# Hi , Belgian noob BenVdd reporting for duty!



## BenVdd (Sep 4, 2012)

Hi guys, 
Last saturday I randomly wound up on BadMephisto's beginner rubik's cube guide and have been practicing ever since (and lurking these boards aswell).

At first i had to practice on my laptop because I didn't actually have a rubik's cube anymore,
so I knew the beginner algorithms by heart by the time I bought my cube yesterday.

I also learned F2L today , I can solve it with no real problem, but I am very inefficient and 'finding' pairs takes me a while,
never sure what the best way to get the cubicles in the top layer is. 

I did my first timed run just now (used the cubetimer scramble sequence) and it wound up to be 2:44.16 and to be honest,
I am quite happy with that time! I was expecting it around to be the 5 minute mark.

Needless to say i have no fingertricks up my sleeve yet.

Also ordered a stickerless GuHong because after only 2 days i seem to scratch the stickers alot. I'll probably buy a stickered ZhanChi in a month or so.



P.S. My cross efficiency sucks aswell ^^

TL;DR
Hi , I'm new and I am quite the noobie!


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## uniacto (Sep 5, 2012)

Welcome! You'll get better by just practicing and drilling F2l, OLL, and PLL, don't worry


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

I times 6 more runs. 

PB. 2:05.32 
Average : 2:25.10

Goal for now : under 1:50 ^^


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## bran (Sep 5, 2012)

Hello and welcome to the forums. In addition to what uniacto said during F2l you should try and ignore the pieces which have the opposite color of your cross color (like yellow if you are using white as your cross color) this helps a lot in finding pieces.


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

Yeah i try to do the best i can with those. But my main problem is the needed pieces not being in the toplayer. I never seem to know how to take care of this (so i end up just putting them on the top layer one at a time and go from there)


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## MarcelP (Sep 5, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> (so i end up just putting them on the top layer one at a time and go from there)



Hi Ben, good to see you here as well. Don't worry about getting the pieces in the U layer at first. I still do that and I am quite contempt with the F2L speed that I have. Once they are in the U layer you have three basic cases, Learn those and you will be faster soon.


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## Goosly (Sep 5, 2012)

YAY for new Belgian cubers!

I assume you bought a Rubiks brand cube. Their stickers are not very good, so they will peel of quite fast. And the cube itself is not very good either 
The Guhong will be much better


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## Cubenovice (Sep 5, 2012)

Welcome,

see you at the Hasselt competition in November 
http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/results/c.php?i=HasseltOpen2012

Some short tips:
Check out all of Badmephisto
Don't worry about times for now, do not time all your solves as it can only frustrate you. 
(Maybe time an an av12 every couple of days to track your progress)
Don't try to rush during F2L; it is better to turn slow and work on minimising pauzes
Note that the stickerless cubes are not allowed in WCA competitions


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

The reason i timed my solves was because I was curious. TBH I was expecting around 5 minute solves, so I was rather pleased.

I know the stickerless isn't allowed , I did some research beforehand ^^. The next cube I am going to buy will be stickered


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## brunovervoort (Sep 5, 2012)

Hey Ben!
Welcome to the forums!
Do you maybe live near Geel? 
Some tips: Learn F2L completely, get at least a DIY, maybe even a Zhanchi or so, them learn PLL, and learn OLL at last.
Give other methods like Roux a try.
Good luck Ben!


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

I live in Bornem , the town of "De Dodentocht"  If you have no clue as to where that is:
If you draw a line between Mechelen and Sint-Niklaas and another line between Antwerp and Brussel you will find my location on where those 2 lines intersect ^^


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## peterbone (Sep 5, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> Yeah i try to do the best i can with those. But my main problem is the needed pieces not being in the toplayer. I never seem to know how to take care of this (so i end up just putting them on the top layer one at a time and go from there)


If the one of the pieces of a pair you're trying to solve is in the wrong slot, then do another pair first. You don't have to do the pairs in a specific order. Only tackle wrong slot pairs if there are no pairs left in the top layer. With a bit of practice you can take out the piece in the wrong slot so that you can go straight into a quick insert.


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## Goosly (Sep 5, 2012)

If you are free 16th September, you should come to Eindhoven Open. It's not very far from Bornem. (I live in Sint-niklaas btw  ) Not just for competing; competitions are mainly about meeting other cubers, learn new stuff and try some new puzzles 
Here is a list of competitions in Europe.


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

I'm in turkey from 13 till 20sept sadly. 
Wich brings me to a question.. rubik's cubes are allowed on planes right? ^^


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## Cubenovice (Sep 5, 2012)

Yes and they DO look suspicious in the X-ray scanners.

So just take them in your hand luggage so you can show them if they ask.


