Cube otaku? Conversation killer/starter

(tags rubik's cube, practice, Japanese)

My Japanese teacher introduced me to the Nakaji-kun article. However she rolls her eyes whenever we discuss the Rubik's Cube. I try to at least make it palatable by not discussing the technicalities, but about how I feel when I do the cube. You know, share my human experience, don't be a bore. It isn't working though. Last time, I asked her to give me a copy of the article and I decided to quickly change the topic. Still she explained a relevant phrase: 「たかがキューブ、されどキューブ」 == It's just a cube, but it's deep.

Sometimes when I'm cube-commuting, elderly people try to spring up a conversation with me. Its funny to hear in a roundabout way how Nakaji-kun gained the spotlight. The conversation quickly degrades to "which country did you come from", oh yeah.

I don't want to feel slow: Avoiding the right side initial blue cross

(tags Rubik's Cube, practice)

The initial step to solving the cube using the LBL/Fridrich method is assembling the edge pieces of the first layer, which makes a cross pattern. Beginners like me make this first layer the Blue side. I put the Blue side facing left because as a right hander, it should allow my right hand to place the pieces into position. I continue this orientation until I finish the second layer.

However I tried putting the blue cross on the right. Boy was that a new feeling of slow. Moving stuff around using my left hand showed I had some unconscious habits with the right side. I suppose it would better to face the blue cross on the bottom, because in the endgame all of the moves are on the top (white) face. (White is on the opposite side of the blue). Unforutnately I can't seem to remember the order of the colors, still.

For now I'm going to concentrate with the blue cross on the left.

(incf practice-cubes) ?

(tags Rubik's Cube, practice, Common Lisp)

According the article on Nakaji-kun, he has 20 cubes. I don't yet see the reason why you need more than a main cube and one backup. Do cubes have a lifetime? Actually I only have one cube right now, so maybe I should get one more? I recently bought another Speed Cubing Kit (SCK) as a backup. But, I need to readjust the screws and re-lubricate the main cube I got.

I recently subscribed to "THE ART OF RUBIK'S CUBE" blog who mentioned his favorite things about the SCK back in 2007-08. I now know the meaning of otona kai (大人買い) which means buying by the armful. If I want to buy by the armful I can head off to Toys R Us because they've got a sizable bunch in stock. He linked to a nice photo-expose of the SCK by Planet Puzzle (80 pictures). Now I can throw away these plastic boxes.

Off topic: (incf practice-cubes) is a statement in the Common Lisp programming language for increasing the count of practice-cubes variable by 1. Get your free Common Lisp tutorial here! SEO measures on "Common Lisp" "tutorial". Yes I've been reading the PDF of this 528 page Practical Common Lisp book on and off.

Pop crazy: What it is and why am I encountering it now?

(tags rubik's cube, practice)

Last sunday morning I enjoyed the sunshine at the local park, and I brought my Rubik's Cube (a speedcube). I spent probably about an hour grinding away since the sunshine was so pleasant for a mild October day. I kinda felt fast, because it was the middle of the day, I was sitting still and upright, and there was natural light all around me. However, sometimes when I scrambled my cube, an edge piece would pop out. This is the right definition of "pop". I confused this with unnatural sound of faces snapping together.

Since it wasn't during a solve, I thought it was just my rough and coarse turning habits. I think its just that my hands are getting stronger but not elegant. In any case it's not happening during my commute cubing time. I fear losing a piece on the bus and the embarassment of searching for it on all fours.