Tom Cruise 'Deeply Saddened' By Katie Holmes Divorce

TMZ reports Holmes is seeking full custody of the couple's one daughter, Suri.
By John Mitchell

Suri Cruise, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise
Photo: James Devaney/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1688835/tom-cruise-katie-holmes-files-divorce-statement.jhtml

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Energy Take Classic 5.1

With so much of the focus these days on iPod speakers and wireless Bluetooth streaming, it's easy to forget there's a sizeable market for dedicated home theater systems. The Energy Take Classic 5.1 ($399.99 list) is a diminutive surround sound speaker set with a large sound. It's an excellent choice if you need a do-it-all speaker system for both home theater and music playback in this price range.

Design, Features, and Concept
For this review, I tested the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system with two home theater component receivers: a Denon AVR-1613 ($399.99, 3 stars) and a Yamaha RX-V473 ($449.99, 3.5 stars). Note that unlike most of the speakers we test, the Energy Take Classic 5.1 is unpowered. It's meant to be paired with a receiver, integrated amplifier, or separate pre-amp and amplifier components in a full-sized living room or den system. This is the more traditional way of putting together an audio system, which dates back decades, but I just wanted to point that out up front.

With that out of the way, let's get to the system itself. The black gloss vinyl finish looks clean, minimalistic, and sharp. Each satellite measures 6.9 by 4.1 by 4.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.9 pounds. The center channel measures 4.1 by 10.3 by 4.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.2 pounds. The powered subwoofer looks compact in photos, but it's surprisingly large in person, particularly when paired with the satellites; it measures 12.6 inches on all sides and weighs 19.7 pounds. All five satellites could sit on top of the subwoofer without hanging over the edges, just to give you an idea of the difference.

Each satellite contains a 3-inch poly-titanium woofer and a 0.75-inch hyperbolic aluminum dome tweeter. Energy rates the satellites' frequency response at 115 Hz to 20 KHz (+/- 3 dB). With a class-average efficiency rating of 89 dB, you wouldn't want to power them with a 10 watt tube amp, but that's not the crowd Energy is shooting for with this system. Just about any home theater receiver of recent vintage should have no problem powering the Take Classic 5.1. Meanwhile, the 200-watt bass reflex subwoofer features a 8-inch downward-firing, injection molded cone and a front-firing port. Energy rates the subwoofer's frequency response at 33 to 150 Hz (+/- 3 dB). There's a variable low pass filter you can set anywhere from 40 to 150 Hz, with an 18dB per octave roll-off.

Combination subwoofer and satellite systems (or "sub/sat systems," as they're commonly known) blend in with decor much better than full tower systems. They also tend to offer deeper, more powerful bass, and are natural choices for home theater systems where you may want a little more boost with the subwoofer's volume dial. Tiny satellite speakers also tend to do a better job of projecting a three-dimensional soundstage, assuming high-enough-quality drivers.

At the same time, sub/sat systems sometimes don't sound quite as natural or balanced as a properly voiced bookshelf or tower speaker; it's tricky to get the subwoofer's placement, crossover point, and volume level correct, as it changes from room to room and also varies on the listening position. And if the satellites are too small?the Energy system is pushing it here, at least on paper?you'll hear a hole in the upper bass and lower midrange region no matter what, simply because the satellite's woofer is too small to deliver enough full bodied response, and because at high crossover points, you'll be able to hear where the subwoofer is placed.

Performance and Conclusions
Fortunately, the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system avoids the above pitfalls. It delivers stellar performance, especially considering its reduced $400 price. In my tests, the satellites sounded clear and transparent, with a surprisingly natural-sounding midrange, and a reasonable level of detail for such a small speaker. The highs were airy and free of noticeable coloration, if a bit forward. I preferred the sound with the cloth grilles off, but that's a personal decision; I never find them 100 percent acoustically neutral, but I could be in the minority there. Down low, the subwoofer delivered serious extension and punch considering its size. With The Knife's "Silent Shout," our standard test music track for bass response, the system had no problem rendering the punchy 808-style kick drum and low-end synthesizer bass separately and distinctly.

