Older cubers discussions

[phreaker]

You mean the corner stem thing? Any tips? Not just for disassembly, but in general. Will be using DMCubing's tutorial off YouTube, and 4x2mm n35s.


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Disassembly: The corners aren't AS bad as people make them out to be. Be GENTLE. I never actually "touched" the tabs while removing the caps, with gentle upward pressure on the foot, and a little wobble of the foot.. it'll suddenly let one of the clasps loose, and then the rest. I had no issues. That's how I did it, for what it is worth.

Otherwise, be careful with magnet placement... get it right over do it fast.

 

[kbrune]

I don't think so. I do B' R B U R2 U' M2 U R2 U' B' R' B

Ughhh. Back when i searched for my BU alg, I saw that alg as an option but I liked the speed of the UM alg. Guess I'll have to switch.

Do you find it fast now that you've used it for some time?

 

[newtonbase]

Ughhh. Back when i searched for my BU alg, I saw that alg as an option but I liked the speed of the UM alg. Guess I'll have to switch.

Do you find it fast now that you've used it for some time?

It's pretty quick and I'm very comfortable with it so rarely make errors but I do like yours. You've made me realise that both algs are useful for edge flips. I didn't have one for UB.

 

[newtonbase]

Here's my fastest 3BLD solve from Manchester. The enormous pause meant that I only improved by the one ranking position that I didn't realise I'd recently lost.

 

[kbrune]

Here's my fastest 3BLD solve from Manchester. The enormous pause meant that I only improved by the one ranking position that I didn't realise I'd recently lost.

Nice! I'll watch that when I get home.

I'm still confused on executing wings a bit. The 2 buffer pieces. The one left of the DrF buffer of the same colours. You solve it after setting up to BUl? Using your BU alg that is.

And the following targets from 3bld in the M slice. FU and BD. Can be solved using the same algs only swapping M2 for r2. Right?

 

[h2f]

Nice! I'll watch that when I get home.

I'm still confused on executing wings a bit. The 2 buffer pieces. The one left of the DrF buffer of the same colours. You solve it after setting up to BUl? Using your BU alg that is.

And the following targets from 3bld in the M slice. FU and BD. Can be solved using the same algs only swapping M2 for r2. Right?

Fld is not a buffer. And yes - you solve it with setup to Bul with BU alg. Fur and Bdr you solve with algs from M2. You are right. You are closer and closer to get it. Nice job.

 

[newtonbase]

Just spotted a competition taking place 15 mins from my Mum's home in Spain today. There are only 3 people entered for 3BLD and I'm ranked above them all. Opportunity missed.

 

[CLL Smooth]

Yesterday I cut my finger at work. I decided to practice OH at the bar later. I caught the attention of some older gentlemen who were quite impressed. I told them I was practicing one-handed because of my accident earlier that day. The bartender called me out, saying something like "I've seen you solve in one hand and text in the other. You may have cut your finger but you'd probably be doing that anyway."
Today I got PB Ao5: 21.605

 

[mafergut]

Just spotted a competition taking place 15 mins from my Mum's home in Spain today. There are only 3 people entered for 3BLD and I'm ranked above them all. Opportunity missed.

What?!? Your mum lives in Spain? Is she Spanish or she just lives here? Is that comp in Jaen? C'mon, maybe one of these years we can meet at this comp in Spain

 

[newtonbase]

What?!? Your mum lives in Spain? Is she Spanish or she just lives here? Is that comp in Jaen? C'mon, maybe one of these years we can meet at this comp in Spain

She's British and yes, the comp is in Jaen. It would have been hard to get there thus year even if I had known about it but I'll definitely try if they hold another one. It would be great to meet up.
http://m.cubecomps.com/competitions/1974/events

 

[pglewis]

in the frenzy of a full-speed solve, you'll often miss the opportunity to skip the dot case

Word. And I get that "awww...." look on my face every. Single. Time.

