My Puzzle Records
Last update: November 18, 2006
New times in red

My official times

Puzzle

Event

Times ([min:]sec[.frac])
Best Single | Average

Comments

Renders

3 by 3 by 3

Speedsolve

26.06
22.94
? ? ?
17.94
~17
~16
15.67
15.xx
14.65

~14
~13

Lucky:
16.75
15.46

Official:
1:02.27
28.82
[27.45
24.68
22.28
20.42]
[18.98
18.18]
[16.30

15.89]

27.03 32.74 31.6 38.39 43.61 42.27 28.66 45.78 29.36 31.55 31.95 38.46

34.86
32.96
32.92
26 31 35 25 32 27 30 30 28 36 25 27
28.1
26.xx
26.yy
24.14
23.80
23.43
23.21
23.03
22.46
21.xx
21.02
20.7x
20.yy
19.52

~19.0
1
8.xx
18.33

17.93

Official:
1:29.71
43.12
24.96
24.83
21.20

17.94

That 27:03 could have been nearly 20. The PLL (Psi/Y) got stuck badly for almost 10 seconds. All those 40's involved G-permutations.
I now solve (recently decided): Cross, 3 FL corners, 3 middle edges, F2L slot (mostly C, then E), COLL, EOLL, PLL.
The 28.82 was from the Nationals; 1001 COLL with proper EOLL and three-corner cycle.
The 43.12 was horrible; it started with a huge pop that became a 1:19 DNF (two edges switched);
I had a few pops on Bob Burton's fast cube, and when Devin finished (I had lent him my cube), I used my cube for the last solve. After the first solve, it was hard to keep calm. And I was hoping for a sub-30... ;-(
That 21.20 would've been a 20.59 average were it not for the +2 on my first official sub-20...

That 17.93 average was (finally!) with MGLS.

One-handed

~1:30
1:16.40A

57
30.30
~26

Official:
1:50.55
39.9
6B
38.85
38.44

28.24
NR

37
34.81

Official:
59.45
38.69
NR

I've not really improved.
A-Now I have.
B-At Caltech Winter '07; a conserved triple extended cross with a Pi and Psi/Y LL.

One in each hand

2:25.97
-?
1:30?

~3:30[N]

The 2:25 involved the two of the luckiest solves I'd ever had (three LL algs total).

Blindfolded

9:00.70
? ? ?
3:55
3:32.27
3:06.93
3:03
2:29.56
2:xx.yy
1:58.59
1:58.34
1:40.95
1:40.63
1:34.xx
1:34.yy
1:31.39

1:31.37



Official:
9:00.70
4:40.12
3:22.60

3:02.80
NR

~3:00-4:30[N]
~3:00[N]

~2:00-2:30[N]
&
4:11

I use Macky's 3-cycle method. Sofar, I haven't actually succeeded, but I know I can do it.*

First solve (33 min): all permuted correctly, corners oriented to L and R faces and two edges flipped;

3rd (2nd?) solve: two edges and two corners switched;

Next morning: two corners and two edges incorrectly oriented;

Two edges incorrectly oriented, and three corners cycled in the wrong direction.

Other solves: half jumbled (mistake[s] on setup moves, probably the corners).

*I succeeded on my second (last) attempt at at the Nationals; I was quite surprised....

Since October 11, I finally fixed my occasional incorrect edge memorization scheme, tried more carfully, and memorized the other corner alg. I did at least one successful solve a day for half a year after that.

That 3:02 should really be near 2:00...

Multipe Blindfolded

2 cubes
4 cubesA

N/A

A-35:20.97

Tyson Mao doesn't like this category, so I switched to focusing on regular BLD and speed BLD...

Speed Blindfolded

Memo:
20:43
Execution:
18.04

16.43

N/A

I tend to make too many mistakes: I've done DNF's with sub-10min memo and sub-11ses execution...
This is my favorite “event.”

Fewest moves

38

Official:
39
NR

N/A

The 39 from Berkeley Spring '07 is here.

2 by 2 by 2

Speedsolve

~8
<5

14.something, a while ago
~10
7.3

Don't own one yet.

Actually, Arthur just gave me the one he bought for the Nationals, but I used it to build a 4x2x2.

Then, at Berkeley Fall '06, I traded my DIY gor Ummon's Eastsheen; then I won another one for 1st in Magic

Blindfolded

~30
27.10
21.52

~30-50[N]


4 by 4 by 4

Speedsolve

2:19.78
2:08

1:59.75
1:47.25
1:37
1:25

1:13

Official:
1:36.60
1:28.06

2:44.74 (3:22.36) 2:49.69 3:05.31 3:09.31 2:59.09 2:29.30 2:32.58 2:43.81 2:46.98 (2:19.78) 2:56.56
2:49.74

~1:30 (no exact times)

Official:
1:57.50
1:41.79






I use the method at bigcubes.com with 6 simultaneous edge pairings. I apply some three-cycles from the five when in trouble.

