Related:

• priority interrupt n. [from the hardware term] Describes any stimulus compelling enough to yank one right out of hack mode.
  Classically used to des SO for immediate sex, but may also refer to more mundane interruptions such as a fire alarm going off in the near vicinity....
• NMI: /N-M-I/ n. Non-Maskable Interrupt. An IRQ 7 on the PDP-11 or 680[01234]0
  he NMI line on an 80[1234]86. In contrast with a {priority interrupt} (which might be ignored, although that is unlikely), an NMI is *never* ignored....
• pl: /S-P-L/ [abbrev, from Set Priority Level] The way traditional UNIX kernels implement mutual exclusion by running code at high interrupt levels.
  Used in jargon to describe the act of tuning in or tuning out ordinary communication....
• interrupt: 1. [techspeak] n. On a computer, an event that interrupts normal processing and temporarily diverts flow-of-control through an "interrupt handler" routine.
  See also {trap}. 2. interj. A request for attention from a hacker....
• hack mode n. 1. What one is in when hacking, of course.
  2. More specifically, a Zen-like state of total focus on The Problem that may be achieved when one is hacking (this is why every good hacker is part mystic)....
• all-elbows: [MS-DOS] adj. Of a TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) IBM PC program, such as the N pop-up calendar and calculator utilities that circulate on {BBS} system
  unsociable. Used to describe a program that rudely steals the resources that it needs without considering that other TSRs may also be resident....
• NMI /N-M-I/ n. Non-Maskable Interrupt. An IRQ 7 on the PDP-11 or 680[01234]0
  he NMI line on an 80[1234]86. In contrast with a priority interrupt (which might be ignored, although that is unlikely), an NMI is never ignored....
• pl /S-P-L/ [abbrev, from Set Priority Level] The way traditional Unix kernels implement mutual exclusion by running code at high interrupt levels.
  Used in jargon to describe the act of tuning in or tuning out ordinary communication....
• overrun: n. 1. [techspeak] Term for a frequent consequence of data arriving faster than it can be consumed, esp.
  in serial line communications. For example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly one character per millisecond, so if a {silo} can hold only two characters and the machine takes longer than 2 msec to get to service the interrupt, at least one character will be lost....