alimanfoo

import numpy as np


def find_runs(x):
    """Find runs of consecutive items in an array."""

    # ensure array
    x = np.asanyarray(x)
    if x.ndim != 1:
        raise ValueError('only 1D array supported')

andrewbolster

def random_three_vector():
    """
    Generates a random 3D unit vector (direction) with a uniform spherical distribution
    Algo from http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5408276/python-uniform-spherical-distribution
    :return:
    """
    phi = np.random.uniform(0,np.pi*2)
    costheta = np.random.uniform(-1,1)

    theta = np.arccos( costheta )