Maybe next video will be the V-Cube 6… or the Mirror Blocks… or maybe I’ll just jump to the V-Cube 7. Meh. You’ll find out soon enough!

Well, not to worry. I am, in stages, working on the vacation post I so have promised you all that I’d get to. It’s not easy, because there were so many good things that happened while we were in Germany. I swear, nothing really bad happened, which was amazing, considering all that could have gone wrong. Everywhere we went, society as a whole somewhat mirrored life in America, and the people we met were about as friendly as you would expect over here. So really, I’m having a hard time putting my perspective on the entire experience into words without sounding somewhat stupid or “touristy”. By the way, I haven’t talked to Christian Wüst much since the trip, but I want to assure him that he did much to help us out while we were there. He was a most gracious host as well as being a great friend to hang out with. I also want to tell his friends (Hans-Peter, Sascha, Harry, Suzanne, Dennis, Wongo and anyone else’s names I forgot!) that they left an awesome impression upon me and I’m honoured to have met and talked with them. That being said, just check out the pictures and video in the sections above to get an idea of our experience there. I’m writing more about it, so be patient.

Ok, I got that out of the way. Aside from the awesome trip to Germany last October, my thoughts about Year 2008 was that it was much like any other year, really. The major differences, at least for me, were kind of trivial. I connected with more old friends and classmates on Facebook, especially towards the end of the year. I went a bit crazy on puzzles, buying a Square 1, Pyraminx, Pyraminx Crystal, Eastsheen 4×4 and 5×5 cubes and a V-cube 7 (I got the V-cube 6 while in Germany). The house has been doing fine, except for dealing with pigeons on my roof! Tech-wise, the iPhone has become an indispensable part of my life, allowing me to be online, e-mail, send pictures easier, play cool games, write in my blog and other places, jam to music and much else more no matter where I am. (Did I mention it makes calls, too? Just thought I’d throw that in there…) In fact, a couple of blog entries here were written and published on my iPhone when I had to do without the computer for nearly a month while I was waiting for a replacement part for it. Anyways, the birds did very well this year, although we lost one of our flock to liver disease . We still miss our little Kiwi. My wife got handed the diet from hell, courtesy of her doctor and a high cholesterol count, which forces me to limit what I eat as well to make it fair. Last but not least, my work has gone much better this year, thanks to a deeper understanding of my role and duties in it. I do sense some big changes coming for me professionally for this year, though. We’ll see what happens; I don’t want to worry and it’s not worth worrying about when all I have to do is adapt.

Well, I think I’m done here. I won’t make promises, but I’ll try writing more here, and I’ll be writing more thoughts on the October vacation. Cheers!…

… Oh, before I go, one more thing. I started out 2009 by… you guessed it… buying more puzzles. On the first of this month, I ordered a Mirror Blocks puzzle (also known as a Bump Cube) and a V-Cube 5 to round out my V-Cube collection. You can only get these puzzles in Japan and Greece, respectively, so I made sure my finances could handle it. We are starting the year with no debt, besides the house, and we want to keep it that way! Also, yesterday I used a Barnes & Noble gift card to purchase a Rubik’s Icon cube. Below is the unboxing and review video I made for it. When I get the other puzzles, their videos will be on this blog as well.

See ya soon!

Nintendo Wii

In one of my postings before last Christmas, I was pining for this system. I was also being realistic; I didn’t expect to get one as long as retailers kept jacking the price up because of near-unavailability. Well, since Nintendo boosted production on the Wii, the store I work at finally got them in at the regular price. I just had to buy one that day, especially since one guy earlier in the day was trying to buy all of them!

If you’ve read anything about this console, I don’t need to tell you how cool this thing is. However, for those who haven’t paid much attention to tech matters like this, I’ll fill in the gaps here. This is probably the very first console to have an emphasis on actual physical movement while playing some of its games. Wii Sports, the game disk that it comes with, has five games on it that make full use of this functionality. The bowling, golf and tennis games were rather low impact, but the boxing and baseball games actually made me break a small sweat! There’s virtually no lag time between swinging the wireless controllers and movement on screen, showing just how far this kind of technology has come for home use. Thus the reason why I haven’t been blogging lately… I’ve been on my feet playing video games and being somewhat active at the same time. (speaking of which, I started rollerblading again… but I digress!)

There’s more to the Wii than just its own games. There’s built-in online functionality, with access to Nintendo’s Wii Shop Channel… a place that, admittedly, had me asking my wife to chain down my credit/debit card! You can buy points there, which enable you to get applications and games for download into the Wii console. The games are part of Wii’s Virtual Console, and the shop has access to lots of older games from classic systems, with more being added every week. That leads to another feature; the Wii is backwards-compatible with my GameCube games! Add those things to the Wii’s main home screen, which has other channels such as news, weather and social interaction channels (all free use!), and you’ve got a great diversion from everyday life.

