I need to generate the complete series of 5 digit numbers. The catch? Can only use even digits (0,2,4,6,8). I'd like to accomplish this in Excel, if possible.
posted by Rock Steady on Dec 12, 2008 - 28 answers

Would it be inappropriate to perform so-called "random acts of kindness" to strangers or the people around me without asking? What about with permission? [more inside]
posted by joshrholloway on Dec 1, 2008 - 21 answers

What's the easiest way to make a Windows Batch file that will randomly choose one section from a file and copy it to a new file? [more inside]
posted by John Kenneth Fisher on Nov 14, 2008 - 10 answers

I need a broken down looking bus in Raleigh NC. How can I find one of those? [more inside]
posted by willie11 on Sep 9, 2008 - 3 answers

Is there any sort of code available / software / how would I design a digital download distribution model for an independant band? [more inside]
posted by Mali on Jun 19, 2008 - 8 answers

Someone asked me if I could use Excel to take a table of information and put it into a new table randomly. Without thinking about it too hard I said "Yeah, I bet I could do that." Turns out I spoke too soon. [more inside]
posted by qldaddy on May 13, 2008 - 7 answers

I would like randomly selected items from a To-Do list to "float to the top" on a regular basis. Ideas? [more inside]
posted by penciltopper on May 6, 2008 - 9 answers

How many times would I have to roll a standard 6-sided die to get a statistically representative view of whether it was truly random or not? [more inside]
posted by bugbread on Apr 30, 2008 - 8 answers

I have a blog and would like to add a "Random Post" button. [more inside]
posted by Jaybo on Apr 27, 2008 - 5 answers

My new iPod Touch will not sequence an album in the proper order. I cue an album, push play, and it shuffles randomly from song to song. Any ideas to get me back on track? [more inside]
posted by prinado on Apr 18, 2008 - 4 answers

I have a large image collection that I use for illustration reference. Are there any programs (I have a mac, but could get access to a PC if there's something cool) that can play with large collections of images in unexpected ways? [more inside]
posted by apetpsychic on Apr 8, 2008 - 6 answers

What are some (and some of the earliest) instances of people shuffling things on purpose to get a random result? [more inside]
posted by obliquicity on Mar 27, 2008 - 15 answers

We fixed an issue with a dim screen on a laptop, but now the keyboard is acting wonky. What's up with that? [more inside]
posted by doomtop on Mar 12, 2008 - 1 answer

I have a moderately-sized pile of papers (say, several dozen) in front of me. What's a quick way of getting them thoroughly shuffled by hand? I am familiar with lots of shuffling algorithms, but they don't work well by hand, and techniques like riffle shuffle that work well with small, stiff cards don't work well with standard sheets of paper.
posted by Wolfdog on Jan 16, 2008 - 12 answers

Do standardized tests (SAT, GRE, LSAT, etc.) use randomly sorted answer choices? [more inside]
posted by bluejayk on Dec 4, 2007 - 15 answers

In UNIX (specifically FreeBSD, if it matters), is there a way to *randomize* the interval and/or size and/or destination of pings? [more inside]
posted by allterrainbrain on Oct 11, 2007 - 9 answers

What are some creative ways of responding to a journal article or lecture, besides the usual "writing an article about the topic"? [more inside]
posted by divabat on Sep 24, 2007 - 14 answers

What is the opposite of a pet peeve? [more inside]
posted by kidsleepy on Aug 14, 2007 - 26 answers

After a short but hitherto blameless existence, my cat has started randomly peeing around the house. Help me figure out if it's health or behavioural issues! [more inside]
posted by ninazer0 on Jun 28, 2007 - 12 answers

So I'm releasing a full-length CD on my brand new record label. And with it, I want to offer a bonus, download-only live EP available to those who purchase the full-length. How the hell am I going to pull that off? [more inside]
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas on Mar 3, 2007 - 19 answers

How do I output random blocks of text in a JSP include? I am not in any way a java/jsp programmer. [more inside]
posted by Kickstart70 on Feb 25, 2007 - 8 answers

Help me find a javascript for selecting an image at random, and then some corresponding text lower down on the page. [more inside]
posted by Marquis on Feb 25, 2007 - 6 answers

How can one cheat and predict the outcome of eenie meenie miny moe? [more inside]
posted by snailer on Jan 29, 2007 - 17 answers

