Hello all! Sorry I haven’t updated all week, but I’m showing you now what has taken up all of my free blogging time.

I got this puzzle in the mail on Monday. Just as the title of this post says, it’s a Gigaminx puzzle. If a Megaminx is equal to a 3×3x3 Rubik’s cube, then this bad boy is equivalent to a 5×5x5 Rubik’s Professor cube. So, it’s essentially a cube that’s been expanded out to a 12-sided dodecahedron. And, wow, it’s a pain to solve!

Not so much as far as difficulty, but the process involved is time-consuming and will test anyone’s patience. Plus, by it’s very nature, the layers are hard to turn without them catching on each other. After the first scramble and solve, I had to take it apart (risky business, that!) and spray each piece down with silicone lubricant. This helped some, but the tension screws also needed to be set exactly to preferred tolerances. Trying to set twelve screws and springs to be evenly matched in tension is a little maddening, but it was done today. It turns well, but still a bit stiff, so more breaking-in time is required.

I ordered it from a third-party on eBay because the manufacturer’s site only works with Internet Explorer. It came pre-assembled but, with my experience in disassembling/reassembling the puzzle, in hindsight I should have ordered the DIY kit. More control over the initial assembly probably would have turned out a better Gigaminx.

Is there any puzzle enthusiast that wants a new challenge? Order one of these monsters, and see if you have the courage to scramble it in the first place! Even through my initial troubles with trying to turn the layers, it’s still very recommended. Cheers!

It’s the close of another week! Let’s see how things went for me this week.

Well, not much in my life happened except work, work… and just when I thought I couldn’t get enough… more work! I had to work both last Saturday and Sunday because some VIP’s from the home office were coming to the facility. Like a good little worker, I put in my best efforts and the visit on Tuesday went very smooth. I’m glad management was pleased with me. I don’t sound convincing, do I? Well, I am pleased, but I was exhausted after work Wednesday. My days off were yesterday and today, and I spent it mainly recuperating and doing some cleaning around the house.

During this whole time, Dailybooth threatened to take over my life again, as evidenced by my slip in postings here, but I found my balance again. I swear, that site is like crack with how addicting it is! I love the whole community there, but I have to remind myself to take a step back and do other things that matter just as much to me, if not more, in real life and other sites.

I ordered another puzzle last weekend, and I hope it comes soon. I did mention this in an earlier post, but this is a recap, darn it! I still won’t tell what it exactly is. Here’s another hint, though: it’s one that I’ve been pining for and it’s one that the puzzle community once regarded as the holy grail of puzzles. Stay tuned!

Last night, we had a great dinner get-together with some friends at a BBQ type restaurant. This is sometimes hard to do during a work week, but we made the best of the time offered. Great food and great conversations are some of the highlights of life!

Well, that’s all from me. Cheers!

P.S.: Speaking of Dailybooth, I thought I upset a couple of friends on there. Turns out everything was ok anyways. I worry too much sometimes and I wish I could stop. Oy!

My love of photography, along with my addiction to Dailybooth, led me to download a few photo-enhancing apps from the App Store. I’ll post more comprehensive reviews of these later, but one that impressed me lately is Photoforge. It’s essentially the closest I’ve come to seeing an iPhone app do some semi-convincing, Photoshop-esque editing. I may look around for some more photo-editing apps that do more or less the same thing, but I may stick with this one for a while!

Look for a more complete review soon…

If there was ever a double-booth day for me on Dailybooth, today would be it. I posted a boring pic of me taking a nap, just so I could show Thommen watching over me.

Now, we go grocery shopping, and we get candy that was on sale! Now that’s something to scream about!! Sorry, but I have a huge sweettooth that is tempered by reactive hypoglycemia. These bite-sized morsels are the perfect size for me to munch and control sugar intake. Yum!

My favorite piece is the Milky Way Dark. Absolutely sinful!

Sweet cheers!