Saturday, May 31, 2008

NATALIE PORTMAN AT CANNES FESTIVAL


Cannes Film Festival juror Natalie Portman recently wrapped up her movie-rating duties in the south of France, heading off to her home country for some time with her beau.

Wearing a pair of short-shorts, the My Blueberry Nights actress and boyfriend Devendra Banhart were spotted strolling about Jaffa, Israel earlier this week.

HOT CHICK - HEATHER THOMAS FROM THE FALL GUY


Heather Thomas from "The Fall Guy" - Heather is also a writer and political activist. I saw her hot ass on "Chelsea Lately" last night and she's 50!

LATOYA JACKSON LOOKS FUNNY


Seeing pictures of LaToya Jackson always brings a smile to my face. My smile quickly turns into a grimace, because I don't understand how a plastic surgeon is still able to eff with her face. I would think that even the slightest touch of a scalpel would make her entire head deflate. Toy needs to be stamped with a giant "expired," so that plastic surgeons knows not to mess with her anymore. What's done is done.

One thing I do love about Toy is that she can be almost any hot fucking mess. With a few minor adjustments, she can be Fergie, Mariah, Charo or Jacko. All the great lady messes of music!

Here's Toy celebrating her 52nd birfday in Las Vegas last night with RuPaul. Why is she doing jazzercise moves on the red carpet?

PERSONAL LOAN

There are so many people who are in need instant cash to pay for their credit card bills, rent, light and water bills and others dues that have to be paid immediately. Because if they don’t, a surcharge will be added to their account and that would be another burden on their part. Many would solve their financial problem by borrowing from their friends and family. The worst is they even sell their personal properties just to solve and have immediate cash. Actually you should not worry about instant cash. All you need to do is to apply for personal loan. In this generation, loans are the most easily and readily available means to solve that need for immediate cash to pay for your dues.

Last week, I stayed at our house and noticed some things that must be repaired immediately. I don’t have enough cash with me and I am saving my available money for my niece’s enrollment. Since I have limited funds and the repair must be made to prevent more damage, I opted to apply for a loan. Luckily my loan was approved immediately and the loan amount granted to me was deposited to my designated account. After I received the loan, I immediately bought some construction materials and have our house fix. For more information about personal loans, visit www.americaoneunsecured.com/loans/PersonalLoanMenu.aspx

ADRIANA LIMA THE SUPERMODEL PICTORIAL FOR ELLE MAGAZINE


Here’s supermodel Adriana Lima practically naked in the Italian edition of Elle magazine for this fine Friday morning. Adriana is hands down one of the sexiest women on the planet, and if you weren’t convinced of that before, I’m sure some of these semi-topless shots of her will change your mind. You gotta love these Italians. Watch her as she walk the catwalk.

AUDINA PATRIDGE'S NIGHT OUT WITH HER BEAUTIFUL SISTER


Following another hustle-bustle day in the city, Audrina Patridge decided to wind down with a night on the Hollywood town on Thursday (May 29).

The reality TV starlet headed out clubbing with her sister by her side, as the two popped into Goa and Villa to get their drink on.

SARAH JESSICA PARKER

This is the lead star in the movie Sex and the City. This is the most talked about. Many are encouraged to watch the film as it showed in the cinemas this time. For parents out there please guide your children when watching the movie. There are some scenes that are considered adult content.

SMALL BUSINESS LOAN

When I started my business, I was having problem in generating the much-needed capital for my business. I thought my years of saving would be enough to start my business rolling but I was wrong. After projecting the daily expenses of the overhead cost of running the business, I found out that my savings would only run the business for a couple of days. I need more funds to fuel my business. I wanted to borrow some money from my friends and family but that would be hard especially they too have their own personal loans. After discussing the details of business with my business partner, I have decided to apply for a loan. Luckily, I was able to apply for a Small Business Loan from Americaoneunsecured.com because the loan that they extended to me was very helpful in fueling my business. All I did was fill up an online application and complied all the necessary information about myself and waited. The loan that I applied was easily approved without any delay. Now that I have the funds, I immediately opened my business. After a week of operation, I immediately paid the loan. My friends kept asking me how I did it. I immediately told them the secret to my business success is my small business loan. Visit their website at www.americaoneunsecured.com/loans/BusinessLoan.aspx

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT AND HER FIANCE, ROSS McCALL WALKING IN THEIR HOLLYWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD


Enjoying the beautiful May weather in California, Jennifer Love Hewitt and her fiance Ross McCall were spotted out walking hand-in-hand around their Hollywood neighborhood.

During their stroll, the Ghost Whisperer actress complained of a bug in her eye - but was still all smiles for the camera. If you are watching ghost whisperer you will noticed that this is the same impression whenever Jennifer Love Hewitt encounters a ghost and communicates with her.

UPGRADING YOUR LAPTOP

If you are bored with using the same old technology of your laptop, and disturbed by its day by day decreasing speed, then it is the right time to have your laptop upgraded. But before you proceed with upgrading, you should search for all the criteria that needs to be upgraded to give a new look plus more capacity to your laptop. Several things can be upgraded in laptops such as, memory, the video card, the processor, the hard disk etc. Therefore it is essential for you to be sure of your motive for upgrading your laptop.

You can upgrade the memory or the RAM very easily by opening a partition in the laptops bottom. Here you can add to or remove the memory. The RAM can be decided by you at the time of the purchase of the laptop. However, there is a similar RAM contained in the laptop so that you can utilize it when you feel you need to upgrade your laptop memory. Apart from that you can buy the RAM from a number of stores. These are available in a variety of bytes and can be installed in the laptop very easily. You may be able to install it yourself, but if you are not sure of how to do it seek the help of a skilled technician.

Along with the memory you can upgrade the video card of your laptop too. The newly manufactured and hi tech laptops offer these options to the user. However, this was not so easy or not available in the earlier designs of laptops. For upgrading laptops with their video cards you will have buy a new and better chip to replace the old one As it was said before, not all types of laptops have such facilities for replacement. if you are not sure about yours, you should consult your manufacturer about this issue

Like the memory and the video card you can enhance the hard disk drive too. Based on the manufacturer, you have the opportunity of upgrading the hard disk size. You can choose to change the hard disk by going for the larger sizes and in that respect the best thing will be to consider the external drives first. The external drives are the USB drives and though this may hamper the portability of the laptop, it is still considered to be good.

Based on the information above, it is very clear that upgrading laptops is not a very difficult task. However it is true that in certain instances the help or the suggestion of the manufacturer is a must. Otherwise if you are familiar with the type of laptop you own, then nothing should prevent you from upgrading it by yourself.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

KIM KARDASHIAN DONATES HER CLOTHES TO CHARITY


Ever dream of having a wardrobe like the lovely KIM KARDASHIAN? Now is your chance! Kim will be launching an auction on E Bay, May 29th. You can now get your hands on some of her favorite's right from her very own closet. Items include: Jimmy Choo boots, Chanel bags, a Cartier watch and a Missoni dress.


A percentage of all the proceeds will be given to Kim's favorite charity the Dream Foundation -- which grants special wishes of terminally ill adults. i JUST HOPE pARIS HILTON GETS THE IDEA.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

THE EFFECTS OF GREEN TEA TO OUR METABOLISM

Green tea has emerged as a healthy route to improve the metabolism and also has provided a way to bring about reduction of weight. The constituents of green tea have the ability to maintain a healthy metabolic rate providing the necessary amount of vigor and vitality day after day.
Consuming green tea has helped many a person improve their metabolic rate and maintain a healthy living style. But, certain tips need to be borne in mind while purchasing "green tea" as every brand that is available in the market may not be completely natural in terms of its ingredients.
For this reason, it is best to go with a brand that is renowned and time-tested. Also, it is best to check the constituents before purchasing it. You can even have a look at where the tea is coming from to give an idea about whether the ingredients are totally natural. The ingredients have to be looked at because there are many brands available that claim to be green tea but are actually not.
"Organic green tea" is one such ingredient to look out for. If a brand is organic it will be mentioned so on the packing as many people prefer this ingredient while buying green tea. One vital point to bear in mind before you rush off to including green tea within your daily schedule is that one ingredient of any green tea is caffeine. If you are one who is very conscious about the amount of caffeine intake daily, then green tea is not your cup of tea. But, one good thing is that the amount of caffeine is significantly lesser in comparison to the amounts found in coffee or in the energy drinks that have now swarmed the markets. There are of late some products that claim to be free of caffeine. So, if you are caffeine conscious, you can try one of these.

