everyone's New Writeups

Basal cell nevus syndrome (thing)

2008-01-11T14:30:12Z

Sometimes referred to as Gorlin's disease, basal cell nevus syndrome is an extremely rare genetic condition which affects the skin, eyes, bones, and endocrine system. Its primary effect is basal cell carcinoma when the patient nears puberty, tumors (primarily the brain), and various forms of cystosis such as cysts in the jaw or inner ear. The disease is serious but not life-threatening, and can be treated. Its incidence is about 1 in every 60,000 persons.

The disease is autosomal - only one parent needs to pass on the gene to affect the child. Patients with the disease generally display larger foreheads, a heavy brow ridge, protruding jaw, and generally a wider face than normal. They may suffer from hydrocephalus, epilepsy, brain tumors, scoliosis, and numerous skeletal abnormalities. Because of its debilitating effect on bone growth, spontaneous fractures and growth deformities are common. In some cases, cataracts, blindness,…

Thyreophora (thing)

2008-01-10T15:07:18Z

These would be the tanks.

Thyreophora is the suborder of dinosaurs (order: Ornithischia) that includes Stegosaurus and Anklyosaurus. Its name comes from the Greek meaning "shield bearing", and that pretty much describes the group's chief characteristics: bony armor from head to tail ensured maximum protection and defense for the group. They existed primarily during the Jurassic and Cretacious periods.

Despite their warlike look and spiky countenances, members of the Thereophora clade were herbivorous. They generally had low centers of gravity (relatively speaking) and walked on four legs. They exhibited herdlike tendencies, and are generally seen as ancestors of the modern ungulates such as the cow and pig. They are also a sister group to the Cerapods, the group including Hadrosaurs and Triceratops.

Colbronde (person)

2008-01-09T00:17:21Z

In old English legend, Colbronde (or Colbrand) was a Danish giant who hounded the English people and collected tribute who was subsequently killed by Sir Guy of Warwick. Whether or not Colbronde actually existed, the symbolism and veneration of the fight in English folklore suggests that the battle between Guy and the giant was based on an actual historical event of some sort.

In Chaucer's poem, he is described as being so mighty and large with his armor on that no horse can carry him, and he marches onto the field on foot to square off against Guy. He strikes Guy so hard he breaks his shield, but Guy returns with his own pounding blow, cracking open the giant's armor at the shoulder and driving his sword into his chest. Even in his dying throes, Colbronde again strikes out against Guy, but the legendary swordsman takes the blow on his helmet and then finishes the job.

Colbronde (along with his killer) also…

ARP Table (thing)

2008-01-07T20:11:47Z

Everything You Need to Know About ARP Tables

ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.
An ARP table maps the connection between IP addresses (software) and MAC addresses (hardware), thereby tying a mysterious IP address to an real-world physical connection.
ARP tables have the advantage of being cached, so if repeated requests are sent by the same computer to another computer on a network, the signal gets sent more reliably. After a set amount of time, info in the ARP table expires to ensure freshness and correctness.

And that's it, that's all you need to know.

Something You Do Not Need To Know About ARP Tables, But Script Kiddies Do

Within an internal LAN, entire ARP tables can be passed from any single workstation to any other workstation. So if workstation A sends out an ARP request hunting workstation B, but the request bumps into workstation C first, and it…

Delayed penalty (thing)

2008-01-07T19:41:38Z

In hockey, a delayed penalty is a minor penalty in which play is allowed to continue as long as the nonoffending team retains possession of the puck. This is done so that the opposing team cannot commit an off the puck infraction an stop an offensive attack already in progress. To indicate a delayed penalty, the referee lifts his arm straight in the air. If the nonoffending team manages to score before the penalty takes effect, the penalty is negated.

This rule alllows for a small but interesting part of hockey strategy: since play is dead once the offending team takes possession of the puck, they cannot score during the delayed penalty¹. As a result, the nonoffending team's goalie will quickly sub out and be replaced by an extra attacker, making the game essentially 6-on-5 for the duration of the delay.

1. The offending team can in fact score on a delayed penalty, but only by having the nonoffending team put the puck into their own…

Pergamus (person)

2007-12-17T20:36:35Z

Pergamus was an ancient Greek warrior, the son of Pyrrhus and Andromache. He is most known for waltzing into the kingdom of Teuthrania (located in modern day Turkey near the Aegean coast), challenging its king to a feat of strength, killing said king, and renaming the place (and its capital) after himself. Today the city still stands and is known as Bergama.

Long after his death, the term "Pergamus" became synonymous with "mountain" (and may be the source for the German word berg) and the city of Troy's citadel was named Pergamus in a fashion. The Book of Revelations mentions both Troy and Pergamus with respect to the coming Apocalypse.

The great physician Galen hailed from the city of Pergamus. In the year 399, Xenophon captured Pergamus for the Greeks, but it was recaptured by the Persians shortly thereafter. When the citizens of the town revolted, they were punished harshly by their Persian overlords, and thus it is often that you see…