jleyrer::blog

Eastern Conference

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 6. Philadelphia Flyers

Who I Want to Win: Pittsburgh
Who Will Win: Pittsburgh
Number of Games: 6

Prediction: After predicting that the Flyers would lose in the first round to Washington, and then again in the second round to Montreal, I almost feel like I’m jinxing Pittsburgh by picking them to go to the finals. However, the Pens hardly even broke a sweat in the first two rounds, and aren’t really showing signs of slowing down. As expected, Crosby and Malkin are among the league leaders thus far in points, and Marc-Andre Fleury is 3rd among goalies in goals against average. However, don’t count the Flyers out just yet. Danny Briere’s leading the way among Flyers forwards with 14 points, but help from guys like Prospal, Umberger, and Richards has made them tough to counter. Marty Biron’s gonna have to keep up the good work in between the pipes in order for the Flyers to stand a chance, but even then, the Pittsburgh forwards’ onslaught will be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back.

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 5. Dallas Stars

Who I Want to Win: Detroit
Who Will Win: Detroit
Number of Games: 6

Prediction: Dallas had arguably the most intimidating set of opponents in the first two rounds of the playoffs. After the Stars cooled down towards the end of the regular season, not many people picked them to beat the Ducks, and probably even fewer picked them to beat San Jose (which I did…. yesss!). But win they did, and in convincing fashion. However, unless Dallas can figure out a way to stop the Johan Franzen goal-scoring bonanza (he leads the league in playoff goals with 11) while still keeping Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg at bay, they are in for a rough ride. Hell, even if Dallas was allowed a 6th skater on the ice at all times, I still don’t think containing these three long enough to win four games is possible. Everything is coming up Red Wings.

The second round of the NHL Playoffs is about to start, so here are my predictions. In the first round I was correct in who I thought would win for 5 of the 8 series, but the teams I wanted to win took 6 of the 8. Not very impressive, but maybe this time around I will nail them all.

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. 6. Philadelphia Flyers

Who I Want to Win: Montreal
Who Will Win: Montreal
Number of Games: 6

Prediction: If Round 1 for each of these teams tells us anything, it’s that this series is likely to be full of surprises. No one thought the Boston Bruins would be playing a game 7 against the heavily favored Canadiens (probably not even the Bruins themselves), but there it was. Most people expected the explosive Ovechkin and Co. from Washington to be too much for the Flyers’ D to handle, and while AO put up decent numbers in the latter half of the series, it was Philly’s Danny Briere who stole the scoring show. However, I don’t think the Flyers will fare so well this time around. Montreal is a much more well rounded team than the Captials, with more guys contributing offensively, and in net Carey Price has shown that he can carry his regular season prowess over into the playoffs. Philadelphia will put up a decent fight, but will ultimately fall short.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5. New York Rangers

Who I Want to Win: Pittsburgh
Who Will Win: Pittsburgh
Number of Games: 7

Prediction: I think this is the most evenly matched of all the conference semifinal series. Both goalies have been playing great and the guys who are expected to rack up points for each team (Jagr and Gomez for NY, Malkin and Crosby for Pittsburgh) are doing so. Even though Pittsburgh’s offense walked all over Ottawa in the first round, they’re going to run into a lot more resistance from the Ranger defense and Vezina-candidate goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist. If New York’s offense doesn’t sputter, this should be a long series. However, I just don’t think the Rangers can match Pittsburgh’s firepower.

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 6. Colorado Avalanche

Who I Want to Win: Detroit
Who Will Win: Detroit
Number of Games: 6

Prediction: I know, I know. The Avs didn’t have Joe Sakic, Paul Stastny, Peter Forsberg, or Adam Foote for a large chunk of the season, and Adam Foote totally neutralized Marian Gaborik in the first round. BUT… The fact remains that in their four meetings this year, Detroit has embarrassed the Avs. Three of the four were shutouts, and the total goal differential among them was 11-2. The series will be a lot closer than the regular season would lead one to believe, but still - it’s not 2001, when the bulk of Colorado’s top offensemen were still in their prime. Adam Foote might be able to effectively cover Zetterberg OR Datsyuk, but he can’t handle both of them (not to mention Thomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen). I think Detroit’s deep offense will be too much for even Avs’ goalie Jose Theodore to handle, and Wings’ goalie Chris Osgood will play as well as he needs to for his team to win.