Green tea has demonstrated the ability to improve the metabolic rate and improve the oxidation of fats. These two important properties have helped many an individual keep their weight in check and for many to help in losing excess weight. So, green tea is an excellent way to not only improve the metabolic rate but also to perk up the way you look.

Advanced trials have now made it known that along with these properties of green tea, it is also an antioxidant. Antioxidants are a great way to keep your heart healthy and to avoid life threatening conditions like cancer or stroke. So, green tea is a great way to go to improve metabolism, keep your weight in check and to give your body a regular dose of antioxidants to keep you healthy for a long time to come. Make it a habit to drink a cup or two of green tea starting today. After all, it pays to go the Green way.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

HAYDEN PANETTIERE SAYS RIDICULOUS FOR DRINKING


Hayden Panettiere brands the legal drinking age of 21 as "ridiculous". Drinking should be restricted age below 18. At the age of 21, anybody can drink as much as they can.

MARIO LOPEZ AND KARINA SMIRNOFF LOVING AT THE BEACH


Cute couple Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff enjoyed some time at the beach in Miami, Florida on Sunday (May 25).
Taking a break from promoting his new book Knockout Fitness, Mario tossed around a football with his Dancing with the Stars girlfriend on his shoulders - trying to do the “Dirty Dancing” lift to no avail.

WHITE PARTYING DUTIES OF KIM KARDASHIAN


Socialite turned reality star Kim Kardashian spent Sunday night mingling and letting loose amid white party hosting duties at The White House, a sprawling nightclub in Hampton Bays.
Accompanied by her running back boyfriend Reggie Bush, Kardashian told People magazine: “White is actually one of my favorite colors. I have a white car. I love white. When the opportunity came up to be in the Hamptons – I’d never been in the Hamptons before – and to host a white party at the White House, it just seemed right.”

BUSINESS LOANS

Me and my wife are planning to open a business. We want to open a coffee shop and Internet business because it is a growing industry and in our area, there are only few establishments that are in this kind of business. The market share is still big enough for us to grow. After summing up our financial accounts, we found out that our personal funds are not enough to start the business. We have to deal with the operating cost and fixed cost. With our limited money, our business will not run for a couple of days. We need more money to fuel our business. Thanks to Amecicaoneunsecured.com we were able to add more money to fuel our business. They offer different kinds of loans. It can be business loans or personal loans depending on the borrower. We applied for a business loan and in just a few days our loan was immediately approved without asking for any collateral for our loan. All we did was to fill up an online application form and then wait for a day then the loan was approved. It goes straight to our designated account. After receiving the money from our loan, we immediately opened our Internet and coffee shop business and it was a success. We are planning to open another branch of our business to cater more customers. We are also planning to renovate our old house and we are going to apply for a loan again with Americaoneunsecured.com. For more information about loans, I would suggest that you visit their website at www.americaoneunsecured.com

Monday, May 26, 2008

SLICK RICK PARDONED


Still newish New York Governor David Paterson, who was called in to replace professional john Eliot Spitzer, has given influential old-school hip-hop artist Slick Rick a full and unconditional pardon on his conviction of attempted murder back in 1990. The circumstances of the shootings and the trial that convicted Slick Rick, aka Ricky Walters, have always been suspect. Rick served his time in prison for the shooting, but as he was born in London he is still subject to deportation under tougher laws enforced after September 11. The governor’s pardon makes it less likely that he will be deported, but due to complicated legal issues, it’s still a remote possibility:

Break out your Cool Water cologne! New York Governor David Paterson has granted a full and unconditional pardon to rapper Slick Rick for the attempted murders of his cousin and another man.

The eyepatched rapper, whose real name is Ricky Walters, served more than five years in the slammer after the 1991 shooting of the two men, who both survived.

The Feds had been trying to deport the UK-born Slick since 2002. The pardon should halt these efforts.

MICHAEL JACKSON GUEST IN A BIRTHDAY PARTY


Michael Jackson was the surprise guest (he didn't sing) at the huge birthday party of Ed Hardy designer Christian Audigiers at the Peterson Auto Museum last night. Britney Spears was also there also in another too-tight outfit. It was a fashiony crowd and Michael looked sadly dated in his satin embroidered shirt and shiny pants. Christian Audigiers has a major celebrity following (that means he gives them loads of free clothes.) Remember - he used to be the designer for Von Dutch. A few years ago, it was revealed that the original Von Dutch - a rockabilly hot rod customizer from the 50's - when he was alive, was an alleged racist and nazi sympathizer! Christian bolted from that company name and started his own Ed Hardy line, based on a tattoo artist with no known negative attributes

PRINCE CASPIAN GOES IN THE LAND DOWN UNDER FOR NARNIA


Pretty boys Ben Barnes and William Moseley suit up and attend the premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian at the State Theater on Sunday in Sydney, Australia.

The pair joined by director Andrew Adamson and producer Mark Johnson. Prince Caspian slipped to No. 2 at this box office this weekend with $23 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull unearthed a massive $126 million during its first four days of release in North American theaters. Including the Memorial Day holiday, the total should reach $151 million.

IDENTITY PROTECTION

Yesterday while I was at the nature park, I saw an old friend. He used to me client before. I was his financial consultant for two year before I moved to another city. His name is John and he owns several commercial establishments in the city where I used to stay. I approached him with a smile and said my hello. John was very surprised to see me and told me that he was trying to contact me but no avail. Aside from the financial consultancy, I am also an investigator. He told me about his problem because several financial institutions are calling him up and making follow up on payments for several loans. Aside form that John also told me that aside from the loans, he also receives several credit card bills on his name but he never had these cards with him. John also told me that his loan application with his bank was disapproved and the reason is that he has a poor credit rating and sited some unpaid loans. After hearing his story, I immediately told john that he has been victimized by identity thieves. Identity stealing is a rampant crime nowadays. To be protected against identity thieves, www.lifelock.com the trust name in providing identity protection code. The code that www.lifelock.com offers is the first line of defense against identity thieves. When you have a lifelock code by www.lifelock.com and your identity was stolen, lifelock.com will help you get your identity back and clean your good name. Lifelock will provide you with the best lawyers to appear in court and defend you until you regain your identity back. For more information visit their website at www.lifelockpromotioncode.net

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

NATALIE PORTMAN MAKING LOVE IN CANNES


Sure, she’s the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury, but that doesn’t mean Natalie Portman is all business all the time.

The “V for Vendetta” actress was spotted taking some time off of her judging duties to do a little canoodling with her boyfriend Devendra Banhart, as well as her pet pooch earlier today.

5 SIMPLE THINGS THAT MAKES US FAT

There is only one thing that makes people fat, and that is excess calories. It takes a deficit or surplus of 3,500 calories to lose or gain one single pound of body fat. That deficit or surplus is decided by three factors. The first is your resting metabolic rate (RMR); everyone burns a certain number of calories just living and breathing. The two remaining factors are calories taken in from the food and beverages you consume and calories burned through physical activity. What is left is a caloric surplus (weight gain) or deficit (weight loss). Many people gain weight because they consume calories that go unrecognized or because they don't consider how small amounts of calories can add up.

Here are the top five things that can make you fat:

1-Coffee-You may be thinking, "How can coffee make me fat?" After all, it's only water and caffeine, which has no calories. Enter what I call "the Starbucks effect.' Today, many people have become addicted to flavored, oversized coffee drinks and their high-caloric content. If you think your Starbucks coffee run is harmless, consider that a Venti Mocha Frappucino® has 346 calories, a Venti Caramel Macchiato® with whole milk has 312 calories, and even a grande latte with non-fat milk packs over 200 calories. Every squirt of caramel, mocha, or other flavorings will cost you approximately 75 calories; every sugar packet, another 25 calories. Those who find themselves making two daily runs to Starbucks (or any other coffee house) may be taking in over 500 calories a day on coffee drinks. Based on a five-day workweek, that's 2,500 calories a week or 10,000 calories a month. Over the course of a year, there are enough calories in your coffee indulgences to pack on over 34 pounds.

