It would appear as though my epic journey has been pulled to a halt. This of which in such a depressing manor makes the tragedy more humiliating. For there is a Russian soul working long hours, completely unaware of the ultimate stress and set back she bestowed among this forum. So basically what happened is while I'm at school, every other week this woman comes to clean my house and she can only speak Russian and stuff. So I left my EXAMINX out on my desk, with two faces fully stickered by the way. Then I got home from school, and found that there was a plastic gallon bag sitting on my desk filled with WSF pieces. At first I thought it was just a bunch of pieces from other prototypes I've been working on, but when I looked at it I realized they were EXAMINX pieces. So I just started flipping out and I tipped over my bed and started beating a pillow, but I didn't care; because I was angry, and I still am. My hours and hours of work I put in over the course of 1 and 1/2 years all brought me back to square one. So I'm making this proposition for a little help. You forumers are far wiser than I am, maybe not in puzzles, but in life. I'm still only 15 and not really sure what to do, but I need a plan. Should I forgive, and rebuild; or should I negotiate. Here's a picture in case you were wondering. Small children may want to look away. Oh and by the way, the core is no longer usable.

OMG. I saw the title in the recent posts and inhaled deeply and went "huuuuuuh!"

One does not simply forgive EXAMINX destroyers

Stuff like this happens. You can always reprint any broken or missing pieces. The cost of replacing parts should pale in comparison to the initial print cost.

Is it in inappropriate to suggest that you buy a ... and .... the ........ .... ...?

You are only 15, in less time than you think you will look back on this disaster and laugh! But now I am crying with you. Your immediate reaction to events like this are always emotional and nearly always wrong. So, my advice is to take a break, keep calm and carry on

If she works for your family then there must be some sort of contract involved about damaging your property. Talk to your parents about it, see if you can get money for replacing the broken parts.

Other than that, I'd try to calm down and be productive about this. Yes, this must be a huge setback for you, but you're definitely not at square 1. You've still got all the design and most of the printing done, plus the experience of putting it together once should make the second attempt go smoother. Hell, you've even stickered two sides. Don't give up, learn from your mistakes and move on.

My advice is to order a new core now, then put on headphones with a good audiobook, a podcast or some music, get out a bunch of cups, and start sorting out the pieces, with only the sorting in mind for now. Before long, you'll be done sorting, and you can think about the next step. Just take one thing at a time and I bet you'll be surprised how fast it goes.

Absolutely reassemble it! Just take your time.

Also, not quite to the same degree of destruction, but remember the first petaminx was thrown by my toddler (scroll down a bit):
http://twistypuzzles.com/forum/viewtopi ... 83#p149483

EDIT- how much is a new core going to cost? If a moderator would manage it, I'd donate to the cause.

R.I.P. Examinx.

For someone who has the talent with 3D printing, you can jut rebuild. It will take a lot of work, yes, but so did the first Teraminx and Petaminx, I'm sure.

This is really, hundreds(?) of hours of work destroyed. I hope that you can find the time to replace any broken parts and reassemble it.

This is a really bad idea. Stuff like this happens, it could just as well have been any family member who knocked it down. Unless she did it on purpose I wouldn't dream of seeking compensation. If you're working in a laboratory and break an expensive glass vial then your employer can't expect to get compensation from you - it's to be expected that a laboratory worker would break some vials while doing his job. In the same way, it is unavoidable that a janitor will fumble and break something: maybe an (in-) expensive vase, a piece of glassware or in this case - a very precious puzzle. If they hadn't hired this janitor then it could very well have been his mom doing the cleaning who knocked it down.

You spelled EXAMINX wrong by the way

I can imagine how depressing while facing this situation but I think......Life must go on! So may be you should just forgive her. We can't prevent any loss through out our life. Anyone does. So take a break, may be even a very long break, and then reassemble it! Your creation!

It's a real shame that this happened, but I'm with Tom. You really can't ask her to replace the puzzle. Over the years Miss N. has broken quite a few puzzles...plastic and wood alike. I've never once asked for compensation. Cursed a bit yes, but never demanded money. Stuff happens and while it sounds so cliche and hurts now, it WILL make you a better person if you forgive and forget.

Awww I am SO sorry that that happened


If she works for a company, then that company should be insured. I am, thank goodness, insured through the employer; anything that breaks when I am working with clients.. their insurance will pay for it.

How unfortunate this happened, and what a wonderfully kind offer you got there for the reprinting.

Take a deep breath and know: assembling always goes faster the second time around. I know this from experience so you can take my word on that.


Hopefully soon your puzzle will be completed again

I like this idea. I would donate and help out anyway I can. Maybe this becomes a new initiative, "Examinx Rebuild Around The World"!

This is a tough setback, but persistence is an excellent quality; it can get you through a lot of things in life and it can get you through this. Some projects are so compelling that they should continue no matter what and I think that your Examinx is one of those projects. Besides the core, did anything else break and how confident are you that you have all of the pieces?

To everyone who wants to chip in-I am very happy to see you all care so much and are willing to pitch in. I wish everyone were like that. That's why this forum is so awesome. But this is my project, and for the time being I think it is best to fix it by myself. It probably will be a few years until you see it completed. Hopefully I can get it done by the end of summer, but at the time being I need to focus on scoring well on the SAT's and making it into a good collage. And at the moment I am working on a HUGE project, bigger than the EXAMINX which has been distracting me.

Why will it take so long to finish it? Don't you still have the CAD files? You could simply have Shapeways reprint the broken or missing parts.

I definitely think you should take a step back from not just the EXAMINX, but puzzle building in general. After a while your thoughts will be calm again and it will be possible for you to attempt a second shot if you desire to. Everyone comes across these stressful hardships in life and the best thing to do is to let them go.

I have no inside information but I predict someone else will make this puzzle before the end of 2013. That may not be important to you but something you should consider.
Other people have suggested chipping in to help with costs. Since the advance in puzzle making is faster than the reduction in printing costs I can see big collaborations being the way forward.

Hey it's Jared from the competition in Lexington, I had just found out I did not have school today and so I thought I would go on twistypuzzles and see what people had posted, but When I saw what you wrote, my jaw dropped. I can not believe that a Russian ladie who cleans a house every other week could do so much damage like that!!! I'm sure she really does not know what she has done but if I were you, I would order the parts that broke and make her pay how ever much money it is. After that, just build it again and find a safe place to store it in. Good luck.

My advice on forgiveness: Try, if you can.

I don't think this was done on purpose, and I can imagine she felt pretty awful about it. It seems she took the time to put it in a bag, hopefully getting all the parts. I don't imagine house cleaning is an overly lucrative occupation so I wouldn't think to pursue money as a remedy. The loss is really in your time, and she can't help you there.

I'm guessing an apology is in order, perhaps she already did to your parents. And clearly the message of "please be more careful" should be implicit.

Long ago in my cube mosaic time I was half way done with a portrait of my son when someone tilted the frame and they all fell out.
It was a co-worker's mother, visiting the office on a weekend and she wrote me a note saying sorry. What does one do? The loss of time was... significant. But sometimes these things happen. Holding it against the person responsible doesn't usually help when it was an accident.

Dave

Can't wait to see the....... 19x19x19?