Happy 25th birthday to Macintosh

On January 24, 1984, Apple announced the Macintosh to it Board of Directors and to the world. And the computer world has never been the same.

A year earlier, Apple had unveiled the $10,000 Lisa, the first business computer with a graphical user interface and a mouse. The Lisa never caught on, but Apple was enamored of the concept.

It was an era of conformity. Although you could still buy an Apple II, TRS-80, Commodore, or CP/M computer, MS-DOS was the de facto standard.

Apple made a bold move, thinking different long before it became an ad slogan. And the rest, as they say, is history, a history Low End Mac examines in a series of articles, each covering one year in the life of the Macintosh.

3 easy ways to tell if you’re overweight

Most of us have our private ways of assessing how fat we are. We feel our pants getting snug — or loose, if we’re lucky. We take a glance in the mirror or at our reflection in the shopfront window.

Of course, there are more objective ways of answering the question. Plain old weight is a good clue, but it’s a total that includes bones, muscles, organs, hair — not just fat. The tried-and-true way of measuring just fat involves getting weighed while fully submerged in water. The difference between your weight in water and your regular weight is used to calculate body density, and from that, the proportion of the body made up of fat. But few of us are going to subject ourselves to regular dunking.

There are other, easier tests: bioelectric impedance, skinfold testing with calipers, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (the same technology used to measure bone density). Gyms and fitness centers are beginning to offer some of these. They’ll satisfy the curious, but they’re neither necessary nor practical for routine use.

That leaves us with three more common options. By now, most people are familiar with the calculation known as body mass index. Waist circumference is a hot topic as it becomes clear that it’s the fat we carry inside our abdomens that’s most metabolically active and harmful. And waist-to-hip ratio is getting a second look because of research showing that the fat under our skin — subcutaneous fat — may have some benefits. Here is a guide of these three measures of our fatness, or adiposity.

Body mass index, or BMI, is computed by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by the square of your height in meters. The BMI is easy to calculate, and in most people, it correlates reasonably well with overall body fat. It’s also a good measure of health risk: as a rule, when BMIs go up, so do deaths, particularly from cardiovascular disease. But BMI doesn’t distinguish whether the pounds are from fat or from fat-free tissue like muscle and bone. BMI also doesn’t tell us about the type of fat we’re carrying—a significant shortcoming, as the type of fat that builds up in the abdomen is believed to be particularly unhealthful.

Cutoffs and categories are another problem. People with BMIs of 25 to 29.9 are classified as being overweight and those with BMIs of 30 or over as obese. But risk accrues more gradually than those sharp distinctions might suggest. There’s also a question whether the cutoffs ought to be different for some ethnic groups. Researchers have found, for example, that Asians develop cardiovascular risk factors at lower BMIs than whites, so the overweight category for Asians might start at a BMI of 23 instead of 25.

Waist measurement puts a different spin on obesity: it’s no longer about weight or total body fat, but about the metabolically active fat that collects around the organs in our abdomens. Waist circumference is a better predictor of diabetes than BMI and a good indicator of heart disease risk. Measuring it identifies the sizable group of people who pass muster when it comes to BMI but whose large waists put them at higher risk. Still, waist measurement hasn’t become part of routine medical practice for several reasons. For one thing, there’s some uncertainty about exactly where the waist should be measured, although navel-level is widely accepted. Moreover, the definition of too large a waist may need revision: some studies show that health risks start well before the current cutoffs of 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. Finally, given all the other information that’s collected on patients—blood pressure, cholesterol levels, BMI—it’s not certain that adding a waist measurement to the mix would affect treatment decisions.

The waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is a simple calculation: waist circumference divided by hip circumference. A small waist combined with big hips yields a smaller number than a big waist with small hips—and smaller is better when it comes to WHR. For women, the risk for heart disease, stroke, and other health problems starts to climb at a ratio of about 0.85, so that is often set as the cutoff for a “good” ratio. For men, the cutoff seems to be about 0.90. Waist circumference has eclipsed WHR, but the WHR may be ready for a comeback. Research shows that WHR is more strongly associated with heart disease than waist circumference alone.

It would be great if there were a magic bullet for instant weight loss. But, the truth is that watching what you eat, reducing calories, and exercising more is the only tried and true way to change your weight and reduce the health risks associated with abdominal obesity.

