:buried treasure: /n./ A surprising piece of code found in some
program. While usually not wrong, it tends to vary from
{crufty} to {bletcherous}, and has lain undiscovered only
because it was functionally correct, however horrible it is. Used
sarcastically, because what is found is anything *but*
treasure. Buried treasure almost always needs to be dug up and
removed. "I just found that the scheduler sorts its queue using
{bubble sort}! Buried treasure!"

:burn-in period: /n./ 1. A factory test designed to catch
systems with {marginal} components before they get out the door;
the theory is that burn-in will protect customers by outwaiting the
steepest part of the {bathtub curve} (see {infant
mortality}). 2. A period of indeterminate length in which a person
using a computer is so intensely involved in his project that he
forgets basic needs such as food, drink, sleep, etc. Warning:
Excessive burn-in can lead to burn-out. See {hack mode},
{larval stage}.

Historical note: the origin of "burn-in" (sense 1) is apparently
the practice of setting a new-model airplane's brakes on fire, then
extinguishing the fire, in order to make them hold better. This
was
done on the first version of the U.S. spy-plane, the U-2.

:burst page: /n./ Syn. {banner}, sense 1.

:busy-wait: /vi./ Used of human behavior, conveys that the
subject is busy waiting for someone or something, intends to move