2-Alcohol-So you work hard, and your day is full of stress and pressure. When it's over, all you want to do is to sit down, relax, and have a drink or two to "take the edge off." Sound familiar? Millions of people rely on that glass of wine, a gin and tonic, or a martini to feel better at the end of the day. The average drink has approximately 150 calories, and if you happen to be partial to mixed or exotic drinks-like daiquiris, mojitos, cosmopolitans or other tasty libations-the calorie count is substantially higher. Two average drinks can cost you 300 calories a day or 2,100 calories a week. So drinking regularly can yield over 2 pounds per month and 24 pounds per year.

3-Low-Fat, Fat-Free, Low-Calorie, and Sugar-Free Foods-If you've tracked the increase of overweight and obese people in the United States, you might have noticed that it mirrors the proliferation of foods marketed to make us thin. For years we have been tricked into thinking that we can eat more and weigh less, but it doesn't work that way. If you want to weigh less, you have to eat less and move more. Read labels for calories per portion, and watch the size of your portions. Any time you eat directly out of a box or bag, you are setting yourself up for potential weight-gain. Try taking a portion or two out of the box or bag and putting it in a bowl.

4-Diets-Each year over 70 million people go on a diet to lose weight, but 95 percent of them will gain all the weight back. Most will gain even more weight than were trying to lose when they started the diet. There are three specific reasons that this happens. First, when you dramatically reduce your caloric intake, your body responds by protecting its fat stores by slowing down your resting metabolism. A lower metabolic rate means you will burn fewer calories at rest. Second, many diets reduce carbohydrates, which are the primary energy source needed for physical activity. This tends to make you fatigued and less likely to increase your activity. Third, many diets force your body to convert protein from your muscle tissue for energy. Lean muscle tissue is your body's fat-burning machinery and allows you to burn more calories at rest. When you lose weight, you want it to be from fat, not from lean muscle tissue.

5-Lack of Physical Activity-The number one reason people give for not exercising is time. We can't find time to exercise, yet the average person watches television for 4½ hours every day. It has been proven that small amounts of physical activity can have a big impact on your weight and your health. There are very inexpensive "low-sweat" solutions for increasing your physical activity that you can perform in as few as 10 to 15 minutes a day-while watching television. Little moves can create big results.

LIFELOCK PROTECTION CODE

I am working as an investigator. I have been doing this kind of work for the past seven years already. I have opened my personal office and maintained a number of clients. I am glad to have helped many people in solving their problems.

In the seven years of doing my job, the most challenging case that I handled was a case of stolen identity. Identity stealing happens very fast and the last person to know that he/she is already a victim of stolen identity. Identity thieves strike in places where you least expect and they are very good in stealing identities. They do this for their personal gain at your expense.

Yesterday, I was visited by a good friend of mine and asked me for an advice regarding his loans and credit card bills. I thought it was just a simple financial budgeting that can solve his problem. I verified the documents that he presented to me and my friend told me that he never applied for a loan and he never uses his credit card to pay for trips abroad. Immediately after knowing these things, I can concluded that my friend has been a victim of identity thieves.

Stolen Identity can be prevented with just a lifelock promotion code. This service is provided by lifelock.com the number one trusted in identity theft prevention. Having a lifelock code secures your identity. If your identity is stolen and you have a lifelock promotion code, lifelock will help you in every single way in getting you identity back. They can provide you with a dependable legal team to represent you in court and accountants for your financial accounting.

I always recommend to all my clients to have a lifelock promotion code as a guard against identity thieves before they strike. For more information about the lifelock code, visit www.lifelockpromotioncode.net

Monday, May 19, 2008

FLAT STOMACH THE DESIRED ONE

So what is the low down on getting the tight midsection that stomach that looks great in a bikini and even better in those tight, tight jeans. There are two components to this question, first is fat, second is muscle tone.

Spot Reduction

First things first, you cannot spot reduce it. Now I know that this goes against every late-nite TV ad for the latest fat burning, ab tightening gizmo or pill that marketing minds have conjured up. However, the truth is that it is fat that is covering your abs. This means that you must make an all out battle against fat. Not just stubborn belly fat but fat in general.

You see your body stores fat in a very particular way. It first starts storing fat viscerally. Visceral fat is the fat that is found around your internal organs, and marbled in your muscle (like that steak in the butchers case).

Then after you body has stored fat internally it moves on to storing the fat you can see. The fat you see is called subcutaneous fat. This is the fat that you most want to disappear because it hangs over your panties and stuffs its way past your bra.

The only problem is that your body will give up this fat last. It does this in order to keep some reserves around just in case there's a famine and you cannot find a quickie mart.

This is sad, but sadder still is the propensity for our bodies to hold on to the fat around the mid section till last. This means that we will lose visceral fat first, then fat at our extremities - arms, legs, chest... Then, as if saving the best for last, your body will finally give up the belly.

This is the first part of the problem, the second is the tone of muscles. If you have lose stomach muscles - perhaps from childbearing - then the only solution is to tighten them up.

Tummy Toning

The solution to both of these issues is the dreaded diet and exercise. For belly tightening there are scores of exercises that you can do and I believe that this is an oft overlooked reality. Most ladies think that the only exercise in existence are crunches. Not so. There is not enough time to go into tons of detail here so ask around your gym for some guidance. While your at it get to know some other exercises like these:

Lying Bicycles

Atomic Crunches

Rocky Balboa Situps

Hanging leg raises

Lying Medicine Ball Vertical Thrusts

Flutter Kicks

Lying Leg Lifts

Jack Knifes (aka V ups)

Static Extensions (on a hyper bench)

Lying Leg Thrusts

Chair Leg Lift

Pelvic Thrusts

Reverse Crunch

Lying Scissors

The Plank

That should be enough to start and help you realize that there are other types of ab exercises besides the old school crunch. And even the old school crunch can be changed up for fun. For instance try adding an exercise ball, or chair, medicine ball.

You want to make reaching your goals as easy and fun as possible and variety will help achieve that goal. This pertains to dieting as well.

Diet is a dreaded word, however just like there are a variety of ab exercise options there some great modern diets out there that are both effective and fun. They allow for tons of variety, and the better ones even allow you to still enjoy your favorite fast foods in the process to getting the body you want.

CHESS FOR ALL


Chess is a recreational and competitive game played between two players. Sometimes called Western chess or international chess to distinguish it from its predecessors and other chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, much older games of Indian and Persian origin. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide in clubs, online, by correspondence, in tournaments and informally.

The game is played on a square chequered chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight square. At the start, each player (one controlling the white pieces, the other controlling the black pieces) controls sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check") and there is no way to remove it from attack on the next move.

The tradition of organized competitive chess started in the sixteenth century and has developed extensively. Chess today is a recognized sport of the International Olympic Committee. The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886; Viswanathan Anand is the current World Champion. Theoreticians have developed extensive chess strategies and tactics since the game's inception. Aspects of art are found in chess composition.

One of the goals of early computer scientists was to create a chess-playing machine, and today's chess is deeply influenced by the abilities of current chess programs and by the possibility to play online. In 1996, a match between Garry Kasparov, then World Champion, and a computer proved for the first time that machines are able to beat even the strongest human players.

Chess is played on a square board of eight rows (called ranks and denoted with numbers 1 to 8) and eight columns (called files and denoted with letters a to h) of squares. The colors of the sixty-four squares alternate and are referred to as "light squares" and "dark squares". The chessboard is placed with the light squares at the players' right, and the pieces are set out as shown in the diagram, with each queen on its own color.

The pieces are divided, by convention, into White and Black sets. Each player is referred to by the color of their pieces and begins the game with sixteen pieces. These comprise one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. White moves first. The players alternate moving one piece at a time (with the exception of castling, when two pieces are moved simultaneously). Pieces are moved to either an unoccupied square, or one occupied by an opponent's piece, capturing it and removing it from play. With one exception (en passant), all pieces capture opponent's pieces by moving to the square that the opponent's piece occupies.

When a king is under immediate attack by the opponent's pieces, the king is said to be in check. When in check, only moves that result in a position in which the king is not in check are permitted. Each player must not make any move that would place their king in check. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent; this occurs when the opponent's king is in check, and there is no way to remove the king from attack.

In chess, tactics in general concentrate on short-term actions — so short-term that they can be calculated in advance by a human player or by a computer. The possible depth of calculation depends on the player's ability or speed of the processor. In quiet positions with many possibilities on both sides, a deep calculation is not possible, while in "tactical" positions with a limited number of forced variants, it is possible to calculate very long sequences of moves.