2. San Jose Sharks vs. 5. Dallas Stars

Who I Want to Win: San Jose
Who Will Win: Dallas
Number of Games: 7

Prediction: As much as the Sharks deserve a long playoff run, I think they are in trouble. Calgary proved to be a lot more problematic than they should have been for the hottest team in the NHL leading up to the playoffs. Dallas showed in the first round that its late season lull was just that, as they came out swinging against the defending champs in Anaheim. If Dallas’ defense can keep guys like Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau from closing in on the net, goaltender Marty Turco should be in good shape. Sharks’ goalie Evgeni Nabokov will be a tough nut to crack, and though Dallas’ forwards have been stepping it up thus far (namely Ribiero, Morrow, and Modano) they will need to go all out in order to win. This should be another long one, but if San Jose wavers at all like they did against Calgary, Dallas will make them pay.

* * * * *

For reference, Round 1 Predictions and Results:

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. 8. Boston Bruins

Who I Wanted to Win: Montreal
Who I Thought Would Win: Montreal
Predicted Number of Games: 4
Who Won: Montreal
Actual Number of Games: 7

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 7. Ottawa Senators

Who I Wanted to Win: Pittsburgh
Who I Thought Would Win: Pittsburgh
Predicted Number of Games: 6
Who Won: Pittsburgh
Actual Number of Games: 4

3. Washington Capitals vs. 6. Philadelphia Flyers

Who I Wanted to Win: Philadelphia
Who I Thought Would Win: Washington
Predicted Number of Games: 6
Who Won: Philadelphia
Actual Number of Games: 7

4. New Jersey Devils vs. 5. New York Rangers

Who I Wanted to Win: New Jersey
Who I Thought Would Win: New York
Predicted Number of Games: 6
Who Won: New York
Actual Number of Games: 5

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 8. Nashville Predators

Who I Wanted to Win: Detroit
Who I Thought Would Win: Detroit
Predicted Number of Games: 5
Who Won: Detroit
Actual Number of Games: 6

2. San Jose Sharks vs. 7. Calgary Flames

Who I Wanted to Win: San Jose
Who I Thought Would Win: San Jose
Predicted Number of Games: 6
Who Won: San Jose
Actual Number of Games: 7

3. Minnesota Wild vs. 6. Colorado Avalanche

Who I Wanted to Win: Minnesota
Who I Thought Would Win: Minnesota
Predicted Number of Games: 7
Who Won: Colorado
Actual Number of Games: 6

4. Anaheim Ducks vs. 5. Dallas Stars

Who I Wanted to Win: Dallas
Who I Thought Would Win: Anaheim
Predicted Number of Games: 7
Who Won: Dallas
Actual Number of Games: 6

Now that the 2007-2008 regular season is over with, it’s time for me to make my playoff predictions. Here are the first round matchups, with my predictions for each.

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. 8. Boston Bruins

Prediction: Montreal’s been hot down the home stretch, going 8-1-1 in the final ten games of the season. More importantly, they swept the eight games between them and Boston during the regular season. Though Montreal’s rookie goalie Carey Price lacks NHL playoff experience, he’s 12-3 since the all-star break and is looking pretty confident. Boston’s goalie, Tim Thomas, has been playing well as of late but I think it could be trouble for the Bruins if and when Thomas gets rattled by a couple of early Montreal wins. I can’t see Montreal slowing down any time in the near future, and certainly not against their divisional whipping boys, the Boston Bruins.

Who I Want to Win: Montreal
Who Will Win: Montreal
Number of Games: 4

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 7. Ottawa Senators

Prediction: The mess that has been the Ottawa Senators’ second half of the regular season made this prediction a lot easier than it would have been otherwise. Couple their poor finish with the fact that Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher both got laid out by the Mark Bell freight train during the Sens’ final game against Toronto and are expected to miss most (if not all) of the first round, and Ottawa’s chances are looking grim at best. I expect Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley to make their presence known, which may result in a game or two going Ottawa’s way, but ultimately it will not be enough to overcome the offensive show that Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marian Hossa are going to put on. Pittsburgh also has the advantage in goaltending. Marc-Andre Fleury has been great since coming back from his high ankle sprain, and backup Ty Conklin was stellar in Fleury’s absence. Ottawa, on the other hand, gave the starting job to Martin Gerber only because he’s been not quite as bad as the #2 man, Ray Emery. Still, Ottawa is Ottawa and I don’t think they’ll go quietly.

