2025 South Africa, Zimbabwe & Zambia - Day #B - More Photos

During our trip to Africa, we spent four days and three nights at the M@kanyi Private Game Lodge.  Our guide was Carl and the tracker was Rondy. As I said in my musings about the trip, I really enjoyed this game lodge!

Estate Planning Seminar

Sharon and Tom are giving an estate planning seminar at St. Ignatius this afternoon.

Circle of Days by Ken Follett

My second book for November was Circle of Days by Ken Follett. Carmen's parents-Pam and Mike-gave me the book while I was recovering. I saw the author interviewed about the book on the Today show earlier this year standing in the middle of Stonehenge.

The novel is set in 2500 BC. The entire story is centered on the Salisbury Plain in the English county of Wiltshire. The people are divided into tribes, each named according to their role: miners, herders, woodlanders, and farmers. The main arc of the story is the conflict between the tribes, particularly the farmers and the herders.

In the background of the conflict between the tribes, there is a sacred site with a wooden structure (the Monument). The people meet each season at the wooden Monument for religious rites and festivities. The rituals are led by priestesses who track the movements of the sun, reflecting the astronomical significance of the site. Over the course of the book, a new, ambitious stone circle (Stonehenge) is planned and built.

Except for a couple of the Doonesbury books, I am not sure when the last time I read a physical book. Over the last ten years, I have switched to reading everything in the Kindle app on my iPad and iPhone. Athough I miss the viseral feel of a physical book, I love always having my current book in my pocket if I get stuck somewhere.

Jack, Sharon and I visited Stonehenge in March of 2019. Although this is not a book that I would have bought for myself, I enjoyed it.

Cape Bushbuck

We saw the wild dogs eating a bushbuck at the Makanyi. I finally got a chance to get a picture of one while we were walking the trail across from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

Mustangs Maul Mather - Dick Heringer at UC Davis

I mentioned earlier that I was shocked to find out that my dad played baseball in college. It looks like he only played in three games in college during spring of his sophomore year; he didn't have a hit. Additionally, he doesn't show up in the 1953 season end statistics. My dad either got cut or, knowing him, got mad and quit. This probably explains a lot about his attitude towards baseball when I was a kid. Spring semesters of his junior and senior year he was on the golf team.

California Aggie, Volume 51, Number 5, 12 March 1953

Mustangs Maul Mather, Nab 2nd Win; Host Travis Nine Today

   By G. W. Billie
   Unleashing a devastating batting attack, the UCD Mustangs took the measure of the Mather Field nine last Saturday on the local diamond by the lopsided score of 20-8. The Mustangs, led by the booming bats of Purcifull, Cebull, Barker, and Bushnell, who collected four hits apiece, amassed a total of 19 hits to the visitors 9 in a game that strongly resembled a trackmeet, rather than the National Pastime.
Early Scoring
   All the Mustang scoring came in the first five innings with the big shows coming in the third and fifth wherein five then six runs were respectively scored. These innings offered a premature ..climax to the game. The lads from Mather, after the first inning in which they bunched three hits to score an equivalent number of runs, never seriously challenged the Mustang lead. Their nine hits were fairly well scattered over the nine innings, and in four frames they were held hitless.
   It was in one of the above, the 8th, that reliefer Rich Ortega accomplished the near perfect feat of sending the three men who came up to face him right back to the dugout via the strikeout route using just ten small pitches. How good can it get?
Experience Needed
   As in their first encounter this season, the Mustangs again demonstrated fine team spirit and a sufficiency of batting power. However, they still seemed a little tight in their fielding, commiting three miscues to the opposition’s one, and showed definite weakness in the pitching dept. These latter difficulties, however, are quite probably factors that will iron themselves out later in the season when the squad has resolved itself into more of a playing unit, as distinguished from early season in'dividual play.
   The Mustangs take on another non-conference foe this week, Travis Air Force Base, in two different games. The first will be played on the local diamond Thursday, March 12, and the second game will be played at the Travis Base Saturday, March 14.