Simple one-move or two-move tactical actions — threats, exchanges of material, double attacks etc. — can be combined into more complicated variants, tactical maneuvers, often forced from one side or from both. Theoreticians described many elementary tactical methods and typical maneuvers, for example pins, forks, skewers, discovered attacks (especially discovered checks), zwischenzugs, deflections, decoys, sacrifices, underminings, overloadings, and interferences.

A forced variant which is connected with a sacrifice and usually results in a tangible gain is named a combination. Brilliant combinations — such as those in the Immortal game — are described as beautiful and are admired by chess lovers. Finding a combination is also a common type of chess puzzle aimed at development of players' skills.

A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a game (the "opening moves"). Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings and have been given names such as the Ruy Lopez or Sicilian Defence. They are catalogued in reference works such as the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.

There are dozens of different openings, varying widely in character from quiet positional play (e.g. the Réti Opening) to very aggressive (e.g. the Latvian Gambit). In some opening lines, the exact sequence considered best for both sides has been worked out to 30–35 moves or more. Professional players spend years studying openings, and continue doing so throughout their careers, as opening theory continues to evolve.

The fundamental strategic aims of most openings are similar:

* Development: To place (develop) the pieces (particularly bishops and knights) on useful squares where they will have an impact on the game.
* Control of the center: Control of the central squares allows pieces to be moved to any part of the board relatively easily, and can also have a cramping effect on the opponent.
* King safety: It is often enhanced by castling.
* Pawn structure: Players strive to avoid the creation of pawn weaknesses such as isolated, doubled or backward pawns, and pawn islands.

Apart from these fundamentals, other strategic plans or tactical sequences may be employed in the opening.

Most players and theoreticians consider that White, by virtue of the first move, begins the game with a small advantage. Black usually strives to neutralize White's advantage and achieve equality, or to develop dynamic counterplay in an unbalanced position.

The middlegame is the part of the game when most pieces have been developed. Because the opening theory has ended, players have to assess the position, to form plans based on the features of the positions, and at the same time to take into account the tactical possibilities in the position.

Typical plans or strategical themes — for example the minority attack, that is the attack of queenside pawns against an opponent who has more pawns on the queenside — are often appropriate just for some pawn structures, resulting from a specific group of openings. The study of openings should therefore be connected with the preparation of plans typical for resulting middlegames.

Middlegame is also the phase in which most combinations occur. Middlegame combinations are often connected with the attack against the opponent's king; some typical patterns have their own names, for example the Boden's Mate or the Lasker—Bauer combination.

Another important strategical question in the middlegame is whether and how to reduce material and transform into an endgame (i.e. simplify). For example, minor material advantages can generally be transformed into victory only in an endgame, and therefore the stronger side must choose an appropriate way to achieve an ending. Not every reduction of material is good for this purpose; for example, if one side keeps a light-squared bishop and the opponent has a dark-squared one, the transformation into a bishops and pawns ending is usually advantageous for the weaker side only, because an endgame with bishops on opposite colors is likely to be a draw, even with an advantage of one or two pawns.

The endgame (or end game or ending) is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. There are three main strategic differences between earlier stages of the game and endgame:

* During the endgame, pawns become more important; endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank.
* The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame and it is often brought to the center of the board where it can protect its own pawns, attack the pawns of opposite color, and hinder movement of the opponent's king.
* Zugzwang, a disadvantage because the player has to make a move, is often a factor in endgames and rarely in other stages of the game. For example, in the diagram on the right, Black on move must go 1...Kb7 and allow white to queen after 2.Kd7, while White on move must allow a draw either after 1.Kc6 stalemate or losing the last pawn by going anywhere else.

Endgames can be classified according to the type of pieces that remain on board. Basic checkmates are positions in which one side has only a king and the other side has one or two pieces and can checkmate the opposing king, with the pieces working together with their king. For example, king and pawn endgames involve only kings and pawns on one or both sides and the task of the stronger side is to promote one of the pawns. Other more complicated endings are classified according to the pieces on board other than kings, e.g. "rook and pawn versus rook endgame".

Sunday, May 18, 2008

ONLINE STOCK TRADING


I used to work for a company who is engaged as a broker in the stock exchange. I worked there for about four years before I decided to leave the company for good. As I recalled, once the stock market opens, I must have 4 phones with me because our clients, who invested their money in stocks are always monitoring and informing us about their plans to buy or to sell. After the trading closes we have to inform our clients regarding their stocks, either high or low, sometimes no movement. This was the life that I have four years of working. After I left the company I still miss the time when the trading starts. Stock market trading is not just limited to the physical by there is also an Online stock trading. Onecfd.com is an online stock market trading broker that offers clients with a wide range of products to choose from. Their stock trading programs are very efficient and allows investors access to the forex market, and other well-known stocks. As one of the top CFD Providers, Onecfd.com has gained reputation in the stock trading world as a stable foundation of stock trading. You can select from the top CFD markets including products like Energy, forex, EFT’s and others more. For more information about the online stock trading, visit www.onecfd.com

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

THE CAR THAT I DRIVE


This is the car that my brother gave to my mother. This car used to be the service car of my brother who works as a medical representative. The car was given to us last March. I now drive this car to my office and go to different places.

JENNIFER ANNISTON KISSING JOHN MAYER IN THE POOL


Who knows if John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston are really dating. We’ve seen pictures of them together, including this newest one of the two of them cuddling in at Mandarin Oriental in Miami, but what does that prove? John Mayer goes through chicks like Amy Winehouse goes through a ten-sack. I just want Jennifer to find someone and get gobs of press attention. I want her to overshadow Angie because, really, aren’t we all getting tired of Angie? I am.

A BLOGGING OPPORTUNITY

I am a blogger and I have been blogging for quite sometime now. What I like about blogging is that I get to express my thoughts and crazy ideas as I post it in my blog. I consider my blog as my canvass where a lovely portrait is painted. Aside from being able to express, blogging is also a means to generate or make money. Bloggerwave is an online site that helps bloggers earn money through every blog post in their blogs. Being able to write and earn is a great opportunity that must be grabbed immediately. For more information about blogging and earning visit www.bloggerwave.com




AMY WINEHOUSE'S SKINNY BODY


Amy Winehouse has been skinny the last couple of years. I mean, we all know it’s due to her addiction to drugs but lately I’ve been looking at pictures of her wondering if she doesn’t have an eating disorder or something, too? Her body is all sunken in and her bones are sticking out. She seriously is so messed up. I don’t get why someone doesn’t just grab a hold of her and say “you have to clean your act up or you are going to die.” Yuck.

And what’s with her running barefoot and topless throughout the woods? That’s screaming “I’m on a ferocious drug trip” yet there are never any police around to question her. She is going to kill herself with drugs and then people are going to look back and have a lot of regrets. Sadly this is true!

LOOK OF THE YEAR



Do you want to be the next top model? To be a top model is not impossible. The Look of the Year is looking for young, fresh looking people that want to become a model. The look of the year is an online beauty contest in which candidates must submit their picture online. As you submit your most beautiful picture, you will be rated by online viewers. The picture that receives the most number of ratings will be awarded as the Look of the Year Winner. Don't miss this chance to become model. Visit http://www.lookoftheyear.com


Monday, May 12, 2008

VANESSA HUDGENS REVEALS HER FASHION SECRET


She’s one of the most visible actresses of her generation, and Vanessa Hudgens always seems to look good. And she recently revealed who she looks up to when it comes to what to wear.

The “High School Musical” hottie told press that her primary fashion influences are, “Mary-Kate Olsen, Victoria Beckham, and Nicole Richie. [They] have fun with fashion.”

Sunday, May 11, 2008

MAINFRAME THE SUPER COMPUTER

Mainframes (often colloquially referred to as Big Iron) are computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, ERP, and financial transaction processing.

The term probably originated from the early mainframes, as they were housed in enormous, room-sized metal boxes or frames. Later the term was used to distinguish high-end commercial machines from less powerful units which were often contained in smaller packages.

Today in practice, the term usually refers to computers compatible with the IBM System/360 line, first introduced in 1965. (IBM System z10 is IBM's latest incarnation.) Otherwise, systems with similar functionality but not based on the IBM System/360 are referred to as "servers." However, "server" and "mainframe" are not synonymous (see client-server).