Who I Want to Win: Pittsburgh
Who Will Win: Pittsburgh
Number of Games: 6

3. Washington Capitals vs. 6. Philadelphia Flyers

Prediction: The Flyers edged out the Capitals 2-1-1 over the four meetings these teams had during the regular season, but that was before The Ovechkins (Capitals, I mean) turned on the afterburners and shot up the Eastern conference standings. Washington also benefited from some big moves at the trade deadline, namely the one that brought goalie Cristobal Huet over from Montreal. Even if Philly’s Mike Richards and ten million dollar man Daniel Briere play up to their potential, I think the team’s shallow defense and recent lackluster play from goalie Martin Biron are going to spell trouble for them in the end.

Who I Want to Win: Philadelphia
Who Will Win: Washington
Number of Games: 6

4. New Jersey Devils vs. 5. New York Rangers

Prediction: This one seems like it could go either way. Though New York won seven of the eight regular season games between them, New Jersey showed up to play in the final outing and (hopefully) gave us a preview of what’s to come. Devils’ goalie Martin Brodeur has done the playoff dance many a time and over the next few weeks he’ll likely be showing us why he’s still the best in the game. On the other end of the ice, Henrik Lundqvist is also having a great year for the Rangers. New Jersey certainly isn’t known for their offense, and if New York can get their shit together in that department, I think they have the edge.

Who I Want to Win: New Jersey
Who Will Win: New York
Number of Games: 6

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 8. Nashville Predators
Prediction: Given the sheer point differential between these teams and their head-to-head records during the season, this seems like it should be a walk in the park for the Red Wings. While I don’t see Detroit losing more than a game or two, I think every game in this series is going to be hard fought and close. Nashville’s first line, centered by Jason Arnott, can be pretty dangerous but you can bet that Pavel Datsyuk & co. will back-checking that little party into near obsolescence from the get go. I give Detroit the slight edge in the goaltending department, though anyone familiar with Dominic Hasek knows that that will probably vary from night to night.

Who I Want to Win: Detroit
Who Will Win: Detroit
Number of Games: 5

2. San Jose Sharks vs. 7. Calgary Flames
Prediction: Flames captain Jarome Iginla knows how to step it up in the playoffs, but he is facing a team that only had one regulation loss in their final 22 games of the regular season. Sharks’ goalie Evgeni Nabokov is probably the front runner for the Vezina trophy and for good reason. He started more games than anyone and was a huge part of why the Sharks nearly caught the Red Wings in the final week of the season. Calgary fared better in their four meetings this year (3-1), but I don’t think they’ll have what it takes to contend with this hot Sharks team now.

Who I Want to Win: San Jose
Who Will Win: San Jose
Number of Games: 6

3. Minnesota Wild vs. 6. Colorado Avalanche
Prediction: Colorado has put together a lineup reminiscent of what they had in the late 1990’s, with Forsberg, Foote, Sakic and Hejduk taking the spotlight. However, these guys are past their prime and are going to have trouble cracking the tough defense of the Minnesota Wild. I expect a low scoring series, with Minnesota eventually weathering the storm.

Who I Want to Win: Minnesota
Who Will Win: Minnesota
Number of Games: 7

4. Anaheim Ducks vs. 5. Dallas Stars
Prediction: While Anaheim had a weak start this year, the return of Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne seemed to give them the boost they needed to rebound. While I don’t think Anaheim is the same cup-winning team we saw last year, Dallas has been on a skid lately and are going to have to work some magic to overcome the Ducks.

