Older cubers discussions

[bubbagrub]

World Championships are in Paris next July. Who's going?

I'm hoping to go. Should be fun.

On the subject of 4x4, I'm frustratingly close to averaging 1:30. I've had a few ao12s of below 1:30 but I still feel like there's a chance I won't make the (1:30) cut in the competition this coming weekend. @Selkie: very impressive 4x4 times and weight loss. I've also been on a diet recently, and have found that I seem to think about weight changes in the same part of my brain as cubing times...

I'm wondering, Mark and people who are fast at 3BLD, what method do you use for memo? I've been using the rooms method for edges, which is really slow and I just discovered today that if I just make a sentence out of the letters, it takes more effort but I can go much faster.

 

[newtonbase]

I tend to use audio for edges as it's quick. Unfortunately it doesn't stick for long and I can't quite remember enough for a whole cube so I use slower visual memo for corners. Once I have enough solid images stored I intend to use that only.
Gianfranco Huanqui told me he uses audio corners and visual edges.

 

[mark49152]

I'm wondering, Mark and people who are fast at 3BLD, what method do you use for memo? I've been using the rooms method for edges, which is really slow and I just discovered today that if I just make a sentence out of the letters, it takes more effort but I can go much faster.

I memo corners first with images, then edges with audio. I make words of 4 letters each. I have fixed sounds for every letter to eliminate ambiguity.

Then I execute edges before corners. Audio is very short term but as Mark said, it's faster. Some people use audio for corners instead but whatever you do with audio gets executed first.

If I make memo mistakes it's usually mixing up similar sounds like M & N, or forgetting corners entirely. I try to recall my corner scene briefly after the first 4 letter edge word, just to check it has stuck.

 

[bubbagrub]

Ahh... I wonder if I have time to change my approach to 3BLD before the weekend... maybe not, but I like the sound of audio for edges... I'll give it a try on the train tomorrow and see how it goes...

 

[h2f]

@bubbagrub Roman rooms are for bigger cubes or for multi. In 3bld you dont need it.

 

[teacher77]

Thanks everyone for all your comments on my video. I didn't have to to look into it much but definitly will this weekend.

In the mean time : how do you add this footer with PBs in all of your messages ?

 

[newtonbase]

I make words of 4 letters each. I have fixed sounds for every letter to eliminate ambiguity.

Are they nonsense words then?

Ahh... I wonder if I have time to change my approach to 3BLD before the weekend... maybe not, but I like the sound of audio for edges... I'll give it a try on the train tomorrow and see how it goes...

@DeeDubb has an excellent thread on audio pairs. His system has set sounds for each letter to avoid confusion with other similar ones. So (in my version) c, k, q and x which all could have a k sound are ch, k, th and sh respectively. You won't have it down by the weekend but it's worth a read.

Edit: Here it is https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/...ocus-on-phonetics-rather-than-spelling.51937/

 

[Selkie]

Thank you all for the words of encouragement for the diet. I tend to have quite an obsessive / compulsive personality so once I set my mind on something it is half the battle won. I want to lose another 20-25 pounds and then reassess but very encouraged by progress and wellbeing even at this stage.

World Championships are in Paris next July. Who's going?

I always said when worlds was close enough to warrant going and before I was too old I would make the trip. Not sure I'll make all the average soft cuts but its worth aiming for and at this point in time I am going to say yes, I'll do my very best to make it.

Thanks everyone for all your comments on my video. I didn't have to to look into it much but definitly will this weekend.

In the mean time : how do you add this footer with PBs in all of your messages ?

Click on your name on the right hand side of the menu bar next to Inbox and Alerts and then click signature

@Logiqx , Michael. I believe the October comp is proposed for Guildford mate but not confirmed yet

 

[mark49152]

Are they nonsense words then?

Yes nonsense. Similar idea as DeeDub but my system predated his post. So H is th, Q is sh, X is sk when at the start of a syllable, etc.

Example scramble: HWIL ELJG VBNP

Sounds like: thoo I'll, eel jug, vubnip.

If the words are really nonsensical and awkward, I imagine Worf standing in front of me shouting them in Klingon with exaggerated pronunciation

 

[newtonbase]

@Logiqx , Michael. I believe the October comp is proposed for Guildford mate but not confirmed yet

Guildford is good but that weekend sort of clashes with my wedding anniversary like Macclesfield is clashing with my niece being born, ABHC clashes with my wife's birthday and Worlds may clash with our summer holiday. Hopefully they don't choose my daughter's birthday weekend for the UK Championships.

 

[newtonbase]

Yes nonsense. Similar idea as DeeDub but my system predated his post. So H is th, Q is sh, X is sk when at the start of a syllable, etc.

Example scramble: HWIL ELJG VBNP

Sounds like: thoo I'll, eel jug, vubnip.

If the words are really nonsensical and awkward, I imagine Worf standing in front of me shouting them in Klingon with exaggerated pronunciation

How ill eel jogs verb nip for me. My favourite adjustment is ng where h is the 2nd letter.

 

[mark49152]

How ill eel jogs verb nip for me. My favourite adjustment is ng where h is the 2nd letter.

