The Economist:

Since the start of abstinence-only programs, the federal government has spent over $1.5 billion on them, but the United States still has one of the highest teen-pregnancy rates of any developed country.

What more is there to say?
__________

Tags: ignorance, ranting

So AOL won't let me change the email address associated with my AIM account. Which is just plain dumb, since that address (mjharper@mac.com) is as dead as dead can be. Gone the way of the dodo. Expired, shuffled off this mortal coil. That sort of thing.
__________

Tags: ranting, internet

Last month, Apple introduced the new aluminium MacBooks, which feature vastly improved graphics cards and significantly higher performance. The relation between the new MacBooks and the old white plastic MacBooks is more or less the same as between the old 12” iBooks and PowerBooks of a few years ago: same size, different cases, and very different innards. Although the white MacBook line wasn’t discontinued completely, it did receive a large price drop—from €1,099 to €940.

Just to summarise—in case you’re confused—there are two important facts here: the new aluminium MacBooks are considerably better than the old white MacBooks; and the old white MacBooks were made considerably cheaper.

However, according to the salesperson in the Vobis store in Magdeburg, the only difference between the two models is the case: one is plastic, the other metal. Oh, and the white MacBooks still cost €1,099, and here’s the invoice to prove it.

Or, in other words: we’re money-grubbing parasites who will lie to you and then charge you too much money.

Screw you, as they say in France.
__________

Tags: ranting