Rubiks Cube

Last Christmas I got a Rubiks cube. Originally I thought it would be near impossible to solve, but then I thought maybe youtube would have some video tutorials. After watching a few of the videos I realized that the rubiks cube isn't just a neat puzzle, it's a whole science. They use algorithms to be able to do it without even looking. After finding a video that wasn't so complex I wrote down the steps and I could solve it almost 100% of the time. After being able to do it so easily I just tucked it away and only recently pulled it back out to realize I only remember how to get the first two tiers.

I have yet to memorize the final steps because they all depend on what it looks like and will always be different. Once I master the 3x3x3 cube I am sure I will move on to the 5x5x5.

Rugby

Recently I have decided to join my schools rugby team. Originally there was supposed to be a junior and senior team but as the practices went on some people stopped showing up making us change the team to varsity. After hearing this I was kind of nervous because of playing such a contact heavy sport with seniors.

So far we have only learned the basis of rugby and the special moves. We have started almost every practice so far with a passing drill. We also do some fancy plays like missing one person then the missed person runs to the end of the line to create a 2 on 1 against an opponent.

During practice yesterday the coaches assigned positions. I was assigned to play scrum half. A scrum half must be able to throw well with both hands, kick with both feet, be very good at defense and have good communication. We have not had a game yet and I am going to miss our teams first game but I am looking forward to playing with the team and trying a new sport.

Table

Yesterday I went to the second session of the Woodworking Workshop I posted about earlier with my dad. This time instead of just assembling something we actually got to make something. We both made night tables out of cherrywood. The picture below is a shaker style night table very similar to the ones we built but it is made of walnut instead of cherry.

To make this table we first needed to square out a piece of air dried lumber. If you would like to learn more about squaring stock read this. After squaring our stock we had to glue our three pieces to make the top of our table. To create the skirt of our table we cut four tenons into the pieces of the skirt and four mortises into the legs. This ensured we had a strong joint so the table wouldn't fall apart. After fully assembling it we applied a layer of tung oil to the entire piece.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a new MMORPG. It is based on the amazing movies and other paraphernalia of Star Wars. The game is based 3'500 years before the rise of Darth Vader, and 300 years after the events of the Xbox game Star Wars: Knights of the old republic.

In the game you get to create your own Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Bounty Hunter, Sith Warrior, Imperial Agent, or a Sith Inquisitor. You also get to forge your own character story and determine your path towards the light or dark side of the force. During the game you can become allies with classic Star Wars and even betray them. During the game you get to travel to planets and partake in battles.