Message #616

From: markoram109 <markoram109@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Melinda solves the cube
Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:09:05 -0000

Wonderful news Melinda. Many congratulations, and I trust you will
enjoy your bragging rights to the full :)

Also, to echo Jay, thank-you for everything you have done to make
this group exist in the form it does, and for all your efforts to
create (and now solve!) these amazing objects.

— In 4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com, Melinda Green <melinda@…> wrote:
>
> I have a particularly fun announcement to make tonight which is
that I
> have finally solved the 4D cube. It might surprise many of you
that I
> had never before solved this puzzle that I’d helped to write but
it’s
> true. It’s been over 20 years since Don Hatch and I wrote the
first
> working version so it’s been something of an embarrassment to me
to have
> never actually solved it. Well, with the number of solvers fast
> approaching 100 I decided to give up my hopes of solving it
entirely on
> my own and learn Roice’s solution. Even with the heavy use of
macros it
> still took me five nights and 1844 twists to achieve. Even with
all the
> tools it was difficult and sometimes frightening for me. I’m very
happy
> to have finally checked off one of the important things that I had
> wanted to achieve before I die. I also come away with ideas for a
few
> improvements that I want to make to the program. Thanks to all of
you
> for all of your encouragement and great ideas. This program is one
of my
> proudest accomplishments and my solution is the icing on the cake.
I’ve
> uploaded that solution a snapshot of the final screen to the Yahoo
site
> in case anyone’s curious. Your suggestions for how to improve my
> solution method are most definitely *not* welcome as I have no
desire to
> try for a shortest record or to tackle the larger puzzles! :-)
> Actually I know that subsequent solutions will be much easier now
so I
> wouldn’t rule that out but if you ever catch me trying to solve
the 120
> cell or 5D puzzles, please just shoot me!
>
> Thanks again for all your support and for letting me brag about my
> personal accomplishment.
> -melinda
>