Games And (even more!) New Cubes

In addition to going a bit crazy on Wii’s Virtual Console, buying three classic games, I got two new games for it (ow… my aching wallet!). The first one is The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Yes, I know I already have it for the GameCube, but the Wii version is somewhat different. First, the entire game is right/left inverse and, second, the game makes full use of user movement with the wireless controllers. The first time I swung the sword around with Link, I broke into the biggest grin my face has ever endured! The second game is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It’s a game where famous video game characters (mainly from Nintendo), duke it out in arena-style combat. It’s a very enjoyable game, with an immense challenge factor. Also, it makes use of the Wii’s online capability, enabling you to play against other players from around the world.

I also finally got the new cubes I had talked about in my last post! These are different than the 4×4x4 and 5×5x5 cubes I have with the Rubik’s name. They’re made by a Far East company called Eastsheen. I’ve worked with them for the past three days and I have to say that they are made better than their Rubik’s counterparts; they turn much smoother and tighter, due to different internal mechanisms. Because of this, my times have improved to around 5 minutes on the 4×4x4 and 11 minutes on the 5×5x5. So what’s going on with my shattered Rubik’s 5×5x5? Well, I’ll probably put that back together and just have it for display, with minimal use.

I won’t be getting any more puzzles or games for some time now; I want to save for better things. However, if I can find a Pyraminx at a good price, that will be the next puzzle. Rumor has it that, in September, a company in Greece is going to be mass-producing their new Rubik’s-style cubes. These will go by the name of V-Cubes, and they have had working prototypes of 6×6x6 and 7×7x7 configurations. Look them up on YouTube; I already featured the video of internationally-known cuber Frank Morris solving their 7×7x7 prototype in an earlier blog entry. If and when these become available, you know I’m going to be in line itching to get my hands on one!

Before I leave, I have one tidbit of useless trivia for you, garnered from Wikipedia and the original paper on the subject. Did you know that a 5×5x5 puzzle cube has approximately 283 trevigintillion combinations in it? Just to give you an idea of the size of the number we’re talking about, that’s 283 followed by 72 zeroes. A research paper stated that the number is also a very rough estimate of the number of hydrogen atoms in the known universe!!

With that thought, I bid you all a good day. Cheers!

Second, I need to vent my frustration with one aspect of cubing. Ready? Here goes…

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Things like this are really aggravating. This is the third time that my 5×5x5 Rubik’s Professor cube went completely discombobulated on me. None of the pieces themselves are broken, like with what happened to my first 4×4x4 Rubik’s Revenge, but it’s extremely time-consuming to put it back together. In the picture you can see everything grouped: outer edge, outer center, inner center, corner and inner edge pieces and the core in the middle. After the picture was taken for this entry, I boxed up the pieces and put it underneath the bed. Before I did that, though, I placed an order on this eBay page for a 4×4x4 and 5×5x5 Eastsheen cube set. Eastsheen is a “chinese knock-off” variant of the Rubik’s brand that is purported to be much more stable and durable than the Rubik’s brand. I wonder why the company that makes Rubik’s brand simply didn’t adopt the manufacturing specs for these; they seem better constructed, from what I’ve seen.

I only ordered the 4×4x4 cube because I know that what happened to my last Rubik’s 4×4 will certainly happen to my current one in due time.

Well, wish me luck with these when they come in. I’ll post pics and reviews when I get the chance!

One more thing: Christine and I are shopping around for a new cellular contract, because our Sprint contracts are up in May. In light of a recent windfall, and Apple’s SDK announcement, you might see an awesome cellphone review in a couple of months! Stay tuned, and cheers!!

Surprisingly, there really isn’t many videos of the Square 1 on YouTube. Hmmm….

As you can see in the first two pictures, it looks like a normal cube puzzle… except for the angular cuts. Quite different from the garden-variety Rubik’s-type cube. It even has less pieces than that famous puzzle, which is very misleading as one may calculate that less pieces equals less combinations equals easier-to-solve, right? Wrong! Just try mixing it up, and this is what you may end up with:

Whereas a Rubik’s cube is more of an exercise in recreational mathematics, the Square 1 throws in a good dose of geometry! It’s very true that there’s less combinations of permutations in the puzzle, but that is not to say that it’s any easier to solve. Indeed, after watching various videos of seasoned cubers messing around with one of these, I’ve come to the conclusion that any puzzlemeister will have a harder time with this cube than any regular NxNxN cube. Even browsing the puzzle forums, most people on them agreed that this is one of the hardest ones to solve.

After mastering the 2×2, 3×3, 4×4 and 5×5 cubes, not to mention solving a 7×7x7 cube and also solving a Megaminx with little effort and no help, I thought I was ready for this. Boy, was I wrong! After a couple of days of working out most of the puzzle, I got stuck on how to do some of the switching of corners and edges, so I sought help online. Getting the Square 1 back into cube shape, and then having the top and bottom showing the same colors took some time, but I got those parts done without help. However, putting the final pieces in place is a great challenge, not made any easier by the fact that you may encounter parity issues which require “polarization” of the puzzle (BTW, that involves a complete shape morph!!).

All in all, if you love puzzles and you feel the need for a new challenge, Square 1 will not disappoint when it comes to brain-wracking aggravation and satisfaction!

Cheers… and happy puzzling!

Update!: More fooling around with the Square 1 today yielded some amusing results. I managed to make a couple of animal shapes; one bears a passing resemblance to a rhino! I’ll post a pic in my Hobbies album in the Photo Gallery, ASAP!

