Scaling Mount Everest is now 0.04% less impressive than previously believed. Sorry, Sir Edmund.

The weather forecast calls for an unsettled week in South Bend, but an early look at the long-range outlook suggests gorgeous weather for the USC-Notre Dame game:

Hopefully that forecast holds up!

There is much speculation (see also here and here) about Apple’s next big product launch announcement, set for Wednesday. The big question, of course, is: What will they announce? Most of the talk among the Macheads focuses on new iPods, but my friend and website admin Brian (of Briandot fame) had an interesting experience at the Apple Store today:

[MacRumors] speculates about dual-core PPC Macs and and Quad-Intel Macs; also, there is the known bit about Apple moving to Intel chips at some point, supposedly later this year.

Well, it’s not later this year. It’s Wednesday. I was at an Apple Store today looking at PowerBooks, and after 10-15 minutes of banter I noted to the sales guy that I was either considering a high end Asus and putting Linux on it, or I was going to get a 15″ PowerBook. After a bit more talk about the configurability and utility of Linux, he said (paraphasing): “Tell you what. I’m not supposed to say this, but don’t buy today. Just wait two days. They’re having an event and you’ll know what I’m talking about then.”

Well, despite the stuff I read that says Intel-based Macs aren’t coming until 2006, putting two and two together leads me to believe that they will definitely announce Intel-based Macs on October 12. I admit I could be wrong, but I’m willing to bet an awfully shiny nickel that I’m not.

My take? I’m skeptical. First of all, I really wonder whether a random Apple Store sales guy actually knows what the announcement will be. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of such salespeople at Apple Stores across the country; are they all in the loop with Steve Jobs’s big plans? I doubt it. That would make it impossible to keep these things secret. It strikes me that the salesman’s advice could just as easily be based on conclusions that he has drawn after perusing the same Apple rumor sites that we’re looking at, perhaps with a keener, more discerning eye than the rest of us (or at least he thinks he has a keener, more discerning eye).

Moreover, even if the salesman does know what he’s talking about, I don’t think his words indicate that Intel PowerBooks are necessarily coming Wednesday. It’s entirely possible that the PowerBook line will be upgraded Wednesday, but I’d be extremely surprised if Intel chips are part of the upgrade. My understanding is that the PowerBooks and iBooks are supposed to be the last portion of the Apple product line to be Intel-ized, not the first. So while I wouldn’t be shocked if the salesman’s advice to hold off on buying a PowerBook for two days foretells a PowerBook upgrade on Wednesday, I don’t think Intel will be involved.

As the above radar shows, it’s going to be a stormy morning in southern Portugal and Spain, where Tropical Storm Vince — still a healthy, 45 mph gale — will make landfall in about four hours. Vince was supposed to have dissipated by now to a Tropical Depression or a remnant low… but then, Vince was never supposed to have formed in the first place! I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised by such things anymore. This is the 2005 hurricane season; the usual rules don’t apply.

From the 10:00 PM EST advisory:

…VINCE STILL MAINTAINING TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS AS IT MOVES QUICKLY TOWARD SOUTHERN PORTUGAL AND SOUTHWESTERN SPAIN…

INTERESTS IN AND NEAR EXTREME SOUTHERN PORTUGAL… SOUTHWESTERN SPAIN… AND EXTREME NORTHWESTERN MOROCCO SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF VINCE THROUGH TUESDAY. [”Closely monitor”? Landfall is imminent!! -ed.] …

THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM VINCE [IS] LOCATED…ABOUT 55 MILES…85 KM… SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF CABO DE SAO VICENTE OR THE SOUTHWESTERNMOST TIP OF PORTUGAL.

VINCE IS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST NEAR 23 MPH…37 KM/HR…AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO EARLY TUESDAY. VINCE IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE SOUTHERN COASTS PORTUGAL AND SOUTHWESTERN SPAIN AROUND SUNRISE LOCAL TIME TUESDAY MORNING.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 45 MPH… 75 KM/HR…WITH HIGHER GUSTS.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES…185 KM…MAINLY EAST THROUGH SOUTHWEST OF THE CENTER. DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS… A SHIP LOCATED ABOUT 90 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE CENTER OF VINCE REPORTED A SUSTAINED WIND OF 47 MPH…76 KM/HR.