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

new PB 01:42.47 .. average is still 2:12.16 tho... (haven't done too many timed solves today, felt like practicing my F2L )


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## larsvdb (Sep 5, 2012)

Hi i'm from Belgium to  

your goal is to get 1:50  but i think you will break the 1:30 mark in a few week/days . When you start cubing you make really fast progres but after a year or somthing ( when you are at the 30 second mark ) you will see that your progres will slow down ( a lot ). So welcom at the forum and have fun


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

Question for ppl from Belgium, in what store should/can I buy decent lube? (i'd use my durex play , but I don't want a cherry odor of sex surrounding my cube)


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## brunovervoort (Sep 5, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> Question for ppl from Belgium, in what store should/can I buy decent lube? (i'd use my durex play , but I don't want a cherry odor of sex surrounding my cube)



I'd recommend using it.


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

Really?


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## brunovervoort (Sep 5, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> Really?



Yes, it turns extremely fluently when using it.


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## BenVdd (Sep 5, 2012)

i'll give it a testrun on this rubiks brand cube before my guhong arrives


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## brunovervoort (Sep 6, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> i'll give it a testrun on this rubiks brand cube before my guhong arrives



What kind of Guhong did you order? The v1 or the v2?


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## BenVdd (Sep 6, 2012)

v1


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## BenVdd (Sep 11, 2012)

The guhong arrived in the mail yesterday. Have been breaking it in quite a bit. Didn't lube it yet cuz it doesn't really need any atm in my opinion. (did adjust a screw a bit cuz the spring would lock up. For example i turned a face 270° and the spring would somehow not allow me to turn any further without applying a pretty high amount of force)

Just did 6 timed solves.

01:18.23	01:12.24	*01:09.72* 01:20.37	01:21.03	01:27.84	

New personal best and avg of 5 under 1:20 (01:16.32) 
I still don't even know 2look OLL/PLL (I know like 4 OLL and 2 PLL) so I never though my times would have dropped this much.

Needless to say i'm pretty happy with these results 


Next goal : sub 50s PB and sub 1min avg of 12


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## MarcelP (Sep 11, 2012)

Nice results Ben! You will improve quick with dedication like yours.


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## BenVdd (Sep 12, 2012)

Did 12 more timed solves today. 

01:13.94 01.19.09 55.39 01:10.73 59.84 01:18.88 01:21.35 *54.41 * 01:29.77 01:27.78 01:27.73 01:01.29


new personal best. average of 12: 01:13.70 ..... average of 5: 01:08.17 

quite pleased with my progress so far


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## BenVdd (Sep 27, 2012)

new PB 42.19 didn't have a timed solve since my last post. Time to learn full OLL/PLL


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## MarcelP (Sep 27, 2012)

Ben, You improve at great speed! Do you have a current video (from a good angle) so we can see and maybe give some tips?


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## Hunter (Sep 27, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> new PB 42.19 didn't have a timed solve since my last post. Time to learn *Roux*



 I recommend you switch before you get 52 OLL algorithms in your head.

Very nice progress by the way.


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## lcsbiffi (Sep 27, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> new PB 42.19 didn't have a timed solve since my last post. Time to learn full OLL/PLL



Holy sh*t dude, your progress is amazing. Try to record a video so we can see you solving it.


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## Cubenovice (Sep 27, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> new PB 42.19 didn't have a timed solve since my last post. Time to learn full OLL/PLL



I am very glad to see that you followed my advice to not time too often 
Nice progress!

And keep not using that timer.


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## Jostle (Sep 27, 2012)

Poop


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## Goosly (Sep 27, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> new PB 42.19 didn't have a timed solve since my last post. Time to learn full OLL/PLL



Full PLL first. Maybe OLL when you average sub20

FYI, I have an official average of about 17.50 and I know 17/21 PLL's  So there's no haste


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## BenVdd (Sep 27, 2012)

Thanks for the replies. I have to say that that Personal Best was probably a fluke. my averages are still around the 55s mark

EDIT: The reason i didn't put up a video yet is because i don't have an external recording device. i'm on a laptop with a webcam built into the lid. I will screencap the timer and record with webcam and edit them together one day , but i'm just too lazy. Also you would see the back of what i'm seeing wich seems silly.

Also my lookahead is virtually non existant at this point


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## BenVdd (Oct 14, 2012)

UPDATE :

New singles best : 34.37 

Got a T-perm at the end (one of the only ones i actually know ) so i guess i was lucky with that. 
Averages still floating around the 52seconds mark.

EDIT :
oh wow and now i got a 32.35. Had OLL and PLL cases i knew aswell this time  I even felt like my F2L went very poorly. Yay me 



EDIT : Again new singles best 31.19. Now i'm afraid to go to bed cuz i don't want to lose my swaggah of this evening lol.
Ao5 35.51 ^^

EDITT : 29.79s damn i feel goooood ^^ and right after that 29.62 . Red Bull paid off lol


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## MarcelP (Oct 15, 2012)

Wow Ben, keep up these times!


