The Year 2222 Promotion/Relegation

[Wayne23]

3/1: We play #12 seed Hartford, 14-14, 7-9, first. Beat them by 19.

3/2: 83-67. 14 and 7 for both SF Mal Carr and PF Ted Mann. The bench was really hot, scoring 30. +13 RBs.

In a shocker, #8 seed 15-14, 8-8, knocked out the #1 seed. We play them in the semis. Beat them by 9 at our place.

3/3: 83-80. We were down 10 twice. 22, 7 for Fakk, 16, 5 for Carr, 14 each for subs Doll and Dobb. 9 TOs.

#2 seed Elon, 17-12, 10-6, for the title. They crushed us at their place.

3/4: 80-82 in OT. 18 lead changes, 10 ties. 18, 13 for Mann, 16, 9 for Fakk, 12, 7, 4 for Carr. We had the ball last, but we couldn’t get the shot we wanted, and a three was just short, off the front rim.

21-9, 10-6, RPI #73. We should get invited somewhere.

3/12: NIT, #6 West. We play #3 Missouri, 17-11, from Conf. G. Very good outside.

3/14: 72-81. They led all the way. We never quit, but they were the better team. 30, 10 for Fakk, 15, 7 for Carr.

4/3: #1 Purdue wins it all.

4/4: Awards: Curt Fakk is Conf. S POY and 1st team. I am Conf. COY. Thrilled!

4/23: I ask for $. No.

21-10, 10-6. Overall, 42-22, .656.
I briefly mentioned that we are a moneyless society. But we do have a sort of alternative. As we transitioned to the new system we found there was some abuse.

A few people chose outrageously expensive foods on a regular basis. Some selected ridiculously expensive clothing, and kept accumulating more and more of it. Some chose luxury items for their homes, and replaced them far too frequently. There are not many other things that people need. Entertainment is provided- more on that later. Travel is at no cost via public transportation. Heating, lighting, internet service, communicators (which used to be called “phones”), are all standard, with a limited number of choices.

In any case, now people receive a card which looks like an old style credit card. There are limits set on food- plenty to maintain a healthy diet with ample food and snacks, clothing- more than enough for all the clothing needed. Each item comes with an estimated “wear time.” If the person attempts to replace an item too quickly s/he must fill out a form indicating why, and the item being replaced must be returned to the clothing store for inspection. A similar policy is in place for household furnishings and decorations, and for other “purchases.”

It’s a shame that such policies need to exist, but they do, and this system works well.

No one lives in luxury housing. As mentioned earlier people live in apartments or condos, many of which were already in existence, and others live in the old mansions and “McMansions,” all of which were redesigned into condo style dwellings. People get enough rooms to accommodate the family size, and all live in comfort, but not in excess.

There are complaints about all of these things, but not a great many. Most people understand that to prevent people living in misery, it is necessary that no one lives in luxury. Our societies run spots during entertainment extolling the virtues of living simply, sharing, providing for all… Most folks “get it.”

[Wayne23]

5/1: #55 recruiting class, and we move up to Conf. R.

We buy West Gold.

6/5: Looking at transfers.

6/12: No luck.

6/26: 7 scholarships. We want 5 bigs. Realistically, we’ll be lucky to fill all of these.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, 2 PFs, 3 Cs.

9/18: Got one, a PG, #133.

Weak schedule again.

9/25: Got one, lost one. Got a C, #52. Great catch!

10/2: We lose one.

Picked 1st in Conf. R.

11/6: 8 man rotation:

Junior Clif Babb is at PG, subs at SG. SOph Stan Myll starts at SG, subs at PG.

Senior Art Burr subs at SG.

Senior Roy Kinn starts at SF. Senior Ted Mann subs at SF.

Senior Curt Fakk starts at PF, subs at C. Senior Jam Dobb subs at PF.

Junior Mal Carr is at C.

Let’s talk about college athletics. Some things are the same, 4 year eligibility. If someone wants to leave early, they aren’t really going pro, since we have no pro sports, they have simply decided to leave, for any number of reasons. A college athlete must be taking classes, and must maintain a certain GPA- 2.0. An athlete must hit the SAT score of the school s/he plays for. Here’s what’s different. The athlete is not necessarily a student at the college he is playing for.

Since there are so few people at any given age, yes, the athlete has to be taking classes- three or more, somewhere, but s/he can play for the college of her/his choice if they meet the criteria and if the college wants them.