From the discussion:

WELL… THE LONG AND STRANGE 2005 HURRICANE SEASON CONTINUES AS TROPICAL STORM VINCE BEARS DOWN ON THE SOUTHERN IBERIAN PENINSULA AND NORTHWESTERN MOROCCO. …

THE OFFICIAL FORECAST CALLS FOR VINCE TO CONTINUE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST TO NORTHEASTWARD UNTIL LANDFALL OCCURS ALONG THE COASTS OF SOUTHERN PORTUGAL AND EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN SPAIN BETWEEN 06-12Z. AFTER MOVING INLAND… VINCE WILL LIKELY DISSIPATE FAIRLY QUICKLY AS A TROPICAL CYCLONE OVER INTERIOR SPAIN. HOWEVER… WINDS MAY STILL BE NEAR TROPICAL STORM-FORCE IN 12-HOURS IN THE STRAIT OF GILBRATAR DUE TO THE STRONG FUNNELING OF THE LOW-LEVEL WESTERLY WINDS ON THE SOUTH SIDE… WHICH IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE IN THAT AREA WITH EASTWARD-MOVING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS… EVEN IF VINCE IS AN EXTREMELY RARE TROPICAL CYCLONE FOR THIS PART OF THE WORLD.

Here’s a map of Vince’s track so far.

UPDATE: The Storm Track writes: “This area of Europe is not used to such high winds so this storm could definitely have a significant impact.”

Two Yankee outfielders, Gary Sheffield and Bubba Crosby, just collided on the warning track at Angels Stadium while going for a fly ball.

Either one of them could/should have caught it, which would have ended the inning. But instead they collided, the ball bounced off Sheffield’s arm and rolled away, and two runs scored! 3-2 Angels!

I know, I know, it’s cruel. But with the Red Sox eliminated, I gotta take joy in something… and there are few things in life more joyous than watching the Yankees humiliate themselves on national TV. :)

(Both players appear to be uninjured, BTW, which is good. I’m not that cruel.)

Go Angels!

UPDATE: Angels win!! Anaheim 5, New York 3. (I refuse to call them “Los Angeles.”)

This is pretty freakin’ ridiculous:

Earlier today, we received a phone call from Arnie Weiss - the webmaster of the Heisman Trophy Trust. According to him, HeismanProjection.com is in violation of the Trust’s trademark in the name and image of the Heisman Trophy. … Apparently, the Heisman folks are making everyone (even CBS) take down any website or web page that is “about” the Heisman.

What absolute idiots.

UPDATE: At least Heisman Pundit is still up. The pundit calls ND’s Brady Quinn “the darkhorse” and observes:

The validity of Quinn’s Heisman quest is entirely dependent upon what happens on Saturday against USC. If he leads the Irish to a win, he will shoot up to the top of the list and could actually cruise to the Trophy. If USC wins, he will probably end up with a respectable No. 5 or No. 6 finish to set the stage for 2006.

That sounds about right to me.

New York City will “slowly be winding down” its heightened subway security over the coming days.

Tomorrow is National Coming Out Day, and Notre Dame’s unofficial, unrecognized gay-rights student group, AllianceND, is marking the occasion with yet another orange t-shirt day, the second in as many weeks. I forgot to wear my shirt last time, so I’m glad to have another opportunity. This disrupts my plan to wear USC clothing to school every day this week, but oh well. :)

Also tomorrow, AllianceND will revive its “closet on the quad” demonstration:

Come Out of Your Closet: 4:30 pm., South Quad

Come out of a life-size closet for whatever reason you choose, and learn more about the significance of coming out to members of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered/queer community.

This will be the first time the “closet” has actually appeared here on National Coming Out Day. Last year, the administration blocked the planned October 11 closet demonstration because of AllianceND’s unrecognized status, only to see it revived on November 17 with recognized co-sponsors.