Also 14.75 3x3 single with tubes in both arms.

UWR! Very glad to hear you're back home.

 

[pglewis]

Current status: sighted M2 spamming. Setups and execution for OP corners with no fancy tricks is solid enough for the moment-- to the point of being boring-- so last night I solved corners first with Varasano, 2x2 style, then M2 edges just for the variety. I'm slowly getting the orientation and recognition burned-in but still flub setup/unsetup too frequently due to silly mistakes. Last I timed a few, full sighted bld execution was averaging a little over 2 mins with a few sub 2 singles so I'd definitely like to see both better speed and accuracy before putting it all back together with memo. Memo is tough enough, don't need to add accuracy probs in execution.

Still haven't specifically targeted improving my sighted times since descending this rabbit hole but my general "cube sense" feels 100% better than it was just a few weeks ago. Blind cross practice felt like a difficult exercise before, the prospect of visualizing just four edges now seems like a breeze.

 

[newtonbase]

but still flub setup/unsetup too frequently due to silly mistakes.

There are many ways to mess up blind solves and that one is right up there. It's important to remember that all practice is good practice. Even if you fail every solve, the fact that you are trying a memo and an execution means that you are getting better and the results will come.

 

[pglewis]

There are many ways to mess up blind solves and that one is right up there. It's important to remember that all practice is good practice. Even if you fail every solve, the fact that you are trying a memo and an execution means that you are getting better and the results will come.

I've been lucky not to hit any real frustration with failures, yet. Don't get me wrong, I know it's coming lol. I managed my first success within a week of deciding to tackle it and the very day I started making full bld attempts. Roughly a half dozen successes that "first attempt" weekend and probably about a 1/3 or 1/4 success rate which was entirely offset by my expectation of not landing one for weeks (and several of the failures were close). Granted, I've looked into the high-level aspect of blind solving before out of curiosity without any earnest intent, so I went in grasping the concepts of piece swaps, an exchange buffer, and setup moves if not the gory details. Plus I've picked up more than I realized I had through osmosis, just being in this thread.

So of course, the moment I got that first one I'm immediately dissecting all the phases involved and mulling over what it would take to get a full solve under 5 mins (my last comp had a 15 min combined cutoff for 3-bld). I set the bar too low for myself on getting a success, so my next serious target is a much bigger jump: feel competent enough to enter the event. I figure if I can get execution down to a minute thirty (assuming memo is a given), then I have 3 mins for memo plus a little cushion to reach that. Execution is already a lot closer to that roadmap than memo so I'm going to need that "all practice is good practice" mantra a lot when I return to memo and start pushing it. I still expect Memo to just be magically faster than before, now that I can assign a letter to a piece a whole lot faster from execution practice.

 

[mark49152]

@pglewis, I agree with @newtonbase that all practice is good practice, including failures, but I would take it further. If you care at all about BLD times, you should *aim* to have a significant proportion of failures. Success rate and fast times trade off against each other. Personally I shoot for 50% accuracy.

 

[cmhardw]

I've been at a 15 second average solve time on 3x3 for about 10 years now. It's relatively easy to maintain that level, but difficult to get faster. My pb average is 12.87 seconds.

I realized recently that I don't think I look ahead really when I solve. I think 15 seconds has become the speed at which I can recognize pairs with minimal if any lookahead.

I've been getting more 11-12 second solves, and even some 10 and sub-10 second solves, lately by really trying to look ahead and reduce my pauses.

My long term goal is to be a 12 second average cuber. One day (fingers crossed).

Has anyone else made the realization that they do not really look ahead, or look ahead minimally? I'm trying to figure out how common this is, and if so how best to overcome it.

 

[One Wheel]

Has anyone else made the realization that they do not really look ahead, or look ahead minimally? I'm trying to figure out how common this is, and if so how best to overcome it.