This is very different from the way things were for a long time, but, when college athletics first started to go big time, say in the 1910s and 1920s, colleges simply hired athletes to play for them. The “hired hands” didn’t even need to be students. SO the current system is not all that unique.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 1-1 start in 2 road games. Both were close games. LOTS of early road games.

Both recruits sign but we’re still chasing 5. Stressful!

12/4: After 5 straight road games (We went 3-2), we won our home opener. 4-2. Lineup changes before the home opener- Art Burr was our #3 guard. He is now starting at SG and getting all the PT he can handle. Jam Dobb is now starting at SF.

1/1: 9-2 going to Conf. R play. RPI #125. +10.3 PPG, +4.0 RBs, +6.6 TOs. Carr leads us with 20.3. Burr gets 14.8. Fakk gets 12.5, 9.1.

Religion is pretty much dead in our time. There are small communities of religious people in a few places around the world but estimates are that well over 90%, perhaps as many as 95% have completely abandoned religion.

Our societies don’t prohibit it, but it is subject to the same laws as anything else, and religious scams are shut down as soon as they are discovered.

According to the scientists who study this sort of thing, as intelligence increases, a belief in religion and in a deity tends to decrease, but that is only true to a certain extent. There have always been a number of highly intelligent believers. The scientists think it has more to do with everything people went through in the 21st and 22nd centuries. It’s a certainty that no prayers were answered during the horrors of that era, so, for the most part, people simply abandoned their beliefs. All in all, in my opinion, we’re better off for it. And were certainly no less honest or moral. If anything, we are more so.

[Wayne23]

1/15: 11-4, 2-2. Carr and Fakk continue to lead us.

1/29: 14-5, 5-3. RPI #74. +7.0 PPG, +3.8 RBs, +5.4 TOs. 13 teams either tied for 1st or 1 back. We’re tied for 1st.

2/12: 17-6, 8-4, RPI #. Alone in 1st, but 6 teams 1 back, with 4 to play.

2/26: 20-8, 11-5, RPI #52. We win Conf. R. +6.1 PPG, +4.0 RBs, +4.8 TOs. Mal Carr leads us with 17.1, 6.5. Art Burr gets 14.1. Curt Fakk gets 11.8, 8.2.

A while back I mentioned that we live a long time, most of us to about age 120, and we’re healthy and active until very near the end. How did that come about? Well, our scientists worked it out after lots of experimentation. It turns out, at least as far as they can tell so far, that the upper limit of human life span is right there at about 120 years, give or take 2 or 3. The question was how to get there. There are several ways, but most of them aren’t worth the trouble. One example of that is the starvation diet method. If a person cuts calorie intake down to about 800 a day, s/he will, other things being equal, live until about 120. But who wants that?

The method finally used involved telomeres, those things at the ends of chromosomes. As they wear out a person ages. So the scientists worked on getting them not to wear out. That couldn’t be done, BUT, the rate of wear could be slowed down. That’s what they did. They slowed the rate of wear down to the point where people can live a longer time. Some of the slow rate is linked to diet and lifestyle but a medication was developed. Everyone starts taking it at birth, and takes it all the way through their lives. It doesn’t seem to have any real side effects for most people, so we all figure we’ll have about 120 years, plan accordingly, and live accordingly.

More later on what that means regarding things like family life, lifestyle in general, recreation, lifelong education, and other things.

This isn’t the only area of medical advancement, of course. Most cancers have been stopped by vaccines. Diabetes is now easily prevented and easily controlled, heart disease is a problem for far fewer people, and since no one smokes, and we limit exposure to toxic substances, lung diseases are rare. When we die, it’s because we just wear out, far more often than because we contracted some fatal disease.

Medical care? That’s all taken care of the way everything else is in our moneyless society. If a person needs any sort of medical care, they go and get it done. There’s no cost to worry about.

[Wayne23]

3/1: We play #8 seed Binghamton, 12-16, 8-8, first. We won by only 2 there.

3/2: 79-64. 26, 6 for C Mal Carr, 19 for #3 guard Clif Babb, 14, 11, 5 for PF Curt Fakk. +18 TOs.

#12 seed Navy got hot in the tourney. They’re 15-15, 8-8, and we play them in the semis. We need to control their outside scoring.

3/3: 91-85. 15 lead changes, 12 ties, and little to no D was played by either team. 18, 10 for Fakk, 14 each for starting guards Art Burr and Stan Myll. +7 TOs.

This win should get us to Conf. Q next season.

