NHL Round Two Picks

Ok ladies and gents. Round one is complete. Here are the results.

Aaron has 5 points.
Matt has 7 points.
I have 5 points as well.

Let’s get to round two.

Well all are taking the Bruins, Canucks, and Capitals.

San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Redwings
Aaron had the wings.
Matt has the wings.
I’m taking the Sharks. Let’s hope I can get back in this thing.

NHL Playoffs: The Quest for Repetition

Last year my friend Aaron and I had a little blog rivalry with our playoff predictions. It was a dead heat until I went 4-0 in round 2. Yes, I had the Canadiens to beat Pittsburgh. Like my fledgling adult hockey career, I only do well at playoff time.

Anyhow, there is a new challenger to the ranks for Aaron's International blogger rivalry we have going on. Now I have to beat off two people. Can it be done. Can I repeat. We shall see. Here goes.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers
Aaron says Capitals in 5.
Matt says Capitals in 6.
I'll agree with both of them and say the Capitals are going to win this one.

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Buffalo Sabres
Aaron says Sabres in 6.
Matt says Flyers in 6.
As much as I love the Sabres, I agree with Matt and say the Flyers are taking this series.

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
Aaron says Bruins.
Matt says Bruins in 7.
I'll complete the sweep and say Au Revoir to the Canadiens, even though P.K. Subban is my favourite player.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Aaron says Penguins in 5.
Matt is hoping to catch Lightning in a bottle in 6.
I got Aaron's back on this one. Penguins.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Aaron says Canucks in 6.
Matt is doing his best to come in last and say the Blackhawks in 7.
I think the Canucks are going to destroy them. 5 games max.

San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings
Aaron goes against his boy Ryan Smyth and takes the Sharks in 5.
Matt is also going with the Sharks in 6.
I'll go with God's team and say the Kings.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Phoenix Coyotes
Aaron is going with the Wings in 6.
Matt is going with the wings in 5.
I'm going with the Coyotes.

Anaheim Ducks vs. Nashville Predators
Aaron is going with the Ducks in 5.
Matt is going with the Predators in 6.
I'm going to side with Matt on this one. Does Anaheim even have a goalie?

See you boys when you reach the top.

Kicking It Old School

Yesterday my bass underwent a little face lift. Tired of the traditional black or white pick guards like in the first picture here, I decided to go with a tortoise shell (because Jeremy said it would look nice. And by nice I mean bad-ass and old school. As in it reflects how I approach the instrument).

Another reason for doing it is because Fender has these dumb lines of guitars and basses out such as the Road Worn Series, where they try to make guitars look beat up and old, but instead look new and crappy. Now they have the new Pawn Shop Series, where they just combine two guitars together and pretend that every guitar in a pawn shop is a mutilated half breed monstrosity and charge money for it. Honestly, when I read the presser, I instantly thought of that South Park episode where the kids breed a pig with an elephant.

The picture below is showing the progress of my new look bass. I figured it was just better to order the parts from companies like Fender and others, making the appropriate changes myself instead of waiting for them to combine new school technology with an old school look.

I started with having a brass nut installed to replace the regular nut that comes with it. An incredible luthier of basses who will remain nameless did this for me. It's nice to have a friend who is an incredible talent live 5 minutes from me.

An amazing repair tech now operating out of Oslo Norway named Allen Hunter replaced the regular output jack with a Neutrik jack, most commonly found on Ibanez basses. That involved routing out the jack end of the body and some rewiring so I left that to the experts. Hey Metallica, if your guitar breaks on your tour stop in Oslo, call AVH Guitar Repair.

Gold Schaller strap locks were next, followed by the tortoise shell pick guard with gold screws. There will be more upgrades and modifications as I progress.

I think I'll call it Randall's Pocket Signature Jazz Bass.