Sergey
Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2018
- Messages
- 288
Thank you! I'm 49. And I'm very impressed by your motivation and ability to start cubing and even compete at your age! And thanks to all community for the likes, support and motivation!
Older cubers discussions
- Thread starter MarcelP
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Old Tom
Regular
Thanks, you really do belong here! And yes, I am 80, but I actually l started cubing younger than you, when I was 42. I kept at it steadily but very low-key until just this year, when the guys in this group got me to enter a comp, and take up blind solving. That, BTW, should be next for you!
pglewis
Veteran
Blind is still on the back burner with 3x3 getting all my practice time but I'll get back to it before too long. I've pretty much determined my new bell curve is solidly in the 22-23 range when the lookahead is going reasonably well. Low 20.x solves with small mistakes are becoming increasingly common and a full step 18 or two is becoming a thing in a decent session. Not quite a sub-20 explosion yet but definitely visible from here.
I'm starting to threaten my 3x3 single for the first time since I set it back in April. Got a 16.04 with an OLL skip a couple days ago, could have been a little better minus the PLL recognition pause. I'm due for one good one in the 13-14 range given enough timed solves to stumble on some luck.
Biggest longer average drains at the moment:
Random thought: I'm starting to notice a "coincidence" that a lot of my fastest solves/best grooves occur when I'm otherwise occupying my brain listening to/watching something streaming. It seems to drag me out of that "gotta find the blue/red edge!!" mindset and more into just seeing things. When I was around a minute it was completely the opposite and I couldn't fathom solving quickly with even the slightest distraction. It's still not something I can fully command, just putting on a podcast and solving is no guarantee I'll be faster but it does seem like it increases the odds of finding the zone.
I'm starting to threaten my 3x3 single for the first time since I set it back in April. Got a 16.04 with an OLL skip a couple days ago, could have been a little better minus the PLL recognition pause. I'm due for one good one in the 13-14 range given enough timed solves to stumble on some luck.
Biggest longer average drains at the moment:
- Mistakes: botched cross, mis-solved pairs trying to look ahead, some annoying LL execution issues (I'm naturally starting to turn a little faster but haven't adjusted my technique, get blocked by the hardware or make an unintended layer turn)
- My slowest OLLs, probably a dozen+ that I recognize and/or execute poorly or even 2-look
- Slow cross
- LL pauses in general are starting to matter, probably costing 2-3 seconds in some cases
Random thought: I'm starting to notice a "coincidence" that a lot of my fastest solves/best grooves occur when I'm otherwise occupying my brain listening to/watching something streaming. It seems to drag me out of that "gotta find the blue/red edge!!" mindset and more into just seeing things. When I was around a minute it was completely the opposite and I couldn't fathom solving quickly with even the slightest distraction. It's still not something I can fully command, just putting on a podcast and solving is no guarantee I'll be faster but it does seem like it increases the odds of finding the zone.
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chtiger
Regular
My comp results from Saturday
http://cubecomps.com/live.php?cid=3474&compid=87
Highlights were getting sub-9 clock avg, even after messing up the first two solves
10.23, 13.04, 7.40, 7.69, 8.23 = 8.72
and a sub-7 single in the first round (6.96)
http://cubecomps.com/live.php?cid=3474&compid=87
Highlights were getting sub-9 clock avg, even after messing up the first two solves
10.23, 13.04, 7.40, 7.69, 8.23 = 8.72
and a sub-7 single in the first round (6.96)
3x3 - Still trying for sub-20 avg. Can't do that with only one sub-20 single.
2x2 - Not one smooth solve, one was so sloppy I dropped the cube. Still only .01 from PB because that's how I always do 2x2 in comp.
pyra - goal of sub-10 avg. Messed up two really bad, the other 3 were good, including PB single 7.14.
skewb - same goal as pyra. Messed up the first layer on first one, then again on the second one but got a OLL skip (or whatever the equivalent for skewb is called) so it ended up ok, then the last three were good, so got a 9.06 avg.
square1 - just doing this because it's there and I'm there. Did decent for me, 41.71 avg. Would've been better if pieces of the cube would stop falling off.
OH - was just hoping to make 50 second cutoff. Did that. Second solve was 48 but at the end, instead of R2 U', I did R U' R and stopped timer, so DNF. That would've been sub-50 avg, but 53.16 is still probably good enough for me to retire from OH.
2x2 - Not one smooth solve, one was so sloppy I dropped the cube. Still only .01 from PB because that's how I always do 2x2 in comp.
pyra - goal of sub-10 avg. Messed up two really bad, the other 3 were good, including PB single 7.14.
skewb - same goal as pyra. Messed up the first layer on first one, then again on the second one but got a OLL skip (or whatever the equivalent for skewb is called) so it ended up ok, then the last three were good, so got a 9.06 avg.
square1 - just doing this because it's there and I'm there. Did decent for me, 41.71 avg. Would've been better if pieces of the cube would stop falling off.
OH - was just hoping to make 50 second cutoff. Did that. Second solve was 48 but at the end, instead of R2 U', I did R U' R and stopped timer, so DNF. That would've been sub-50 avg, but 53.16 is still probably good enough for me to retire from OH.
mark49152
Premium Member
Sub 10 clock... wow. I will have to go check where you are in the oldie rankings!
Edit: 3rd, up from 4th
Edit: 3rd, up from 4th
Logiqx
Veteran
Would you like adding to the over 40s rankings?
openseas
Veteran
@Old Tom / You can find the link under Logiqx's signature.