#3 seed Portland, 21-9, 10-6, for the title. We won by 12 at our place. Their strength is outside.

3/4: We were up 5 at the half and then fell apart after the break, shooting 7-35, 2-15 on threes. The rest of our game was fine, we just couldn’t make a shot. 23, 13 for Fakk, 16 for Burr, and crap for everyone else. +11 TOs. There’s not much to work on when it’s about shots not going in. We WILL work on better shot
selection, and moving without the ball, though.

22-9, 11-5. RPI #58. Let’s see where we go! I’m guessing the NIT.

3/12: NIT it is. We’re #5 South. We play #4 Longwood, Conf. T, 20-9. They’re a good team, esp. at C and SF.

3/14: 80-89. They went to the line 27 times, we went 15. But they were the better team. Their bench did us in, 40-23.

We’re losing three starters, and two subs who play a lot, and we only have 2 committed recruits. Not good.

4/3: #1 Duke wins the title.

4/4: Awards: Junior C Mal Carr is Conf. R POY and 1st team along with Senior Curt Fakk. I am Conf. COY.

4/9: To move or not to move… Tempted by VCU in Conf. F, and Va. Tech, in Conf E. I’m flying out to tour both campuses and to talk to the people at both schools.

Tough call, but I’m not sure I’m ready to jump 11 or 12 conferences up, so I’m staying. Next year may tell a different story.

4/16: 4 recruits sign! That takes a lot of pressure off, and makes me feel a LOT better about my decision to stay.

4/23: I hired 3 new assistants and it cost us. So I need a budget increase. No.

22-10, 11-5, 1st in conf. Overall, 64-32, .667.

Part of the reason I’m staying is that I love San Francisco. It really has everything- beautiful weather, beautiful city, wonderful little neighborhoods, great restaurants, museums, all kinds of artistic venues in ALL of the arts…

You may be asking why people run restaurants, or museums, or anything like that, given that they don’t really need to. I guess it’s for the same reason I work 60-75 hours a week coaching a basketball team. It fulfills them. Most restaurants only open for one meal a day, or if they open for more they have different staff for every meal. Just about every restaurant features a human manager, and a human head chef, with robots as assistant chefs, waitstaff, dishwashers, clean up crew… The issue of how the restaurants get the raw materials will be dealt with later under the broad general topic of scientific and technological advance.

As to running museums, concert halls, and other “businesses,” the same holds true as for restaurants. The managerial and artistic positions are generally filled by humans, and the more menial tasks are done by robots.

We have clothing stores, antique shops, furniture stores, flower and plant shops- well, arcades and game stores- all sorts of things.

[Wayne23]

5/1: #24 recruiting class! Can’t afford to buy any reports.

6/5: Looking at a few.

6/12: Got an SG from LaSalle! Looks good

6/16: Got an SF from Nevada.

6/26: 4 scholarships. 2 and 2 would be good.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs and 2 Cs.

9/18: A LOT of road games.

9/25: Got 2, a PG, #138, and a C, #422.

10/2: Got a PF, #185. Want a guard.

1st day of practice. Picked 2nd in Conf. Q.

11/6: 7 man rotation:

Senior Clif Babb starts at PG, subs at SG. Junior Stan Myll starts at SG, subs at PG.

Juco junior Bin Simms subs at SG.

Frosh Trev Hern starts at SF, subs at PF. Senior Don Wonn subs at SF.

Senior Mal Carr starts at PF, subs at C. Frosh Gab Joye starts at C, subs at PF.

There’s a lot to talk about with science and technology. We’ve already mentioned the health field.

We’ve talked some about transportation. Not sure if I’ve mentioned that our bullet trains hit speeds of up to 500 mph, and they connect every major city in what used to be the U. S., Canada, and Mexico. Others do the same all over the world. Our other trains get going at up to 150 mph.

I suppose I should talk about three other areas, replicators, virtual reality, and entertainment in general.

This time I’ll talk about replicators. We have 3D replicators than can replicate virtually anything, including themselves. Most of our crops are still grown in the ground or in hydro-chambers, but we also have the capability of replicating our meals. Some people choose that because it allows them to have their favorite meals cooked to their own personal specifications. They can program in the way they like a given food best, or they can change the recipes around a bit.

We still have clothing stores, but people can replicate a favorite outfit when it starts to wear out.

People can replicate furniture, accessories, you name it.

You name it, it can be replicated.

