Burrowowl

The chain of fickle overuse of D-mail earlier in the series is starting to take on some gravity as Hououin attempts to unravel the mess he’s got himself mired in. In episode 17 of Steins;Gate we get insight into the motivations and past actions of Feyris, the cosplaying competitive boardgamer.

Years ago in the original timeline, her father had donated an IBN-5100 computer to a local shrine, but subsequent changes have put the device out of our protagonists’ reach. Can they undo the damage they’ve caused? Nobody but Kyouma remembers the old continuity and he didn’t compose or send the D-mail himself. Once they figure out what was sent and why, an ethical dilemma presents itself.

This episode strayed perilously close to sappy and melodramatic territory, but didn’t quite cross the line. Kyouma is left with a greater appreciation for the repercussions of his actions.

There’s been a lot of hubbub lately about the threat of the United States government defaulting on its loans and other financial commitments because congress hasn’t raised the cap on the maximum amount it is allowed to be in debt by law. Scary thoughts like Social Security checks not going on out, Treasury bonds not being paid out upon maturity, Veteran’s Administration hospitals closing their doors, and other calamaties have been put forward as possible repercussions of this political fuss. Here is, quite simply, why this shouldn’t be a problem even if Congress can’t get its act together in the next week or so:

From the U.S. Constitution:

Article. VI.

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Supreme law of the land means that other laws, regulations, and practices are subordinate to the Constitution, and only laws that are consistent with it are valid. Dig down a little further and you find that it has been amended several times. Of particular interest these days is the 14th time it was amended:

AMENDMENT XIV
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.

Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,* and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 4 was meant to distance the Union from debts incurred by the Confederacy leading up to and during the U.S. Civil War, but starts with a clear affirmation that the United States federal government will and must meet any and all of its financial commitments.

In the light of the 14th amendment, the debt ceiling is not valid under Article 6 of the Constitution. If the Republicans want to cut spending, they should past more austere budgets, and shame on President Obama for playing along with the scare-mongering.

A sci-fi show revolving around time travel? That doesn’t involve a TARDIS? That’s good? Yes! Still! Steins;Gate is running strong at 16 episodes, in defiance of my cynical expectations.

In this episode a personal mystery is unraveled, a 35-year-old bicycle changes hand, and somebody dies a long time ago. Good stuff.

Got a speed problem? Check that wiring. No, really. Pull out a couple of screwdrivers and go to town. This morning I put on some Curious George to distract the boys, and my useless second line has never been better.

At issue here was some shoddy internal wire work I did while home on a lunch break a while back. It turns out that having a loose contact at the phone box can reduce your stable ADSL2+ line rates by eighty-three percent or so.

The lousy splice bumped the downstream line attenuation from ~47dB to ~65dB, leaving the circuit extremely sensitive to the RF noises found in the wilds of suburban California. Physically identifying the problem consisted of simply making sure the various contacts involved were firmly screwed down and gently tugging on the wires at an unsightly jellybean splice and at the MPOE. I inadvertently demonstrated to myself that modern fool-proof demarcation point technology is in fact fool-susceptible, provided sufficient foolishness.

The 3mbps line speed shown is the result of having capped my maximum sync rate cautiously, as I’m on a rather long loop from the ILEC’s central office. Normally you’d have to call your ISP to get this adjusted.

Tools required: One phillips-head screwdriver for the biscuit block in my living room, one flat-head screwdriver to open my phone box, one medium-sized self-adhesive bandage for my finger after somehow cutting myself with the phillips-head screwdriver, one TV with a DVR set to maintain a hoard of children’s programming.