Who I Want to Win: Dallas
Who Will Win: Anaheim
Number of Games: 7

Well, after putting a lot of thought into it I’ve decided to move back to Michigan. Chicago has been good to me, but I just can’t see myself staying any longer in a city where property ownership and cost of living are at such a premium. Plus, it will be nice to again be able to see my family more than once every few months. My official move-home date will be Friday, April 11. So, if you’ll be in Chicago next weekend (Apr 5-6) and want to see me off, let me know and I will forward the details of the final gathering to you when they become concrete.

Also, I really don’t want to haul all of my bigger items back since I will be staying with my dad until I find my own place. So, if you’ve been to my apartment and saw anything you might be interested in purchasing at a discount (TV, couches, chairs, grill, etc.) send me an email or talk to me this weekend and we’ll work something out.

UPDATE: Ok, not really.

This past weekend, I got my Wii Guitar Hero guitar talking to my Arduino prototyping board. There is a decent amount of information on the net on how to accomplish this with the Wii Nunchuk (specifically, here and here) but as far as I could tell, none for the Wii guitar. So, here’s the rundown…

The Wii guitar has the same connector as the Nunchuk, which normally plugs into the Wii Remote during gameplay. Since I have one of Tod Kurt’s awesome little WiiChuck adapters, connecting the Arduino and guitar didn’t require cutting off the guitar’s connector in order to expose the four wires inside. This is good, seeing as how those guitar controllers sell for about $70 and the WiiChuck adapters are $4 apiece, shipped. I also put together a makeshift 3-foot cable to connect the WiiChuck adapter and Arduino by twisting four wires together and soldering a female connection header to the end. This way, I could sit with the guitar in my lap and leave the Arduino/breadboard mess on the table in front of me while testing. Extension cable or not, you’ll need to make sure each of your pins/wires are properly connected. The clock pin on the WiiChuck should go to analog input pin 5 on the Arduino, the WiiChuck’s data pin goes to analog input 4, the power pin goes to the Arduino’s 3.3v power supply, and the ground pin goes to any of the board’s grounds.

Wii Guitar Connector


WiiChuck/Header Connection (Hey, that was the smallest header I had!)

The Arduino software comes with the Wire library, which I used to read directly from the guitar controller. The two articles I linked above go into detail about what gets passed back and forth between the two devices, but suffice it to say that everything we are interested in is contained within a 6-byte buffer we will repeatedly request from the guitar. All of the guitar controller’s button state information fits into these 6 bytes as follows (obtained from some fine button-mashing on my part):

Byte 0: Joystick x-axis
Byte 1: Joystick y-axis
Byte 2: Not used (?)
Byte 3: Whammy bar (bits 0-3)
Byte 4: Plus (+) button (bit 2), Minus (-) button (bit 4), Downward strum (bit 6)
Byte 5: Upward strum (bit 0), Yellow button (bit 3), Green button (bit 4), Blue button (bit 5), Red button (bit 6), Orange button (bit 7)

Using this information, I wrote a function library (based off of Windmeadow Labs’ and Tod Kurt’s code) that will allow you to easily get button states and whammy bar/joystick info for use in Arduino sketches. The library is here.

Also, here’s a simple Arduino sketch that demonstrates most of the library’s functionality by toggling/fading LEDs associated with the guitar’s controls.

Enjoy!

Assembled for use with the demo sketch above

The following is an excerpt from an article on USA Today’s website, written two days ago by columnist Ted Montgomery, regarding Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings:

What is behind this love affair between the Detroit media, brass and fans and Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby? I can’t think of another two players in the league whose skills have eroded so precipitously. Both players made key contributions to the Cup-winning teams of 1997, 1998 and 2002, but both are now just shadows of their former selves. Draper still has significant faceoff talents, but the things that distinguished both players in their primes - blazing speed and the ability to score timely goals - have long since abandoned them.

On some nights, they are the worst players on the ice for the Wings. Both guys have iron hands now, and watching them flail along is sad. As of this writing they are both minus players on a team that scores a lot of goals and prides itself on a sound defensive game. Only one other Red Wing who has played in at least 55 games for the team this season has a negative plus/minus (Dallas Drake). Ah well, old habits die hard, I guess.

