Category: Tech

NHL Playoff Predictions: Round Two

The first round of the 2024 NHL Playoffs wrapped up last night and the second round kicked off last night as well. Worlds colliding, the universe is spinning out of control! I need to write another predictions post!

Let’s review my picks from the first round, including my coin flip picks. The Bruins won so that’s all that matters, but we’ll review anyway.

In the East…

Panthers vs Lightning. I hate them both. I picked Tampa Bay and Florida won. Pricks. I am 0/1. The coin picked Tampa Bay too so we’re both 0/1.

Bruins vs Maple Leafs. Nothing else matters. The Bruins won and all was right with the world, even though it stressed me out like crazy over the last three games. Damn, Bruins. I clearly picked the Bruins so I am 1/2. The coin toss picked the Bruins as well. We’re both 1/2.

The Rangers vs the Capitals. Damn if I don’t hate both of these teams too. The Rangers won easy. I picked the Caps because I suck at this. The coin picked the Caps too because the coin sucks at this too. We’re both 1/3.

Whalers vs Islanders.  Again… hate for both teams. I picked the Whale and the coin picked the Islanders. Finally some tension here! Who won? The Whale. I am 2/4 and the coin is 1/4.

On to the West!

Stars vs Golden Knights. This is the series that ended last night with a game seven. I picked Dallas and the coin picked Vegas. Who won game seven? Dallas. I was right, the coin was wrong. I am 3/5 and the coin is 1/5.

Jets vs Avalanche. I didn’t follow a single second of this series. I picked the Jets and the Avs won. The coin picked the Avs. Oh well. I am 3/6 and the coin is 2/6 and catching up to me.

Canucks vs Predators. I went with the underdog and I was wrong wrong wrong. I picked the Preds and the Canucks won. Fortunately for the predictions competition, the coin picked the Predators too. I am 3/7 and the coin is 2/7.

Oilers vs Kings. I like the Kings. I kinda like the Oilers. I picked the Oilers. So did the coin toss. The Oilers won. That brings me up to 4/8 and the coin is 3/8.

Two important statistical notes. First, I am at 50% which is really the best I can ever hope for. More importantly I beat the coin. Oh yeah, that’s what I am talking about. I’m better than blind random luck, babie! Nice!

Now for the second round, starting in the East…

Panthers vs Bruins. I am still so intensely pissed off over the Bruins choking last year and losing to the Panthers that I may never forgive them. A second round win this year will not erase last year’s shame… but it would be a nice start. Clearly I am picking the Bruins even though the Panthers are probably favored. The coin flip is tails. The higher seed is heads and the lower seed is tails, so the coin picks the Bruins as well.

Rangers vs Whalers. This is a little tough here. Game one already happened and the Rangers won. Does that color my choice? Nope. Even though I hate New York sports teams with the fiery passion of a million burning suns, I was going to pick the Rangers all along. Last night’s game doesn’t change anything. The coin flip is tails, so it picks the Whale.

Now we move over to the West…

Stars vs Avalanche. These two have a history, don’t they? Dallas vs Colorado always sees me siding with Colorado. Thanks to Ray Bourque, I think. I am picking the Avs out of loyalty. The coin also picked Colorado. That’s three tails in a row. Only one more to go.

Canucks vs Oilers. No question this time. Oilers all the way. The coin flip is finally not tails. The coin pics Vancouver.

There you have it, the third round will be Boston vs New York which is freakin’ epic in scope. The west will be Colorado vs Edmonton. You heard it here first, hockey fans!

I asked Google Gemini about the Boston/Florida series. Specifically, I asked the following:

Who do you think will win the playoff series between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers

Gemini’s response?

Predicting the winner of the Bruins-Panthers series is tough! Here’s a breakdown to help you form your own opinion:

  • Regular Season: The Bruins swept the season series 4-0, with two overtime victories.
  • Recent Form: Boston needed a hard-fought Game 7 overtime win against Toronto, while Florida swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.
  • Last Year’s Playoffs: The Panthers pulled off a massive upset, winning Game 7 in overtime after Boston led 3-1. This adds a revenge factor for the Bruins.

While the Bruins dominated the regular season matchup, playoff hockey is a different beast. Experts are leaning slightly towards the Panthers, but both teams have strong arguments.

Here are some resources to dig deeper:

So in other words, Gemini is too much of a wimp to actually pick a winner. Nice job, wimp.

Clicky

I really like using clicky mechanical keyboards like this one that is on my desk in the office. Jen gave it to me. I like it a lot, but I really miss the number pad. I find myself reaching for a number pad multiple times a day when I work at this desk. I’m thinking about looking for a new clicky mechanical keyboard that has a number pad. I don’t know. I don’t want to spend money on it though.

Mostly this is just because the work day is ending soon and I wanted to post a picture of something and I am in the office so really my keyboard is the only subject available to me. You know how it is.

A.I. Band Names Follow Up

Here is a quick follow up to yesterday’s post about asking an A.I. to suggest some new names for my band.

Last night I went back to Google Gemini and asked a similar question. I didn’t reference where we are from, but instead mentioned something about how we were all getting up there in age. It again responded with a list of names that were mostly inane and lame.

There was one stand out though. I shared it with the rest of the band. I shared it with my wife too, and now she is really rooting for us to use it.

The Viagra Falls.

At last, A.I. does something useful. At last.

Twitter Alternatives Update

I haven’t tried to embed a post from one of the twitter alternatives I’ve been dicking around with for the last few months. Mastodon, Bluesky, or Threads. Threads is more or less winning the race but I haven’t given up on the other two yet. I wonder if the ability to embed posts into wordpress.com will be the deciding factor? Probably not.

Here’s one from Threads:

https://www.threads.net/@reallytallredhead/post/C5eDKRLvoB7

Here’s one from Bluesky:

https://staging.bsky.app/profile/robj1971.bsky.social/post/3kpkq7324jq2z

Here’s one from Mastodon:

Hey! We have a winner! One out of three ain’t bad, even if it does look like utter and complete shit.

Emulation

While our kitchen is under construction and our entire house is being used by the work crew, there aren’t many places to go now that the work day is over. What am I doing to pass the time?

Sitting at my work desk, playing Pitfall on a video game emulator I found on the web.

I really suck at Pitfall, but I suck worse at both Space Invaders and Defender. My tween self is just in shock at how badly I suck at these games that, while I always sucked at them, I used to be almost competent at.

I’m Pissed at Elon

I was fine using twitter. I didn’t use it a lot, but I would bring it up when I watched a Bruins game or a Red Sox game and it was fun to see other people react.

Then Elon Musk… that prick.

Now I am stuck trying to decide which alternative social network I want to use in place of the twitter. Why? Why did that spoiled asshole have to screw everything up?

Bluesky?

Threads?

Mastodon?

Which one should I go with? I have been using Threads a lot but today I had the urge to go back to Bluesky. Why? Why do I care? What does it matter? I should just go back to myspace. Is friendster still a thing?

Success at Last

We have been using the online meal prep service Dinnerly for a couple of months now. The goal was for my wife and I to cook the meals they send us together, but sometimes one of us has to run with it without the other.

I have made steak dishes on my own three times. The first time the steak was massively undercooked. The second time was better but still undercooked and the side dish burned. I was starting to believe that I just sucked at Dinnerly.

Tonight was my third try and it finally came out okay. The steak was good and the side dish, French fries from scratch, was really good.

I’m glad I no longer suck at Dinnerly. Insert the sound of my sigh of relief here.