Some non-System/360-compatible systems derived from or compatible with older (pre-Web) server technology may also be considered mainframes. These include the Burroughs large systems, the UNIVAC 1100/2200 series systems, and the pre-System/360 IBM 700/7000 series. Most large-scale computer system architectures were firmly established in the 1960s and most large computers were based on architecture established during that era up until the advent of Web servers in the 1990s. (Interestingly, the first Web server running anywhere outside Switzerland ran on an IBM mainframe at Stanford University as early as 1990. See History of the World Wide Web for details.)

There were several minicomputer operating systems and architectures that arose in the 1970s and 1980s, but minicomputers are generally not considered mainframes. (UNIX arose as a minicomputer operating system; Unix has scaled up over the years to acquire some mainframe characteristics.)

Many defining characteristics of "mainframe" were established in the 1960s, but those characteristics continue to expand and evolve to the present day.

Modern mainframe computers have abilities not so much defined by their single task computational speed (flops or clock rate) as by their redundant internal engineering and resulting high reliability and security, extensive input-output facilities, strict backward compatibility for older software, and high utilization rates to support massive throughput. These machines often run for years without interruption, with repairs and even software and hardware upgrades taking place during normal operation. More recently, there are several IBM mainframe installations that have delivered over a decade of continuous business service as of 2007, with upgrades not interrupting service. Mainframes are defined by high availability, one of the main reasons for their longevity, as they are used in applications where downtime would be costly or catastrophic. The term Reliability, Availability and Serviceability (RAS) is a defining characteristic of mainframe computers.

In the 1960s, most mainframes had no interactive interface. They accepted sets of punch cards, paper tape, and/or magnetic tape and operated solely in batch mode to support back office functions, such as customer billing. Teletype devices were also common, at least for system operators. By the early 1970s, many mainframes acquired interactive user interfaces and operated as timesharing computers, supporting hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously along with batch processing. Users gained access through specialized terminals or, later, from personal computers equipped with terminal emulation software. Many mainframes supported graphical terminals (and terminal emulation) by the 1980s (if not earlier). Nowadays most mainframes have partially or entirely phased out classic user terminal access in favor of Web user interfaces.

Historically mainframes acquired their name in part because of their substantial size and requirements for specialized HVAC and electrical power. Those requirements ended by the mid-1990s, with CMOS mainframe designs replacing the older bipolar technology. In fact, in a major reversal, IBM touts the mainframe's ability to reduce data center energy costs for power and cooling and reduced physical space requirements compared to server farms.

Nearly all mainframes have the ability to run (or host) multiple operating systems and thereby operate not as a single computer but as a number of virtual machines. In this role, a single mainframe can replace dozens or even hundreds of smaller servers, reducing management and administrative costs while providing greatly improved scalability and reliability.

Mainframes can add or hot swap system capacity non disruptively and granularly. Modern mainframes, notably the IBM zSeries and System z9 servers, offer three levels of virtualization: logical partitions (LPARs, via the PR/SM facility), virtual machines (via the z/VM operating system), and through its operating systems (notably z/OS with its key-protected address spaces and sophisticated goal-oriented workload scheduling,[clarify] but also Linux and Java). This virtualization is so thorough, so well established, and so reliable that most IBM mainframe customers run no more than two machines: one in their primary data center, and one in their backup data center—fully active, partially active, or on standby—in case there is a catastrophe affecting the first building. All test, development, training, and production workload for all applications and all databases can run on a single machine, except for extremely large demands where the capacity of one machine might be limiting. Such a two mainframe installation can support continuous business service, avoiding both planned and unplanned outages.

Mainframes are designed to handle very high volume input and output (I/O) and emphasize throughput computing. Since the mid-1960's, mainframe designs have included several subsidiary computers (called channels or peripheral processors) which manage the I/O devices, leaving the CPU free to deal only with high-speed memory. It is common in mainframe shops to deal with massive databases and files. Giga-record or tera-record files are not unusual.[citation needed] Compared to a typical PC, mainframes commonly have hundreds to thousands of times as much data storage online, and can access it much faster.

Mainframe return on investment (ROI), like any other computing platform, is dependent on its ability to scale, support mixed workloads, reduce labor costs, deliver uninterrupted service for critical business applications, and several other risk-adjusted cost factors. Some argue that the modern mainframe is not cost-effective. Hewlett-Packard and Dell unsurprisingly take that view at least at times, and so do a few independent analysts. Sun Microsystems used to take that view but, beginning in mid-2007, started promoting its new partnership with IBM, including probable support for the company's OpenSolaris operating system running on IBM mainframes. The general consensus (held by Gartner and other independent analysts) is that the modern mainframe often has unique value and superior cost-effectiveness, especially for large scale enterprise computing. In fact, Hewlett-Packard also continues to manufacture its own mainframe (arguably), the NonStop system originally created by Tandem. Logical partitioning is now found in many UNIX-based servers, and many vendors are promoting virtualization technologies, in many ways validating the mainframe's design accomplishments.

Mainframes also have unique execution integrity characteristics for fault tolerant computing. System z9 servers execute each instruction twice, compare results, and shift workloads "in flight" to functioning processors, including spares, without any impact to applications or users. This feature, also found in HP's NonStop systems, is known as lock-stepping, because both processors take their "steps" (i.e. instructions) together. Not all applications absolutely need the assured integrity that these systems provide, but many do, such as financial transaction processing.

Despite these differences, the IBM mainframe, in particular, is still a general purpose business computer in terms of its support for a wide variety of popular operating systems, middleware, and applications.

As of early 2006, IBM mainframes dominate the mainframe market at well over 90% market share. Unisys manufactures ClearPath mainframes, based on earlier Sperry and Burroughs product lines. Hitachi co-developed the zSeries z800 with IBM to share expenses. Hewlett-Packard sells its unique NonStop systems, which it acquired with Tandem Computers. Groupe Bull's DPS, Fujitsu-Siemens BS2000, and Fujitsu-ICL VME mainframes are still available in Europe. Fujitsu, Hitachi, and NEC (the "JCMs") still maintain nominal mainframe hardware businesses in their home Japanese market.

The amount of vendor investment in mainframe development varies with marketshare. Unisys, HP, Groupe Bull, Fujitsu, Hitachi, and NEC now rely primarily on commodity Intel CPUs rather than custom processors in order to reduce development expenses, and they have also cut back their mainframe software development. In contrast, IBM has its own large research and development organization designing new, homegrown CPUs, including mainframe processors, and IBM is rapidly expanding its software business, including its mainframe software portfolio, to seek additional profits.

Platform Solutions Inc., which was spun off former alternative mainframe vendor Amdahl Corp. in January 1999[citation needed], markets Intel Itanium 2 processor-based servers equipped with specialized just-in-time emulation firmware for IBM System z compatibility purposes. PSI and IBM are engaged in a series of lawsuits. IBM alleges that PSI violated its patents and refuses to license its software on PSI systems, while PSI alleges that IBM is violating anti-trust laws.

Several manufacturers produced mainframe computers from the late 1950s through the 1970s. The group of manufacturers was first known as "IBM and the Seven Dwarfs": IBM, Burroughs, UNIVAC, NCR, Control Data, Honeywell, General Electric and RCA. Later, shrinking, it was referred to as IBM and the BUNCH. IBM's dominance grew out of their 700/7000 series and, later, the development of the 360 series mainframes. The latter architecture has continued to evolve into their current zSeries/z9 mainframes which, along with the then Burroughs and now Unisys MCP-based mainframes, are among the few mainframe architectures still extant that can trace their roots to this early period. That said, while they can still run 24-bit System/360 code, the 64-bit zSeries and System z9 CMOS servers have nothing physically in common with the older systems. Notable manufacturers outside the USA were Siemens and Telefunken in Germany, ICL in the United Kingdom, and Fujitsu, Hitachi, Oki, and NEC in Japan. The Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries manufactured close copies of IBM mainframes during the Cold War; the Strela is an example of an independently designed Soviet computer.

Shrinking demand and tough competition caused a shakeout in the market in the early 1980s — RCA sold out to UNIVAC and GE also left; Honeywell was bought out by Bull; UNIVAC became a division of Sperry, which later merged with Burroughs to form Unisys Corporation in 1986. In 1991, AT&T briefly owned NCR. During the same period, companies found that servers based on microcomputer designs could be deployed at a fraction of the acquisition price and offer local users much greater control over their own systems given the IT policies and practices at that time. Terminals used for interacting with mainframe systems were gradually replaced by personal computers. Consequently, demand plummeted and new mainframe installations were restricted mainly to financial services and government. In the early 1990s, there was a consensus among industry analysts that the mainframe was a dying market as mainframe platforms were increasingly replaced by personal computer networks.

