Random Eyes!

[muckefuck]

Oh, how well some people know me!

I'm still working on a way to generate an entry made up of random elements. I suppose the most mathematically consistent way would be to take the set of all my liveJournal subentries past and future, assign each member sequential integers starting with 1, and then generate random numbers between 1 and X (where X is the total number of entries in the set) to determine which are posted together. Of course, there are some difficulties with this approach, mostly tied to going against the flow of the current time-space continuum.

But how's this for something of an approximation?

1. Generate several random three-digit numbers.
2. Look up the corresponding three-digit class number in the Dewey Decimal System and find the area of knowledge it designates.
3. Write a short entry of varying length on a topic within each area.

For instance, say one of the numbers is "666", which corresponds to "Ceramic and allied technologies". Then I write an entry on my father's recent ceramic tour of China or Sunday's conversation about Jingdezhen with the proprietor or a North Chinatown shop or my Korean celadon tea cups. It's far from perfect, since there's still ultimately a lot of human selection involved, but it's much closer than the typical use of "random" in LJ entries, which typically means no more than "diverse" or "not obviously related to neighbouring elements".

If anyone out there has a reliable method for generating three-digit numbers (I've been told that computer-based methods, such as that Unix command I used to use, evince subtle biases), post a view and I'll assemble an entry for tomorrow. ("Got dragon dice?") Or if you math-types reading this have a better idea for randomising entries, hit me with it.