Older cubers discussions

[JanW]

1. DNF(6:12.07) D2 L' U2 B2 L2 R B2 D2 R B2 R' U' L D L' D' L2 B F2 L U'

Out by 2 twisted corners. Would have been a PB by a long margin. Only 8 edge targets!

Very nice scramble! DNF (1:48), 2 flipped edges. Would have been new PB for me as well.

 

[Jason Green]

@Selkie here's an example of what I would call one of my ridiculous memos. Corners were OJ KG NH I. So I did OJ's keg never had an iguana. I pictured OJ Simpson at a beach with iguanas climbing all over everyone's keg but not his. I would not say "never had" is good for NH but it worked. I had an untimed success.

 

[mark49152]

@Selkie here's an example of what I would call one of my ridiculous memos. Corners were OJ KG NH I. So I did OJ's keg never had an iguana. I pictured OJ Simpson at a beach with iguanas climbing all over everyone's keg but not his. I would not say "never had" is good for NH but it worked. I had an untimed success.

NH is a compass for me. I spill orange juice on a king who has compasses for eyes.

 

[newtonbase]

NH is Ning (a friend of mine) so OJ Simpson puts a KeG full of Nings on Iceman's (superheroes for parity) head.

 

[pglewis]

In non-blind news, it was time for another Ao50 today. Sliced another 1.7 seconds off last weeks' and have it down to a low 26 now. Knocked about a half second off my best Ao12 in the process. I feel a lookahead breakthrough looming on the horizon.

 

[Selkie]

@newtonbase , @moralsh - Thank you, really looking forward to the new WCA duties to compliment the work I already do.

@pglewis - Some great 3x3 improvement there sir!

@Jason Green - Great example of memorable images. Love it mate! For me that would have been OJ Simpson and the KinG who is a NiHalist stares at a big eye("I"). The image would be OJ Simpson and a king holding a huge pair of scissors looking at the eye (bonus points for the movie reference!? )

I do not have a strategy for parity and often find it hard to visualise the single letter of odd targets. I like your superheros @newtonbase but laready have 5 or 6 in my letter pairs. Any other recommendations? I had considered doing a list of *Z, e.g. AZ AZure for single letters but would welcome input.


the biggest news of all, however, is that my 14 year old son, who to date has not been interested in cubing is now learning and is very enthusiastic. He started about a week ago and still uses a cheat sheet for some algs but is making great progress and is eager to join me at competitions. Very much out of the blue but a very proud dad moment

 

[pglewis]

I do not have a strategy for parity and often find it hard to visualise the single letter of odd targets. I like your superheros @newtonbase but laready have 5 or 6 in my letter pairs. Any other recommendations? I had considered doing a list of *Z, e.g. AZ AZure for single letters but would welcome input.

Since double letters won't otherwise appear I decided to do that, so my memo would be "OJ KG NH II" (The orange juice king in the nut house said "aye, aye")

the biggest news of all, however, is that my 14 year old son, who to date has not been interested in cubing is now learning and is very enthusiastic. He started about a week ago and still uses a cheat sheet for some algs but is making great progress and is eager to join me at competitions. Very much out of the blue but a very proud dad moment

That's great news, I'm sure the inspiration usually travels the other direction these days.

 

[newtonbase]

I do not have a strategy for parity and often find it hard to visualise the single letter of odd targets. I like your superheros @newtonbase but laready have 5 or 6 in my letter pairs. Any other recommendations? I had considered doing a list of *Z, e.g. AZ AZure for single letters but would welcome input.

I sort of regret using superheroes as I'm limited to using them in half my solves when they are such good images. Some people take the 2nd letter from their buffer piece, others use Y or Z like you suggest. You could just assign a certain characteristic to the word such as a vivid colour. I'd choose the buffer piece option if I was starting again.

 

[Logiqx]

Nice jump! Suddenly several people knocking on the door of a sub 10 single here.

Yup. I had a full-step 10.46 last night.

It was an easy F2L but I was still turning damned fast to get through a whole solve in that time!

 

[MarcelP]

Success!!
Edges were:
a WalL with KHaleesi sat on it eating a bowl ...

Oh that sweet Khaleesi popping up in dreams AND blind solves... LOL

Enjoy your hunt for a new method. Blind has taken over here recently

I watched phil Yu's ZZ vids again but the EOLine is so damn hard.. I think I must throw in the towel for that method.

YSome new guys here have said they hope you drop in again, you're a bit of a celebrity I think. Or maybe we are all celebrities to each other. Haha. Don't worry I'm over twenty seconds if I miss a few days of practice which happens a lot. But I'm usually back down after a good session.

Celebrity? LOL not me. Although people have come up to me on competitions asking me about if i was the Marcel from SS. And through Youtube people have come to me asking if I was the fewest moves Marcelp. So.. that is another MarcelP LOL.. and I am not even going to time my self with CFOP because I know it will be horrible

So this week I have been practicing Roux first block only.. I even watched a vid from Alexander Lau but you can not teach block building by vids unfortunatly. I focus on first 2X2 block and add the last part of the 3X2 during a the solve. Today I timed an AVG 12 of complete Roux solves just to see what the base line is.