Idiom filter: Party Pants. I was watching Cien Mexicanos Dijeron (the Unavision version of Family Fued) with my girlfriend, when they got to the final stage, where two people try to answer quick questions with the most popular answers. We didn't manage to catch the first contestant's answer, nor the question, and the second contestant was clearly just spitballing with her answer of what we believe was "cepillo de dientes" (toothbrush). According to the the host, the most popular answer was "pantalones festivos." Festive pants? What the hell? [more inside]
posted by klangklangston on Nov 6, 2006 - 28 answers

I'd like to be able to create a playlist in iTunes 6 (Mac, though it shouldn't matter) that picks randomly from the Library but doesn't repeat artists. [more inside]
posted by emelenjr on Aug 12, 2006 - 3 answers

What is the connection between shoe repair and key cutting? [more inside]
posted by grex on Aug 7, 2006 - 38 answers

Dear Mostly-Random-Student-Seating-Filter: Can you think of a tool (or a clever method) for regularly generating new seating assignments for students sitting at tables? Other criteria inside... [more inside]
posted by chr1sb0y on Jul 25, 2006 - 10 answers

How do I travel the West Coast by rail for cheap? I have the general plan mapped out (I want to go north... or south?). I most certainly will see people and places in Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego. Hopefully in a semi-linear fashion with interesting walk-abouts in between. I'm thinking railpass. I'm not really asking for nuts and bolts, I'm asking for [more inside]
posted by tweak on Jun 20, 2006 - 16 answers

Why are shopping carts abandoned? Why do people leave unrelated stuff in random aisles? [more inside]
posted by daninnj on Jun 19, 2006 - 44 answers

Please list sites/pages that are similar to toothpaste's LJ recents and Photobucket's recents. [more inside]
posted by vanoakenfold on Jun 16, 2006 - 6 answers

Displaying multiple random images via JavaScript? [more inside]
posted by chudmonkey on Jun 14, 2006 - 5 answers

My google fu is failing me on these two very random queries: 1) info about a beer commercial from a few years ago where a guy paints himself in a kung fu pose with a giant afro, 2) an image of the painting that the son paints in Wedding Crashers... [more inside]
posted by EnormousTalkingOnion on May 22, 2006 - 6 answers

If you were interviewing passengers on a city bus, what would you ask? [more inside]
posted by airguitar on Mar 30, 2006 - 31 answers

"Your apartment was subject to a management inspection on October 4th. The housekeeping of your apartment was found to be in a very unsatisfactory condition and a fire hazard"... Can our landlord come in to see if we've tidied up unannounced? [more inside]
posted by crabintheocean on Oct 17, 2005 - 26 answers

Is an ipod on shuffle truly random? [more inside]
posted by phirleh on Sep 9, 2005 - 19 answers

Why does the random feature (party shuffle) on my itunes SUCK, IE work very badly.. [more inside]
posted by crewshell on Jul 28, 2005 - 19 answers

Does anyone have a simple, reasonably fair, method for generating random numbers in their head (or with pen and paper)? [more inside]
posted by andrew cooke on Jun 24, 2005 - 16 answers

I am a total html novice. I have ten pages, "page1.html" through "page10.html" that I have already created. I want to have a link ("slide show!") on my home page "index.html" that, once clicked, creates a slide show of "page1" through "10", showing each page for 5 seconds until finished (never showing any page more than once.) I also want the order of the pages to be random (ie showing the slide show in a different order each time the link on "index" is clicked.) Is this possible? If so how in the heck can I do it!?!?
posted by izizi on Jun 1, 2005 - 12 answers

I'm a pretty good balancer (e.g. can stand on one leg for extended periods of time without falling over). However, I've noticed that my balancing ability degrades significantly in the dark (really dark, not just dim). My theory is that it's harder to keep your balance when your eyes don't have something to focus on. Thoughts?
posted by noahv on Mar 25, 2005 - 23 answers

Is there any easy command or application that will randomise lines in a text file? [more inside]
posted by humuhumu on Nov 12, 2004 - 11 answers

What do you want that you are not getting? [more inside]
posted by strangeleftydoublethink on Oct 4, 2004 - 69 answers

I'm looking for a website that generates random names, I believe I may have seen it posted on Mefi, or some other similar website, but I can't be completely sure. It wasn't like on of those, what is your Wu-Name generators, but something where you can actually pick how rare you want the name to be, female, male, first and last names, etc. Does anyone remember this? [more inside]
posted by corpse on May 10, 2004 - 3 answers