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## BenVdd (Oct 16, 2012)

Broke my singles PB again : 28.31 not by much but i'm pleased nontheless


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## BenVdd (Oct 17, 2012)

I guess it's about time to start doing averages of X since i only like timesolve 4-5times a day  hoping for a sub40 ao12


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## BenVdd (Oct 22, 2012)

Timed my first 12 solves of the day.. not that happy with the average but i have some low 30s wich i'm happy with 

Rubik's cube
22-okt-2012 17:02:57 - 17:18:26

Mean: 38.07
Average: 37.67
Best time: 31.37
Median: 36.37
Worst time: 48.82
Standard deviation: 4.98

Best average of 5: 35.38
3-7 - 35.25 (31.37) 34.01 36.89 (39.20)

Best average of 12: 37.67
1-12 - 40.59 42.42 35.25 (31.37) 34.01 36.89 39.20 35.85 35.54 44.53 (48.82) 32.42

1. 40.59 L2 B2 F2 D B2 U' R2 D2 U2 B2 R L' D' F R B2 L' D2 L F'
2. 42.42 D2 B2 R2 D2 B2 U' B2 F2 D L2 D' F D U2 F' R B U' R2 D' B2 U'
3. 35.25 L2 F2 D L2 D' F2 L2 D F2 U F2 R' D B2 U2 B' R F D F2 D2 U
4. 31.37 L2 D2 U' R2 U' R2 L2 U L2 F2 U' L U' R U L' F D' R2 L' U2
5. 34.01 R2 B2 U' F2 D R2 D2 F2 D' F2 U F' D B2 R2 L F R L F L U
6. 36.89 U2 L2 U' R2 B2 D2 R2 B2 U B2 D B' D2 R' U' B' L' B2 D R2 D2 U'
7. 39.20 R2 L2 D' L2 U' B2 L2 D' U' B2 U L D B' R D2 R D2 L' U2 F U'
8. 35.85 U2 R2 D2 L2 U R2 U R2 F2 R2 F2 L' B D' R2 F R' B' D2 L' B' L
9. 35.54 U' F2 U F2 L2 B2 D2 B2 U L2 F U2 R F' U2 L B F D F L2 U2
10. 44.53 F2 D' R2 D B2 R2 D U' L2 F2 L2 F' D2 U' B' U' F D2 R D B U2
11. 48.82 D2 F2 U' F2 D F2 U2 F2 U' R2 L2 B' L2 F D2 F' L F' D2 U' B2 U'
12. 32.42 B2 L2 F2 R2 F2 U L2 B2 U' L2 D' B L' F' U2 F' L B D' F' L2


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## BenVdd (Oct 22, 2012)

Also just filmed myself solving. 33.43seconds. 

Really poor quality , sorry. Gonna try to get a hold on a better recording device this weekend.


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## Goosly (Oct 22, 2012)

That's a decent solve for a beginner like you 
Once you get more familiar with your F2L's, you can try looking forward into the solve - 'look-ahead'. You do not want to be looking at the pieces you are solving, since you should know how to solve them without tracking them. Thus, instead of that, you can look at the pieces you want to solve next.

Btw, how old are you?


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## MarcelP (Oct 22, 2012)

Nice solve Ben! You will be sub 30 in no time at all...


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## Kattenvriendin (Oct 22, 2012)

Nice solve for a beginner??

Folks I haven't even HIT the subs 50 proper yet! looool

Well done Ben!


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## BenVdd (Oct 23, 2012)

Thanks for the nice feedback  
I am 21years old. 

And yeah goos, as you can tell i hardly have any look-ahead. I am not confident enough in my skills to solve pairs without looking. I tend to misplace them cuz i try to do it quickly, same for the cross alltho that is getting better.

I mean, I know exactly where to put the pairs and wich moves that put them there. But if I look away i lose focus of what i'm doing and misplace them anyway.

Conclusion : Practise!


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## Goosly (Oct 23, 2012)

Try solving F2L pairs without looking at your cube  That way you will get more fluent with them


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## BenVdd (Oct 23, 2012)

yeah , will do  all i have been doing the last 3 or so weeks is solve alot in public while on the bus/ train, waiting on siad bus/train and inbetween classes. Solving solving solving over and over again. Still only know 2look OLL/PLL. (I don't feel like learning any other PLL/OLL cuz they seem so awkward at first).

So now i'll practice solving the F2L pairs blind as you suggested 

EDIT : just did 12 more timed solves : 

*Best average of 5*: 32.21
7-11 - (28.90) 35.48 (36.67) 29.80 31.34

*Best average of 12*: 34.01
1-12 - 31.08 34.07 (39.25) 37.76 35.86 34.23 (28.90) 35.48 36.67 29.80 31.34 33.84

i'm quite pleased with my results this time, all sub 40  (only just tho , with that very poor 39.25 :/)


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## BenVdd (Oct 23, 2012)

So i started on a longer series of timed solves and had to pause for a second to post this :

33.77, 37.66, 32.07, 28.70, 38.12, 40.16, 35.73, 29.79, 33.12, 33.64, 31.14, 32.50, 32.22, 34.37, 38.04, *26.05* <--- new singles PB

So I ended up doing 30 solves with these stats :

*Best Ao5*:30.50
*best Ao12*:32.60
*Ao30*:33.67

Screenshot of all the times and stats in spoiler :


Spoiler












Edit : woops didnt mean to attach :/


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## Goosly (Oct 23, 2012)

Nice, gogo sub-30! 

