From: Ruby Quiz <james@...>
Date: 2007-06-24T13:28:04+09:00
Subject: [QUIZ] LSRC Name Picker (#129)

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As most of you have probably heard, the Lone Star Rubyconf is on the horizon:

	http://lonestarrubyconf.com/

What you haven't heard before now is that the conference organizers need our
help.  As is typical for these events, several gifts will be given away to the
attendees.  Names for the prize recipients need to be selected at random.

That's where this quiz comes in.

The LSRC organizers would like us to build name picking applications they can
choose from.  The functionality is very basic:

	* Your application needs to accept input as a list of attendees.
	  At a minimum, you should accept names, but it might be nice to
	  allow for additional details like the attendee's organization.
	
	* Each time your application is run, it should select and display
	  a single name from the list.  Your application should remember
	  previously selected names and not choose them a second time.

The real quiz is how fancy you can make that process.  The LSRC organizers are
looking for a lot of sex appeal in their name picker.  Solutions that
incorporate the conference name or stars will be given extra consideration.  The
goal is something that will have a room full of attendees entranced when run on
the projector.  Any interface that meets the above criteria will do.

The conference organizers will recognize the author(s) of any selected
solution(s) at the event (your output can also include a byline), which will
surely lead to unending fame.  Fortune may have to follow at a later date.