   Mustang Box Score:

             AB  H  R

Veerkamp If   1  1  3 
Percifull c   6  4  4 
Cebull ss     4  4  3 
Barker 3b     4  4  2 
Oehlman cf    3  0  0 
Smith lb      3  0  0 
Bizzini, 2b   3  1  2 
Ortega rf-p   4  1  2 
Bushnell p    5  4  4 
Sheppard If   3  0  0 
Behrendt c    0  0  0 
Rutherford ss 0  0  0 
Wilson lb     1  0  0 
Heringer rf   1  0  0
* Lovelace    1  0  0 
Johnson 2b    0  0  0 
Harrisop cf   1  0  0 
             40 19 20 
             
Mustangs 3353600x—20-19-3 
Mather   30003020--8--9-1 

*Lovelace batted for Smith in the fifth

Dick Heringer and Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

Decorating the House for Christmas

For the seventh straight year, [2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024], we have started decorating the house for Christmas before Thanksgiving rather the weekend after. Like last year, we are starting two weeks before Thanksgiving rather than one week.

Sharon spent Wednesday and Thursday taking down the fall decorations. Today, we dragged most of the Christmas boxes from the storage shed to the garage. It is going to take a week to get all of the decorations put up.

Remembering Becky Frame

Sharon's brother Tom's wife passed away ten years ago today. Talking with Tom this week, Sharon pushed the idea of getting a group together at the St. Mary's cemetery for a remembrance. The group ended up including: Eric, Kevin, Leah, Lydia and Amelia, Will and Eileen, Erin and Mave, Kathy, Jim, Tom, Sharon and I.

We ended up spending more than two hours at the grave site remembering Becky. Afterwards, Eric, Tom, Sharon and I made a stop at Sharon and Tom's parents grave.

F1

Friday night, Sharon and I watched F1 on the AppleTV. Sharon originally wanted to see the movie in the theater, but we never got around to it. She had been pushing the idea for the last couple of weeks.

F1 (marketed as F1 the Movie) is a sports drama film. It was directed by Joseph Kosinski from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger. Brad Pitt stars with supporting roles by Damson Idris, Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Tobias Menzies (The Crown - Season Three, The Crown - Season Four, Outlander - Season One) and Javier Bardem.

The story follows Sonny Hayes (Pitt), a former Formula One prodigy whose career ended in a devastating crash three decades earlier. He is convinced to return to the sport by his former teammate (Bardem) to help save the struggling underdog APXGP racing team from financial collapse. Sonny reluctantly pairs up with Joshua Pearce (Idris), a talented but arrogant young rookie who views the veteran as a threat to his own career.

Less than 30 minutes into the movie, Sharon said "this is too predictable; it is formulaic." I enjoyed the movie more than she did. In my teens and twenties, I followed Formula One. I went to the Long Beach Grand Prix in March of 1976. I am shocked that The Big Picture podcast talked about F1 sneaking into the Oscar Best Picture race. It is not going to be nominated for Best Picture. With so many other movies to watch, I give it a luke warm thumbs up.

Song for 2025

Carmen and Drew released a song called Through The Door in August. It was written in the midst of their IVF pregnancy journey. They wrote it to summon a little life their way in hopes of growing their family. Their son Dawson is due January 1, 2026.

If you listen closely to the intro and the bridge of the song you can hear his sampled heart beat adding a rhythmic pulse.

My song for 2025 is Through the Door by The Guest and The Host and Neon Meadows.


You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!

What is this?

Only Murders in the Building - Season Five

Sharon and I finished watching season five of Only Murders in the Building on Sunday night. It is available on Hulu. We watched season one in January of 2023, season two in February of 2023, season three in November of 2023 and season four in November of 2024.

Only Murders in the Building is a comedy mystery television series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. Season five premiered September 9, 2025. The series has been renewed for a six season. Starring the trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, season five includes special guest appearances by Meryl Streep.