That trend started to turn around in the late 1990s as corporations found new uses for their existing mainframes and as the price of data networking collapsed in most parts of the world. The growth of e-business also dramatically increased the number of back-end transactions processed by mainframe software as well as the size and throughput of databases. Another factor currently increasing mainframe use is the development of the Linux operating system, which can run on many mainframe systems, typically in virtual machines. Linux allows users to take advantage of open source software combined with mainframe hardware RAS. Rapid expansion and development in emerging markets, particularly China, is also spurring major mainframe investments to solve exceptionally difficult computing problems, e.g. providing unified, extremely high volume online transaction processing databases for 1 billion consumers across multiple industries (banking, insurance, credit reporting, government services, etc.)

PAGE RANK IS EASY

Ranking in Google is not as hard as it is constantly made out to be. A lot of forums will beat on about how difficult this is and that you have to be aware of all the algorithm workings before you get to the top of Page 1 on Google.

The truth is that to rank well for a very competitive market does take longer than if you were trying to rank for a small niche market but it is not difficult.

You have to be realistic in your goals. Don't even bother trying to get to page one with "Credit Cards" or "Personal Loans". These are highly competitive keywords and it would take you a lifetime to outrank the current page 1 holders.

The basic ingredients that you need to get noticed by Google are, links to your site, on page relevancy and basic title tag keyword insertion. The last 2 ingredients are no brainers and should be followed as a matter of course. The first ingredient is the most important.

If you don't have links to your site your site is like an island with no connecting bridge. The spiders need to be able to find you from somewhere. Ranking for sites in Niche markets becomes very easy when you focus 90% of you time in building links back to your site. Now not just any links will do. The links to your site must contain the Keywords as anchor text that you wish to rank for. If you own a website on speed boats then the links to your site must have the words "Speed Boats" in the anchor text. You can and should suggest variations of your keywords to those that are linking back to you. Make sure you do not build your links too quickly as this will raise a red flag with Google. It should happen over time so that it looks organic in nature. Get links from all sorts of other websites. It's a bit of a myth that you have to get links from sites that are similar to yours.

To recap as long as you have these key steps covered you will see a huge improvement in your rankings.

1. Links. Lots of them, built slowly and from any geographic location. Anchor text to be placed in the links to your sites. Vary the keywords in your anchor text. 3 Word anchor texts work best.

2. On site relevancy. If your anchor text is "Baby Joggers" than don't write about Baby Cribs.

3. Title Tags: Make sure you have a good Title for your webpage. Make sure your keyword or variation thereof is included in the title.

If you can stick to these basic principles and you are competing in a niche market then you will be guaranteed good rankings as this is what Google is looking for.

Friday, May 9, 2008

THINGS WE DO THAT MAKES US FAT

There is only one thing that makes people fat, and that is excess calories. It takes a deficit or surplus of 3,500 calories to lose or gain one single pound of body fat. That deficit or surplus is decided by three factors. The first is your resting metabolic rate (RMR); everyone burns a certain number of calories just living and breathing. The two remaining factors are calories taken in from the food and beverages you consume and calories burned through physical activity. What is left is a caloric surplus (weight gain) or deficit (weight loss). Many people gain weight because they consume calories that go unrecognized or because they don't consider how small amounts of calories can add up.

Here are the top five things that can make you fat:

1-Coffee-You may be thinking, "How can coffee make me fat?" After all, it's only water and caffeine, which has no calories. Enter what I call "the Starbucks effect.' Today, many people have become addicted to flavored, oversized coffee drinks and their high-caloric content. If you think your Starbucks coffee run is harmless, consider that a Venti Mocha Frappucino® has 346 calories, a Venti Caramel Macchiato® with whole milk has 312 calories, and even a grande latte with non-fat milk packs over 200 calories. Every squirt of caramel, mocha, or other flavorings will cost you approximately 75 calories; every sugar packet, another 25 calories. Those who find themselves making two daily runs to Starbucks (or any other coffee house) may be taking in over 500 calories a day on coffee drinks. Based on a five-day workweek, that's 2,500 calories a week or 10,000 calories a month. Over the course of a year, there are enough calories in your coffee indulgences to pack on over 34 pounds.

2-Alcohol-So you work hard, and your day is full of stress and pressure. When it's over, all you want to do is to sit down, relax, and have a drink or two to "take the edge off." Sound familiar? Millions of people rely on that glass of wine, a gin and tonic, or a martini to feel better at the end of the day. The average drink has approximately 150 calories, and if you happen to be partial to mixed or exotic drinks-like daiquiris, mojitos, cosmopolitans or other tasty libations-the calorie count is substantially higher. Two average drinks can cost you 300 calories a day or 2,100 calories a week. So drinking regularly can yield over 2 pounds per month and 24 pounds per year.

3-Low-Fat, Fat-Free, Low-Calorie, and Sugar-Free Foods-If you've tracked the increase of overweight and obese people in the United States, you might have noticed that it mirrors the proliferation of foods marketed to make us thin. For years we have been tricked into thinking that we can eat more and weigh less, but it doesn't work that way. If you want to weigh less, you have to eat less and move more. Read labels for calories per portion, and watch the size of your portions. Any time you eat directly out of a box or bag, you are setting yourself up for potential weight-gain. Try taking a portion or two out of the box or bag and putting it in a bowl.

4-Diets-Each year over 70 million people go on a diet to lose weight, but 95 percent of them will gain all the weight back. Most will gain even more weight than were trying to lose when they started the diet. There are three specific reasons that this happens. First, when you dramatically reduce your caloric intake, your body responds by protecting its fat stores by slowing down your resting metabolism. A lower metabolic rate means you will burn fewer calories at rest. Second, many diets reduce carbohydrates, which are the primary energy source needed for physical activity. This tends to make you fatigued and less likely to increase your activity. Third, many diets force your body to convert protein from your muscle tissue for energy. Lean muscle tissue is your body's fat-burning machinery and allows you to burn more calories at rest. When you lose weight, you want it to be from fat, not from lean muscle tissue.

5-Lack of Physical Activity-The number one reason people give for not exercising is time. We can't find time to exercise, yet the average person watches television for 4½ hours every day. It has been proven that small amounts of physical activity can have a big impact on your weight and your health. There are very inexpensive "low-sweat" solutions for increasing your physical activity that you can perform in as few as 10 to 15 minutes a day-while watching television. Little moves can create big results.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE


A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain. A tropical cyclone feeds on heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapour contained in the moist air. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than other cyclonic windstorms such as nor'easters, European windstorms, and polar lows, leading to their classification as "warm core" storm systems.

The term "tropical" refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively in tropical regions of the globe, and their formation in Maritime Tropical air masses. The term "cyclone" refers to such storms' cyclonic nature, with counterclockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere. Depending on their location and strength, tropical cyclones are referred to by other names, such as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression and simply cyclone.

While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their strength if they move over land. This is the reason coastal regions can receive significant damage from a tropical cyclone, while inland regions are relatively safe from receiving strong winds. Heavy rains, however, can produce significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the coastline. Although their effects on human populations can be devastating, tropical cyclones can also relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat and energy away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate latitudes, which makes them an important part of the global atmospheric circulation mechanism. As a result, tropical cyclones help to maintain equilibrium in the Earth's troposphere, and to maintain a relatively stable and warm temperature worldwide.

Many tropical cyclones develop when the atmospheric conditions around a weak disturbance in the atmosphere are favorable. Others form when other types of cyclones acquire tropical characteristics. Tropical systems are then moved by steering winds in the troposphere; if the conditions remain favorable, the tropical disturbance intensifies, and can even develop an eye. On the other end of the spectrum, if the conditions around the system deteriorate or the tropical cyclone makes landfall, the system weakens and eventually dissipates.

All tropical cyclones are areas of low atmospheric pressure near the Earth's surface. The pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest that occur on Earth's surface at sea level. Tropical cyclones are characterized and driven by the release of large amounts of latent heat of condensation, which occurs when moist air is carried upwards and its water vapor condenses. This heat is distributed vertically around the center of the storm. Thus, at any given altitude (except close to the surface, where water temperature dictates air temperature) the environment inside the cyclone is warmer than its outer surroundings.

