and serve as Thanos’ vanguards, generals and agents during Infinity. In the comics, the Black Order subscribes to Thanos’ almost religious obsession with Death herself, who, in the Marvelverse, is personified as a powerful interdimensional being. ![]() Instead, the film will be introducing movie audiences to the Black Order on the big screen. Infinity’s plot is much more about Thanos attacking our planet because of his long-lost Inhuman son than collecting the Infinity Stones, so it doesn’t look like much of its story will be used in Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos’ anti-Avengers squad was introduced in Marvel Comics’ 2013 Infinity event (written by Jonathan Hickman), in which Thanos launched a full-scale invasion of Earth while most of the Avengers were off-planet dealing with a different intergalactic threat. What’s a mad Titan to do?Įnter the Black Order. Earth is lousy with superpowered people, many with the power to practically (and some, literally) rewrite existence (looking at you, Scarlet Witch). Yet he even he knows that one does not simply walk into Mordor invade the Earth. Thanos is one of the biggest badasses of the Marvel universe. ![]() ![]() While most companies are experimenting with AI in some way, shape or form, TikTok believes the chatbot could do more than just answer questions about a video - it could also become a different way for users to surface content in the app, beyond typing into a search box. Why consumers would even want an AI chatbot in TikTok is another matter. Others who have recently enacted similar bans include banks like Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan, as well as Walmart, Samsung and telecom giant Verizon. The security risks of AI chatbots have led some companies to ban such bots at work, including Apple, which has gone so far as to restrict employees from using tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Microsoft-owned GitHub’s Copilot over concerns about confidential data being leaked. The long-term data retention policies or privacy aspects of the chatbot also couldn’t be determined at this time. It’s unclear if the AI chatbot is logging data associated with the user’s name or other personal information, though. TikTok is taking a similar approach with Tako, as it also allows users to delete their chats. Some companies have worked around this consumer privacy concern by allowing users to delete their chats manually, as Snap has done with its My AI chatbot companion in the Snapchat app. But from a privacy standpoint, that means the AI conversations are not being deleted after chats end, which poses potential risks. Because the technologies are so new, companies are opting to log customer interactions and review them to help their bots improve. The disclosure also notes that all Tako conversations will be reviewed for safety purposes and, vaguely, to “enhance your experience.” This is one of the complications that come with using modern AI chatbots, unfortunately. Image Credits: TikTok screenshot by Watchful.ai From here, you could click on a video’s thumbnail to be directed to the content. ![]() The bot would respond with a list of results that include the video’s name, author and subject, as well as links to suggested videos. Or, if users were looking for ideas of something to watch, they could ask Tako to suggest some videos on a particular topic - like funny pet videos. When tapped, users can ask Tako various questions about the video using natural language queries or discover new content by asking for recommendations.įor instance, when watching a video of King Charles’ coronation, Tako might suggest that users ask “What is the significance of King Charles III’s coronation?” ![]() Called “Tako,” the bot is in limited testing in select markets, where it will appear on the right-hand side of the TikTok interface, above the user’s profile and other buttons for likes, comments and bookmarks. AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, are all the rage, so it’s no surprise to learn that TikTok is now testing its own AI chatbot, as well. ![]() ![]() ![]() But it was a cool prop to have, and Scream further solidified my love of the genre. This doesn't sound anything like Roger Jackson, the guy's voice. And I remember getting the voice changer and being disappointed. So I made it my mission to find that mask and find a voice changer that was used in the movie. But at the time, it wasn't really out in stores. And now it's so ubiquitous-it's everywhere. And if you could believe it, at that time, that mask wasn't so prevalent. But again, obsessed with it, trying to find the mask and the costume. This was the first horror movie I'd seen in the theater. I remember that night so vividly: that opening scene when the killer starts talking about Michael Myers and Jason. So I went with my cousin and my mom and dad. ![]() ” Read more: Even Jason Vorhees knows how important facemasks are in new PSA When I heard that, I was like, “Get me to the theater tonight. I was with my cousin and my parents, and there was a buzz going around on the beach during the day that this movie Scream came out, and someone said it was scarier than Halloween. Immediately, it reminded me of all these movies that I was watching on VHS at the time. But in a fun way.Īnd then in the late winter of 1996, I became aware that this movie called Scream was coming out. You know, watching it late at night on a vacation-just like really good memories of being scared. Every night, we'd go to Blockbuster, and we would rent to a new Friday The 13th or a new Halloween or a new Nightmare On Elm Street, and that started to solidify my love for the genre even more. It became a ritual for my cousin and I when we would go to Florida for winter break. So what was the next step? What were the next movies that you were watching after Halloween ? That makes logical sense in the mind of a kid, for sure. ![]() If I was Michael Myers, then you couldn't get me, maybe. I think that was maybe subconsciously a coping mechanism. ![]() Even before Halloween, like a few days before. I started to dress like him every Halloween, walking around the neighborhood. My mom would take me to all these different costume stores to