The fifth season of Only Murders in the Building sees Charles (Martin), Mabel (Gomez), and Oliver (Short) investigate the death of the Arconia's beloved doorman, Lester, who was found dead in the fountain after Oliver's wedding. Their investigation quickly uncovers that Lester's death is connected to the disappearance of a mobster, Nicky Caccimelio, and a secret casino hidden beneath the building. The trio must navigate a cast of suspects including a trio of eccentric billionaires and the mayor to expose the complex web of murders, secrets, and a severed finger.

I enjoyed the season five, but it is not as good as the first two seasons. Like season four, there are some very good episodes. Unfortunately, storyline gets off track and wanders in some odd pointless directions in the middle of the season. We will definitely watch season six. Apparently, the trio—Charles, Oliver, and Mabel—will be taking their investigation overseas for the first time to London for next season.

The Old Course At St. Andrews at Waymaker Brewing

Donna, Kevin, Sharon and I spent the afternoon at Waymaker Brewing playing the Old Course at St. Andrews on the golf simulator. It is the first time that I have swung a club in seven weeks and only second time in two and a half months. I felt stronger as the round progressed. I actually parred the 12th hole. I made a couple of long putts, but putting is an adventure on the simulator!

Fraternities and Halls - Dick Heringer at UC Davis

California Aggie, Volume 50, Number 16, 15 January 1953

CALPHA

   The members of the house held elections for the Spring semester. Bob Anderson was elected President; Davis Ramos, Vice-President; Ralph Gomma, Sgt.-at-Arms; Dick Heringer and Ben Broersma, Rushing Chairman; and Mike Rover, IFC Rep.
   The Calphas will end the semester and begin the New Year with a house party Saturday night.
   Congratulations to Lynn Smart and Bill Ursey, thanks for cigars Bill. Congratulations to Fred Stafford and Ramona Burke now known at Mrs Fred Stafford. Don Jacop will lose his freedom come Feb 7th. Good Luck you poor boy.
   Recruit Jack Fox will be working for his Uncle Sam next semester and John Fifield leaves for Imperial Valley.

Dick Heringer and Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

2025-2026 Kings Season

During the 2025-2026 Sacramento Kings season, the Kings
are 1 and 1 in games which I saw in person, including:

REGULAR SEASON

10/24/2025: Kings-105, Jazz-104 - Larkin

11/07/2025: Thunder-132, Kings-101 - Carmen, Drew and Sharon

2025-2026 Season [1-1]
2024-2025 Season [5-4]
2023-2024 Season [6-2]
2022-2023 Season [5-3]
2021-2022 Season [1-5]
2020-2021 Season [1-0]
2019-2020 Season [1-4]
2018-2019 Season [7-4]
2017-2018 Season [5-2]
2016-2107 Season [5-3]
2015-2016 Season [2-2]
2014-2015 Season [1-4]
2013-2014 season [3-2]
2012-2013 Season [1-0]
2011-2012 Season [3-2]
2010-2011 Season [3-6]
2009-2010 Season [4-7]
2008-2009 Season [2-7]
2007-2008 Season [7-7]
2006-2007 Season [5-9]
2005-2006 Season [8-8]
2004-2005 Season [10-4]
2003-2004 season [12-3]

To San Franciso and Back

Sharon and I spent the day winding our way to San Francisco and Back to connect with Jack. Leaving Carmicheal at 9:45 am, it took us almost three hours to fight our way into the city.

We had a late brunch at Ti Piacera. Sharon had a Wild Arugula Salad [Fennel, oranges, beets, roasted almond, feta hazelnut vinaigrette], while I had Veggie Frittata [Baked omelette with, broccoli, mushroom, bell pepper, red onion topped with Feta, arugula, avocado]. Although we had forgotten until we sat down, we had eaten there once before.

We headed home about 2:40 pm. With a stop for gas, it took us about two hours and twenty-five minutes to wind our way home; we were home just after 5:00 pm.

A discouraging and disappointing day.

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 collection 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.

Tomasin

Tomasin stopped by for a couple of hours midday. We played a couple of games of cribbage and caught up.

The Hindenburg of NBA teams

“This is the Hindenburg of NBA teams this year.”