Rainbands are bands of showers and thunderstorms that spiral cyclonically toward the storm center. High wind gusts and heavy downpours often occur in individual rainbands, with relatively calm weather between bands. Tornadoes often form in the rainbands of landfalling tropical cyclones. Intense annular tropical cyclones are distinctive for their lack of rainbands; instead, they possess a thick circular area of disturbed weather around their low pressure center. While all surface low pressure areas require divergence aloft to continue deepening, the divergence over tropical cyclones is in all directions away from the center. The upper levels of a tropical cyclone feature winds directed away from the center of the storm with an anticyclonic rotation, due to the Coriolis effect. Winds at the surface are strongly cyclonic, weaken with height, and eventually reverse themselves. Tropical cyclones owe this unique characteristic to requiring a relative lack of vertical wind shear to maintain the warm core at the center of the storm.

A strong tropical cyclone will harbor an area of sinking air at the center of circulation. If this area is strong enough, it can develop into an eye. Weather in the eye is normally calm and free of clouds, although the sea may be extremely violent. The eye is normally circular in shape, and may range in size from 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 370 kilometres (230 mi) in diameter. Intense, mature tropical cyclones can sometimes exhibit an inward curving of the eyewall's top, making it resemble a football stadium; this phenomenon is thus sometimes referred to as the stadium effect.

There are other features that either surround the eye, or cover it. The central dense overcast is the concentrated area of strong thunderstorm activity near the center of a tropical cyclone; in weaker tropical cyclones, the CDO may cover the center completely. The eyewall is a circle of strong thunderstorms that surrounds the eye; here is where the greatest wind speeds are found, where clouds reach the highest, and precipitation is the heaviest. The heaviest wind damage occurs where a tropical cyclone's eyewall passes over land. Eyewall replacement cycles occur naturally in intense tropical cyclones. When cyclones reach peak intensity they usually have an eyewall and radius of maximum winds that contract to a very small size, around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to 25 kilometres (16 mi). Outer rainbands can organize into an outer ring of thunderstorms that slowly moves inward and robs the inner eyewall of its needed moisture and angular momentum. When the inner eyewall weakens, the tropical cyclone weakens (in other words, the maximum sustained winds weaken and the central pressure rises.) The outer eyewall replaces the inner one completely at the end of the cycle. The storm can be of the same intensity as it was previously or even stronger after the eyewall replacement cycle finishes. The storm may strengthen again as it builds a new outer ring for the next eyewall replacement.

One measure of the size of a tropical cyclone is determined by measuring the distance from its center of circulation to its outermost closed isobar, also known as its ROCI. If the radius is less than two degrees of latitude or 222 kilometres (138 mi), then the cyclone is "very small" or a "midget". Radii between 3 and 6 latitude degrees or 333 kilometres (207 mi) to 666 kilometres (414 mi) are considered "average sized". "Very large" tropical cyclones have a radius of greater than 8 degrees or 888 kilometres (552 mi). Other methods of determining a tropical cyclone's size include measuring the radius of gale force winds and measuring the radius at which its relative vorticity field decreases to 1×10-5 s-1 from its center.

A tropical cyclone's primary energy source is the release of the heat of condensation from water vapor condensing at high altitudes, with solar heating being the initial source for evaporation. Therefore, a tropical cyclone can be visualized as a giant vertical heat engine supported by mechanics driven by physical forces such as the rotation and gravity of the Earth. In another way, tropical cyclones could be viewed as a special type of mesoscale convective complex, which continues to develop over a vast source of relative warmth and moisture. Condensation leads to higher wind speeds, as a tiny fraction of the released energy is converted into mechanical energy; the faster winds and lower pressure associated with them in turn cause increased surface evaporation and thus even more condensation. Much of the released energy drives updrafts that increase the height of the storm clouds, speeding up condensation. This positive feedback loop continues for as long as conditions are favorable for tropical cyclone development. Factors such as a continued lack of equilibrium in air mass distribution would also give supporting energy to the cyclone. The rotation of the Earth causes the system to spin, an effect known as the Coriolis effect, giving it a cyclonic characteristic and affecting the trajectory of the storm.

What primarily distinguishes tropical cyclones from other meteorological phenomena is deep convection as a driving force. Because convection is strongest in a tropical climate, it defines the initial domain of the tropical cyclone. By contrast, mid-latitude cyclones draw their energy mostly from pre-existing horizontal temperature gradients in the atmosphere. To continue to drive its heat engine, a tropical cyclone must remain over warm water, which provides the needed atmospheric moisture to maintain the positive feedback loop running. When a tropical cyclone passes over land, it is cut off from its heat source and its strength diminishes rapidly.
Chart displaying the drop in surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita passed over

The passage of a tropical cyclone over the ocean can cause the upper layers of the ocean to cool substantially, which can influence subsequent cyclone development. Cooling is primarily caused by upwelling of cold water from deeper in the ocean due to the wind stresses the storm itself induces upon the sea surface. Additional cooling may come in the form of cold water from falling raindrops. Cloud cover may also play a role in cooling the ocean, by shielding the ocean surface from direct sunlight before and slightly after the storm passage. All these effects can combine to produce a dramatic drop in sea surface temperature over a large area in just a few days.

Scientists at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research estimate that a tropical cyclone releases heat energy at the rate of 50 to 200 exajoules (1018 J) per day, equivalent to about 1 PW (1015 watt). This rate of energy release is equivalent to 70 times the world energy consumption of humans and 200 times the world-wide electrical generating capacity, or to exploding a 10-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes.

While the most obvious motion of clouds is toward the center, tropical cyclones also develop an upper-level (high-altitude) outward flow of clouds. These originate from air that has released its moisture and is expelled at high altitude through the "chimney" of the storm engine. This outflow produces high, thin cirrus clouds that spiral away from the center. These high cirrus clouds may be the first signs of an approaching tropical cyclone.

Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when the difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active.

In the Northern Atlantic Ocean, a distinct hurricane season occurs from June 1 to November 30, sharply peaking from late August through September. The statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10. The Northeast Pacific Ocean has a broader period of activity, but in a similar time frame to the Atlantic. The Northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-round, with a minimum in February and March and a peak in early September. In the North Indian basin, storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November.

In the Southern Hemisphere, tropical cyclone activity begins in late October and ends in May. Southern Hemisphere activity peaks in mid-February to early March.

The formation of tropical cyclones is the topic of extensive ongoing research and is still not fully understood. While six factors appear to be generally necessary, tropical cyclones may occasionally form without meeting all of the following conditions. In most situations, water temperatures of at least 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) are needed down to a depth of at least 50 metres (160 ft); waters of this temperature cause the overlying atmosphere to be unstable enough to sustain convection and thunderstorms. Another factor is rapid cooling with height, which allows the release of the heat of condensation that powers a tropical cyclone. High humidity is needed, especially in the lower-to-mid troposphere; when there is a great deal of moisture in the atmosphere, conditions are more favorable for disturbances to develop. Low amounts of wind shear are needed, as high shear is disruptive to the storm's circulation. Tropical cyclones generally need to form more than 555 kilometres (345 mi) or 5 degrees of latitude away from the equator, allowing the Coriolis effect to deflect winds blowing towards the low pressure center and creating a circulation. Lastly, a formative tropical cyclone needs a pre-existing system of disturbed weather, although without a circulation no cyclonic development will take place.

Most tropical cyclones form in a worldwide band of thunderstorm activity called by several names: the Intertropical Front (ITF), the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), or the monsoon trough. Another important source of atmospheric instability is found in tropical waves, which cause about 85% of intense tropical cyclones in the Atlantic ocean, and become most of the tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific basin.

Tropical cyclones move westward equatorward of the subtropical ridge, intensifying as they move. Most of these systems form between 10 and 30 degrees away of the equator, and 87% form no farther away than 20 degrees of latitude, north or south. Because the Coriolis effect initiates and maintains tropical cyclone rotation, tropical cyclones rarely form or move within about 5 degrees of the equator, where the Coriolis effect is weakest. However, it is possible for tropical cyclones to form within this boundary as Tropical Storm Vamei did in 2001 and Cyclone Agni in 2004.

