He's Gotten Faster

Hi all,

I've been cubing plenty the past month, and as many of you know, I have achieved sub 20.  A few days ago, I got a 16.66 second average of 5 with 17 being my high and 14 as my low.  That being said, today was sort of monumental - I achieved three 16.xx second solves.  The overall average of 12 was still only sub 20, but nonetheless, it felt good to get so many good times.

The surprising part of this is not that I all of a sudden learned more algorithms, but instead, I simply slowed down during F2L.  As I've said before, going slow and looking ahead is important - 3tps will get you sub 20.  However, I was not expecting 16's to pop up from going slow.

After my average was finished, I thought back about how I did that, and I realized two things.

1.  My "slow" turning was around 4 turns per second, and
2.  I went 3/4 speed on cross, 4 tps on F2L, and full speed (roughly 6 tps) on OLL and PLL.

A few days ago I timed each step of my solves -
1.  Cross - 1.5 seconds (3 seconds max)
2.  F2L - 8 seconds (11 seconds max)
3.  OLL - 2 seconds (2.5 seconds max)
4.  PLL - 2 seconds (3 seconds max)
This brings my times to between 13.5 - 19.5 seconds.
However, this excludes pauses.  The only place I pause is between each entire step, not each F2L pair.  And I usually get anything from 15 to 23, so you can see that I have around 3 seconds to improve on.

As a current goal - my goal is to get my maximum throwout time to be 20, and thus ALL my solves will be sub 20.  The average will naturally decrease from there, if my maximum is only 20.  Furthermore, I'm going to try to shoot for a 16 second average of 12 this week, and see how I do.

Thanks for reading,
cyoubx

His YouTube Channel is Now Complete!

Hi all,

I made a new YouTube video declaring what my channel is about.

I'll take the time to overview the video, but also declare my goals as a cuber on this blog (at least the cubing portion of the blog).

1. It's a series of videos/blogs to help people reach sub-20 on the Rubik's cube with CFOP Fridrich method

2.  I have not connected enough with my audience, so I have decided to attach a poll using Google Moderator on my YouTube Channel to get viewer suggestions.

3.  I am open to really any video idea, so long as it is not profane, etc, etc.

That's really about it!  Happy cubing, and

Thanks for reading,
cyoubx

Sub 20 is Easy/Update

Hi all,

I've finally reached sub 20 on the Rubik's cube, and it really wasn't very difficult. I actually achieved this milestone two days after my previous post, but I doubted myself and called it luck. However, by now, it's pretty much consistent with rare quirks of 25 second solves (insert facepalm emoticon here). At any rate, going slow really helped. At this point, I'm thinking of purchasing an F II and go for sub 15...just a thought.

Now for more housekeeping related updates.

My YouTube channel has been updated. I added the moderator module to get viewer input, and also a "Check out these other cubers" box which is still under construction. All in all, this is my way of saying thanks to all my viewers for sticking with me this long.

Also, expect the "Movies" tab of the blog to be updated in the next few days - I've watched some movies as of late that I haven't yet reviewed, so stay tuned.

That's all folks!

Thanks for reading,
cyoubx

Slow is Fast

Hi there.

Yes, I am here again with yet another cubing related post.

I've been practicing cubing lately (more so than before) and I've made a few breakthroughs.

1. 3x3 average of 5: 20.50 seconds
2. 3x3 average of 5: <20 seconds, but not recorded
3. 5x5 single: 3:12.49

 In case you didn't know (I don't think you do), the 20.50 is nearly 2 seconds faster than my last PB. Furthermore, I usually averaged around 24-25 seconds, and in one day I dropped that to 20-21.

 My secrets? Here's a few things that might help you:
 1. Take a break - as said in the Karate Kid - "Too much of something is bad for you"...or something like that.
 2. Slow is fast - Slowing down for F2L is essential as many people know, but it can be taken throughout the solve. A slower cross helps recognition for the first C/E pair, and smoother/slower turns are faster than choppy/fast turns that are prone to lock-ups
 3. Use a storebought - that's right, use the Rubik's brand cube. Reason? Using such a cube forces you to slow down (to eliminate lockups) and look ahead. It helps. TRY THIS!

 Just a note on turning speed - when I say "slow," I don't mean 1 turn per second. You should still aim for 3 turns per second to get sub-20. Additionally, 3 turns per second means ABSOLUTELY NO PAUSES, including the OLL and PLL stage. This should be even easier for two look, since you can predict the cases before finishing the previous insertion/algorithm etc.

I'll post more frequently and give some reviews. Lately, through my cubing escapades, I've noticed some things that may help you (if you are beginner/intermediate/kinda advanced).

Thanks for reading,
cyoubx

The V-Cube 5 is Actually Pretty Disappointing

Pretty short post today.

I've been playing with the v5 all week, and I have to say, I'm disappointed.

The outer layer turns are quite subpar, and the inner layers are a bit tight.
I absolutely loathe the stickers as they keep chipping under my nails. This seems to be an issue primarily with the v5 since the 6 and 7 all have nice stickers.

The quality of the plastic is also rather poor with dirtied areas as well as molding imperfections that make the cube look tattered even though it is but a few weeks old.

