2025 Sacramento Kings versus Oklahoma Thunder

Carmen, Drew, Sharon and I met for dinner at Echo & Rig in the Sawyer Hotel (Swordfish). Afterwards, we went to the Sacramento Kings versus Oklahoma Thunder NBA basketball game. This is the first game of the NBA Cup Group Play.

It was an ugly game. The Kings lost the game by the score of 132 to 101.

As I said when Larkin and I went to the home opener, the Kings look small. Unfortunately, Domantas Sabonis sat out his second consecutive game with sore ribs making the situation even worse. The Thunder outrebounded the Kings by 52 to 38.

Taking advantage of the Kings' lack of size, Isaiah Hartenstien was the high scorer for the Thunder. Hartenstein had a career-high 33 points on 14 for 17 from the field and 5 for 6 from the free throw line. He had 19 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 30 points.

Russell Westbrook was the high scorer for the Kings. He had 24 points on 9 for 17 from the field, 5 for 9 from three and 1 for 2 from the free throw line. He added six rebounds and nine assists.

While I am appreciating Westbrook's addition to the team just before the season started a lot more than I thought I would, it is sad that he was the high scorer. The Kings are a team of misfits toys; the parts don't fit together into an effective team. I feel sorry for coach Doug Christie.

To make matters worse, we were sitting next to a very obnoxious Thunder fan. We had to listen to his running commentary for the whole game.

The Kings have 1 win and 1 loss in games that I have seen in the 2025-2026 season. My goal continues to be to see at least one game a month.

Bots! - A New Children's Musical

Thursday evening, Sharon and I went to the California Montessori Project Capitol Campus to see a production of Bots!. Sharon's great-niece Lydia had a large role.

Lunch with Snipes and Tomasin

Snipes and I drove to Vallejo and met Tomasin for lunch at the Sardine Can. The restaurant was one of Rickey's old haunts. After lunch, we drove by the house that Rickey owned in Vallejo.

Neighborhood Homeowners Association Meeting

On a rainy Wednesday night, Sharon and I went to the neighborhood homeowners association meeting at Tom and Judy's house. The board now includes Brad, Tom and Chuck. The meeting was lightly attended.

I love our neighborhood.

Bugonia

Tuesday afternoon, Sharon and I saw Bugonia at the Century Country Club Cinema. We are continuing our annual journey to see all of the films that might be nominated for an Oscar. As of today, GoldDerby currently has Bugonia with the tenth best odds to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Bugonia is an absurdist black comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. It is an English-language remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! by Jang Joon-hwan. The film stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone. Delbis is autistic. Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos have collaborated on four feature films: The Favourite (2018); Poor Things (2023); Kinds of Kindness (2024), and; Bugonia (2025).

Teddy Gatz (Plemons), a conspiracy-obsessed beekeeper, and his intellectually-disabled cousin, Don (Delbis), kidnap Michelle Fuller (Stone), the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company. They are convinced she is an alien disguised as a human. They hold her captive in their basement in a bizarre attempt to save Earth from an extraterrestrial plot.

Plemons and Stone's performances are very good. I wouldn't be surprised to see either of them nominated for an acting Oscar. Primarily due to the ending, I have mixed feelings about the movie. I think that the movie would have been better with a more understated ending. They could have accomplished the same thing without the cartoon characterizations at the end. I think that the movie is on the bubble for a Best Picture Oscar nomination. It will depend on how well a couple of movies released over the next couple months are received (e.g. Avatar - Fire and Ash and Wicked for Good).

"Bugonia" is a Greek word (βουγονία, also spelled "bougonia") that refers to an ancient Mediterranean rite or belief that bees spontaneously generate from the carcasses of dead animals, particularly oxen.

dinner at Holly and Van's

Monday night, we had dinner at Holly and Van's.

On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything

My book for November was On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything by Nate Silver. I read Silver's previous book, the signal and the noise, in May of 2013. I currently follow him on Substack.

The book explores the mindset and strategies of elite risk-takers, whom he collectively terms "The River." Drawing on his background as a professional poker player and statistician, Silver investigates how people like professional gamblers, hedge fund managers, venture capitalists, and AI innovators navigate extreme uncertainty and use probabilistic thinking to their advantage in high-stakes environments. The book contrasts "The River's" analytical, contrarian, and risk-tolerant approach with "The Village," a metaphor for the more cautious, conventional mainstream elites in media, academia, and government. Through anecdotes including a detailed look at the rise and fall of FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried—Silver, Silver reveals the common traits and decision-making processes that enable this influential group to shape the global economy and technology.

Although I don't recommend it, I enjoyed the book. It is a mishmash of engaging stories that I don't think fit together towards the books conclusions. I enjoyed the stories. I just don't see how everything fits into some practical conclusions...

