I guess the F2L practice is starting to pay off. I just got this 51-second solve, using F2L. My personal best to date, which means that (on a good day) my F2L times have converged with my Beginner’s Method times.
Reviews for many cubes are riddled with complaints about sticker quality. And, like clockwork, every time someone complains about the quality, someone snarks, “Who cares? You’ll replace it with Cubesmith stickers in a month anyway.” Having taken a recent liking to my ShengEn Type F-II, I wore through the stickers quite quickly. As Cubesmith seems to be the go-to vendor for replacement stickers, I grabbed a couple different sets, includung a lexan textured “tiles” set. It took about 30 minutes to remove the old stickers with a Scrape-Rite plastic blade and replace them with the tiles. Continue reading
After achieving two sub-minute personal bests last week, I feared that they perhaps were flukes. The off-camera aspect irked me, as well. So, donning the GoPro, I gave it another shot last night and logged three sub-minute solves:
At 52, 58, and 58 seconds, these were the best 3 of 5 — after tossing out a sixth lucky solve (with OLL solving the cube completely). I wound up with a 60.8 second 5-solve average. I actually was on pace for a sub-50 solve when my F-II popped. Bummer. All three recorded solves were on a sticklerless Dayan Zhanchi.
Soundtrack by the John Coltrane Quartet (“Afro Blue” from Live at Birdland) — with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, and Jimmy Garrison, one of jazz’ all-time great lineups. Continue reading
Having spent the last couple months consumed by 3×3 cubes, I just grabbed a 2×2 to break up the monotony. As expected, it didn’t take long to become comfortable with it. After all, a 2×2 cube is simply a 3×3 cube without the edges. After about 20 minutes for practice, I recorded this 27-second solve:
Pure Beginner’s Method adapted to a 2×2. The OLL was a little clunky, and I’m sure there are some more efficient algorithms. The PLL was a snap.
The music is Umphrey’s McGee playing, appropriately, “2×2” (from their December 30, 2010 concert). The full show can be downloaded here.
The cube is a V-Cube 2. It seems to lock up a bunch, especially when compared to the better 3×3’s I own. But it’s certainly smooth enough to serve as a fun distraction.
Sure is flat up here. I think they call these here parts plateaus. Another 1:09 solve following these two the other day. I have a couple 1:03s off-video, but 1:09 remains my on-video personal best.
adventures in cubing 