A Wikipedia Love Story

In a classic case of mixing business with displeasure, Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales dumped his girlfriend, ex-Fox commentator babe Rachel Marsden, and posted the news on Wikipedia. In retaliation, Marsden put some of Wales's clothing (left at her apartment in New York) up for auction on eBay and said some snarky things about Wales in the process. Anyway, Valleywag, the tech industry's equivalent of the National Enquirer - broke the whole story and even unearthed some of the steamy IM conversations between Wales and Marsden.

Here's our favorite line from the Valleywag coverage: "Marsden subsequently told friends that Wales gave her feedback on her website design - is that what kids are calling it these days? - for 24 hours straight in a D.C. hotel." It took me about an hour to figure out what actually happened in the tragicomic affair, and I felt about 10 IQ points lighter afterward.

Audi RS6 gets stupid fast treatment

It seems Audi was getting tired of having sand kicked in its face by the 500 hp V10 BMW M5 and the 507 hp V8 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, so they slapped a couple of turbos on the Lamborghini-derived 5.0 L V10 in the S6 Avant, et voilà: 580 horsepower and 479 lb.-ft of thundering torque available from 1500 to 6250 rpm. In a wagon. Pure insanity.

For 2009, the sedan gets the RS6 treatment.

The Europe-only package is completed by dark-finish 19-inch alloys lurking within blistered bodywork, three-stage electronic damping, a six-speed paddle-shiftable auto-box, and Quattro all-wheel-drive with a 60 per cent rear bias.

Inside you'll find highly bolstered sport seats and a flat-bottomed steering wheel (all real suede in this tester that costs the equivalent of about $150,000) that signal things to come.

Press the start button on the console and the V10 barks to life and settles into a somewhat off-beat, flatulent idle. Not pretty but ominous as a pea-green sky.

Rumbling down the dirt road from Schloss Dyck Castle, the ride was firm but not harsh. Once on a straight stretch of tarmac, the hammer went down and the RS6 exploded towards the horizon. The blown V10 bellows like a moose in heat, the wastegates wuffle between shifts and your corneas come perilously close to meeting your retinas. On the autobahn, it was pulling with this ferocity at 225 km/h.

The RS6 does not drive like the lithe 420 hp V8 RS4. It's big, it's front heavy, the steering is a bit numb but it does have more grip than you'll ever use on public roads. Most of all, it's just stupid, laughably fast.

And they say the Germans don't have a sense of humour.

5 important tips to preserve your independence

We all hope to stay active and independent for the rest of our lives. And as we age, most of us want to stay in the familiar surroundings of our own homes and neighborhoods for as long as possible.

A 20-year nationwide survey of people ages 45 to 74 identified five health problems that substantially boost the risk of admission to a nursing home: smoking, inactivity, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Over time, these problems contribute to many chronic illnesses that can cause disability and death, including heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and certain cancers.

What to do. Here are five things you can do to preserve your independence throughout life. Keep in mind that these changes interact and reinforce one another; the more you adopt, the greater the potential payoff:

1. If you smoke, talk to your doctor about options for quitting. We all know that smoking is bad for health, but here’s a quick reminder of how bad: it’s harmful from before birth to the end of life, raising the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, osteoporosis, macular degeneration, and cataracts.
2. Become more active. Just 30 minutes of brisk walking five days per week reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, and diabetes; lowers blood sugar levels; decreases depression; and helps activate genes that clear fat and sugar from the bloodstream.
3. Improve your diet through some simple changes. Add more servings of dark green, red, orange, or yellow vegetables or fruits to your daily intake, with a goal of reaching nine servings per day. And switch to healthier fats: skip trans fats, choose fewer saturated fats, and get more healthy fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils and omega-3 fatty acids). Plant oils, nuts, and fish are all good sources.
4. To get your blood pressure under control, exercise regularly, don’t smoke, and consider adopting a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and low in red meats (and other sources of saturated fats), sweets, and sodium (salt). If improved diet and increased exercise alone don’t bring your blood pressure under control, prescription antihypertensive medications may help, as long as you take them consistently.
5. Talk to your primary care provider about bone mineral density (BMD) testing. All women ages 65 and over should have their BMD tested. If you’re at high risk for osteoporosis, your clinician may recommend screening at an earlier age. Be sure to get adequate calcium (1,000 to 1,200 mg per day) and vitamin D (800 to 1,000 IU per day).