I understand there is a bit of luck when it comes to purchasing V-Cubes, or any product for that matter, so this is in no way a degradation of the V Cubes company. That being said, I'm terribly unhappy with the V-Cube 5.

Hopefully (and I say that very intentionally), the cube will break in some more. As of right now though, I can't stand looking at a ripped-up, three-week old cube.


Thanks for reading,
cyoubx

Epic is Too Short of a Word to Describe the V-Cubes

I haven't posted recently, and I'm sorry.

I recently got the V-Cube white collection from V-Cubes
I thought I'd do a small (I'll go into detail about each cube later) review on them, so here goes...

V-Cube 5: This was the first cube I opened and I noticed that the cube was covered in lube. I wasn't too surprised since I already heard about this elsewhere. Also, as many have said, the stickers are pretty shoddy. They're made of a cheap material. However, the actual colors are amazing, very similar to a "White Cube Bright Set" of stickers from Cubesmith. The first turn was a bit of a let down; I was unable to perform any finger tricks. However, it's more manageable now that I've done maybe 30 solves on it. Overall a very good cube.

V-Cube 6: What can I say? This cube is amazing. For one, it's the ONLY 6x6 on the market, and furthermore, the turning is quite decent. I expected disastrous turning due to the clicking mechanism. However, I've only had one misalignment and no pops. 6x6, isn't really my best event, so I didn't truly speedsolve with it. Thus, I don't feel qualified to put a verdict on the popping. All I can say is that, I love the V-Cube 6.

V-Cube 7: I expected immaculate turning, however, that is not the case. It locks up far too much in my opinion, and I was a little disappointed. Breaking it in seems to have no effect. However, don't get me wrong, this cube is still quite great. Considering it has 7 layers, the stability of the cube (cuboid) leaves a lot to be desired. The stickers are also quite nice compared to the V-Cube 5. Outside layers are smooth and outer wings are nice. The real issue comes with the inner wing layers. I tried lubing with Maru lube, but to no avail. I'll give it a couple more solves and put a final verdict on the V-Cube 7.

Before I sign off, I'd like to mention the finger tricks I've been using on the V-Cube 5 to compensate for the ready-to-chip stickers. Normally, I would have my fingers parallel to the U face and flick with the tip of my nail. Now, before you say, "Ew, cut your nails," I'd like to defend myself by saying, my nails are as short as I can make them; I have a naturally long nail bed which extends to the end of my finger.

Thus, to turn the faces on the V-Cubes, I've had to have my finger 45 degrees to the U face, and I now flick with the side of my finger. This is EXTREMELY hazardous. It hurts my fingers and makes triggers nearly impossible. Hopefully, the cube(s) will break in in about a week, and I can return to my natural finger tricks.


Again, this was a review comparable to the V-Cube stickers, so expect a more thorough review in the future.

Thanks for reading,
cyoubx

Cubers Aren't that Smart

I just want to clarify a few things up about the stereotypical cuber.
1. If one can solve a rubik's cube, one is not automatically a genius.
2. There is more than one way to solve a rubik's cube.
3. You cannot have only 5 sides solved...
4. A cube has more than one solved state.
Which leads to
5. Professional companies are not intelligent.

Now a breakdown:
1. I cube and I feel that I'm fairly intelligent, but not all cubers are. Cubers generally either have a really good memory, or they're just very apt at spacial reasoning.
2. There are many many methods for making every face a solid color. The beginner's method, Petrus, Pochman, Waterman, Fridrich, ZZ, to name a few.
3. If you have 5 faces solved, that means that one edge is mis-oriented. Edge pieces have TWO sides and colors. If it is misaligned on one side, it is misaligned on the adjacent side. That being said, you can't even have ONLY one misaligned edge piece. You must have AT LEAST two misaligned pieces, and thus the maximum number of solid sides aside from 6 is FOUR!
4. I was reading an ad on THE Rubik's brand website, and it said this:

"With "43 Quintillion" possible moves and only "ONE" solution... it provides hours of mind boggling fun and a way to carry your keys." Rubik's.com

a) 43 quintillion isn't the exact number, but that's totally fine, since no one really cares and it's obvious that it's just an approximation
b) The issue comes when it's juxtaposed by the "ONE" a few words later. There are many more solutions than just one. every center piece on a rubik's cube can be rotated in four directions. There are 6 independent faces on a cube, and thus, collectively there are 4^6=4096 possible permutations of the center pieces. So, really, there are FOUR THOUSAND NINETY SIX solutions. Again, I would let this slide if not for the capitalization of the "ONE."

Hence,
5. Asian countries and third-world nations in general are often flamed for unprofessional-ism in product marketing and patenting. Take for example the Sharpie and Shoupie. America is the "cream-of-the-crop" when it comes to professional marketing - flawless advertisements and perfect products. Rubik's.com is no different. Admittedly, looking at the website, the UI is more than clean, and the ads are pretty decent. However, they pretend people know nothing about math or cubes (which is kinda fair, as discussed in 1.). Furthermore, the product is far from immaculate. Rubik's brands are notorious for their lack of function. Furthermore, their prices are insanely higher than the DIY cubes the rest of the world uses.

It's all about the image.

Thanks for reading,
cyoubx