Where does the replicator get its raw materials? It draws them from what’s around them. The new sofa is replicated from the materials in the old one, probably plus a little of something else. Same with clothing. I’m not a scientist, so I don’t fully get this, but apparently the replicators draw from the soil, from the air around us- from everywhere. They do NOT draw in living tissue, thankfully.

It’s a fascinating process to watch. A person can watch things literally disappear and turn into something new. Wow!

[Wayne23]

11/20: 1-1 start. Lost by 3, won by 2.

All 4 recruits sign.

12/4: 4-2. Going to a 6 man rotation with Don Wonn as the 6th man.

12/18: 6-3. We’re rebounding better. LOTS of road games. So far we’re 3-3 on the road.

1/1/2226: 8-3 going to Conf. Q play, which is amazing given that 8 of those were road games! RPI #77, which is, as usual, way too high. +5.4 PPG, +5.0 RBs, +3.8 TOs.

We’re doing it with balance, 4 guys get between 13.5 and 11.2. We’re thin, but so far so good!

The biggest forms of entertainment are, 2nd, computers and video game consoles, which are more interactive and more 3 dimensional than you can imagine, and 1st, virtual reality chambers, which are 100% interactive. The human players are fully immersed in the experience. And every imaginable experience exists in the VR chambers.

These have not yet gone to individual residences, but there are enough chambers to meet the demand, several in every multiple living unit building, and others near individual unit dwellings.

And they are USED. People sign up to use them at all hours of the day and night, and many are in full use 24/7/365.

There are games of all kinds, adventures of all kinds- auto racing, mountain climbing, sword and other weapon fighting, every sport imaginable, every adventure imaginable, vs. a human opponent or opponents, or vs. a virtual opponent or opponents. There are lots of team based activities of course, and here again, the team can be made up of any combination of humans and virtual “beings.” People play, coach, watch- you name it. If an artist was captured in any 3D form before he or she died, they’re in here, in both intimate night club type settings or arena formats. You can even have the entertainer play at your private party. Same for athletes, and public figures of all kinds, including politicians. And most can speak with you, answering questions, or just conversing in general.

I’m told that a great many people have virtual romantic and or sex partners. Some people disapprove of this, but our laws are not driven by any one group’s view of morality.

Certainly, the most controversial aspect of the VR chambers is that what we used to call “sex offenders” can program in whatever twisted, sick fantasies they desire.

Again, this is VERY controversial, but the stats show that sex related crimes have become all but non-existent in the real world. These chambers have to be the biggest reason for this, and, it’s victimless crime when it happens to a “being” that doesn’t actually exist.

Anyway, I don’t want to leave you with that image. People do everything in the VR chambers. The amusement park rides are fantastic. The virtual space trips are incredibly realistic, and are based upon real space voyages.

[Wayne23]

1/15: 10-5, 2-2. RPI #92. We have 5 guys getting between 12.8 and 10.0, and the 6th man gets 7.9. This makes us hard to defend. As usual with this team, I’m not happy with our rebounding. I tweaked the lineup a little. Let’s see if it helps.

1/29: 14-5, 6-2. The lineup tweaks definitely helped. +6.6 PPG, +3.6 RBs, +4.1 TOs. Alone in 1st in Q. Carr leads us with 13.9, 7.6.

2/12: 18-5, 10-2, RPI #48. 3 game lead in Conf. Q. 8 game win streak, all since I tweaked the lineup.

2/26: 21-7, 13-3, going to the post season. RPI #54. The win streak ended at 10. Then we lost 2, including the Bracket Breaker. We win Conf. Q by 3 games. +7.0 PPG, +3.3 RBs, +4.1 TOs. 15.5, 7.8 for Mal Carr, who has been terrific since I moved him from PF to C.

We’ve talked about some advances in science- medical, 3D replicators and VR chambers…

LOTS of other advances have been made. We’ve talked a bit about robots, but there’s more. They do most of the work in our society, sometimes supervised by humans often not.

In the medical field they perform 99% of the surgery. No human can match their precision, or can as harmlessly get into very tiny spaces within the body. Human surgeons always supervise and direct, but you can’t beat the robots.

Robots also do a lot of other medical procedures and they diagnose.

Robots do just about all of the menial tasks, in people’s homes, in public buildings, outdoors- you name it.

Robots do all of the dangerous work, often linked to a human supervisor who is in a safe spot.

Robots do a lot of repair work- computers, airplanes, trains, buses, subway and streetcars, appliances, computers…

In short, most of the work that gets done in our society is done wholly or mostly by robots.

More on science next time.