The point Ted Montgomery is really making here is that he doesn’t understand that hockey is a team game, and that a team’s success is not measured by the sum of it’s players’ individual statistics. He also doesn’t understand that cohesive teamwork - not scoring titles - is the biggest reason why the Detroit Red Wings have been the best team in the league over the past 13 years.

Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby are not goal scorers. They are not playmakers, they are not tough guys, and they are not going to lead the team in any offensive stat category. The role they play for the Wings, however, is a huge part of why the team “prides itself on a sound defensive game”, to quote Montgomery. Two words, Ted: penalty killing. I challenge you to name one forward line in the NHL that has been more consistent and effective at killing penalties since 1996 (and no, I’m not referring to how many short-handed goals they’ve scored). Simply put, there has been no such line.

Detroit’s penalty killing percentage has been among the league’s best since Maltby and Draper paired up more than ten years ago, and though a big portion of the credit also goes to Nicklas Lidstrom and Steve Yzerman over that time period, Draper and Maltby have been and continue to be the backbone of the team’s penalty killing efforts. For Montgomery to say that they are only getting ice time due to their popularity among fans and team personnel is ridiculous. If that is really coach Mike Babcock’s policy for determining who plays, then goaltender Chris Osgood should be starting just about every game between now and the end of the playoffs. In fact, under Montgomery’s rationale, the next time Dominic Hasek sets foot on the ice will be at his jersey retirement ceremony in Buffalo in a few years. The Detroit coaching staff is trying to put together a winning formula. The fact that the Red Wings have maintained the best record in the league for almost the entire season is a testament to how well the coaches have done thus far. If Maltby and Draper weren’t an essential part of that formula, you can bet they’d be getting about as many shifts as Wings’ enforcer Aaron Downey… which is not many.

Montgomery also says, “Draper still has significant faceoff talents”. If by “significant” he means “best in the league among players who’ve taken 500 or more face-offs this year, at 58.8%”*, then he is correct. That’s like saying current NHL goal scoring leader Alexander Ovechkin has “significant shooting talents”. Well, no shit, Ted — He’s the best of the best. Being the best face-off man in the league certainly becomes a factor on those crucial short-handed, defensive-zone faceoffs where losing the draw would result almost immediately in the puck being drawn back to the point, followed by sustained pressure from the other team until the Wings got the chance to clear the zone or the puck went into their net. That’s a pretty important skill for a penalty killer to have, if you ask me.

Come on, Ted Montgomery. Your USA Today bio says you are a Detroit-area native and long time Red Wings fan, so you should know better than this.

*at the time his article was posted.

I just heard there’s a guy who is hospitalized and in critical condition after being exposed to ricin in his Las Vegas hotel room two weeks ago. What hotel was he staying at? Why, an Extended Stay America of course! Oh, the irony. Given my past experiences with this particular chain, I’m not the least bit surprised.

There was a lot of wheeling and dealing yesterday around the NHL, as it was the last day for league GMs to make pre-playoff trades. Some were significant, while others were minor. Some I have strong opinions on, while others I don’t really care about. I found myself spouting off on Twitter each time I caught wind of the more notable ones, so I thought I’d summarize here a bit more coherently. I won’t include all twenty-four of them, rather just the ones I am particularly interested in.

Washington Capitals get: Cristobal Huet
Montreal Canadiens get: 2009 2nd round draft pick

Wahington’s motivation behind this trade is obvious. Their starter, Olaf Kolzig, has been getting shelled between the pipes this year. The team has a combined 3.05 goals-against average, which is one of the worst in the league. Still, only five points out of a playoff spot they hope that getting some better numbers out of Huet is the push they need. Luckily for them, Alexander Ovechkin has scored 1,056,897 goals this year (ok, it’s actually 48) which is the sole reason they are even in the hunt to begin with.

I can’t imagine what Montreal’s GM Bob Gainey was thinking here. Sure, Huet becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this year and might have had plans to move on to greener pastures (a.k.a. somewhere that was going to pay him a lot more). But come on, Gainey. You don’t go and give away your starting goalie for a 2nd round draft pick. Huet might be inconsistent at times, but the guy was an all-star last year. Carey Price, now the Canadiens’ main man in net, is a 20-year old rookie. I know he’s supposed to be their goalie of the future, but who in their right minds would willingly entrust the rest of the season and playoffs (well, probably) to a goaltender who’s only played a total of 27 NHL games? If the season ended right now, the Candiens would be playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. Price is probably already shitting himself at the thought of Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and the newly acquired Marian Hossa of Pittsburgh putting on the usual scoring clinic at his expense.