Safe to say @BillSimmons and @ZachLowe_NBA aren’t too high on the Kings this season. pic.twitter.com/B8slhHZhCh

— The Ringer (@ringer) October 15, 2025

Cindy - Over the Years

Happy Birthday, Cindy!

Bill Simmons NBA Over/Unders, Part 1: Sacramento Kings

Holly - Over the Years

Happy Birthday, Holly!

Celebrating our 29th Wedding Anniversary

Typically, we try to take a trip to celebrate our anniversary. With me recovering, we stayed close to home.

29 Years

Celebrating twenty-nine years of being married to this stunning woman!

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: A Monk and Robot Book

My second book for October was A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers. This is the second book in Chambers' Monk and Robot series; I read the first book in June. I also previously read her first four books: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet [July 2017], A Closed and Common Orbit [April 2018] and The Record of a Spaceborn Few [January 2019] and The Galaxy, and the Ground Within [September 2021].

The book continues the journey of Sibling Dex, a restless tea monk, and Splendid Speckled Mosscap, the first robot to return to human civilization after centuries in the wild. The pair travel across the moon of Panga to human settlements, where Mosscap attempts to answer its core question: "What do people need?" Through philosophical conversations with various communities, Dex helps Mosscap learn about the complexities of human wants and needs in their post-scarcity, solarpunk society. Ultimately, the two friends realize that true fulfillment might not be a grand, fixed purpose, but the simple comfort of being together while searching for the answer.

The series is an example of the solarpunk genre, presenting an optimistic vision of a future where humans have overcome consumerism and environmental catastrophe to live in harmony with nature and with each other. The world of Panga is presented as kind, gentle, and cooperative, though not without its own quiet struggles.

I am lukewarm about this book. While I appreciate what the author is trying to do, I found the story pretty pedestrian. It will be interesting to see where the storyline goes in the next book in the series...

Out of Africa

Saturday night, Sharon and I watched Out of Africa as a rental on the Apple TV. With the intersection of our trip to Africa and Robert Redford's recent death, we have been talking about the movie for some time.

Out of Africa is a 1985 epic romantic drama film directed and produced by Sydney Pollack. The film is based loosely on the 1937 autobiographical book Out of Africa written by Isak Dinesen (the pseudonym of Danish author Karen Blixen) with additional material from Dinesen's 1960 book Shadows on the Grass and other sources. The film stars Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Klaus Maria Brandauer.

Danish author Karen Blixen (Streep) moves to British East Africa in 1913. Her marriage of convenience to Baron Bror Blixen (Brandauer) quickly falls apart leaving her to run a failing coffee plantation on her own. She begins a passionate but complicated romance with the independent big-game hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Redford), who values his freedom above all else. After losing the farm and Denys in a tragic accidents, Karen reluctantly returns to Denmark, where she channels her bittersweet memories into her famous writings.

Out of Africa won seven Academy Awards at the 58th ceremony (1986), including: Best Picture (Sydney Pollack, Producer); Best Director (Sydney Pollack); Best Adapted Screenplay (Kurt Luedtke); Best Cinematography (David Watkin); Best Original Score (John Barry); Best Art Direction (Stephen B. Grimes), and; Best Sound (Chris Jenkins, Gary Alexander, Larry Stensvold, and Peter Handford). Streep was also nominated for Best Actress.

When it was over, Sharon said "that was quite good." Although I am sure that I saw the movie forty years ago, I didn't remember much of the plot. With a run time of two hours and forty minutes, I found the movie slow in spots, particularly towards the end. The cinematography is wonderful; I particularly enjoyed the shots of the animals and the bush. Filmed in Kenya, the bush was much greener than what we saw in South Africa and Zambia.

Grey Duiker

After seeing a number of grey duikers running away from us at the Makanyi, I finally got a picture of one during the evening game drive on day fourteen at the Leopards Hills Private Game Reserve. I am going to eventually build a list of all the animals that we saw.

Throwback Thursday - Heavenly Valley - 1998

Kitchen Remodel - Day #XXX - Before and After

The Kitchen Remodel series of pictures can be found here.

                    Before                                    After