There is a discussion at the end of the book about p(Doom). In AI safety, P(doom) is the probability of existentially catastrophic outcomes (so-called "doomsday scenarios") as a result of artificial intelligence. At one point, Silver notes that the scientists building the current Large Language Model AIs don't understand how some of the answers are generated. I am going to follow up by reading a basic primer on AI technology.

Art Show and Dinner with Greg and Michelle

Saturday night, we went downtown with our neighbors Greg and Michelle. We went to an Open House Art Show by Deborah Rhea and DAniel Schoorl. Greg and Michelle own a number of pieces from these artists.

Afterwards, we wandered next door to Magpie Cafe for dinner. For entrees, I had WESTERN LAMB CHOPS [Baba ghanoush, grilled summer squash, cherry tomato, pickles, fresh herbs. Sumac yogurt], while Sharon had a BURGER [Caramelized onions, heirloom tomato, watercress, Sierra Nevada cheddar cheese, pickles, secret sauce, milk bun. Fries]. We spent the dinner talking about their daugther's wedding and our trip to Africa.

We stopped at our house to watch the end of game seven of the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 5 to 4 in 11 innings. I hate the Dodgers...

Halloween 2025

Halloween 2024

Halloween 2023

Halloween 2022

Halloween 2021

Halloween 2020

Complete The Guest and Host Apple Music Playlist

Sacramento Women's Golf Club Members/Guest Tournament

Like last year, Sharon played in the played in the Sacramento Women's Golf Club Members/Guest Tournament at Haggin Oaks. Sharon has been a member this year; She took Debbie as her guest. Playing a scramble and using at least three drives from each player in the foursome, they parred every hole.

Golf Bolstered By New Talent - Dick Heringer at UC Davis

California Aggie, Volume 54, Number 4, 3 March 1955

Golf Bolstered By New Talent

   The Cal Aggie golf team, which didn’t do too well last year, has improved considerably as a result of some additional talent, and Coach Vern Hickey feels that his boys will have a much, better season this year.
   Along with returning lettermen Dave Hughes and Tom Condon, and Dick Heringer, who played a lot last year, there are three new men who look good. These boys, all low eighties golfers, are Dan Catlin, Pete Wallace, and Clark Knowles, who played for Chico two years ago. Also out for the team are Joe Russ, Don Fox and Joe Renner.
   The golf team meets every school in the Far Western Conference twice in dual matches, and then finishes up the season by playing in the Far Western Conference Tournament, May 13 and 14 in Chico.

Dick Heringer and Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

Lunch with Snipes

Snipes and I got together for lunch at Polanco Cantina in DOCO.

Get Together with Larkins and Gainsleys

Originally, we had scheduled an African themed fall dinner party for tonight. About ten days ago, we made a decision to postpone the party. The events of the last three weeks just made it impossible for the chef to provide the type of event everyone deserved and that would live up to its predecessors. We wanted everyone to have a spectacular time and that wasn't going to happen. We are going to try to reschedule after the New Year.

With the date on everyone's calendar, we decided to invite the Larkins and Gainsleys over to play Mexican Train. We never got around to playing dominos. Instead, we spent the evening talking about our trip to Africa and boring the Larkins with our photos and videos!

Sharon picked up pizzas from Serritella's. The Gainsleys brought a salad and the Larkins brought a dessert.

2025 Sacramento Kings versus Utah Jazz

Friday night, Larkin and I went to the home opening night NBA basketball game between the Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz. Larkin has given up his season tickets. He ended up buying two tickets: Section 115, Row G, Seats 9 and 10. I liked these seats a lot and may try to get them for a future game.

The game was close with several shifts in momentum; neither team built a double digit lead. There were 5 ties and 7 lead changes. Domantas Sabonis scored off an offensive rebound with six seconds remaining to cap a wild ending. The Kings beat the Jazz by the score of 105 to 104.

I have been very pessimistic about this team. I haven't been this pessimistic about a season since 1993 when the Kings drafted Bobby Hurley. The 1993-1994 team posted a record of 28 wins and 54 losses.

I feel like it is a team of misfit toys. I don't think that the players fit together into an effective team.

I was also shocked at how small the team looked against the Utah Jazz. The Utah started a 7' 2' center, a 7' 1" forward and a 6' 11" forward. The tallest starting player for the Kings was 6' 10". The average height average for the Utah starting line-up was 6' 10", while the average for the Kings was 6' 6". It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out over the course of the season. As you might expect given these differences, the Kings were outrebounded 33 to 50.

Lauri Markkanen was the high scorer for the Jazz. He had 33 points on 12 for 23 from the field, 4 for 13 from three and 5 for 6 from the free throw line.