find the right mask. I would obsess over getting the costume the right Michael Myers mask. And it definitely scared me to the sense where I would be sleeping at night, and I would call out for my mom and dad to come check on me because I thought Michael Myers was in my closet or something. And I became obsessed with the boogeyman. That faceless white mask, sort of the simplicity of that film and just not really knowing what is this entity that's following around Laurie Strode and these other high school girls. I was probably 7 or 8 years old, and it really disturbed me. Was that the one that really landed for you? Were you hooked? You said your first exposure to horror was John Carpenter's Halloween, which, my God, what a great first entry into the horror-movie genre. And that definitely reflects in everything that I do with the band. So my taste now is really a strong combination of horror and comedy. It's funny: I'm pretty loyal to all those movies that I used to love back in the day. My tastes have obviously expanded over the years. But at that time period when I was getting into horror, I was probably really into comedies like Police Academy and those kind of movies that were a little bit silly, like slapstick stuff. I've always been a fan of just film in general. I don't really have too much memory of the stuff that I like pre-horror. What kind of shows or movies were you watching before you got interested in horror? For whatever reason, I was like, “I've got to see this.” After a little bit of convincing, my mom rented it for me. And the blade sort of morphed into the other parts of the pumpkin. There's something about the simplicity of just the black cover of the pumpkin with the butcher knife through it. I always ended up in the section that said “Horror.” The cover art that drew me in the most, at least at first, was John Carpenter's Halloween. And to kill time while she was shopping, I would always go and peruse the different aisles of the video store. It was actually one that was attached to a grocery store. I had been going to a video store with my mom for years. Read more: 10 horror movies so scary, people thought they were real Do you remember the first time you saw a horror movie? ![]() ![]() She has sung for royalty, including at the Royal Variety Performance at the famous London Palladium. Her career in show business spans more than 70 years and she has made hundreds of appearances on the stage, in musicals, in films and on television. She went on to attend New York’s High School of Performing Arts and performed on the stage, both on Broadway and in London. Minnelli began performing in 1949, at the age of three, when she appeared in the musical film, In the Good Old Summertime, with her mother. She is also a Knight of the French Legion of Honour, the highest French order of merit. The daughter of Judy Garland, she is one of a small number of performers who have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy Legend Award, an Oscar and a Tony. Minnelli has enjoyed unparalleled success as a live performer, as well as a long movie and TV career. She has also broken 16 Guinness World Records for her exceptional record sales and accolades.ĭespite her own superstar status, Lady Gaga still looks up to the legendary Liza Minnelli, who was born in 1946 in Los Angeles. To date, Lady Gaga has won 13 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, three Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a BAFTA, the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame Contemporary Icon Award and the National Arts Awards’ Young Artist Award. She starred alongside Bradley Cooper in a remake of A Star is Born in 2018 and their collaboration on the song, Shallow, from the movie’s soundtrack, topped the charts all over the world. Gaga has collaborated musically with some of today’s legendary singers, including recording the jazz album, Cheek to Cheek, with Tony Bennett in 2014. ![]() Her five subsequent studio albums all debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. Poker Face was the world’s best-selling single in 2009, selling 9.8 million copies. Her first two singles, Just Dance and Poker Face, reached number one in the US and the UK. After relocating to Los Angeles, she released her debut album, The Fame, in August 2008, which propelled her to superstardom when it was a global hit, reaching number one in the UK, Canada, Austria, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland, and the top five in the US. To release her own songs, she signed a recording deal with Cherrytree Records. She was commissioned to write songs for New Kids on the Block, Britney Spears, the Pussycat Dolls and Fergie. Lady Gaga’s career took off in earnest after signing a deal with Streamline Records, followed by a publishing deal with Sony/ATV. She played live shows with a burlesque element after meeting and working with performance artist Lady Starlight. Her early music was a mix of pop, dance and glam rock. Her birth name was Stefani Germanotta and her new name was a play on the Queen hit, Radio Gaga. It was during this period that the stage name Lady Gaga was born. Music producer Rob Fusari’s helped her to compose new songs and develop her material. In June 2006, talent scout Wendy Starland saw Lady Gaga perform at the New Songwriters’ Showcase at the Cutting Room venue. To improve her song writing skills she joined New York University’s music school, the Collaborative Arts Project 21.