Washington Capitals get: Sergei Fedorov
Columbus Blue Jackets get: Ted Ruth

The Capitals are looking for immediate results here. In the event they make the playoffs, they’ve got another battle-tested veteran that can hopefully add depth to The Alexander Ovechkin Show. Given Fedorov’s prone-ness to injury (he is currently listed as day-to-day with a leg injury, a week after coming off 13 games on the Injured Reserve list due to “post-concussion syndrome”) and his lackluster 28 points on the season in Columbus, I’d say Fedorov is washed up and I wouldn’t have made this deal. No, not even despite any potential help they might get from him in the playoffs. Washington had better hope that Ted Ruth turns out to be total garbage.

Ottawa Senators get: Martin Lapointe
Chicago Blackhawks get: 2008 6th round draft pick

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - Lapointe sucks. All you Chicagoans who’ve been trying to convince yourselves for years that Lapointe’s value was in his leadership role to the young Blackhawks team, as opposed to say, ANY quantifiable statistic - you have to kid yourselves no more. He’s gone, and now you can return to your optimistic “team rebuilding process” chatter and speculate on what glorious returns your shiny new 6th round pick will bring in. Hey, I hear the Cubs’ pitching staff is going to be stellar this year as well, so long as they stay healthy… right?

Pittsburgh Penguins get: Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis
Atlanta Thrashers get: Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and 2008 1st round draft pick

Well, we all knew this one was coming. Hossa would have been an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and it was almost certain he was going to move on to another team that doesn’t suck nearly as much as Atlanta does. I am just suprised that it was Pittsburgh that ended up with him. With Evgeni Malkin currently tearing it up in the absence of Sidney Crosby (get well soon, Sidney, my fantasy hockey team needs you!) the addition of Hossa and the return of Crosby is going to make Pittsburgh one of the biggest offensive powerhouses in the league, right up there with Ottawa’s infamous Alfredsson-Heatley-Spezza line. I do think the Thrashers can walk away happy from this one. They get uber-prospect Angelo Esposito and Pittsburgh’s first draft pick this year. That is certainly better than having Hossa leave at the end of the year with nothing to show for it.

Detroit Red Wings get: Brad Stuart
Edmonton Oilers get: 2008 2nd round draft pick, 2009 4th round draft pick

Ken Holland has been stung by trade deadline deals the past two years, so I wasn’t suprised when he said we wasn’t going to go large this year. To be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about Brad Stuart, other than that he put a massive hit on the Wings’ Daniel Cleary this year. What I do know, however, are two things that made news of this trade excite me a whole hell of a lot: 1) Stuart plays defense. Now that the Red Wings’ top FOUR defensemen are out with injuries, to say the defensive lineup is somewhat lacking would be a huge understatement. Any decent help they can get on the blue line is more than welcome at this point. And of course, 2) Stuart plays defense. If Stuart comes on as a third-line defenseman, and the top four come back from their various injuries, d-man Andreas Lilja is out of a job. I can’t tell you the number of times Lilja has done something stupid enough to warrant me yelling out “God Dammit, Lilja!” or immediately sending my friends text messages saying “God Dammit, Lilja!”. Send him to the minors, take him out back and shoot him — I don’t care. Just get him off the ice.

For the past few months, the headphone jack on my 2nd-generation Dell DJ portable audio player has been acting up. More specifically, I haven’t been able to get any sound out of the left channel unless I pulled the headphone cable tight towards the back of the player and wound it around a few times to hold it in place. This was fine if I was sitting at my desk but not all that effective if I was walking around. Frustrated with my current replacement options in the capacity I want (namely, Apple’s ongoing audio/software issues with the 80gb and 160gb iPod Classics), I decided to take a stab at reviving my DJ.

