‘Twas another beautiful Southern California weekend with many an hour of relaxing in and by the pool. With a nice Punch stogie, Grateful Dead (2/14/68) on the hi-fi, and some new “dot” OLLs in the mix. Another dot OLL video coming soon....
miscellanea
Red, White, and Cube
Happy Birthday, again, America. Whatever faults remain, even 237 years later, and whatever new wrinkles you might now countenance, you remain the globe’s shining symbol of hope. And your flag, that enduring icon of freedom, waves proudly still.
A cubing tribute to your Stars and Stripes:
(music: “Yankee Doodle Remix” by Jazbogas)
The Cubing Spy
Well, Mr. Snowden just can’t stay out of the headlines — and probably doesn’t care to — what with his (not-so-)clandestine flight to Moscow, his newfound alliance with Wikileaks, etc. Dude’s in a mess of trouble.
I couldn’t help but snicker when I read the opening lines in this NY Times article last week:
WASHINGTON — The source had instructed his media contacts to come to Hong Kong, visit a particular out-of-the-way corner of a certain hotel, and ask — loudly — for directions to another part of the hotel. If all seemed well, the source would walk past holding a Rubik’s Cube. They followed the directions. A man with a Rubik’s Cube appeared. It was Edward J. Snowden....
(image composited by Adventures in Cubing)
Just one issue: Seems like this self-proclaimed hero du jour didn’t realize that no one over 16 has played with a Rubik’s cube in public since about 1982. (Even our esteemed cubing competitions take place behind closed doors — or, with World in Vegas this year, at least away from anyone who would notice or care.)
Like Manning before him, Snowden seems better at stealing secrets than counter-intelligence. Even our bad spies are no good!?!
Happy Fathers’ Day
I wrote a while back about my older son exploring the cube. Well, when my 20-month-old saw me filming the Megaminx walk-through yesterday (on the eve of Fathers’ Day), he wanted in on the act, too.
He rejected the technique in my tutorial as inefficient, and devised his own way of solving the Megaminx: Drop it. Watch pieces fly off. Put it back together. Repeat.
(music: “Poppa Was a Rolling Stone,” The Temptations)
To all the dads out there doing all the things dads do, and to my boys and wife who make this a very meaningful day for me, HAPPY FATHERS’ DAY!
happy birthday, america
On this day, 236 years ago, King George III of England famously (and perhaps apocryphally) wrote in his diary, “Nothing of importance this day.” News spread more slowly then….
adventures in cubing 