(Do you know the scramble and timer size can be increased? press 'show timer options' above the time)


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## BenVdd (Oct 23, 2012)

I do but i didn't feel the need... 

I fear a big timer may distract me and would make me look at it during the solve.


EDIT: also am quite pleased with my prograss as i have only been cubing for 6-7weeks now (it feels like atleast 4months tho )


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## BenVdd (Oct 28, 2012)

So this morning i decided to learn some PLLs.

I expanded my PLL knowledge with both R perms and the Y perm 

Current PLL knowledge :

A(a),A(b),U(a),U(b),E,H,Z,T,J(a),J(b),R(a),R(b),Y

So it's a step in the right direction 



(Gonna learn next PLL (1 or 2) when i have done a couple of solves where i got to practice my new PLLs  )


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## bran (Oct 28, 2012)

You can learn F perm quite easily 'coz it is R' U' F' (T perm) F U R you can cancel the last F' of t perm with the F of last part.


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## BenVdd (Oct 29, 2012)

So , R' U' F' R U R' U' R' F 2R U' R' U' R U R' U R .. it works and its easy to remember, but it's quite long...


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## Goosly (Oct 29, 2012)

the correct notation is R2, not 2R 
2R is for big cubes, meaning: 'turn the 2 outer right layers clockwise'


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## BenVdd (Oct 29, 2012)

Oh okay , but still long alg ^^

Did another average of 12
session avg: 32.18 (σ = 1.57)
session mean: 32.10


Spoiler



28.92, 32.40, 34.99, 31.94, 33.04, 31.25, 35.92, 32.99, 27.44, 33.48, 30.80, 31.99



only 2 sub 30 times this time around but i did beat my previous best  (wich was 32.60)


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## BenVdd (Oct 30, 2012)

only have the G perms and the N perms left to learn


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## MarcelP (Oct 30, 2012)

and the G-perms where for me the hardest because I mix all 4 of them up. I still sometimes do..


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## BenVdd (Oct 31, 2012)

I tipped my toe in Roux waters for a change of pace today. not sure what to think of it yet , got a 47s one but i was kinda lucky. Still don't fully understand it all yet.

I will stick to CFOP though..


EDIT: averaging 1:11.xx now ^^ i get stuck on the edge orientation all the time , and also forget to permute corners ^^


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## BenVdd (Nov 2, 2012)

So i did a Ao100





Broke my Ao12 pb and my singles PB ^^ I'm quite pleased, also Sub30 Ao12 ^^


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## brunovervoort (Nov 2, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> So i did a Ao100
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Wow Ben, you're improving very quickly 
Will you go to Hasselt Open?


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## BenVdd (Nov 2, 2012)

i'm not sure yet. Depends on if i get the job i solicited for


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## MarcelP (Nov 2, 2012)

Wow, a sub 30 Ao 12 ! Awesome Ben!


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## BenVdd (Nov 2, 2012)

yeah , but only just ^^ It took me by surprise tbh cuz the first 30solves or so where 35+ solves and was planning on giving up the ao100 cuz i got frustrated. Thank God I kept going ^^


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## MarcelP (Nov 2, 2012)

During a 100 solve you do get faster.. That's why I do them once a week


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## BenVdd (Nov 10, 2012)

quickly did 4 solves since i didn't have too much time today : 27.69, 27.68, 33.19, 26.14 asides from the 33.19 it was rather consistant. I cleaned out my core yesterday and it shows

session avg: 27.68


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## BenVdd (Nov 11, 2012)

did 31 timed solves just now..

best avg5: 27.03 (σ = 0.91)

best avg12: 30.77 (σ = 3.21)

session avg: 31.97 (σ = 3.42)



Spoiler



33.19, 40.30, 26.59, 30.86, 30.65, 32.01, 33.77, 36.93, 33.09, 31.04, 34.51, 32.92, 36.90, 27.26, 31.29, 25.28, 35.56, 35.72, 33.62, 28.75, 34.09, 33.23, 28.54, 36.55, 33.43, 26.35, 34.96, 24.86, 28.31, 26.43, 35.26



i feel as if that went really really bad and yet my session avg is sub32.. I broke my ao5 PB , so atleast something good came out of this session. Too bad i ran out of time cuz i felt as if i was getting "into the zone"  oh well. I'll do a ao100 next thursday or so  and maybe try to record a solve with a decent camera angle but don't count on it 

that deviation is way too big for my liking aswell :/


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## BenVdd (Nov 17, 2012)

Lucky scramble gave me a new pb . thanks to Marcel for the scramble ^^


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## MarcelP (Nov 17, 2012)

Good stuff Ben! The scramble was not all that lucky. Only a lucky cross but all the 2FL cases where quite nasty.. And the last layer was not lucky eighter so you did a good job!


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## Kattenvriendin (Nov 17, 2012)

Which scramble was that?

*wants to try now too hehe


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## IanTheCuber (Nov 17, 2012)

Really weird audio, but nice job!


