NileshBabu

I was reading an article today in one of my favorite publications about how to get free trials without actually using your credit card by generating valid credit card numbers using a simple algorithm called the Luhn check. So I wrote a little script that generates credit card numbers that will be deemed valid by most software checks. This will work because the service won’t know that the credit card is invalid until they actually try to charge it. Well, the card may be valid since my script uses random numbers. Obviously this if for informational purposes only and should never actually be used.

Most credit card numbers are validated using an algorithm called the “Luhn check”. This is a very simple algorithm that doubles the odd digits and does a sum to see if the number is divisible by 10. The credit card companies use a slightly different version that involves a check digit as the last digit. To generate a credit card number that will pass most validation software (as long as they don’t actually try to process the credit card) one only needs to follow these steps to make sure that the generated credit card is valid

1. Do not open emails from strangers. Delete them and you will be safe.
2. Do not click on links in emails from strangers or open the attachments. You should have deleted them before you saw the links.
3. Do not buy anything or take any action based on something you got in an email from a stranger. You should have deleted the email before you read the pitch.
4. For email that has been forwarded to you by your friends, see Rule 1.

Download the PDF from the site for more thorough details.

Sleep well: A well-rested brain is less likely to be distracted.

Eat well: Good nutrition is important to brain functionality.

Minimize stress and anger: it tends to ramp up production of brain chemicals such as norepinephrine and cortisol, which can lead to problems.

Watch out for time wasters: It's easy to fall down the rabbit hole while reading blogs (except this one of course) or online forums. Stay focused by setting time limits for online activity.

Work smarter, not longer: If you're working too hard or long hours without a break, your brain will seek out diversions at some point — whether you want it to or not. Schedule breaks in advance; you're better off putting in six productive hours than of 10 hours of mindless search engine trolling or social networking.

Need to work on "Watch out for time wasters" & "work smarter, not longer"

In the wake of these studies, I think there are three easy techniques that can help to maximise good fortune:

• Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice, whereas lucky people tend to respect hunches. Lucky people are interested in how they both think and feel about the various options, rather than simply looking at the rational side of the situation. I think this helps them because gut feelings act as an alarm bell - a reason to consider a decision carefully.

• Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine. They tend to take the same route to and from work and talk to the same types of people at parties. In contrast, many lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. For example, one person described how he thought of a colour before arriving at a party and then introduced himself to people wearing that colour. This kind of behaviour boosts the likelihood of chance opportunities by introducing variety.

• Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune. They imagine how things could have been worse. In one interview, a lucky volunteer arrived with his leg in a plaster cast and described how he had fallen down a flight of stairs. I asked him whether he still felt lucky and he cheerfully explained that he felt luckier than before. As he pointed out, he could have broken his neck.

By Richard Wiseman who is a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire and author of the The Luck Factor (Century) book

Here are some trends:

• In ten years every OS and application will be "cloudified" - every application will be aware of the elastic, available resources that are in the cloud. He sees these resources as something people can fall back on, like a rental car when you are travelling. Helping with back up and economies of scale.
• Moore's law is alive and well - what are the implications of this? Be careful as you are thinking about cost reduction and cost management, as those costs are dropping dramatically.
• Multitouch and other UI innovations - what can the applications be that support multitouch? Gelsey asks people to let their imaginations run wild with that could look like. What can you do once you have this new UI of gestures?
• Search will be a utility - search as an application or web service. What if your application has access to search, cheaply and ubiquitously. How would that augment what your application brings to the table?