Īfter dropping out of education in 2005, at age 19, to focus on pursuing a music career she formed a band, The SG Band, with some friends and they played gigs around New York. She studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute but preferred music. Her dedication paid off, as she played at open mic nights as a teenager and enrolled in Creative Arts Camp. As well as taking piano lessons, she could create music by ear. She was a natural, practicing continually as a child. She started playing the piano aged four, at her mother’s suggestion. ![]() ![]() Known for her avant-garde style and innovative music, Lady Gaga was born in Manhattan in 1986. Eleven years on, they remain friends and their great rapport is obvious. The friendship between the two artists goes back to 2011, when Gaga, then a 25-year-old newcomer to the music industry, invited the veteran actress to her concert at New York’s Madison Square Gardens. The 76-year-old actress, singer and dancer was celebrating the 50th anniversary of her own Academy Award for Best Actress as Sally Bowles in the 1970s musical, Cabaret. Singer, songwriter and actress Lady Gaga, 36, was jointly presenting the Best Picture Oscar with the legendary Minnelli. Their heart-warming appearance showed a genuine affection and respect for each other, despite the 40-year age gap. When entertainment icons Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli shared the stage at the 2022 Academy Awards, they created an iconic moment that was adored all over the world. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Basically, all this week it's Tomer and Seth talking new Commander cards! Today it's Sultai Morphs and the Faceless Menace deck! What do Tomer and Seth think of Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer, Grismold, the Dreadsower and friends? Can they keep the videos to a reasonable length? Which cards are they most excited about? Let's get to the video and find out, then after the video make sure to check out the links to all of the other Commander 2019 content up on MTGGoldfish. Commander 2019 - Faceless Menace - The Commander series returns with four brand new ready-to-play decks for Magic's most popular multiplayer format. ![]() Of course, Lord Windgrace himself is a 6 card, so it’s not like Kadena is overpriced at current retail. While the main focus are the new legends, and their potential outside of the precons themselves, some other spice new cards show up as well. Faceless Menace and get a whole bunch of other cards as well That should keep demand for this specific single card a bit lower than some of the other, more versatile cards in Commander 2019. This deck focuses on the Morph mechanic, and in Sultai. Faceless Menace is one of four decks in the Commander 2019 series. ![]() The primary commander is Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer, and the secondary commanders are Rayami, First of the Fallen and Volrath, the Shapestealer. Find the largest range of Magic: the Gathering products and accessories at Bazaar of. The Morph mechanic includes its Manifest and Megamorph variants.Commander 2019 officially releases on Friday which means it's time to break down the sweetest new cards from each deck in video form! Normally when a new set comes out we do top ten videos for different formats, and while it's possible a few cards from Commander 2019 sneak into Legacy or Vintage, since the set isn't legal in Standard or Modern, this time we are doing things a bit different: rather than talking about the impact of the set on various formats, we're breaking down the sweetest new cards from Commander 2019 on a deck by deck basis. In this video, were going to look at the new Commander 2019 precon decks, starting off with my personal favorite, the Faceless Menace. Commander is a Magic: The Gathering (MTG) multiplayer format where alliances are formed, friends are betrayed, and grudges are repaid with a vengeance. Faceless Menace is a 100 card Commander preconstructed deck with a Morph theme, featured in Commander 2019. The primary commander is Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer, and the secondary commanders are Rayami, First of the Fallen and Volrath, the Shapestealer. Commander 2019: Faceless Menace (Morph) from Magic: the Gathering. Faceless Menace is a 100 card Commander preconstructed deck with a Morph theme, featured in Commander 2019. Let's talk more Commander In this video, we're going to look at the new Commander 2019 precon decks, starting off with my personal favorite, the Faceless Me. ![]() ![]() ![]() Size: The size here represents the dimensions of the returned array.The randn() function only takes one parameter as input, size which is optional. The values are always floating-point numbers based on the normal distribution having the mean equal to 0 and variation equal to 1. This function returns an array of shapes mentioned explicitly, filled with values from the standard normal distribution. Rand_int2 = np.random.randint(10,90,(4,5)) # random numpy array of shape (4,5) # if the shape is not mentioned the output will just be a random integer in the given range Let's take a simple code example and see, import numpy as np But remember to pass the size as a tuple.ĭtype: This parameter is used to specify the data type of the values to be stored in the array to be created. For example for an array with 4 rows and 3 columns we pass (4, 3). Size: This is the parameter that decides the shape of the array. But 5 is inclusive and 20 is exclusive, which means the values would be confined between 5 and 19. It is exclusive (is not included).įor example, if we want values in our array to be in the range [5,20) the lowest value in the array would start from 5 going on till 20. High: This is the upper limit of the range or the ending point of values we need in our array to be created. Low: This is the lower limit of the range or the starting point of values we need in our array to be created. If the size parameter is not explicitly mentioned this function will just return a random integer value between the range mentioned instead of the array. ![]() This function returns an array of shapes mentioned explicitly, filled with random integer values. ![]() Using this function we can create a NumPy array filled with random integers values. Let's take a look at these functions one by one The important point to note is, to access any of the random functions we need to include the keyword random because all these random functions are a part of the random module. We can create NumPy arrays filled with random values, these random values can be integers, normal values(based on the normal distribution) or uniform values(based on the uniform distribution). In my last blog post I covered various different ways of creating a Numpy array, today we will discover random functions present in the NumPy's random module to create Numpy arrays with random values. ![]() ![]() ![]()
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