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## BenVdd (Nov 17, 2012)

yeah, the bad quality is due to really shitty laptop cam


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## Kattenvriendin (Nov 17, 2012)

No worries.. when you check out my little cooktogether lol.. image meh.

We're glad we HAVE something to record ourselves with ey


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## BenVdd (Nov 17, 2012)

exactly!


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## BenVdd (Nov 18, 2012)

So i did an average of 100 again. 


Mean: 29.89
Average: 29.88
Best time: 22.30
Median: 29.82
Worst time: 38.59
Standard deviation: 3.95

Best average of 5: 25.68
77-81 - 23.45 26.03 27.55 (32.15) (22.35)

Best average of 12: 27.37
9-20 - 23.64 (22.90) 27.20 32.71 31.30 29.08 24.43 (33.54) 26.53 26.15 28.26 24.43

took 2 screenshots, one after 50 solves and the other one at the end :


Spoiler















So as you can see i improved every single pb i had to this point  Signature edit here I come!


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## MarcelP (Nov 18, 2012)

Oh wow... I am green with envy here.. Best Ao12 27.37. That is freakin awesom man!!!


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## BenVdd (Nov 18, 2012)

I must admit i was REALLY happy with it  lets hope this won't be the only time I get it


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## MarcelP (Nov 18, 2012)

Nah, in 30 days you will be laughing at these results..  You do agree with me that these Ao100 sessions make you faster he?


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## BenVdd (Nov 18, 2012)

Yeah they do! It started out really great, the first 30 or so solves where the best, broke every record already. Only my Ao5 and ao100 improved in the last 50 solves. 

So far I am pleased with my progress pace ^^ I feel that this is bound to change the closer i get to sub 25


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## Kattenvriendin (Nov 18, 2012)

Well done! Maybe I should do that sometime, the AO100. But it is SO many lol


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## BenVdd (Nov 21, 2012)

did a new average of 12.. started out great. 26.61, 25.61, 25.68, 31.26, 30.95, 24.97, 28.49, 40.71, 33.98, 31.33, 39.22, 29.05 

Around the 40second solve the sun went down and didn't feel like putting the lights on. My eyes took too long to adjust , got a sub 30 as last solve but my average was ruined. 

session avg: 30.22 (σ = 3.96)


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## BenVdd (Nov 22, 2012)

another sub 30 avg of 12 i just did. Not a PB but i did get close to my singles pb. Messed up a U perm a bit on it aswell so I was kinda bummed ^^

Also : only 2 30+ solves


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## MarcelP (Nov 22, 2012)

Nice! Let's see a Ao100 soon  What timer is that?


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## ThomasJE (Nov 22, 2012)

MarcelP said:


> Nice! Let's see a Ao100 soon  What timer is that?



qqtimer.

Also, why don't you just do as many solves as you can, and then take the best Ao12? Nice job!


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## BenVdd (Nov 23, 2012)

because i like to see if I can get an ao12 on any given 12 solves  i do these longer sessions aswell. But if i get this sub30 in 12 solves instead of getting it a couple of times in an ao100 feels better to me  also they take less long 

Going to do an ao100 probably today or tomorrow


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## MarcelP (Nov 23, 2012)

I understand what you mean. I think you are fine with Sub 30 Ao12's now.. You can set aim at sub 25. LOL.. Looking at you progress I guess it will be in less then a few weeks.


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## BenVdd (Nov 23, 2012)

i still need to learn 2 Gperms  so i have set my goal to sub 25 ao100 and learn the friggin Gperms by the end of the year


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## BenVdd (Nov 23, 2012)

so I recieved my white zhanchi 55mm and white lanlan2x2. My recognition sucks on this white zhanchi  But the turning is soooo smooth i love it!


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## MarcelP (Nov 23, 2012)

I had same problem with white cubues. I actually made a poll and more people have that problem. But then I ordered half bright stickers form Cubesmith and now I am faster on my white Zhanchi.


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## BenVdd (Nov 23, 2012)

first 2x2 ao12 : 17.24, 14.45, 14.11, 15.28, 15.56, 11.80, 12.19, 10.45, 16.30, 15.92, 12.24, 13.00 ao12 = 14.08 , ao5 =13.09 .. I am such a noobie


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## MarcelP (Nov 23, 2012)

Actually.. these are quite good times  My Ao12 is around 12 secs but I have not practiced in a long while..

EDIT: I just tested it. I have decrease.. 

Best average of 12: 13.20
1-12 - 13.42 (17.40) (9.42) 14.52 14.70 12.13 14.65 13.22 15.36 11.35 10.51 12.18


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## Kattenvriendin (Nov 24, 2012)

Noobie?! Get going you lol My times are worse than that!

(ok I do use the 3x3 algos and not proper 2x2, that might help  )


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## tengurocks (Nov 24, 2012)

you shoud have gotten the wittwo v1


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## BenVdd (Nov 24, 2012)

i do use the 3x3 algs aswell kattenvriendin 

And @tengurocks This lanlan works fine for me. and holidays are coming up so i know i will be buying more cubes once they hand over mah money! Also who knows, maybe i'll end up liking the lanlan over the wittwo anyway.


