The Last Man

[Wayne23]

5/1: The usual reports.

#3 preseason.

6/5: Thin transfer pool.

6/26: 3 scholarships. We need bigs. Looking at 9 bigs.

Kint, Roy, Lyde and Blan were all lottery picks. Alph was a steal at #22 and Hyms went #37.

8/7: 5 on the Norton list: PF Shaw Fize is #11, PG Russ Port #12, PG Uda Burk #20, PG Lew Jamm #30, PF Pat Schu #31.

8/21: We offer to 2 Cs and an SF, #1, 4, and 13.

9/11: We get a C, the #1 recruit in the country.

9/18: Got the SF, #4.

No in season tournament but a challenging schedule.

9/25: And we get the other C, #11. Great class!

10/2: 1st day of practice. We should contend for the national title again.

11/6: We’re going small this year. Junior Russ Port and frosh Uda Burk start at guard, with frosh guard Lew Jamm at SF. Backing up outside is junior Kris Brit.

Frosh Shaw Fize and Jed Mann start inside. Another frosh, Sol Vann backs up inside. Senior Pat Schu and senior Ty Bay will also get minutes inside.

We’re playing a lot of freshmen.

[Wayne23]

January, 2147: I saw fish in the water earlier in the day. That shocked me. It’s the first time since the 80s. The supervolcanoes, the global warming, the mini-ice age- all of that had killed most life on the planet. I thought it had killed everything except the bugs, really. It killed most of the plant life, too. Evidently things are coming back. I take this as a very good sign.

I understand that the planet rejuvenates but I had thought it would take a lot longer. For fish to be here that means there’s an active ecosystem in the water- plankton, bacteria, algae, plants… This is very good news.

I’m not about to catch any fish, and I’m certainly not about to eat any fish, but it’s great to know they are there.

My other fish- the guppies and the betas, are doing great. My breeding experiments in the HC have led to some terrific results. I’m researching other tropical fish I might be able to breed.

Next: Ollie goes fishing

[Wayne23]

11/20: 2-0 to start the season. 26 for Uda Burk in the opener. We beat #5 Pitt by 30 in the 2nd game. 21 each for Fize and Port.

All 3 recruits sign.

12/11: 6-1, #5, RPI #7. Only a 1 point loss to Duke mars our record. We switched away from the 3 guard lineup after just 4 games and went with Sol Vann at PF, moving Shaw Fize to SF. Maryland gave us a big scare. We beat them in OT there.

12/25: 8-1, #3, RPI #3. +12.4 PPG, +10.2 RBs, +2.6 TOs, +5.1 assists. Guards Uda Burk, 16.6, and Russ Port, 14.8 led us. We have the #1, 2, and 3 rebounders in conf, and are #1 in the nation in RBs and in blocks.

[Wayne23]

July, 2147: Life has been smooth. I’m just going along, doing the kinds of things I’ve always done. But now and then something interesting or funny happens.

I’ve mentioned that Stan and Ollie stay below decks. They just don’t come up on deck. But yesterday, for who knows what reason, Ollie did come up. He wandered around, acting all cat curious, and finally he looked over the side. I guess he saw a fish or some fish. He immediately jumped right into the water. And he then immediately panicked. I sent a robot after him and it took some time and effort to “reel him in.” Ollie, in his panic, started swimming away from the boat, and the robot had a difficult time grabbing onto him, and then holding onto him. Ollie kept squirming away and slipping out of the robot’s grip. Eventually I had to send a second robot into the water. Between the two, they eventually got him back on board.

When Ollie got back he ran down below decks as fast as possible. I have a feeling it will be a long time before he comes back up.

Next: A storm at sea

[Wayne23]

1/1/2047: 10-1, 2-0. #3, RPI #1.

1/15: 14-1, 6-0, #3, RPI #4. We beat #15 Oregon by 19 here. They’re the only other rated PAC 12 team. The guards still do the scoring and we still have the top 3 rebounders in conf., and

#1, 2, and 4 in blocks. This team doesn’t score as much as my teams usually do but we’re #8 in points allowed.

1/29: 18-1, 10-0, #3, RPI #1. +14.9 PPG, +10.8 RBs, +3.3 TOs, +5.6 assists, +5.4 blocks. 3 game lead in the PAC 12.

Uda Burk is #11 and Russ Port #28 on the Norton list.

2/12: 22-1, 14-0, #1, RPI #1. 4 game lead in the PAC 12 with 4 to play.

Uda Burk is #12 on the Norton list.

2/26: We end the regular season at 26-1, 18-0, #1, RPI #1. +17.0 PPG, +10.4 RBs, +4.3 TOs, +6.8 assists, +6.0 blocks. 5 ahead of 2nd place in the PAC 12, and 7 ahead of 3rd.