To test the Energy Take Classic 5.1's home theater prowess, I used scenes from the the 2010 DTS Demonstration Blu-Ray Disc, and ran them through a Samsung BD-D5500 ($159.99, 3.5 stars) Blu-ray player and a Sony Bravia KDL-46EX620 ($809.99, 3.5 stars) LED-backlit HDTV. Arrow shots, voices, and horse gallops had sufficient clarity and distinction in Robin Hood (the 2010 film with Russell Crowe), and the Take Classic 5.1 had no problem rendering almost a dozen sound sources simultaneously throughout the sound field. In the DTS-encoded Despicable Me, the Take Classic 5.1 rendered the boom of the rocket ships and the low rumble while in flight, all while maintaining clear dialog and detailed sound effects throughout.

I initially ran into some trouble getting the right amount of kick out of the subwoofer, though that's typical of this type of system. Depending on the positioning, the subwoofer tended to sound a little soft and boomy, but only in terms of pure kick drum punch. The key in those situations is to turn the volume dial down, perhaps a little more than you'd expect, in order to get a balanced sound where the subwoofer doesn't call undue attention to itself. Ideally, though, spend the time to place it properly, as it pays off in dividends.

Overall, the Energy Take Classic 5.1 speaker system is an excellent buy, and could easily keep you happy for years. I'd be content just listening to music on it, which is not what I would say about many home theater-focused 5.1 subwoofer and satellite systems in the Take Classic 5.1's price range. A proper full-range tower or even bookshelf speaker will still deliver the ultimate in natural, balanced response, and don't need the serious kick and low-end extension of a powered subwoofer?NHT, Paradigm, and PSB are great places to start, although there are countless others. But for an ideal combination of home theater performance and music playback in this price range, the Take Classic 5.1 delivers.

More Speaker Reviews:
??? Monster Clarity HD Model One
??? Energy Take Classic 5.1
??? Nuforce Cube
??? Libratone Live
??? M-Audio BX5 D2
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/rFdJ01RhUbk/0,2817,2405955,00.asp

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Postseason NBA Schedule

All Times EDT

FIRST ROUND

(Best-of-7)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Miami vs. New York

Saturday, April 28

Miami 100, New York 67

Monday, April 30

Miami 104, New York 94

Thursday, May 3

Miami 87, New York 70

Sunday, May 6

New York 89, Miami 87

Wednesday, May 9

Miami 106, New York 94, Miami wins series 4-1

---

Atlanta vs. Boston

Sunday, April 29

Atlanta 83, Boston 74

Tuesday, May 1

Boston 87, Atlanta 80

Friday, May 4

Boston 90, Atlanta 84, OT

Sunday, May 6

Boston 101, Atlanta 79

Tuesday, May 8

Atlanta 87, Boston 86

Thursday, May 10

Boston 83, Atlanta 80, Boston wins series 4-2

---

Chicago vs. Philadelphia

Saturday, April 28

Chicago 103, Philadelphia 91

Tuesday, May 1

Philadelphia 109, Chicago 92

Friday, May 4

Philadelphia 79, Chicago 74

Sunday, May 6

Philadelphia 89, Chicago 82

Tuesday, May 8

Chicago 77, Philadelphia 69

Thursday, May 10

Philadelphia 79, Chicago 78, Philadelphia wins series 4-2

---

Indiana vs. Orlando

Saturday, April 28

Orlando at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Orlando 81, Indiana 77

