Random Ramblings to 31 January 2010

Acetylcholine
A chemical in the body which transmits messages between a neuron and the nearby cells (a neurotransmitter). Its presence will signal muscles to contract. Nerve agents prevent its breakdown, causing muscles (including those in the heart and lungs) to contract uncontrollably. Atropine, the toxin of deadly nightshade and an antidote of nerve agents, prevents cells from detecting acetylcholine, causing muscles to relax uncontrollably at high doses. Its chemical formula is C₇H₁₆NO₂.

The skeletal formula for acetylcholine.

Resources and Their Sources

Accounting is a practice that allows someone (or something, in the case of an organisation), the accounting entity, to keep track of their economic and financial details. It involves accounting for their economic resources, as well as the sources from which they are obtained.

In early accounting practice, businesses would keep separate lists of their resources and sources. It was soon discovered that both can be linked. Thus came double-entry accounting, where every transaction that is recorded would recognise both and implicitly relate the two together.

All accounting entities strive to accumulate resources, while being careful of how they finance them. Those resources help to satisfy the accounting entity’s economic wants by providing economic benefits.

Components of Latency

Latency (in computer networking) is the amount of time that passes between connected computer's sending an instruction to a server and its receiving of a response from it. In an MMO like World of Warcraft, it greatly affects how much a player enjoys the game. In a raiding scenario, a delay of more than 500ms (half of one second) is usually considered unacceptable.

While network latency is a significant component of the total delay, it is not the only one. In any case where signals need to be sent from one physical place to another, a time delay will exist, no matter how short the link or how fast the signals can travel.

Five reasons to like Moonkin

World of Warcraft's portrayals of things are noticeably cartoony when compared to real life equivalents. Moonkin (also known as owlbears) and druids in Moonkin Form are no different, being any combination of cute, adorable, cuddly, pitiable and likeable.

1. Wide abdomen
Much like the bear, the moonkin has a wide profile. Also, much like the owl, the moonkin is covered with soft, fluffy feathers. These appeals to the hugger's touch.

Riding Out the Swarm

The Heroic Anub'arak encounter places great strain on a 10-man raid attempting it. Teams with a relatively weak dps team may choose to bring two healers into it, placing a great burden on the healing team during Phase 3.

Phase 3 is notorious for Leeching Swarm that Anub'arak keeps up during this time. This is coupled with a heavily ticking Penetrating Cold debuff cast on three random players. Due to high-hitting melee attacks and Freezing Slash, one healer usually must focus 100% on healing the main tank, leaving the other healer handling the raid and the offtank. That raid healer has a hard job, though a few tips and tricks may make it much easier.

WoW Mathematics: Fatally Attracted to You

Back in the Burning Crusade era, Mother Shahraz was notorious for the encounter's high Shadow Resistance requirement and her femininity. She would also, at random times, cast Fatal Attraction on three random non-tank players.

Despite having Shadow Resistance at the cap, the damage is still great, and the unlucky trio need to separate promptly if they are to survive. It may be useful to know, given a certain set of vectors and using calculus, how fast they are moving away from each other...

Father rescues son from Icecrown Citadel

The Deathbringer Saurfang encounter provides for a very tantalising and moving lore moment. Not only is the more recent death knight dilemma explored, but also it draws from history as far back as the First War.

A father (Varok Saurfang, also known as High Overlord Saurfang ingame) talks to the reanimation of his son (Dranosh Saurfang, the Younger), the latter of which is obstructing the former's passage. A commentary on the more detailed Horde version of the dialogue is offered in a Q&A format.

High Overlord Saurfang yells: Kor'kron, move out! Champions, watch your backs! The Scourge have been...
Deathbringer Saurfang yells: Join me, father. Join me and we will crush this world in the name of the Scourge. For the glory of the Lich King!