I'm much slower than you, but yes, I've noticed that. I'm typically in the low 30 second range, and I haven't paid much attention to lookahead. My lookahead in 3x3 stage is much better on big cubes because I'm forced to turn slower. I actually noticed this morning I was doing a 10x10 solve and I think it was the first time I actually saw the second f2l (f9l?) pair before I even started one. I don't know if that helps, but I'm pretty sure at my stage anyway I would be helped to do 3x3 practice on bigger cubes.

 

[Jason Green]

Welcome @Bemis and @dskids!

On being an old guy at comps, I was worried about that too. But as others have said people are very welcoming! Just go find an empty spot at a practice table. I remember first comp in morning I sat at a table with two kids and a dad. After lunch I sat by just some 12 year olds or so, and right when I sat down one asked what my PB was right away. Made me feel good.

My goal at first comp was not to DNF. I really wanted an average so I could be in the over 40 standings from here. I realize y'all aren't there yet age wise, but just enjoy the comp. I definitely feel the nerves after 6 comps. Sometimes during inspection I have the weird sensation of "what am I looking at here, oh it's my cube!"

@cmhardw lookahead has always been difficult for me. I average about 18.5 at home now. I sometimes feel like I really do it, but a lot of times not. Especially if the corner is in the back slot already I almost always have to rotate to figure out how to pair it! I don't have any novel advice on overcoming it.

 

[pipkiksass]

I've been at a 15 second average solve time on 3x3 for about 10 years now. It's relatively easy to maintain that level, but difficult to get faster. My pb average is 12.87 seconds.

I realized recently that I don't think I look ahead really when I solve. I think 15 seconds has become the speed at which I can recognize pairs with minimal if any lookahead.

I've been getting more 11-12 second solves, and even some 10 and sub-10 second solves, lately by really trying to look ahead and reduce my pauses.

My long term goal is to be a 12 second average cuber. One day (fingers crossed).

Has anyone else made the realization that they do not really look ahead, or look ahead minimally? I'm trying to figure out how common this is, and if so how best to overcome it.

I'm in a similar situation, I don't really look ahead, and average sub-18.

I have found, recently, that slow-turning practice, forcing myself to have the next move in mind while still executing the current one, really does help.

I think 10 years of "bad" habits will be hard to break, but perhaps drop speed significantly and turn slow is the way forward.

I feel like I'm regurgitating the same old advice, and really don't want the to come across as one of those "slow down, look ahead dummy" posts! I can get away with 13/14 second solves without lookahead, just need straightforward F2L and easy LL. I'm sure that, even with lookahead, these solves wouldn't be much faster. Where the difference willl come, for me, is the occasional 22s "panic F2L" solve, where I have no idea where my next pair is (oh look,it's already misinserted in the back), then screw up LL because I'm rushing.


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[JanW]

I figure if I can get execution down to a minute thirty (assuming memo is a given), then I have 3 mins for memo plus a little cushion to reach that. Execution is already a lot closer to that roadmap than memo so I'm going to need that "all practice is good practice" mantra a lot when I return to memo and start pushing it. I still expect Memo to just be magically faster than before, now that I can assign a letter to a piece a whole lot faster from execution practice.

With practice you should very quickly get memo down to 3 minutes and below. Early on it is very slow because it takes time to figure out where the piece is supposed to go, the correct letter and words for letter combinations. The first two become automatic quite fast, and with a well learned word list I'd imagine coming up with words shouldn't take any time either (I still haven't done one).

To put it another way, when first learning bld, most of memo time is spent figuring out what you are supposed to remember. As this takes so long, it is also more difficult to remember things you've memorized earlier, which results in more reviews. So down to a certain limit, reducing memo time actually has very little to do with how fast you can assign things to your memory. It's all about getting to know your cube, your letter scheme and your word list better. If you'd imagine how long it would take you to memorize your memo sentences/list of syllables/whatever you memorize, if handed to you written down on a piece of paper, that's how fast you can memorize. The rest of the time you spend recalling things from memory (letters, locations, words) which will get faster the more you do it.