Monday, April 30

Indiana 93, Orlando 78

Wednesday, May 2

Indiana 97, Orlando 74

Saturday, May 5

Indiana 101, Orlando 99, OT

Tuesday, May 8

Indiana 105, Orlando 87, Indiana wins series 4-1

---

WESTERN CONFERENCE

San Antonio vs. Utah

Sunday, April 29

San Antonio 106, Utah 91

Wednesday, May 2

San Antonio 114, Utah 83

Saturday, May 5

San Antonio 102, Utah 90

Monday, May 7

San Antonio 87, Utah 81, San Antonio wins series 4-0

---

L.A. Lakers vs. Denver

Sunday, April 29

L.A. Lakers 103, Denver 88

Denver 0, L.A. Lakers 0

Tuesday, May 1

L.A. Lakers 104, Denver 100

Friday, May 4

Denver 99, L.A. Lakers 84

Sunday, May 6

L.A. Lakers 92, Denver 88

Tuesday, May 8

Denver 102, L.A. Lakers 99

Thursday, May 10

Denver 113, L.A. Lakers 96

Saturday, May 12

L.A. Lakers 96, Denver 87, L.A. Lakers wins series 4-3

---

Oklahoma City vs. Dallas

Saturday, April 28

Oklahoma City 99, Dallas 98

Monday, April 30

Oklahoma City 102, Dallas 99

Thursday, May 3

Oklahoma City 95, Dallas 79

Saturday, May 5

Oklahoma City 103, Dallas 97, Oklahoma City wins series 4-0

---

Memphis vs. L.A. Clippers

Sunday, April 29

L.A. Clippers 99, Memphis 98

Wednesday, May 2

Memphis 105, L.A. Clippers 98

Saturday, May 5

L.A. Clippers 87, Memphis 86

Monday, May 7

L.A. Clippers 101, Memphis 97, OT

Wednesday, May 9

Memphis 92, L.A. Clippers 80

Friday, May 11

Memphis 90, L.A. Clippers 88

Sunday, May 13

L.A. Clippers 82, Memphis 72, L.A. Clippers wins series 4-3

---

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(Best-of-7)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston vs. Philadelphia

Saturday, May 12

Boston 92, Philadelphia 91

Monday, May 14

Philadelphia 82, Boston 81

Wednesday, May 16

Boston 107, Philadelphia 91

Friday, May 18

Philadelphia 92, Boston 83

Monday, May 21

Boston 101, Philadelphia 85

Wednesday, May 23

Philadelphia 82, Boston 75

Saturday, May 26

Boston 85, Philadelphia 75, Boston wins conference semifinals 4-3

---

Miami vs. Indiana

Sunday, May 13

Miami 95, Indiana 86

Tuesday, May 15

Indiana 78, Miami 75

Thursday, May 17

Indiana 94, Miami 75

Sunday, May 20

Miami 101, Indiana 93

Tuesday, May 22

Miami 115, Indiana 83

Thursday, May 24

Miami 105, Indiana 93, Miami wins conference semifinals 4-2

---

WESTERN CONFERENCE

San Antonio vs. L.A. Clippers

Tuesday, May 15

San Antonio 108, L.A. Clippers 92

Thursday, May 17

San Antonio 105, L.A. Clippers 88

Saturday, May 19

San Antonio 96, L.A. Clippers 86

Sunday, May 20

San Antonio 102, L.A. Clippers 99, San Antonio wins conference semifinals 4-0

---

Oklahoma City vs. L.A. Lakers

Monday, May 14

Oklahoma City 119, L.A. Lakers 90

Wednesday, May 16

Oklahoma City 77, L.A. Lakers 75

Friday, May 18

L.A. Lakers 99, Oklahoma City 96

Saturday, May 19

Oklahoma City 103, L.A. Lakers 100

Monday, May 21

Oklahoma City 106, L.A. Lakers 90, Oklahoma City wins conference semifinals 4-1

---

CONFERENCE FINALS

(Best-of-7)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Miami vs. Boston

Monday, May 28

Miami 93, Boston 79

Wednesday, May 30

Miami 115, Boston 111, OT

Friday, June 1

Boston 101, Miami 91

Sunday, June 3

Boston 93, Miami 91, OT

Tuesday, June 5

Boston 94, Miami 90

Thursday, June 7

Miami 98, Boston 79

Saturday, June 9

Miami 101, Boston 88, Miami wins conference finals 4-3

---

WESTERN CONFERENCE

San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City

Sunday, May 27

San Antonio 101, Oklahoma City 98

Tuesday, May 29

San Antonio 120, Oklahoma City 111

Thursday, May 31

Oklahoma City 102, San Antonio 82

Saturday, June 2

Oklahoma City 109, San Antonio 103

Monday, June 4

Oklahoma City 108, San Antonio 103

Wednesday, June 6

Oklahoma City 107, San Antonio 99, Oklahoma City wins conference finals 4-2

---

FINALS

(Best-of-7)

Oklahoma City vs. Miami

Tuesday, June 12

Oklahoma City 105, Miami 94

Thursday, June 14

Miami 100, Oklahoma City 96

Sunday, June 17

Miami 91, Oklahoma City 85

Tuesday, June 19

Miami 104, Oklahoma City 98

Thursday, June 21

Miami 121, Oklahoma City 106, Miami wins finals 4-1

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/29/2874964/postseason-nba-schedule.html

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PFT: Jim Kelly rooting for Tebow-Sanchez turmoil

AP

As the saying goes, justice delayed is justice denied.? In the case of the players suspended for their alleged role in the Saints bounty program, the delayed issuance of a ruling by Commissioner Roger Goodell is delaying the players? chance to get justice of any kind.

