Not even close to correct, but at least 1 order of magnitude. 50 generations is only (approx) 1000 years.

Out Of Africa ...
 

Hey cousin MD. Ever hear of pedigree collapse? We can discuss it at Thanksgiving dinner. Bring a bottle of wine. And some yams. Yeah, some yams. That's probably what our distant African aunt, and uncle, ancestors had for their Thanksgiving dinners.

Hopefully Uncle Harry won't bore us with his vacation slides, like he usually does.

Pedigree collapse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Straight Dope: 2, 4, 8, 16 ... how can you always have MORE ancestors as you go back in time?

An officiating journal. I got the idea from this site, actually. :)

Me too. I probably don't use it as well as I could, but it's an extension of my tax/game/travel spreadsheet, so it's easy to maintain.

Scattered Pictures ...
 

I wish that I had kept a journal when I started officiating back in the olden days. Man, the stories that I could tell you guys ... Where are my car keys? What were we talking about?

What do you write down? How much do you write? How do you use it?

I usually start each entry with the date, host school, level, and partner's name.

It's not exhaustive, but I generally try to include information such as:

• Anything the partner shares about his/her officiating background (i.e. partner has officiated 9 years; calls varsity, but also likes to help out newer officials in sub-varsity games).
• Was the game very physical?
• Did I have to make any tough calls?
• Were there any unusual situations? if so, were they handled correctly?
• Did my partner offer any useful/constructive feedback during or after the game?
• Anything else I found noteworthy or significant.

Last year, as a rookie, I also made it a point to identify 2-3 areas in which I thought I did well and 2-3 areas I wanted to improve in the next game. While I didn't follow that as strictly this year, I did make it a point to record anything good or bad that stuck out in my mind regarding my on-court performance.
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How much I write depends on the games, largely. A blowout game where the clock stays running most of the time with a minimal number of calls to make doesn't need the same amount of writing as a game where both teams are rivals, the game is very chippy, and my partner & I have to serve up IFs or tea for two.

I suppose my writing has a twofold purpose for me. (1) I want to see if I really do work on improving the areas that I (or others) identify for improvement. (2) I like the idea of having some sort of running log of my officiating career.

It's A Tell All Book ...
 

Maybe someday you can write a book, True Confessions of a Basketball Official.

Maybe they'll make a movie out of it someday. Remember, insist on no brown M&M's.

Can I play you in the movie? Some say that I'm a dead ringer for George Clooney. Wait? I'm being told ... What? A ringer for a dead George Clooney? Never mind.