NEWS
New skill I learned while being snowed in.
I was snowed in during the week before and most of the week of Christmas. We had almost two feet of snow, which is unheard of around here. We usually get 2-4 inches a couple times a year.
Like always, when there's nothing to do, one turns to the internet for ideas. I decided that I wanted to learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube. By the end of the first day, I was able to solve it, but only while looking at directions. By day two, I was able to get it about half solved without looking at the directions. By day three, I had memorized the moves and was able to do it alone.
Since then, I'm able to solve it in an average of 2 minutes, 10 seconds, with a best time of 1:50. (Edit: 5/14/09 I now average 1:17 and my fastest is a minute flat. I've improved on the process, learning shortcuts, executing some of the moves with the cube rotated, and determining when to run a procedure backwards to save time) Here's the site that I used: http://rubikssolver.com (Edit: 5/14/09 This site now requires you to pay $3.95 for the second half of the solution.)
Wayne