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## Kattenvriendin (Nov 24, 2012)

tengurocks said:


> you shoud have gotten the wittwo v1



No he shouldn't unless he wants to grind coffee beans 

My point: personal tastes differ, mine is different still; I prefer my Shengshou.


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## BenVdd (Nov 24, 2012)

So the recognition on this white cube is getting better, but its a tough switch from a stickerless to this... Almost had a sub30 but those last couple of solves did me in. Gonna do an ao12 2x2 now 


EDIT:

2x2 





not bad, not great


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## YddEd (Nov 24, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> quickly did 4 solves since i didn't have too much time today :_* 27.69, 27.68, 33.19, 26.14 *_ asides from the *33.19 *it was rather consistant. I cleaned out my core yesterday and it shows
> 
> session avg: 27.68



Thats better than me :O


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## BenVdd (Nov 25, 2012)

Did an Ao50 :






broke my single PB and almost got my ao12 pb , so close  

I must say i'm liking this zhanchi. My recognition still needs alot of work on it but it turns so smooth and with ease. Love it.


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## MarcelP (Nov 25, 2012)

Nice! 21.76.. Great times Ben


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## MarcelP (Nov 25, 2012)

Did you save the scramble of your single PB? I am curious..


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## BenVdd (Nov 25, 2012)

no sorry :/ but i know it wasnt a lucky one. Maybe 1 f2l pair was a bit easy but overall not lucky as far as i could tell


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## BenVdd (Nov 25, 2012)

oh apparantly it did save the scramble. 00:21.76 U F2 R2 D2 R2 F2 U' R2 D L B U2 F' D2 U2 L2 B' U F U'
haven't checked to see if its a lucky one yet. i'm lazy 


EDIT: ok it is a pretty easy cross...


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## Kattenvriendin (Nov 25, 2012)

36.51 for me on that one. Pretty good for me hehe.


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## MarcelP (Nov 26, 2012)

I will try tonight after work 

EDIT: I could not wait. In the dark (It's 5:30 in the morning) and still got a 23.79! Nice scramble


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## BenVdd (Nov 26, 2012)

aww is it really such a good scramble, dammit!


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## MarcelP (Nov 26, 2012)

No, it is absolute a NL (None lucky) scramble. Like you said, only one visible pair in upper layer. Cross is not all that lucky. I call lucky 4 moves or less.


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## lcsbiffi (Nov 26, 2012)

I got a 25s with that scramble haha it was a very easy cross


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## BenVdd (Nov 27, 2012)

Just did another timed Ao12 and I broke all my PB's  (except for the ao100 obv. )








So i both ended up with a 19.87 and a 20.31 wich are both better than my previous PB. Scrambles : 

3. 19.87 B2 R2 F2 D U2 L2 U R2 U' F2 L F2 D F' L U2 L B D' R' U2
10. 20.31 F2 L2 D2 L2 U R2 L2 D B2 D' F2 R B U L' F' D' R F U F'


Haven't checked yet but I guess they must have been lucky?

Absolutely loving my new zhanchi btw


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## MarcelP (Nov 27, 2012)

Awesome!!! I am going to try your scrambles later.


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## Geert (Nov 27, 2012)

I've been reading this thread the past days, you are improving quite fast! Keep op the good work!
Have you even been to a competition?


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## BenVdd (Nov 27, 2012)

I haven't been to a competition yet


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## Geert (Nov 27, 2012)

well, hopefully you will in the near future. Competition are so much fun!


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## BenVdd (Nov 27, 2012)

I will probably go to a competition eventually ^^


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## Geert (Nov 27, 2012)

there is one in Frankfurt a few days from now


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## lcsbiffi (Nov 27, 2012)

Omg, you're improving too fast, you have to stop so I can catch up with you hahaha


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## Goosly (Nov 27, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> I will probably go to a competition eventually ^^



2,3 march, close to Hasselt:
Zonhoven Open 2013
We want you to come!


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## ThomasJE (Nov 27, 2012)

lcsbiffi said:


> Omg, you're improving too fast, you have to stop so I can catch up with you hahaha



Agreed. I'm feeling really slow now...


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## BenVdd (Nov 27, 2012)

I'm sure my progress will be put to a halt soon  I think i'm gonna leave the 2 Gperms (the ones where the bar is on the adjecent faces rather than opposite) , don't feel like learning them. They are just a Tperm+Uperm anyway  gonna try to learn some OLLs instead.