Well, here’s another general update, in the form of a video blog entry. You’ll notice some lag in the video/sound timing; that’s because I was running too many applications on the computer. Also, the CamTwist app that I use for some effects is an unbelievable resource hog! Hopefully I’ll make more vids soon! (Side note: I may have to expand/organize my video section of this site!!)

Cheers!

First, I’ve been having fun with the new Megaminx puzzle. When I first started solving it, it took a couple of hours at a time. Just trying to get used to all the faces while looking for all the pieces can be a real challenge! Now, I think I can solve it in around thirty minutes. I also took some time on friday to go to a hardware store for some silicone lubricant. This is recommended for twisty puzzles like Rubik’s and Meffert’s brand, among others. Now, the minx and all three of my 3×3x3 cubes turn very well; no stiffness!

On that note, I also had a good run on Stickam.com yesterday. It seems that Thommen and I had become very popular that day, as I had a highest count of 40 or so people looking at my cam pages! I got to meet a few cool new people, while in my live cam room, and reconnect with one friend in particular. I even looked in the chat rooms and found a room called “Cubing”. This I had to see! It turns out, while talking to the guys in there, I got to meet one of the world record holders for the Megaminx, at under a minute and 13 seconds! I can’t even begin to spell Erik’s surname, but he’s listed in the Wikipedia entry on the puzzle. Watching the guy on cam with a cube was just amazing.

I’ve also been having fun, with Christine, watching the Doctor Who box set. We still have a few episodes to watch, so I’ll list my favorites here when we’re done. I’m ripping “The Impossible Planet” for iPod use as I type this! I haven’t forgotten to do a review on Lunatica’s “Fables & Dreams”, so I’ll do that as soon as I can. I also acquired DragonForce’s “Inhuman Rampage” album… I’m still recovering from one of the songs on there, so watch for a review on that one after I’ve scraped my brains off of the ceiling…

One more thing. I’ve found a good way to post some of the things in my internet (and real) life… stuff that may be too short for the blog and too long for a Twitter update. It’s called a Tumblelog! It’s kind of an internet scrapbook where you can throw a bunch of miscellaneous stuff for quick reference and communication. You can check out mine at http://chrisw357.tumblr.com/. I have it integrated into a blog page… kind of… it’s got a date bug, but it’s functional, and you can check that out over here (http://esoterik72.net/esoblog/tumblelog/). When I get the date bug fixed, I’ll make a button for it on the horizontal navbar at the top of this blog.

Well, thanks for reading up on everything that’s going on. Email me… or message me… or whatever… if any of you want to talk more. And comment here, too, if you want to; your comments are very welcome! Cheers!

For this first blog entry of 2008, I (surprisingly) do not have any new games. Well, aside from a Sonic the Hedgehog iPod game. It’s not worth really going in great detail about; I just got it for the nostalgia. However, I did get a new puzzle from the mail yesterday. I had to order it through eBay from PuzzlePros. Take a look at the pictures below:

It’s a Megaminx! This puzzle comes in a couple different color schemes and variations, along with different kinds of tiles depending on when it was manufactured. I must say that whoever manufactured this one did a decent job. It is lightweight, but it feels sturdy (and a little stiff) when turning the faces. The pieces come together almost seamlessly, with very little gapping in some areas. The tiles seem permanent enough, but only time and good use will tell just how good the quality is. It’s certainly different, and bigger (!), than the Mefferts version (I know the Mefferts version is smaller from watching YouTube’s vids on them).

This thing looks like a monster to solve, doesn’t it? My wife even said that it looks evil, due to it’s pentagram-ic stylings! It’s a 12-sided dodecahedron that is layered in such a way that any of the faces can turn freely. Due to the way it turns, the cuts form a star pattern, with which only the center piece is stationary (similar to the Rubik’s Cube’s centers). Because of this, it is possible to use the techniques learned in solving the Rubik’s Cube and adapt them for use in solving the Megaminx. Be ware of thinking that it’s really simple; compared to the Cube, the extra side on each face can really make things confusing. However, I did solve it this morning after mixing it up last night. The only help I had was advice, found on the web, on starting points and finishing points and nothing else…

… so I kinda ruined my fun in solving it so soon. However… that does not mean that the Megaminx is easy! This is a real brainbuster that any twisty-puzzle fan will get a kick out of, even solving it repeated times like I will.

I’ll update this entry If I find any really glaring flaws in the construction, but so far it twists and turns like a champ. I’ll need to see about lubing it to make it turn better. I also want to work with it more to come up with a good beginner’s solution, just to help out other people who may need advice. Everywhere I went on the internet, I only found sites that essentially said “work it like a regular 3×3 cube” and complicated algorithms for every single last-layer permutation case, none of which I’ve used in solving it! I want to, someday soon, help others by showing how to solve it without learning algs for every case. It can be done and I know I can find the optimal beginner’s solution.

All in all this is a gem in my puzzle collection. At least until I get the real Mefferts version! (supposedly the best one)

Ok. I know what most of you will think.

I. Have. No. Life.