Spoiler: Ao12

Gegenereerd door csTimer op 2018-2-11
solves/totaal: 12/12

enkele
Beste: 28.88
Slechtste: 55.45

mean van 3
Actuele: 32.70 (σ = 3.41)
Beste: 32.70 (σ = 3.41)

avg of 5
Actuele: 34.39 (σ = 0.91)
Beste: 34.39 (σ = 0.91)

avg of 12
Actuele: 36.07 (σ = 3.12)
Beste: 36.07 (σ = 3.12)

Gemiddelde: 36.07 (s = 3.12)
Mean: 37.09

I am better than expected since i actually had to look up how to solve Roux... LOL

 

[pglewis]

I'm interested in opinions on LL beyond OLL/PLL. I have all the tools I need to be comfortably sub 20 with cross and F2L work but I'm looking down the road beyond that. I still have quite a bit of work to do on OLL recog which illustrates the importance of getting a jump on whatever I'm tackling next. There's a considerable gap between when I "learn" something and when I get it to a level that it's useful in a speedsolve.

COLL seems like a no-brainer and I already have the H cases down with slow recog (though their low frequency means it took a while). I've been trying to decide which of the remaining OCLLs I like least as the next one to add. Some other things i'm considering sampling, smorgasbord style:

ELL: The recognition looks easy and I suspect they'd be highly useful for blind.

OLLCP-A: Seems useful, easy to recognize, and just a small subset of OLLCP.

CLLEF: I usually avoid dot cases but I do get 'em. Since they're among my worst OLLs this subset might be worth exploring.

ZBLL: I'm not considering attacking full ZBLL but at least cherry-picking ones that are stupid not to know.

I'm also considering some last slot twiddling to influence better last layers. Some WV and VLS in general seems prudent. I would like to develop an intuitive sense for corner control during F2L, I currently have none. I have a reasonable intuitive sense for edge control and often sledge things in or out and have developed alternate insertions for a lot of cases based on the EO situation... I would really like to have that kind of feel for corners.

 

[SpartanSailor]

1. DNF(6:12.07) D2 L' U2 B2 L2 R B2 D2 R B2 R' U' L D L' D' L2 B F2 L U'

Out by 2 twisted corners. Would have been a PB by a long margin. Only 8 edge targets!

Thought I would also let my older brethren know that I have joined the WCA Ethics Committee. It should keep me busy with being on the Financial Committee as well. Will be a challenging role but one I feel is important for the association moving forward.

EDIT: 4:44.66 7x7 PB single in weekly

Great to see you joined the ethics committee! I gave a considerable amount of thought to applying to that committee. I just couldn’t be sure I’d have the time for the commitment. That is great to hear you got it.

Congratulations.

 

[SpartanSailor]

I participated in the “Incredible PencilMania 2018” comp this weekend in Lancaster, PA.

Highlights include an official PB single of 21.77. I had two bad solves with multiple mistakes and still managed an Ao5 of 25.6x or so. As much as I would like it to have been better, I think it was a fair representation of my 3x3 at this time. Lots of variability (or large stnd dev for the math nerds) in my solves still.

I was not pleased with my 2x2 nor my Skewb. But, I didn’t practice them to prepare and so can give myself a break. However, I was disappointed with my 4x4. I don’t know what happened, but I just had bad solves. I HAVE practiced and expected to do much better. Se la vie...

Break. Long post...Sorry.

I did register for a comp with 3BLD on March 31. That will be my focus for the next few weeks. I just want to be comfortable and confident at that attempt. We shall see!!

 

[Jason Green]

@SpartanSailor my comp has a lot of similarities to yours. For the most part I got what I expected or was prepared for. The disappointment being 5x5 which I thought I should make the time limit and get a PB single. I know exactly what happened though, I got color blind during edge pairing multiple times. I would actually slice, flip, slice back, and be like what was I trying to do there?! OH was pretty off but I haven't practiced much. Blind PB just by a little, which I'm ok with so it's easy to beat again soon.

http://m.cubecomps.com/competitions/2897/competitors/1

 

[CLL Smooth]

@pglewis I suggest learning the rest of COLL. There’s a case against learning the S/AS cases but I think learning the recognition can be very helpful for predicting PLL. I learned all of ELL a few years ago but I only recommend learning some of them. The easy to recognize ones (pure flips, Hperms and line cases) are all well worth it in my opinion. I’m currently cheery-picking ZBLLs, which can be very useful but only after knowing COLL. I also recommend learning some more good OLLCP cases either after or along with COLL. I don’t know much LS stuff. VHLS is a no-brainer with some easy cases, but I rarely use them. I only use a few easy to recognize WV cases but they are very useful. I’d start with Pi-COLL

 

[SpartanSailor]

@SpartanSailor my comp has a lot of similarities to yours. For the most part I got what I expected or was prepared for. The disappointment being 5x5 which I thought I should make the time limit and get a PB single. I know exactly what happened though, I got color blind during edge pairing multiple times. I would actually slice, flip, slice back, and be like what was I trying to do there?! OH was pretty off but I haven't practiced much. Blind PB just by a little, which I'm ok with so it's easy to beat again soon.

http://m.cubecomps.com/competitions/2897/competitors/1

If I can just get a success for 3 BLD in March, that will be fantastic! Slower is better, as far as I'm concerned... as you say it makes beating it easier.