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## BenVdd (Dec 5, 2012)

update : Did not learn anything new . did not really time any long sessions.. Guess this update is just to let you know nothing has changed in the last week


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## BenVdd (Dec 10, 2012)

So i did another ao12 out of the blue with very little practice over the last couple of days. Getting dark aswell and i still got a sub 30 (29.83s)
and I feel like i only had a couple of decent solves..
my times were : 30.52, 26.58, 36.76, 31.87, 23.31, 27.49, 34.54, 28.65, 29.65, 27.68, 33.11, 28.17

So I am glad to see that when I feel as tho I am failing I can still get a sub 30. Feels good ^^


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## MarcelP (Dec 10, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> ... can still get a sub 30. Feels good ^^



On bad days I am glad to get sub 40 solves.. LOL


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## BenVdd (Dec 12, 2012)

just did 12 timed roux. results :
stats: (hide)
number of times: 12/12
best time: 45.13
worst time: 1:17.38

current avg5: 56.51 (σ = 4.65)
best avg5: 53.28 (σ = 0.09)

current avg12: 1:01.03 (σ = 9.14)
best avg12: 1:01.03 (σ = 9.14)

session avg: 1:01.03 (σ = 9.14)
session mean: 1:01.07

times :
50.07, 1:17.01, 1:17.38, 54.89, 1:12.72, 1:01.69, 53.39, 53.17, 45.13, 53.28, 1:11.04, 1:03.09


blockbuilding goes slow and unefficient; same for orienting last 8 edges (I never really watched a tutorial for it yet, just do some M U **** untill i get the arrow )


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## MarcelP (Dec 12, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> just do some M U **** untill i get the arrow )



Very nice averages! I do it just like that. Except I have learned a few OLL's that I reconise in that stage Like M U M' U2 M U M'


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## BenVdd (Dec 12, 2012)

did a "First 2 blocks" Average of 12 just now. 
best time: 21.40
worst time: 31.24

current avg5: 26.85 (σ = 0.40)
best avg5: 25.03 (σ = 2.47)

current avg12: 26.47 (σ = 2.67)
best avg12: 26.47 (σ = 2.67)


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## MarcelP (Dec 12, 2012)

I'll try to do also an Ao12 of Blocks only tonight.. It is a lot faster to do a F2L solve and unscramble the M slice..


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## BenVdd (Dec 12, 2012)

yeah , but that feels like cheating  I like the blockbuilding to be honest. Feels good when you do an efficient first block (i suck at second block tho)


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## MarcelP (Dec 12, 2012)

Here is my Ao12 of 'blocks only'
Best average of 12: 28.93
35.12 24.90 28.90 27.94 (47.96) 27.43 32.01 33.41 (16.17) 29.16 26.10 24.31

I am pretty pleased with that. I think the rest of the solves took even more than the blocks.


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## sneaklyfox (Dec 12, 2012)

You guys should do F2B on the Substep Competition.

And lol on doing F2L and then unscrambling M slice.


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## MarcelP (Dec 12, 2012)

sneaklyfox said:


> You guys should do F2B on the Substep Competition.
> 
> And lol on doing F2L and then unscrambling M slice.



Good idea! I will do that one as well.


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## BenVdd (Dec 12, 2012)

That sounds interesting.


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## BenVdd (Dec 15, 2012)

did another ao12 roux
best time: 40.29
worst time: 1:09.28

current avg5: 45.57 (σ = 3.02)
best avg5: 45.57 (σ = 3.02)

current avg12: 50.19 (σ = 6.83)
best avg12: 50.19 (σ = 6.83)

times : 44.77, 55.16, 1:09.28, 40.29, 55.38, 49.07, 54.98, 41.60, 49.83, 1:04.19, 43.76, 43.13

thats alot better than my last attempt  (So close to sub50  )


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## lcsbiffi (Dec 15, 2012)

Nice averages Ben, where did you learn roux ?


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## BenVdd (Dec 18, 2012)

learned roux here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESYJ-DFx0Qo

I havent been practicing enough lately, but my cubesmith stickers arrived yesterday so I put them on and came close to beating my Ao12 PB just now (had a 26.89).


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## BenVdd (Dec 18, 2012)

Okay, decided to continue that ao12 session and made it into an ao50.
And thank God I did!

number of times: 50/50
best time: 21.05
worst time: 33.60

current avg5: 24.57 (σ = 1.78)
best avg5: 23.84 (σ = 0.80)

current avg12: 25.25 (σ = 2.17)
best avg12: 24.74 (σ = 2.29)

session avg: 26.34 (σ = 2.73)


So i broke my ao12, ao5 and ao50 PB .. By alot ^^

Times :

Ao5 : 24.82, (21.05), (31.71), 23.82, 22.87,
ao12 : 21.93, 28.10, 26.66, 22.94, 22.04, 25.82, 28.40, 24.82, (21.05), (31.71), 23.82, 22.87

ao50 : 24.21, 29.32, 24.84, 27.22, 29.58, 30.85, (33.60), 26.76, 28.14, 23.46, 23.40, 25.47, 28.07, 30.20, 26.76, 24.08, 25.78, 28.72, 33.05, 25.98, 28.02, 22.18, 24.78, 29.29, 22.56, 25.46, 26.85, 27.66, 24.71, 24.66, 25.35, 26.29, 31.80, 25.00, 29.20, 22.58, 25.84, 21.93, 28.10, 26.66, 22.94, 22.04, 25.82, 28.40, 24.82, (21.05), 31.71, 23.82, 22.87, 27.03


Edit : A couple more sub 25 ao12s and i'll declare myself to be sub25


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## MarcelP (Dec 18, 2012)

Cool! Sub 25 sounds to grown-up.. LOL I wish I was that fast..:tu


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## BenVdd (Dec 18, 2012)

I am still green of envi of your singles PB. People who are around my average have these amazing singles PB and i only had 2 19.xx solves


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## MarcelP (Dec 18, 2012)

I guess you should practice more to get more lucky scrambles.. LOL.. You need lucky scrambles to get fast singles. That´s why they are singles.