Although tropical cyclones are large systems generating enormous energy, their movements over the Earth's surface are controlled by large-scale winds—the streams in the Earth's atmosphere. The path of motion is referred to as a tropical cyclone's track and has been analogized by Dr. Neil Frank, former director of the National Hurricane Center, to "leaves carried along by a stream".

Tropical systems, while generally located equatorward of the 20th parallel, are steered primarily westward by the east-to-west winds on the equatorward side of the subtropical ridge—a persistent high pressure area over the world's oceans. In the tropical North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific oceans, trade winds—another name for the westward-moving wind currents—steer tropical waves westward from the African coast and towards the Caribbean Sea, North America, and ultimately into the central Pacific ocean before the waves dampen out. These waves are the precursors to many tropical cyclones within this region. In the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific (both north and south of the equator), tropical cyclogenesis is strongly influenced by the seasonal movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the monsoon trough, rather than by easterly waves.

The Earth's rotation imparts an acceleration known as the Coriolis effect, Coriolis acceleration, or colloquially, Coriolis force. This acceleration causes cyclonic systems to turn towards the poles in the absence of strong steering currents. The poleward portion of a tropical cyclone contains easterly winds, and the Coriolis effect pulls them slightly more poleward. The westerly winds on the equatorward portion of the cyclone pull slightly towards the equator, but, because the Coriolis effect weakens toward the equator, the net drag on the cyclone is poleward. Thus, tropical cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere usually turn north (before being blown east), and tropical cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere usually turn south (before being blown east) when no other effects counteract the Coriolis effect.

The Coriolis effect also initiates cyclonic rotation, but it is not the driving force that brings this rotation to high speeds – that force is the heat of condensation.

When a tropical cyclone crosses the subtropical ridge axis, its general track around the high-pressure area is deflected significantly by winds moving towards the general low-pressure area to its north. When the cyclone track becomes strongly poleward with an easterly component, the cyclone has begun recurvature. A typhoon moving through the Pacific Ocean towards Asia, for example, will recurve offshore of Japan to the north, and then to the northeast, if the typhoon encounters southwesterly winds (blowing northeastward) around a low-pressure system passing over China or Siberia. Many tropical cyclones are eventually forced toward the northeast by extratropical cyclones in this manner, which move from west to east to the north of the subtropical ridge. An example of a tropical cyclone in recurvature was Typhoon Ioke in 2006, which took a similar trajectory.

Officially, landfall is when a storm's center (the center of its circulation, not its edge) crosses the coastline. Storm conditions may be experienced on the coast and inland hours before landfall; in fact, a tropical cyclone can launch its weakest winds over land, yet not make landfall; if this occurs, then it is said that the storm made a direct hit on the coast. Due to this definition, the landfall area experiences half of a land-bound storm by the time the actual landfall occurs. For emergency preparedness, actions should be timed from when a certain wind speed or intensity of rainfall will reach land, not from when landfall will occur.

When two cyclones approach one another, their centers will begin orbiting cyclonically about a point between the two systems. The two vortices will be attracted to each other, and eventually spiral into the center point and merge. When the two vortices are of unequal size, the larger vortex will tend to dominate the interaction, and the smaller vortex will orbit around it. This phenomenon is called the Fujiwhara effect, after Dr. Sakuhei Fujiwhara.

A tropical cyclone can cease to have tropical characteristics through several different ways. One such way is if it moves over land, thus depriving it of the warm water it needs to power itself, quickly losing strength. Most strong storms lose their strength very rapidly after landfall and become disorganized areas of low pressure within a day or two, or evolve into extratropical cyclones. While there is a chance a tropical cyclone could regenerate if it managed to get back over open warm water, if it remains over mountains for even a short time, weakening will accelerate. Many storm fatalities occur in mountainous terrain, as the dying storm unleashes torrential rainfall, leading to deadly floods and mudslides, similar to those that happened with Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Additionally, dissipation can occur if a storm remains in the same area of ocean for too long, mixing the upper 60 metres (200 ft) of water, dropping sea surface temperatures more than 5 °C (41 °F). Without warm surface water, the storm cannot survive.

A tropical cyclone can dissipate when it moves over waters significantly below 26.5 °C (79.7 °F). This will cause the storm to lose its tropical characteristics (i.e. thunderstorms near the center and warm core) and become a remnant low pressure area, which can persist for several days. This is the main dissipation mechanism in the Northeast Pacific ocean. Weakening or dissipation can occur if it experiences vertical wind shear, causing the convection and heat engine to move away from the center; this normally ceases development of a tropical cyclone. Additionally, its interaction with the main belt of the Westerlies, by means of merging with a nearby frontal zone, can cause tropical cyclones to evolve into extratropical cyclones. This transition can take 1–3 days. Even after a tropical cyclone is said to be extratropical or dissipated, it can still have tropical storm force (or occasionally hurricane/typhoon force) winds and drop several inches of rainfall. In the Pacific ocean and Atlantic ocean, such tropical-derived cyclones of higher latitudes can be violent and may occasionally remain at hurricane or typhoon-force wind speeds when they reach the west coast of North America. These phenomena can also affect Europe, where they are known as European windstorms; Hurricane Iris's extratropical remnants are an example of such a windstorm from 1995. Additionally, a cyclone can merge with another area of low pressure, becoming a larger area of low pressure. This can strengthen the resultant system, although it may no longer be a tropical cyclone.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States government attempted to weaken hurricanes through Project Stormfury by seeding selected storms with silver iodide. It was thought that the seeding would cause supercooled water in the outer rainbands to freeze, causing the inner eyewall to collapse and thus reducing the winds. The winds of Hurricane Debbie—a hurricane seeded in Project Stormfury—dropped as much as 31%, but Debby regained its strength after each of two seeding forays. In an earlier episode in 1947, disaster struck when a hurricane east of Jacksonville, Florida promptly changed its course after being seeded, and smashed into Savannah, Georgia. Because there was so much uncertainty about the behavior of these storms, the federal government would not approve seeding operations unless the hurricane had a less than 10% chance of making landfall within 48 hours, greatly reducing the number of possible test storms. The project was dropped after it was discovered that eyewall replacement cycles occur naturally in strong hurricanes, casting doubt on the result of the earlier attempts. Today, it is known that silver iodide seeding is not likely to have an effect because the amount of supercooled water in the rainbands of a tropical cyclone is too low.

Other approaches have been suggested over time, including cooling the water under a tropical cyclone by towing icebergs into the tropical oceans. Other ideas range from covering the ocean in a substance that inhibits evaporation, dropping large quantities of ice into the eye at very early stages of development (so that the latent heat is absorbed by the ice, instead of being converted to kinetic energy that would feed the positive feedback loop), or blasting the cyclone apart with nuclear weapons. Project Cirrus even involved throwing dry ice on a cyclone. These approaches all suffer from one flaw above many others: tropical cyclones are simply too large for any of the weakening techniques to be practical.

Tropical cyclones out at sea cause large waves, heavy rain, and high winds, disrupting international shipping and, at times, causing shipwrecks. Tropical cyclones stir up water, leaving a cool wake behind them, which causes the region to be less favourable for subsequent tropical cyclones. On land, strong winds can damage or destroy vehicles, buildings, bridges, and other outside objects, turning loose debris into deadly flying projectiles. The storm surge, or the increase in sea level due to the cyclone, is typically the worst effect from landfalling tropical cyclones, historically resulting in 90% of tropical cyclone deaths. The broad rotation of a landfalling tropical cyclone, and vertical wind shear at its periphery, spawns tornadoes. Tornadoes can also be spawned as a result of eyewall mesovortices, which persist until landfall.

Over the past two centuries, tropical cyclones have been responsible for the deaths of about 1.9 million persons worldwide. Large areas of standing water caused by flooding lead to infection, as well as contributing to mosquito-borne illnesses. Crowded evacuees in shelters increase the risk of disease propagation. Tropical cyclones significantly interrupt infrastructure, leading to power outages, bridge destruction, and the hampering of reconstruction efforts.

Although cyclones take an enormous toll in lives and personal property, they may be important factors in the precipitation regimes of places they impact, as they may bring much-needed precipitation to otherwise dry regions. Tropical cyclones also help maintain the global heat balance by moving warm, moist tropical air to the middle latitudes and polar regions. The storm surge and winds of hurricanes may be destructive to human-made structures, but they also stir up the waters of coastal estuaries, which are typically important fish breeding locales. Tropical cyclone destruction spurs redevelopment, greatly increasing local property values.