I had one of my 4x4 attempts that really could have been fast. I use yau method, after completing my 4th cross piece, I already had 4 other completed edges. It was so unexpected, my brain couldn't figure out what to do. I should have just paired the other four edges, but in the moment it through me off so badly I fumbled about a lot.

Even though I didn't do as well as I would have liked, I did notice that my actual nerves were much more calm than they have been previously. I'm beginning to get reasonably well know/recognized by the top cubers in the area, the event coordinators and the delegates. That makes it easier for me when I "know" several others and many of those that judge, etc...

I think I need to just focus on one or two things leading up to a comp and just let the other events just be whatever happens. I think by trying to perform well in every event, I don't focus enough on one and then do not perform when it matters because I'm not focused. For the March event, I'm going to focus on 3BLD (it's why I'm traveling to South Carolina) and then 3x3. All the other events will just have to be for fun.

 

[phreaker]

@pglewis - My very few successes a number of year ago used a POA system but not using pairs, using a single letter so 3 letters per image. I think this was a major reason for such a low success rate as a rigid 3 per image did not help with parity etc.

I have had a demotivating few days with very few successes and lots of solves where I haven't even finished memo because I cannot think of suitable images or sentences, ones where I have odd/even for edges/corners and solves which when finished have lots of missed targets which I can only assume was a bad setup or alg. Slight redemption with a success an hour ago but I do feel I am probably trying to do full solves too quickly. I need to work on so many areas of my solves that I really need to split up practice to learn some areas quicker.

Not sure what will help. Doing corners only and edges only? Tracing alone? Trying to commit more letter pair images to memory. Any tips greatly appreciated.

My thoughts:

1. Try corners of the top, edges of the top, corners, edges, full cube... (This is my normal progression when getting back into BLD. When I get to full cube, I know my execution is solid.)

2. I'm with Noah Arthurs now... don't make a word list. Just go do attempts and make up words. Later on you can clean it up, but... memorizing 300+ words, and letter pairs... no thanks. Solving cubes... Yep! That's cool. That's why I'm here.

I've converted from PAO -> letter pairs almost... I have a few tricks I use..

1. All my memo is AUDIO. I hate visual memo for some reason. (I think I use the visual part of my brain too much for work.)

2. Words can be non-sense.

3. Exceptions are OK if you remember them.

4. X* is expletives for me. Q* is people's names.

5. Most important: Do what works for you. Whatever that means.

 

[SpartanSailor]

Question: I met a guy that averages in the 2 min range and whose PB Single for 3BLD is around 55sec or so at the competition this weekend. We were discussing BLD technique--I let him know I was still new to BLD and have continued tow use OP/OP. He suggested that when I'm ready to go to M2 for edges that I find "OLD M2" rather than "NEW M2". I hadn't heard of the difference, but he said the old style used a slightly different set up that then removed the need to have special alg cases for the M-slice edge pieces. He showed me something, but it was too fast for me to notice what he did... then, of course, we both got called to do a 3x3 solve and I didn't get to finish the conversation with him.

Anyone familiar with what he may be talking about.... old-style M2 method of edges?

 

[newtonbase]

Question: I met a guy that averages in the 2 min range and whose PB Single for 3BLD is around 55sec or so at the competition this weekend. We were discussing BLD technique--I let him know I was still new to BLD and have continued tow use OP/OP. He suggested that when I'm ready to go to M2 for edges that I find "OLD M2" rather than "NEW M2". I hadn't heard of the difference, but he said the old style used a slightly different set up that then removed the need to have special alg cases for the M-slice edge pieces. He showed me something, but it was too fast for me to notice what he did... then, of course, we both got called to do a 3x3 solve and I didn't get to finish the conversation with him.

Anyone familiar with what he may be talking about.... old-style M2 method of edges?

I've read a lot about blind and never heard of this.

 

[SpartanSailor]

I thought it seemed like an odd distinction... I'll have to look more at the M2 method for edges and see how I like it. I have only been doing blind for about 6 weeks. I don't have it down perfect, a long way from that, but feel like I "get it" conceptually. I plan to put more dedicated practice into 3BLD now that I've registered for an event in 6 weeks. I'm primarily interested in success... after that, I'll be concerned with getting faster. I suspect a fair amount of speed will come naturally since I'm new to it and just expect that with dedicated practice I'll get a little faster.