On Dec 15, 2008, at 3:44 PM, steven shingler wrote:

> On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 3:31 PM, Matthew Moss <matt / moss.name> wrote:
>
>>
>> On Dec 15, 2008, at 9:19 AM, peter / rubyrailways.com wrote:
>>
>> Is it possible to post a solution already? (I guess the question is
>>> poetical, just strange that no one posted one yet - was it so  
>>> hard, or no
>>> one has time amidst the pre-XMas craze, or... ?)
>>>
>>
>> Perhaps a little harder than it may appear, or as you suggest,  
>> people may
>> be busy. In the worst case, a brute force solution should be easy  
>> to do.
>
>
> Seeing as how this quiz has been so quiet, here's a v quick (and  
> very brute
> force!) attempt: http://pastie.org/339925 - - please be kind! :)


Minor point... I probably wasn't clear by "minimize group duplication."

In your code, you use dup_count in an attempt to avoid having a  
particular recipient's gift contain duplication candles. Actually, I  
like this requirement, although it wasn't what I meant. (Other subs:  
please try and make each gift without candle duplication.)

What I meant is that if I give Janet garden/lavender/orange, I should  
not also give Nancy garden/lavender/orange. I want a distinct  
combination for each recipient.