3/5: We lose Sol Vann, Luke Shay, and Shaw Fize to the NBA.

Uda Burk is #10 on the Norton list.

[Wayne23]

January, 2148: The weather had been calm for a very long time, ever since the glaciers began to melt really. Oh there had been rain, and sleet, and snow when the temps were low enough, but mostly it was slow and steady, and there were no violent storms, and rarely much of any wind.

That started to change a couple of months ago. Gradually, the winds picked up and there were some real storms, nothing dangerous or too violent, but it was evident things were changing. And change they did.

Last night I was awakened by alarms at about 2:00 a.m. As soon as I woke I heard the wind and the rain, and felt the boat being tossed a bit. It wasn’t too bad yet but I could feel that it was about to get worse, which it did.

I live on an 80 foot boat. It was designed, among other things, to take a lot of punishment. It can withstand waves of a height and strength that are mind boggling. Last night and this morning tested all of that to the fullest. The boat passed the tests, sometimes just barely, but it passed.

After doing a quick inspection I left the piloting of the boat to the robots that were designed for that, battened everything down, went below, and strapped in to ride it out.

It was a very long night. The boat was tossed all over the place. Huge waves broke over the decks. Winds threw us here and there. At times we were completely submerged for short periods of time.

But we rode it out and we made it through. The robots who were tied to the wheel reacted as they were programmed to react and countered the effects of the storm whenever that was possible.

In the hour since the winds calmed and the rains stopped I have been assessing damage. There is some, of course, but it isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The robots should be able to repair everything by the end of the day, or tomorrow at the latest.

The bilge pumps are getting water out of all of the places where it shouldn’t be.

I think we’re going to be okay.

Next: Storms and storms and storms

[Wayne23]

3/9: #8 seed Utah, 12-17, 8-10, is first up. We beat them by 28 in the regular season.

3/10: 70-45. They got into a tight 2-3 and stayed there all night. This gave us the outside shot, and we hit it consistently. But this game was a story about D. We held them to 32.4%. 43 RBs, 5 TOs.

#5 seed Oregon, 21-11, 10-8, in the semis. We beat them by 19 here and then 10 there.

3/11: 73-58. We led all the way. For the 2nd game in a row the opponent tried to shut down our inside game. They were partially successful but we hit the outside shot regularly.

As expected it’s #2 seed, #20 ranked Arizona, 22-7, 13-5, for the title. We beat them by only 7 here.

3/12: 73-44. We expected a tougher game. 23, 8 for Jed Mann, 18 RBs for Sol Vann. +13 RBs, +8 TOs.

29-1, 18-0. We expect to be the #1 overall seed.

Amazingly enough, AGAIN, we are not the #1 overall seed. #2 overall, #1 in the Midwest. We’ll play Missouri ST. Duke is #1. They are ranked #4, RPI #3. While it’s true they beat us by 1 point very early in the season, that was our only loss and they have 3 losses. Makes no sense. Doesn’t mean anything, but it’s an insult.

3/16: 77-50. 25, 6, 4 for Burk, 21, 10, 3 with 4 blocks for Mann.

#9 seed Kansas, 19-12 in the 2nd round. Off year for them but they’re still Kansas.

3/18: 64-42. It was 39-12 at the half. +19 RBs.

#5 seed, #10 ranked Western KY, 27-2, in the Sweet Sixteen. They have a very good outside game.

3/23: 71-59. We never trailed. 20 and 11 for Jed Mann, who has really found his game lately. +11 RBs.

#6 seed, #24 ranked Temple, 23-8, in the Elite Eight. They beat the #11, #3, then #2 seeds, so they’re playing well. They have a very good SG. He gets 28.5 a game.

3/25: 65-52, and we’re back in the Final Four! 25 for Port, 8 TOs. They slowed it down but they live and die with their SG, and we held him to 19, on 5-27 shooting.

It will be the #1 overall seed, Duke, 31-3, in the national semifinal. In the loss to them we shot very poorly, and we could have handled the ball better (16 TOs). We were +10 on the boards. We really feel like we’re the better team. Both teams are healthy. We’re a 2 ½ point favorite.

On the other side it’s #5 Florida, 32-3, vs. #16 Virginia, 25-9.

4/1: 74-60. We led all the way, by as many as 20. 22 for Port, 15, 11, 6 for Burk, 3 guys with double doubles, +17 RBs. As in the regular season game they turned us over a lot, 18 times. But we shot 43.5% while holding them to 32.2%, 3-20 on threes.