I finally practiced, and now I'm more comfortable with my solves. Notice how the times were going down in my (first) average...

The official1:28 was my PR for half a year, since my 4x4x4 lost a green center at Caltech Winter '07.

Blindfolded

DNF

N/A

First try was two 3-cycles off.

5 by 5 by 5

Speedsolve

5:42.90
5:30
4:53
4:24
4:21

Official:
4:10.21

6:15 – 6:45
(Not all times in the average were recorded)

Official:
4:38.18

I got my ELL algs for 3x3x3 from my old method:

-Top center, then middle and outer edges
-F2L for corners and center edges
-Bottom outer edges
-Middle layer edges (easily avoiding parities)
-Centers (edges and corners mostly independently)

Now, after Arthur convinced me to solve centers first, I'm floating around without a good method, using centers first without satisfyingly efficient (but acceptably fast) tredge pairing.

Last Friday (Sep. 22, '06), I sat down to solve the Eastsheen just once, but I ended up doing about a dozen. My times went down from 7:xx to almost 6:00.

1 by 1 by 1

Speedsolve

0.02

0.04

Basically, stopping the timer as quickly as possible.

They used this as a mystery puzzle for the Nationals; I think he (the unsuspecting solver) got 1.21...

Megaminx

Speedsolve

4:50.18
~4:30

Official:
4:57.09

~5:00

After seeing one at the Caltech Winter competition, I had to get myself (i.e. had to convince my Mom to get me) a Megaminx.. It's and easy, but repetetive. It can really improve look-ahead techniques.

At the Nationals, the preliminary solve went very well; it temporarily stood as best. And my judge was getting bored with a speedy solve...

Blindfolded

DNF

N/A

Tried it December 15, '06; really messed up on execution

Square-1

Speedsolve

(<1:00)
37.76

Official:
1:02.27

~1:30[N]

Official:
1:26.96

My favorite puzzle. Even better, I have a chance of becoming the German record holder (don't tell Stefan Pochmann until after the Nationals; then again, he won't care). [OK, now you can tell him. See here and here]

Hmm, 1:02.27 was my last official record for the 3x3x3...

My times should go down a bit; I restickered it. I had restickered the bottom green temporarily for the competition, so I managed to do reasonably well.





Blindfolded

13:43.32
UWR

No way! Yet.

A world record! I didn't know I could get one of those...
I'm planning to develop this into a respectable event. I consider it at the stage where 5x5x5 blindfolded was a few years ago. Next, I'm trying to find a good shape memorzation order for least thinking and earlier full executability.

Blindfolded (beginning square)

7:31.65
4:47

~5:00[N]

Simple, just requires two 2-cycles.

Magic


\/

Speedsolve

1.75
1.53

1.46
1.44
1.43
1.39
1.37
1.29

1.26
1.24

1.21

Official:
1.71

1.99
1.78

Official:
DNF
1.84

I got mine with the 4x4x4, noticing that they sold it at rubiks.com (they ran out again quickly). Once I got a fast method (the reflection of the inverse of the fast transform on Jaap's page, incidentally also Stefan Pochmann's), I became really fast, although my good magic likes to break. See my magic page for patterns.

Set my 1.53 while practicing at the Nationals.

That DNF average was not actually a DNF, but I didn't bother to argue with the judge...

They cancelled it at Caltech Winter '07 :-(


Master Magic


\/

Speedsolve

4.6
3.16

2.90

Official:
4.78

~6.00-7.00[N]
4.75
3.84 5.36 3.97 (3.16) 3.60 4.02 5.92 4.44 3.66 (7.23) 4.71
4.40

4.18

Official:
6.16

Rubiks.com was selling Harry Potter magics for $5. I made this from two, and used the remaining four tiles for the 2x2 Nationals Mini Magic.
I use Pochmann's method. Again, see my magic page for patterns.

For that 6.16 average, I was frantic not to DNF (after two DNFs on the regular magic), so I spent half a second each solve slapping down the ends...


Mini Magic


\/

Speedsolve

1.23

1.66

I made this using the Nationals logo. It is possible to scramble the logo and the cube, too.

This was used for mystery puzzle #6; the solver got about 20 seconds.


Super Magic

\/

Speedsolve

8.80
7.03
7.02
7.00

10.85 11.01 11.01 10.38 (8.80) 10.5 9.42 9.4 (12.04) 10.58 9.77 9.8

10.27

I like this one :-)

Now it's broken )-:

The pattern