40's ranking: https://github.com/Logiqx/wca-ipy
40's unofficial PBs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XEEV3LObw7cHNW6S_AZdHJWqKLQFoXRW0wwnDneags4/edit#gid=0
40's ranking: https://github.com/Logiqx/wca-ipy
40's unofficial PBs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XEEV3LObw7cHNW6S_AZdHJWqKLQFoXRW0wwnDneags4/edit#gid=0
pglewis
Veteran
Mine arrived yesterday, I've been exclusively stickerless for ages so I was looking forward to trying a modern Gan. It's the most aesthetically pleasing puzzle I've owned by a long-shot; shades, black internals, the subtle sculpt of the center caps... everything about it is beautiful with the singular complaint that logos are forbidden for blind (at least also provide a plain cap if you insist on making the the logo harder to remove).
I really want to love this puzzle but it's taking some experimenting to find a setup that suits me. Mine shipped with the green GES and I swapped them out for yellow almost immediately since it seems like everyone on Earth chooses those, from the reviews I've read. I couldn't really make the yellow work for me though. I either had to set it up too loose to be very stable for me with some finger tricks, or tighter, which was a lot more friction than I prefer and a little locky. I decided to try the blue ones on a whim last night, tightened a fair bit (maybe 2-3 threads exposed at the top of the nut) and it's far better for me but still not quite dialed-in.
Have you settled on a set-up?
Old Tom
Regular
The logo comes off easily with a gentle rub using 95% ethanol and a "Magic Eraser." Takes just a minute.
I have very clumsy and stiff fingers, so the rest of you may not have this problem, but: The cube often "sticks", not exactly locks, when two corners catch each other. Some corners do, others don't. I notice some of the corner points feel sharp. I have thought about very gently filing them, but have not tried this yet.
Still, now my main cube (limited experience, but). I have small hands, which is a factor.
JohnnyReggae
Veteran
I am loving the GAN354. I've kept mine stock OOTB with the green nuts. I much prefer looser and faster cubes so this suits me completely. It is my OH main and for 2H I go between the GAN, the Yuxin Huanglong M, and Valk Power M, but mostly the GAN.
For OH the GAN has helped drop my average by a few seconds. I was averaging around 30 seconds before and now I'm around the 26 second mark, and have even managed a few more sub 20's in the last couple weeks. I really need to learn full OH OLL
For 2H it has helped me get a lot more sub 15's and have been getting frequent 10's and 11's.I do struggle with certain PLL algs which are easier on other cubes, mostly notably the G perms and the V Perm. I like the stickerless colours which help a lot with recognition compared to some other stickerless cubes. It's possibly the black internals that help the colours "pop" a little. Lastly the size is perfect for me both for OH and 2H. It's weird how for OH I started with a 50mm, progressed through a 54mm to a 57mm and have slowly worked my way back down to a 54mm.
Overall I am very impressed with the GAN354. For me it is the flagship out at the moment. I have not had such a marked improvement with a cube before.
pglewis
Veteran
I like 'em fast with a light touch as well. I swapped out for green last night and am running with those for the moment. Still going back and forth between "I love this cube!" and "I hate this cube!" lol.
Heh, bingo... wondering if you use the RUD V-Perm as well. I've been reluctant to completely blame the puzzle since I've had some recent LL issues before getting the Gan. I need to slow up just a tad until my technique adjusts to match my increasing turn speed. Still, certain algs like G Perms and some of the RUD algs are much more reliable for me on my GTS2, GTS3, or Huanglong.
Yeah my favorite stickerless shades yet. Very close to the Huanglong's shades but the colors pop better with the black internals as it stops the light from shining through.
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JohnnyReggae
Veteran
To be honest I haven't even tried the other nuts yet as I found that the Green just work. With my SM and AIR I used the purple nuts so I'm quite happy with loose and fast
I do use the RUD V perm and it really annoys me because it is so slow and clumsy. I think it's those wide U and D moves that get me with the GAN. Because it does have some flex and when you only hold 1 layer it distorts a little easier. I have found another V Perm which is quite nice and you can finger trick it quite nicely. I just need to commit it to memory and start actively using it more ...
Algorithm is (R' U R U') x' U (R U2 R' U' R U' R') U2 (R U R' U') - So ... weird trigger with a rotation and a U, followed by Anti-Sune, U2, Sexy
I also think I'm going to look at G perms that don't have wide moves. I've even considered swapping to the G perms I use for OH.
mark49152
Premium Member
@JohnnyReggae - your RUD V-perm has wide moves? There's a nice one that doesn't. Can post the alg later if you want it, or I'm sure it's on algdb.net.
JohnnyReggae
Veteran
Yes, I was referring to the R' U R' d ... bit ... sorry about creating confusion
SpartanSailor
Veteran
I am going to try out that RUD version of the V-perm... I hate the one I use which has B2 in it and D and D’ in it. It’s just awkward and slow for me. If that RUD version can be faster, I’ll switch.
SpartanSailor
Veteran
Which do you use for V-perm? As I mentioned in the previous, I’m not a fan of mine, but it’s the one I know. I learned it before I tried others. At the time, everything felt odd and awkward, so I just assumed the V-perm would eventually feel better, yet it never has. I can do the last part quickly with D and D’ moves, but there’s just an awkward, start of R2 U’ B2 U B2 ... I just can’t get the B2 to work out smoothly...
JohnnyReggae
Veteran
This is the one I use and I think is used by most ...
(R' U R' d') (R' F') (R2 U' R' U) (R' F R F)
You can do some fingertrick stuff with it, but I can't get it to flow nicely.
mark49152
Premium Member
R U' R U R' D R D' R U' D R2' U R2 D' R2'
As with most RUD algs, if you learn to push and pull U and D with left hand, it's regripless and flows nicely.
