jayroe

Towel Day is celebrated every May 25 as a tribute by fans of the late author Douglas Adams. The commemoration was first held in 2001, two weeks after his death on May 11, and since then has been extended to an annual event. On this day, fans carry a towel with them throughout the day. The towel is a reference to Adams’ popular science fiction comedy series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Brian, thanks for reminding me, but you told me the wrong day! I guess Thursday was a dry run.

I have read about using lava lamps and the stray firings of CCDs, but this is a new twist to generating true random information:

Yuzoz draws upon computerized data sets from a variety of space probes that have been observing terrestrial weather, auroral displays, solar flares, the solar wind and even Venusian cloud movements. Manber is hoping that the outer-space angle will add a coolness factor to Yuzoz’s random number generator - which, for what it’s worth, has been certified by Technical Systems Testing.

“We’re the first people to brand a random number generator,” Manber said. “And the value that comes from that has to do with trust, transparency, honesty.”

Source: Random Access to the Stars via webjones