Zach LaVine was the high scorer for the Kings. He had 31 points on 10 for 18 from the field, 4 for 9 from three and 7 for 7 from the free throw.

The Kings shot 43.8S% (14 for 32) from three, while the Jazz were 31.7% (13 for 43).

Although I have a lot of apprehension about Russell Westbrook being on the team, his line off the bench was pretty good. In 17 minutes, he had 7 points on 3 for 5 from the field and 1 for 2 from three. Westbrook added 4 assists.

The Kings have 1 win and 0 losses in games that I have seen in the 2025-2026 season.

Zoom Call with Nooter

Friday morning, I had a Zoom call with Nooter to catch up. We ended up spending an hour and fifteen minutes talking about our aliments, kids and wives. We also chatted about our trip to South Africa and my impressions of the people, the September Davis Mafia get together, plans for the Army/Navy game and the No Kings Movement.

Tiber's Twelfth Birthday!

To celebrate Tiber's twelfth birthday, we took him to lunch at the Main Event at Ancil Hoffman golf course. He had a hamburger patty.

One Battle After Another

Wednesday afternoon, Sharon and I went to the Country Club Cinema to see One Battle After Another. We are starting our annual journey to see all of the films that might be nominated for an Oscar. As of today, GoldDerby currently has One Battle After Another as the favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar.

One Battle After Another is an action thriller film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza, Phantom Thread). It was inspired by the 1990 novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon.

It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti. It follows an ex-revolutionary who is forced back into his former combative lifestyle when he and his daughter become pursued by a corrupt military officer.

While the movie was filmed in the first half of 2024 before Trump was elected, the film has an undercurrent of a strong immigration crackdown undertaken by an agressive ICE-like organzation. There is also a subplot of a secret society of wealthy far-right white supremacists called the Christmas Adventurers Club.

Sharon and I both liked the movie. I believe it will be nominated for best picture and best director. I would also bet that Sean Penn get a best supporting actor nomination. Sharon commented that DiCaprio is looking more and more like Jack Nichelson.

Towards the end, the movie has a stunt involving a blind summit. I don't think that I have ever seen this stunt done quite like this. I was intrigued...

Dinner with Holly and Van

Holly and Van brought chinese food for dinner from The Wok Takeout. We spent a nice evening catching up on our recent trips.

While we were in Africa, Holly and Van spent September and early October on a five week trip. It included: a week on their own in Cinque Terre, Genoa, Milan, Lake Como and Bologna; a Roads Scholar tour - Beyond the View: The Amalfi Coast and Sorrento, and; the National Geographic Journeys: Morocco in Depth.

We had talked about taking an OATS trip to Morocco with Holly and Van. Based on their summary of the trip, I probably won't be able to get Sharon to Morocco!

Celebrating Lee's Sixth Birthday!

Morgan, Lee and Clem came over for a few hours in the morning. We had an early birthday celebration for Lee; his actual birthday is tomorrow. We got him a couple of LEGO sets: LEGO Classic Creative Pets and LEGO Creator 3 in 1 Wild Animals: Majestic Rhino with Birds.


fifth birthday

fourth birthday

third birthday

second birthday

first birthday

2025 Notre Dame Irish versus USC Trojans

Saturday night after Sharon got back from Carmen's baby shower, we went to Sharon's nephew Eric's house to watch the Notre Dame Irish versus USC Trojan college football game. Sharon's family are huge Notre Dame fans. Sharon's dad was Irish-Catholic and raised in Indiana. There are at least two other times that we have joined the family to watch Notre Dame play USC: November 2012 and November 2010.

The group included Tom, Eric, Kevin, Leah, Lydia, Amelia, Sharon and I. I don't think that I have ever watched an Irish game with Eric; he gets very into the game.

No. 13 Notre Dame ended up beating No. 20 Southern California by the score of 34 to 24. It was a pretty exciting game. With USC leading 24 to 20 in the third quarter, Notre Dame's Jadarian Price scored on a tackle-breaking 100-yard kickoff return. The fourth quarter featured two USC turnovers, a fumble and an interception.

Looking out of sync in the wet weather, Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr was 16 of 26 for 136 yards and one TD. He rushed 1 yard for Notre Dame’s final score. Jeremiyah Love rushed for a career-high 228 yards and a score.

Notre Dame boosted its College Football Playoff hopes with the victory and should move up in the rankings.

The Notre Dame-USC football series is one of the oldest and most traditional rivalries in college football. USC recently removed the scheduled 2026 game against Notre Dame from its official team website. The two schools have reportedly not yet reached an agreement to extend the annual series.

Carmen's Baby Shower

Sharon and Morgan spent the day at Carmen's baby shower in Orinda.