I checked various Dell DJ-related forums, and found that this has been a pretty common problem among all DJ revisions. For the 2nd generation players there seemed to be only one posted solution: send it back to Dell if it is still under warranty. Well, Dell stopped making hard disk-based players over a year ago and mine was out of warranty anyways, so that wasn’t an option. I decided to start investigating on my own and documented my steps along the way, in case I was successful, so that someone else in my position might have a little more guidance than I did.

First, I removed the bottom rubber cover that protects the data port. To do this, I wedged a utility knife in between the rubber and the aluminum case and pried upward:

Then I removed the tiny screws that hold a metal plate in place, protecting the interior components:

At this point I removed the battery to give myself a bit more room to work with and make it harder for me to fry something. The battery lies along the backside of the player. Once I disconnected it (unplug the connector with the red and black wires attached to it, at the far left of the previous picture) it slid right out. I tugged on the circuit board inside with a pair of pliers a few times and it was obvious that it wasn’t going to budge, so I moved to the top of the player. The top rubber piece comes off the same way as the bottom, and once again you have to remove four screws to get the underlying plate out:

With the top plate off, I started to pull the DJ’s guts out. Although it slid pretty easily, I heard an unsettling metal-on-metal scraping sound coming from somewhere in the middle of the player. I guessed that this had to do with the scroll wheel’s connection to the mainboard, and I was right. Using the utility knife, I pried the scroll wheel assembly off the front and removed the case:

There are a handful of solders around the headphone jack housing. I inspected them closely while pressing the housing back and forth and saw that one of them had broken. Of course, it was the most tucked away of all of them and getting to it required that I remove the hard drive bracket out of the way. Three of the four screws holding the bracket in place are accessible; the other is under the LCD panel. I carefully pulled the LCD back from the left side in order to remove the final screw and then flipped the hard drive off to the side:

A quick re-solder of the broken contact (the rightmost solder on the black headphone jack housing in the picture below) and it was time to put it all back together:

Assembling the DJ is just the reverse of taking it apart, for the most part. However, you have to be careful to not let the surface of the LCD touch the aluminum case when sliding it back in. As I now know firsthand, any contact will result in an LCD with small scratches on it. When I got the insides almost all the way back in I found that the LCD bracket catches on the case, and trying to force it doesn’t do any good. However, you can press the bracket down just enough so that it will slide the rest of the way in by sticking a small flathead screwdriver through the scroll wheel hole and pressing down on the rectangular-shaped slot:

I popped the scroll wheel back in, reconnected the battery and slid it into place, and then put the end caps back on. Once again, I have two fully working channels.

Thanks, Wikipedia

Also, this is the only known photo of Dominik Hasek standing on his feet (above and to the right of G-Dubbs).

I’ve spent a good portion of the last two nights soldering/assembling the ProtoShield for my new Arduino microcontroller board and building some of the projects included in this set of tutorials. While none of these are necessarily earth-shattering, they’ve been fun and have encouraged me to eventually take on larger projects. Make Magazine’s project blog has some really neat DIY projects for the Arduino and hopefully I’ll be graduating to some of those soon.

For now, this is where I’m at:

A switch-activated, multi-mode LED array

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading books on electronics and do-it-yourself hardware projects. I’ve also ordered myself a microcontroller kit, a multimeter, a soldering station, and a few of the other accessories required to get underway on some of the basic projects I am interested in.

I’ve always thought this stuff was cool but, for whatever reason, it’s taken me until now to actually take the plunge. The prospect of being able to build things that are useful in my everyday life out of tangible components that were previously foreign to me is pretty exciting, to say the least. Hopefully, I’ll be blogging about some of my projects in the near future.

I just discovered that catching up on work after a four-day weekend is a lot more bearable when I am at home, sipping a cafe con leche, listening to good music, and periodically tending to the roaring fire I just built in my fireplace. Who would’ve thought?

I hope everyone had a nice holiday and all that stuff. Katie and I just got back from the whirlwind Michigan tour and are pretty exhausted. Still, in a few hours I am going to fire up the Weber and try out my new fish-fillet grilling basket in tandem with my new magnetic, LED grill light.

Yesss.

I think we need more questionnaires like this one: The Cadaver Calculator

Apparently, my dead body is worth $3575!