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## BenVdd (Dec 18, 2012)

even with lucky scrambles i can't sub 20 ^^


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## lcsbiffi (Dec 18, 2012)

BenVdd said:


> even with lucky scrambles i can't sub 20 ^^



I thought the same until my 15.xx came up lol keep solving it and they will come up eventually


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## BenVdd (Dec 28, 2012)

did another ao50.

only good thing that came from it was that i broke my PB with 0.01s (lol)
Scramble :
1. 19.86 L2 U L2 B' R' U2 F2 D F' D' F' U R' U' B' R D2 U2 L' U D' L D2 B2 U2


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## MarcelP (Dec 28, 2012)

Nice scramble.. Easy cross.. Messed the rest up though.. I had a 27.04 on that one.

Btw, what was you Ao50?


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## BenVdd (Dec 28, 2012)

high 27 . dont know how high exactly. Didn't save it.


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## lcsbiffi (Dec 28, 2012)

I got a 23.41 with that scramble


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## BenVdd (Jan 20, 2013)

Hi, so i havent been active too much lately (blame my IT exams! ) but i found the time to do a quick Ao5 :
26.75, 26.39, 28.88, 24.83, 23.70 avg :25.99 so no real improvement over the last couple of weeks, but i didn't really get slower either wich is good


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## BenVdd (Feb 11, 2013)

So... I am still alive


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## MarcelP (Feb 11, 2013)

So, no improvement huh?... LOL..


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## lcsbiffi (Feb 11, 2013)

Yeah Ben, you're so far behind I can't even see you  jk dude


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## BenVdd (Feb 11, 2013)

No improvement no  But i have not been practicing to be honest.


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## BenVdd (May 23, 2013)

So i did another random Ao12 

Have not been timing any solves in a very long time and decided to do a quick 12 solves 
Broke my ao3 (20.67)/ao5(21.10)/ao12(23.27) records so it's good to see that i did not get any worse ^^






Still don't know 2 G-perms and havent learned any of the 1look OLLs yet ^^

and i also have to clean out my cube and lube it again. It turns horribly and catches pretty badly in almost every solve. Quite confident it ruined my attempts at breaking my singles PB on those 3 sub 21 solves in a row ^^


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## MarcelP (May 23, 2013)

Hey Ben,

Nice to see you again. Have you been practicing regularly? You are way faster than me


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## BenVdd (May 24, 2013)

I havent, but i'm not color neutral! 

I do still cube in my free times like while watching tv shows or riding the bus. But not in a speedy manner. It probably did help my F2L a wee bit


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## BenVdd (May 30, 2013)

second timed solve of the day 






thought i was never going to break my singles PB.. even tho it is not much better


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## MarcelP (May 30, 2013)

Nice Ben!

My fourth solve of today

4. 15.58 D R2 B2 U F2 D' R2 L2 U2 R2 D' F D' B F L' D R2 F2 R F D'

Nice PLL skip


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## BenVdd (May 30, 2013)

trying to make me jealous ? ; )


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## MarcelP (May 30, 2013)

BenVdd said:


> trying to make me jealous ? ; )



Of course...! LOL, I do not have many sub 20's. But sub 16 are extremely rare. I think this is my third or fourth sub 16 solve ever..


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## BenVdd (May 30, 2013)

Nice! even if i have a lucky solve i don't get close to that


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## BenVdd (Jun 3, 2013)

Had a PLL skip and broke my lucky PB (wich was worse than my normal PB lol)






EDIT ; 
not short after on a NL solve: 






consider me a happy boy  F2L was relatively easy tho

scramble: L2 R2 D2 B' F2 R B' D U2 L D' L2 B2 R' U2 R U L2 D2 F2 L F U2 L2 R'


EDIT2 : 

these where the stats of my session followed by the times


Spoiler



stats: (hide)
number of times: 23/23
best time: 16.52
worst time: 27.85

current avg5: 23.05 (σ = 0.99)
best avg5: 19.33 (σ = 1.70)

current avg12: 22.78 (σ = 2.26)
best avg12: 22.09 (σ = 2.81)

session avg: 23.19 (σ = 2.49)
session mean: 23.11


25.84, 23.68, 26.56, 25.10, 21.32, 25.76, 23.77, 25.01, 21.67, 16.52, 23.59, 20.58, 20.48, 16.93, 27.85, 26.80, 23.41, 21.62, 26.03, 19.76, 23.36, 21.72, 24.08



wont be adding these to my PBs cuz of the lucky solve. would feel like cheating.. will edit my singles PB tho


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