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This isn't hyper-d related, but I've occasionally checked up on the public
release of "olympic cubes", which now look to be called v-cubes. I just
happened to check again this weekend, saw they were available, and ordered a
7x7x7 for myself :) I imagine many in this group would be interested, so I
thought I'd help get the word out to those who might not know. It looks
like the 6^3 and 7^3 were offered for purchase for the first time on 6/19.
When I ordered last night, their inventory listing said they had 63 of of
the 7^3 left, and just now it was listed as 54, so they may not last much
longer before another production run must be done!
http://www.v-cubes.com/
Roice
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I recently bought a new megaminx which people might be interested in.
I'd bought one ages ago but now there are a couple of new ones with
lovely plastic tiles instead of stickers. It appears that there are two
versions available: an expensive one from Mefferts
Mefferts version is out of stock and could be hard to find. I got a
Chinese version from Puzzle Proz
$14 but it looks like you can get them for half that price. Here's one
cheap source
and here's another
I haven't handled a Mefferts version yet. Speed solvers seem to prefer
it but it looks rather small to me and the tiles look sort of thick and
lumpy. I like the look and size of the Chinese version better. The
action is very stiff at first but loosens. I haven't lubed it yet but I
bet that will help a lot. It locks up easily but that's not hard to deal
with. I saw a YouTube video by someone describing how to round the sharp
internal parts to minimize that.The most interesting part to me is that
it has little bumps and holes inside that let it snap into place as you
twist. Oh, and it has 12 unique colors but the two shades of green are
annoyingly similar. The good news is that they can't get mixed up.
I'm really happy with my new puzzle and especially happy that I've been
able to solve it on my own. It takes hours but I'll get better.
-Melinda
Roice Nelson wrote:
> This isn't hyper-d related, but I've occasionally checked up on the
> public release of "olympic cubes", which now look to be called
> v-cubes. I just happened to check again this weekend, saw they were
> available, and ordered a 7x7x7 for myself :) I imagine many in this
> group would be interested, so I thought I'd help get the word out to
> those who might not know. It looks like the 6^3 and 7^3 were offered
> for purchase for the first time on 6/19. When I ordered last night,
> their inventory listing said they had 63 of of the 7^3 left, and just
> now it was listed as 54, so they may not last much longer before
> another production run must be done!
>
> http://www.v-cubes.com/
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I recently bought a new megaminx which people might be interested in.
I'd bought one ages ago but now there are a couple of new ones with
lovely plastic tiles instead of stickers. It appears that there are two
versions available: an expensive one from
model. I think the Mefferts version is out of stock and could be hard
to find. I got a Chinese version from
it looks like you can get them for half that price. Here's
cheap source and
another.
I haven't handled a Mefferts version yet. Speed solvers seem to prefer
it but it looks rather small to me and the tiles look sort of thick and
lumpy. I like the look and size of the Chinese version better. The
action is very stiff at first but loosens. I haven't lubed it yet but I
bet that will help a lot. It locks up easily but that's not hard to
deal with. I saw a YouTube video by someone describing how to round the
sharp internal parts to minimize that.The most interesting part to me
is that it has little bumps and holes inside that let it snap into
place as you twist. Oh, and it has 12 unique colors but the two shades
of green are annoyingly similar. The good news is that they can't get
mixed up.
I'm really happy with my new puzzle and especially happy that I've been
able to solve it on my own. It takes hours but I'll get better.
-Melinda
Roice Nelson wrote:
type="cite">
the public release of "olympic cubes", which now look to be called
v-cubes. I just happened to check again this weekend, saw they were
available, and ordered a 7x7x7 for myself :) I imagine many in this
group would be interested, so I thought I'd help get the word out to
those who might not know. It looks like the 6^3 and 7^3 were offered
for purchase for the first time on 6/19. When I ordered last night,
their inventory listing said they had 63 of of the 7^3 left, and just
now it was listed as 54, so they may not last much longer before
another production run must be done!
--------------080406010905040502090301--
The stock seems to have risen into the 250s, so I think we're good for
a while. At $75, I need to really consider the worth of purchasing the
7x7x7.
After shipping from Greece and the $5 mandatory paypal fee it's almost=20
$120. That's really tough to justify... I guess I'm sticking to=20
solving them on the internet for now.
--- In 4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com, "spel_werdz_rite"=20
>
> The stock seems to have risen into the 250s, so I think we're good=20
for
> a while. At $75, I need to really consider the worth of purchasing=20
the
> 7x7x7.
>
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I've finished a couple books recently that I highly enjoyed and are apropos
to the group.
The Shape of Space
Jeffrey Weeks
This does not require a deep math background - it is described as being at a
high school level, but I really learned a ton and enjoyed it immensely. It
is chock-full of dimensional analogy, interesting abstractions, and very fun
to read with big, easy text and lots of pictures! It has also generated a
number of thoughts for possible additional Rubik analogues in my mind.
Briefly describing, the flexibility of topology opens up whole new worlds
here, and if you abstract the original cube as just a 6-cell of faces on a
topological sphere, all of a sudden there a veritable infinite number of new
puzzles one could make. I've discussed possibly coding with my brother a 3D
puzzle based on cell divisions of hexagons on a topological torus (e.g. a
12-cell is one option we did some sketches of; btw, the hexagonal
tiling turns out to be important because 3 cells still meet at each
vertex). In the presentation we envision, the faces would have to stretch
and deform when twisting due to the non-uniform curvature of a torus, but we
hypercubists definitely don't care about such appearances on our screen ;)
King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxter, the Man Who Saved
Geometry
Siobhan Roberts
This is a biography of Donald Coxeter, a new intellectual hero of mine after
reading it. I really love the genre of mathematical/scientific biographies,
and this is a good one. The book is much more history than math, with
plenty of enjoyable anecdotal stories about Coxeter and his peers (Hardy,
Einstein, Von Neumann, etc.). Overall it is an engaging, sweet portrait of
someone enthralled with polytopes for his entire life.
Hope this finds you all well,
Roice
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ly enjoyed and are apropos to the group.
9&sr=3D8-1" target=3D"_blank">The Shape of Space by Jeffrey Weeksdiv>
g at a high school level, but I really learned a ton and enjoyed it immense=
ly. It is chock-full of dimensional analogy, interesting abstractions=
, and very fun to read with big, easy text and lots of pictures! It h=
as also generated a number of thoughts for possible additional Rubik analog=
ues in my mind. Briefly describing, the flexibility of topology opens=
up whole new worlds here, and if you abstract the original cube as just a =
6-cell of faces on a topological sphere, all of a sudden there a veritable =
infinite number of new puzzles one could make. I've discussed pos=
sibly coding with my brother a 3D puzzle based on cell divisions of hexagon=
s on a topological torus (e.g. a 12-cell is one option we did some sketches=
of; btw, the hexagonal tiling turns out to be important because =
3 cells still meet at each vertex). In the presentation we envision, =
the faces would have to stretch and deform when twisting due to the non-uni=
form curvature of a torus, but we hypercubists definitely don't care ab=
out such appearances on our screen ;)
9&sr=3D1-1" target=3D"_blank">King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxter, th=
e Man Who Saved Geometry by Siobhan Roberts
after reading it. I really love the genre of mathematical/scientific=
biographies, and this is a good one. The book is much more history t=
han math, with plenty of enjoyable anecdotal stories about Coxeter and his =
peers (Hardy, Einstein, Von Neumann, etc.). Overall it is an engaging=
, sweet portrait of someone enthralled with polytopes for his entire life.<=
/div>
Roice
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