A full 11 days after Goodell conducted a hearing at which the players? lawyers raised procedural and jurisdictional arguments intended more for the next phase of the case than this one and offered no substantive defense of any kind, Commissioner Roger Goodell still hasn?t ruled.? And there?s no reason for the ongoing delay.

In the recent New York Times item regarding NFLPA outside counsel Richard Smith?s ongoing attack on the ?Bobby, give me my money? videotape, NFL senior V.P. of labor law and policy Adolpho Birch reiterated the league?s position on the evidence against the players:? ?The Commissioner has to look at the record he has, and the record that we have we feel very comfortable with.?

?We? is the NFL.? And the NFL necessarily includes the man who had been out in front of the P.R. campaign, like New York mayor Michael Bloomberg calling in 2008 for Giants receiver Plaxico Burress to be put in the ?slammer? after shooting a bullet through his leg via an unlicensed firearm.? Unlike Bloomberg, Goodell also is the presiding judge.

And with the players offering no evidence of any kind to dispute the league?s much-touted ?mosaic? of proof, there?s no reason to prolong the process.

So why hasn?t Goodell ruled?

It could be that he?s taking time not to make up his mind but to craft decision letters that will be hard to attack when the players inevitably file a lawsuit aimed at overturning his ruling.? When the ruling comes, look for the letters to be lengthy and detailed and to address in exhaustive fashion every argument the players have raised, and maybe some they haven?t.? The letters also likely will devote plenty of space to faulting the players for not cooperating with the process to which the NFLPA agreed, blaming the players for concealing from the process any evidence that supports their proclaimed innocence.

And so, unless Goodell is simply delaying his decisions to narrow the window of time the players will have to get the rulings overturned before the season begins, it?s likely that the league office is dotting every ?i? and crossing every ?t? multiple times over in order to best fend off what Jonathan Vilma has dubbed ?Phase Two.?

Regardless, it?s no accident that 11 days have passed since the appeal hearings.? Earlier this year, Goodell needed only four days in April to reject the appeals from coach Sean Payton, G.M. Mickey Loomis, assistant head coach Joe Vitt, and the Saints.

Given that Payton and company actually presented information in their defense at the hearings, it should have taken longer to sift through those appeals.

Regardless, it?s already taken too long for the league to rule on the players? appeals.? And that most likely will be another issue raised when it?s time to move on to ?Phase Two.?

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/06/29/jim-kelly-im-rooting-for-tebow-sanchez-turmoil/related/

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Yoani Sanchez: Cuba's Schools Are Failing Its Children

To brag about the achievements of our children and to crow about the good grades they got on a test are some of the pleasures that we can't forgo when the opportunity presents itself. June comes and we bump into a neighbor or a friend and the obligatory question is, "How is your child doing studying for the final exams?" The heat takes a backseat, and summer's apathy gains some mystery with the questions: Will they pass or fail? Will they be promoted to the next grade, or not? Long nights are spent solving math problems, the tutors can't keep up with so many students, and outside the schools they post the listings with the standings. The year-end vortex sucks us in... but this year there are several new features.

After testing one educational method after another, now several batches of students trained in these teaching "laboratories" have come to the university. I am referring to those who, from the first day of junior high school, faced those so-called "emerging teachers" at the blackboard; the same teenagers who, for years, received 60 percent of their classes through a television screen. My son is a good example of this. He benefited from the abandonment of the "high schools in the countryside" program -- excellent news -- but he suffered from the restructuring of the school program, plagued with misfits, lost hours, and the poor academic preparation of the educators. He has also been affected by the high desertion rates among the ranks of teachers whose salaries remain on the symbolic, if not the ridiculous, plane. Added to this is the presence -- excessive and continuous -- of an ideology that pervades even subjects and materials as far from the political spectrum as possible.

These winds are now bringing real storms. The lack of educational quality is bumping up against an increasing rigor in the final exams for high school. The result: entire schools where they are barely able to pass three or four students; complete groups who must cram and take the test second time, and even a third; parents on the edge of nervous collapse on learning that their "intelligent" child doesn't even know the Pythagorean theorem. To the lack of control comes the firm hand; the delirious educational system starts to see reason. But we're not talking about numbers here; it concerns young people whose learning has been far below what now appears on the test. People for whom volunteerism and school experimentation have been shown to fail.

Yoani's blog, Generation Y, can be read here in English translation.
Translating Cuba is a compilation blog with Yoani and other Cuban bloggers in English.
Yoani's new book in English, Havana Real, can be ordered here.

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?

