Random Restaurant Generator

I'm a geek. While sometimes I try to hide the fact under fancy clothes and proper hygiene, the truth rears it's ugly head from time to time. The following is an example of one such instance of letting my geek flag fly:

So just last night Kerri and I ran into a problem most normal relationships have: the restaurant problem. Now if you have ever tried to go out to eat with other people (not necessarily just a S.O.) you've probably run into this problem before. In fact, the only people I can see not having this problem are (A) People in a master/slave relationship, (B) Clones (although that one's iffy), or (C) members of the borg.

The restaurant problem usually follows one of two forms. Type I is when no one can agree on where to go. The tendency for a Type I problem increases exponentially with the number of people in the group (ironically enough, so does the probability of a homicide as a result). Type II is when no one is willing to pick where to go. Kerri and I most often experience Type II issues, as I expect most couples do. It's a combination of (A) not wanting to step on your partner's toes, and (B) wanting the other person to pick what they want.

Now, while Type I is certainly the most potentially destructive type of problem, Type II creates it's own list of problems. Couples have been known to starve to death because neither individual is willing to make a final decision as to where to eat. Sure, everyone will list possible places to eat, but no one will list what their actual choice is.

Enter the geek solution. I decided that the best way for us to make a decision was simply for us not to decide. I remembered that Excel had a random number generator, perfect for selecting from a list of inputs. Due to my mad Excel skills (it's probably how I do 75% of my work under normal circumstances), I whipped up a (nicely formatted) sheet that could randomly select from a manually entered list of restaurants. We even later came up with ways to segment the list (Bad, Healthy, Formal, Informal) depending on what we feel like eating.

Now, whenever we can't decide (which is pretty much whenever we decide on going out), we consult the list. We each get one chance to re-roll, but after that, the decision is final

So good bye Type II. . .. my geek powers have proven too much for thee. Now on to the next issue: the "What Should We Do Tonight" problem. Excel spreadsheet no. 2 is on its way.