[Wayne23]

3/1: We play #9 seed South Dakota ST, 15-14, 8-8, in the first round. We beat them by 7 and 9, so we need to be sharp!

3/2: 91-69, but a costly win. We lose starting guard Stan Myll for 2 weeks with a knee sprain. 20, 6 for Carr, 22, 4 for SF Trev Hern, 17, 8 for PF Gab Joye. +12 Rbs, +6 TOs.

We’ll start Don Wonn at SG, and sub Bin Simms. This is tough though.

#4 seed Delaware ST, 15-13, 10-6, in the semis. They won by 2 there.

3/3: 68-70. Wonn and Sims just didn’t get it done, they combined for 4, 4, 4.

22-8, 13-3. RPI #58.

NIT #2 Midwest. We play #7 Central Florida, 18-13.

3/13: 81-74. Wonn and Sims were MUCH better tonight. 26, 9 for Carr. 18 for Hern.

#3 seed Wichita ST, 20-9. Tough outside.

3/15: 92-82. We led by as many as 25 and never trailed. 27, 3, 6 for PG Clif Babb, 15 for Wonn, 12 for Sims, 12, 6, 6 for Hern. +12 RBs. Great win!

#1 seed Lamar, 23-7, in the round of 8. Myll is back.

3/20: 76-72. A real team effort. We won despite the fact that Carr fouled out, playing 16 minutes. We got stops just about every time we needed to.

In the NIT Final Four! We play #7 seed in the East Georgia ST, 21-13.

3/28: 84-100. We didn’t play D. They shot 55%. Last game for starters Mal Carr and Clif Babb, and 6th man Don Wonn.

4/3: #6 Michigan ST won it all.

4/4: Awards: Mal Carr is Conf. Q POY and 1st team. Frosh PF/C Gab Joye made 2nd team. I am Conf. COY.

4/9: Completely torn. Southern Illinois, coming off a 22-10 season, Conf. F, losing only one senior, who doesn’t play, wants me. Almost triple my salary. How can I say no? … I can’t. I take the job.

They have a great staff.

4/23: We need a budget increase. No.

25-9, 13-3. Overall, 89-41, .685.

Looking forward to a new challenge!

We were talking about science. There have been so many advances. We have sent space vessels to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond. We haven’t conquered the speed of light, and we probably never will, and there are definite limits to what humans can do in space, but robotic vessels are exploring places we thought we’d never get to, and space telescopes have shown us space all the way back to almost the very beginning of time.

At home science is responsible for making all of our lives easier, and freeing us up to learn, to follow our dreams, to live our lives the way we want to live them.

Due to science there is no hunger, no homelessness, no economic insecurity.

[Wayne23]

5/1: Can’t afford any reports.

6/5: No one in the transfer pool.

6/26: 7 scholarships and only $30,250 in the budget. Not good.

8/21: We offer to 4 PGs, 3 PFs.

9/18: Got 2, lost 1. Got a PG, #72, and a PF, #104.

Alaskan Shootout vs. ST. Joe.

10/2: Lost one.

1st day of practice. We’re picked 5th in Conf. F.

10/9: Got one, lost one. Got a PF, #234. And we’re running out of money.

10/16: Lost 2 more.

11/6: 9 man rotation:

Senior Shay Smey starts at PG, subs at SG. Senior Yves Houl is at SG. Senior Don Edds subs at PG.

Senior Boo Huck starts at SF, backed by juniors Lew Crum and Bip Pers.

Senior Ryan Jonn starts at PF, subs at C. Soph Joe Wams subs at PF.

Junior Sam Mays is at C.

This is a very experienced team.

I haven’t talked about marriage, family, or any of that yet. Many people are paired up or trio’d up or more. Many are not. Every imaginable lifestyle exists here.

Marriage isn’t very popular. Most people keep a relationship going as long as it is going well, and then they just split up; they do all of that to escape any legal hassles. There’s no property or money to split, but it’s just neater that way. Others opt for marriage contracts of a limited time span, and some still do the marriage for life thing.

When children are involved, which, as I’ve said, is rare, it is the norm for all of the parents involved to try to stay together, or at least nearby, and for all to be involved in the child’s upbringing.

Of the many who do not cohabitate- part time or full time, I’m told that a large number have virtual partners. That is they keep a virtual man, woman, or multiple numbers of one, the other, or both, within the virtual environment.

It is estimated that VR chambers will be available in homes soon, and the psychologists believe that many people will opt for virtual mates when that happens.

We’ll see.