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Follow Yoani Sanchez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/yoanifromcuba

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/cubas-schools-are-failing_b_1640256.html

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NASA explains why clocks will get an extra second on June 30

ScienceDaily (June 29, 2012) ? If the day seems a little longer than usual on Saturday, June 30, 2012, that's because it will be. An extra second, or "leap" second, will be added at midnight to account for the fact that it is taking Earth longer and longer to complete one full turn -- a day -- or, technically, a solar day.

"The solar day is gradually getting longer because Earth's rotation is slowing down ever so slightly," says Daniel MacMillan of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Scientists know exactly how long it takes Earth to rotate because they have been making that measurement for decades using an extremely precise technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). VLBI measurements are made daily by an international network of stations that team up to conduct observations at the same time and correlate the results. NASA Goddard provides essential coordination of these measurements, as well as processing and archiving the data collected. And NASA is helping to lead the development of the next generation of VLBI system through the agency's Space Geodesy Project, led by Goddard.

From VLBI, scientists have learned that Earth is not the most reliable timekeeper. The planet's rotation is slowing down overall because of tidal forces between Earth and the moon. Roughly every 100 years, the day gets about 1.4 milliseconds, or 1.4 thousandths of a second, longer. Granted, that's about 100 or 200 times faster than the blink of an eye. But if you add up that small discrepancy every day for years and years, it can make a very big difference indeed.

"At the time of the dinosaurs, Earth completed one rotation in about 23 hours," says MacMillan, who is a member of the VLBI team at NASA Goddard. "In the year 1820, a rotation took exactly 24 hours, or 86,400 standard seconds. Since 1820, the mean solar day has increased by about 2.5 milliseconds."

By the 1950s, scientists had already realized that some scientific measurements and technologies demanded more precise timekeeping than Earth's rotation could provide. So, in 1967, they officially changed the definition of a second. No longer was it based on the length of a day but on an extremely predictable measurement made of electromagnetic transitions in atoms of cesium. These "atomic clocks" based on cesium are accurate to one second in 1,400,000 years. Most people around the world rely on the time standard based on the cesium atom: Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Another time standard, called Universal Time 1 (UT1), is based on the rotation of Earth on its axis with respect to the sun. UT1 is officially computed from VLBI measurements, which rely on astronomical reference points and have a typical precision of 5 microseconds, or 5 millionths of a second, or better.

"These reference points are very distant astronomical objects called quasars, which are essentially motionless when viewed from Earth because they are located several billion light years away," says Goddard's Stephen Merkowitz, the Space Geodesy Project manager.

For VLBI observations, several stations around the world observe a selected quasar at the same time, with each station recording the arrival of the signal from the quasar; this is done for a series of quasars during a typical 24-hour session. These measurements are made with such exquisite accuracy that it's actually possible to determine that the signal does not arrive at every station at exactly the same time. From the miniscule differences in arrival times, scientists can figure out the positions of the stations and Earth's orientation in space, as well as calculating Earth's rotation speed relative to the quasar positions.

Originally, leap seconds were added to provide a UTC time signal that could be used for navigation at sea. This motivation has become obsolete with the development of GPS (Global Positioning System) and other satellite navigation systems. These days, a leap second is inserted in UTC to keep it within 0.9 seconds of UT1.

Normally, the clock would move from 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 the next day. Instead, at 23:59:59 on June 30, UTC will move to 23:59:60, and then to 00:00:00 on July 1. In practice, this means that clocks in many systems will be turned off for one second.

Proposals have been made to abolish the leap second and let the two time standards drift apart. This is because of the cost of planning for leap seconds and the potential impact of adjusting or turning important systems on and off in synch. No decision will made about that, however, until 2015 at the earliest by the International Telecommunication Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations that addresses issues in information and communication technologies. If the two standards are allowed to go further and further out of synch, they will differ by about 25 minutes in 500 years.

In the meantime, leap seconds will continue to be added to the official UTC timekeeping. The 2012 leap second is the 35th leap second to be added and the first since 2008.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/pWD0YDtKY8k/120629211904.htm

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Twitter?s All Like ?We Don?t Need You LinkedIn,? But Still Bends Over Backwards For Facebook

Nothing is more fascinating than the tech platform API wars because they are so, so similar to high school, once a company feels it's too cool for another company, it starts shutting off parts of its API to that company, like what happened here with Facebook and Google. It's basically one of those big, swinging dick types of things, that I, as a female, don't entirely understand.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/fI4h8PIgmkA/

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