Preventing falls

Among older people, men are more likely to die from a fall, but women are more than twice as likely to suffer a fracture — especially a hip fracture, which often results in long-term impairment and nursing home admission.

If you’re concerned about falling, have your clinician assess your situation, prescribe a plan to put you on a safe track, and help set your mind at ease. To avoid falls, try some of these proven strategies:

• Exercise. Weak muscles, poor balance, and limited flexibility due to arthritis often turn trips into falls. In one study, a fall-prevention program comprising strength training and balance exercises reduced falls and fall-related injuries by 35% in people ages 80 and over. Yoga or tai chi is also helpful.
• Check your vision. Age-related vision changes also contribute to accidents and falls. Have regular eye exams, and keep your glasses or contacts up to date.
• Review your medications. The body’s response to medication, prescription or over-the-counter, changes with age. Regularly review your medications with your clinician, and discuss the possibility of dropping or changing those that may be causing troublesome side effects, such as drowsiness, dizziness, or impaired balance.
• Remove home hazards. Improve your home’s lighting with higher wattage, fluorescent bulbs, or additional lamps. Night-lights or other nighttime lighting may also help. Coil loose electrical wires, and affix them safely along walls. Keep stairs and walkways uncluttered. Repair torn carpeting. Remove throw rugs or secure them with nonslip backing or double-sided tape. Rearrange kitchens and closets so that you can easily reach the items you use most often. Install handrails on stairways and landings, and put light switches at the top and bottom of stairways. Use nonslip strips or rubber mats in tubs or showers. Install grab bars in tubs or showers and near the toilet.

Magic missing in Criss Angel Cirque show

Not all marriages, alas, are made in heaven.

Despite the fact that both partners have great appeal on their own, the partnership of a Long Island Goth and a Montreal sophisticate that was unveiled at the Luxor Hotel on Halloween night is going to need a lot of work if it's to emerge as the successful union that everyone hoped for.

The show is called Criss Angel BeLIEve and it combines the wildly popular illusionist with the even more beloved Cirque du Soleil, marking the sixth show that Cirque has on display in Sin City, with the longest running one, Mystere, about to celebrate its 15th anniversary next month.

But ever since BeLIEve started previews in September and postponed its opening, the word on the Strip was that the show was in trouble.

A lot of changes have supposedly been made to it in the interim and what's finally onstage is certainly not a disgrace.

In fact, large sections of it work very well, redeeming Guy Laliberté's initial impulse to match up Criss Angel with Cirque. But there are problems still to be solved.

It all begins almost as if Angel was doing one of his typical shows, only in a Cirque setting. Then a near-death experience during one of the illusions sends Angel into a dark fantasyland, kind of like The Wizard of Oz with Alice Cooper replacing Judy Garland.

Surrealistic rabbits run rampant, Angel levitates and director Serge Denoncourt weaves visual magic within a world of lush red velvet drapes and spectral black presences.

By the time we reach a nightmarish wedding sequence where two sides of femininity fight for possession of Angel and he literally rips himself in half, it's all working in a way that fulfills whatever dreams you may have had for the show.

It's just that it takes a long while to get there.

Part of the trouble is that Angel loves to talk to his fans; it's part of his charm. But Cirque shows are usually wordless. This causes a curious disconnect off the very top that we never really recover from.

Angel is all openness, sharing his thoughts and feelings freely; Cirque is about leaving things opaque and making us stare with added intensity to discover their true nature.

This isn't to say that either party is really at fault here. Some of the illusions that Angel comes up with are indeed spectacular and they're given added resonance by being part of the ebony-hued fable that Cirque is spinning.

And a lot of the images Denoncourt has designed for the surrounding performers are breathtaking in their depth. It's just that they don't always go together.

Many of the newspaper critics have been unduly harsh to the show, almost as if they were taking out a personal vendetta against Angel for his past successes, or on Cirque for working with an established star. The public doesn't seem to care about that, however, and the advance sales are among the strongest in Cirque's Vegas history.

There is also a history of Cirque shows that stumbled when they first opened (like Zumanity) righting themselves after a few months in front of an audience.

One feels that will be the destiny of BeLIEve. Angel is too canny a showman and the Cirque team too skilful to leave something up that doesn't dazzle. My advice is to wait and let the Angel fans fill the theatre while the show works out its problems. Then go see it.When BeLIEve works, even now, it's impressive enough that you wait in anticipation for it to reach its final form.