It’s #16 Virginia, 26-9, for the title. Both teams are healthy. They have an excellent Center, but after that it’s all role players. They play A LOT of guys, and keep fresh bodies in the game. It has worked for them. We feel like we’re the better team though. If we play our game we should grab our second national title. BUT… you have to do it on the court.

4/3: 78-67 and the title! It went back and forth for the first 12 minutes. Then we went on a 15-2 run, and we never trailed again. It was 14 at the half, 21 early in the second, and the final was as close as they got.
21, 4, 5 for Burk, 17, 5 for Port, 16 for sub Pat Schu, 11, 15 for Fize, 11, 12 for Vann. 45 RBs and 9 TOs. Jed Mann strained a hammy early and was ineffective, but Schu stepped right in.

4/4: Awards: Uda Burk was the Final Four MOP, and made 2nd team All American. I got the national COY. In the PAC 12 Jed Mann was Defensive POY, and 1st team. Burk only made the 2nd team, which defies any explanation. I was conf. COY.

4/23: I ask for a facilities upgrade. No.

35-1, and the national title. One loss by one point. Not a bad season! Overall I’m 500-139, .782, after 19 seasons.

[Wayne23]

May, 2148: That storm I mentioned last time was only the first of many- too many. The storms have been violent and frequent ever since that one hit. We’re riding them out successfully but they are taking a toll on the boat, on the equipment, and on the robots.

I’ve lost two robots overboard, and three others broke down to the point that they could not be repaired. Every time I lost one I immediately printed a new one, but that puts stress on the 3D printers, of course. The surviving and new robots, once they’re trained, make the necessary repairs, do the inspections, pilot the boat, and do all the other things they need to do, but again, all of that puts a load on everything. I’m working 8-10 hours a day keeping up, and it’s tiring me out. But it all needs to be done, and I’m doing it. I’ve been through so many weather and climate cycles in my 148 years. It’s almost like it’s been a few million years worth of that. Still, I keep going, and I seem to get through all of it.

The thing is, there’s nowhere to go to escape any of this. There is no dry land. I’m in this boat, in this ocean world. Whatever comes my way has to be faced and defeated, or I will be.

I’m hoping for some sort of a lull in the weather. I could sue the rest.

Next: Still more storms, breakdowns, problems

[Wayne23]

5/1: The usual reports.

#1 preseason.

6/5: One guy in the transfer pool, a PG.

6/12: We don’t get him.

6/26: 6 scholarships. We’d like 3 and 3, but it depends who’s available. Looking at 14.

8/7: 7 on the Norton list: PG Uda Burk is #9, PG Russ Port is #11, C Lan Blon #14, PF Oli Crum #15, PG Lew Jamm #18, PG Kris Brit #49, SF Art Cass #50.

8/21: We offer to 3 PGs, 2 SFs, and a C.

9/18: We get 3, lose 2. We get a C, #7, and 2 PGs, #2 and #4. We lost the 2 SFs.

No in season tournament again this year. Very challenging schedule.

9/25: Got a C, #12, lost the other 2. We want a big and a guard.

10/2: We get the last big, a C, #16. Lost the guard. We offer to another one.

I like what I saw at the 1st day of practice.

10/9: Got the PG, #38. We have our guys, and they should all hit our SAT score.

11/6: We have a lineup:

Senior Russ Port and soph Uda Burk are back at guard, with senior Kris Brit and soph Lew Jamm backing up.

Soph Jed Mann moves to SF, with frosh Lan Blon and Mark Slay starting inside. Juco junior Oli Crum and frosh Art Cass back up inside.

Let’s see if we can repeat!

[Wayne23]

November, 2148: It’s been a very rough 6 months. The storms continue, which has led to breakdowns of many different kinds. I’m wearing out robots at a pace that makes me print a new one more than once a week. Storm damage is causing all but constant repairs to the hull, the engines, and everything else connected with the boat. I’ve had major problems with two 3D printers and 3 HCs- even though I haven’t had a lot of time to use the latter. Fortunately, all of those issues have been fixable. The printers are having trouble because I need to overuse them printing new robots, aside from the normal usage they get. I’m considering keeping my supply higher. That would give them more rest, which should mean they would break down less frequently.

All of this is keeping me going at a pace that is exhausting me. It seems like I mostly work and sleep.

While it’s true that the robots do nearly all of the actual work, I need to do checks and inspections at more and more frequent intervals, and I seem to spend hours a day consulting with holoexperts regarding how to resolve certain situations, repair certain equipment, and things like that. Then, often, I need to reprogram a robot to do some new task involving fixing or replacing something.

I nap when I can, and that helps, but I have to say that this year has been the least enjoyable one for me in a very long time. Hoping for another change in the weather pattern- for the better, of course.

Next: Big trouble