I think the key to it is consistency. Always use the same sounds even if a word offers a more natural pronunciation. So HWIL looks more naturally like huh-will, but for me H is always th, and vowels are always long so I is eye. W is a vowel when it comes second. Short vowel sounds are only used to separate consonants. Etc.

I could write up my scheme if anyone's interested.

 

[newtonbase]

I think the key to it is consistency. Always use the same sounds even if a word offers a more natural pronunciation. So HWIL looks more naturally like huh-will, but for me H is always th, and vowels are always long so I is eye. W is a vowel when it comes second. Short vowel sounds are only used to separate consonants. Etc.

I could write up my scheme if anyone's interested.

Vowels certainly are tricky. For me O is oh, U is oo and W is ow but it's still easy to confuse them. XO and XW could both end up as Show so I have to be careful. I realised that my daughter uses XO as kiss cuddle when writing greetings cards so I'll use that in visual and try to adapt it for audio (although KS is already Kiss).
I'm sure I'd learn from your system if you wrote it up @mark49152

 

[mark49152]

Vowels certainly are tricky. For me O is oh, U is oo and W is ow but it's still easy to confuse them. XO and XW could both end up as Show so I have to be careful. I realised that my daughter uses XO as kiss cuddle when writing greetings cards so I'll use that in visual and try to adapt it for audio (although KS is already Kiss).
I'm sure I'd learn from your system if you wrote it up @mark49152

For me X is ks at the end and sk at the start. So XO is skoh, XW is skoo, XU is like a long skuh or sker. For images, XO is tictactoe

 

[h2f]

I use a system of pronunciation in letter pairs. In this aspect Polish is easier than English cause many letters are the same in writing and pronunciation. For example pair NA is eN-A, ZB - Zet-Be, etc. In Polish H is thougher than in English and more similiar to K so there's no prolbem with it. There's no words with X so I dont use it. Same Q.

And some other news - for last 2 weeks I do 10 to 20 sq1 solves per day. I've learnt advanced method from kungfumanchu page, but advanced means algs: 2 parities, 2 orientation edges, 8 perumtation corners. To permute edges I use: 1 specific algs for 2 adjcent edges top and 2 down; Ua and Ub perms for top and down - 4 algs; same for Z and H - 4 algs. But Z and H are the same like in 3x3. Today I've broken 1 min avg of 50. Sq1 is strongly intuitive puzzle. This means that I knew only 1 case for solving shape, next I've learnt the second; others I can figure out by myself and it's only matter of practice. Of course there are solves I do shape in 30 seconds or slower but on the other hands there are cases that I can figure out in preinspection and I dont mean few obvious ones.

 

[teacher77]

Click on your name on the right hand side of the menu bar next to Inbox and Alerts and then click signature

Oh like this ? Thanks

 

[JanW]

I have a problem picking a language for memo. I grew up completely bilingual. I speak Swedish with my family, Finnish with most of my friends and out on town, both at native level. English is a very strong third language, which has been the main language for work related communications the past 10 years, and of course the main language for everything cubing related I've ever read/watched.

So far I haven't completed any full word list, but make up sentences/images for corners on the fly. I've noticed the majority of words I pick are in English, with some Swedish and Finnish mixed in as well. With three very different languages, some letter pairs will work better in one language than in others. I've been working on a word list, but can't decide what to do about this. Somehow it feels that mixing languages is not a very good idea. Anyone else mix languages? Do you use any English words in addition to Polish @h2f?

 

[mafergut]

I have a problem picking a language for memo. I grew up completely bilingual. I speak Swedish with my family, Finnish with most of my friends and out on town, both at native level. English is a very strong third language, which has been the main language for work related communications the past 10 years, and of course the main language for everything cubing related I've ever read/watched.

So far I haven't completed any full word list, but make up sentences/images for corners on the fly. I've noticed the majority of words I pick are in English, with some Swedish and Finnish mixed in as well. With three very different languages, some letter pairs will work better in one language than in others. I've been working on a word list, but can't decide what to do about this. Somehow it feels that mixing languages is not a very good idea. Anyone else mix languages? Do you use any English words in addition to Polish @h2f?

I cannot be considered in any way as an experienced BLD solver but I also mix Spanish and English and, as I decided to use Speffz lettering scheme, I find some letter pairs to be much easier to find words / images for in English but I'm not sure either if this is a good idea or not.

 

[h2f]

@JanW I've never tried to mix languages so I keep Polish. But I added few English names of bands like Beatles, AC/DC, or others like Rubik's Clock, AK 47 (and I say it in my memo in english) and there's no problem with it. I think the main factor is that the word must mark something personal, nice and vivid to you. If it is - take it.

I got megaminx from MFG, made an uboxing and a solve - it's very good puzzle. 100 miles ahead of Shengshou. Corner cutting is 40-45 degrees. Awsome.

 

[mafergut]

I got megaminx from MFG, made an uboxing and a solve - it's very good puzzle. 100 miles ahead of Shengshou. Corner cutting is 40-45 degrees. Awsome.

Not... going... to buy. Will... stick... to SS Aurora...
Why do you torture me like this? SS Aurora is a big improvement over old SS but maybe not as good as MFG one (the sculpted version is the one you bought, right?).