Can someone tell me what the heck this is?

[RandomHavoc]

I've had this MBP for less than a year (running Mountain Lion) and now this is happening. If the power button is accidentally tapped even for a fraction of a second these things pop up on the screen and I don't know how to get rid of them except to shut it down and restart.
What is it, and should I take advantage of my warranty about this? Thanks.

 

[Ledgem]

See this thread. Try a PRAM reset.

 

[RandomHavoc]

See this thread. Try a PRAM reset.

You're the man! That fixed it

 

[Spikeywan]

I'm going to give this a try for a different issue. Do you lose anything, like settings or whatever when you reset the PRAM?

 

[Brian Y]

I'm going to give this a try for a different issue. Do you lose anything, like settings or whatever when you reset the PRAM?

Things like volume/brightness.