The co-sponsors this year are the Progressive Student Alliance, Feminist Voice, and the Gender Relations Center. It will be interesting to see whether the new university president, Father Jenkins, cracks down on the demonstration in some way. Then again, I presume they had to get university approval to stage it in the first place, so I’m guessing probably not.

Anyway, last year, I came out of the closet… as a USC fan. (”You’re going to get lynched, man,” said one of the AllianceND organizers. “I’m more scared for you than I am for me.” Heh.) Assuming the demonstration is still going on when I get out of class at 5:15 PM, I plan to repeat the feat. We’ll find out how tolerant these progressives, feminists and gay-rights activists really are. :)

With the South Bend showdown between the #1 Trojans and the #9 Irish just four days away, “coming out” as a Trojan tomorrow promises to be even more controversial than it was last year… but dammit, I will not be silenced! The legacy stops here! :)

Bloggers would probably not be covered by the proposed federal journalist shield law, according to sponsor Sen. Dick Lugar, Republican of Indiana.

I’m actually doing my final paper in Cyberlaw on this very topic, so it’s cool that it’s being debated right now.

Vince is a 40 mph tropical storm as of 4:00 PM EST, and is about to weaken to a tropical depression, according to the NHC. The discussion says:

VINCE IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN TO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION SHORTLY AND NOT LONG AFTER THAT DEGENERATE INTO A REMANT LOW LATER TONIGHT.

VINCE IS RACING EAST-NORTHEASTWARD AT ABOUT 22 KT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING FRONTAL SYSTEM. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE HEADING AND SPEED ARE EXPECTED PRIOR TO THE LANDFALL OF THE REMNANT LOW. IT APPEARS MORE LIKELY NOW THAT THE CIRCULATION WILL DISSIPATE OVER LAND BEFORE THE FRONT CAN ABSORB IT.

Here’s the track. Tropical Depression Vince (or its remnants) is expected to make landfall in southwestern Portugal around midnight tonight.

P.S. The Storm Track (new motto: “god is PISSED”) wrote this morning: “Should Vince recover, he is on track to pass directly over Portugal. However, fate seems to have caught up with Vince. Perhaps Zeus has just restored order and balance to the heavens. Now the race is on for Alpha!”

Well, actually, the race is on for Wilma, then Alpha.

There’s a new trailer out for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Woohoo! (Hat tip: Mike.)

MuggleNet has a link to a downloadable version.

Only 39 days left!!!

Gerhard Schroeder has conceded in Germany.

Terrorism at Georgia Tech and UCLA?

In honor of ND-USC week, Irish Hoosier Lucas Sayre’s Daily Contentions blog has “declared war” on my blog. Heh.

Guestblogger: David Kreutz

The Divison III Northwestern College Eagles of St. Paul Minnesota wanted to play a 10th game this season, unfortunately opponents were few and far between so they had to do something a little creative. They scheduled a double-header. They played Trinity Bible College of Elendale, ND, at home just after noon, winning 59-0. 10 hours and 7 miles later they beat the Macalaster Scots 47-14.

Eagles Athletic Director Matt Hill even called the NCAA to make sure there was no rule against a doubleheader. Confused officials searched but couldn’t find one, although it may be next year. Thats ok with the Eagles though, although they enjoyed such a unique opportunity neither the coaches or the players were interested in doing it again.

Highlights of the game included a 4 yard touchdown run by former team manager Joe Steffenhagen, who was born without complete use of his right arm, and 3 tackles by 40 year old Harold Hicks, a Phys Ed major who joined the team to gain experience so he might coach football someday.

Not everyone was pleased with the days events however. First year Trinity coach Jim Dotson, hired after the schedule had been put in place labeled the game a “putdown” and “offensive”, but Eagles coach Talley said he just wanted to give his kids the chance to play another game.

Northwestern College is a member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. Macalaster plays as in independents in NCAA Division III football. Trinity is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association ( or NCCAA) but plays in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference with Northwestern and a number of other NCAA and NCCAA schools.

Local story here.