Derek Scruggs

Last Tuesday evening, June 19, 2007, I learned from my father that my mom had suddenly died from a heart attack earlier that evening. She was 75. There was a front page article about her in the local newspaper, which I’ve reproduced below so I’ll have a permanent archive. The article summarizes her life nicely, […]

Given the explosive accusations by Anonio Taguba in Seymour Hersh’s story about the Abu Ghraib investigation, how come all the secondary coverage seems to be from overseas publications?

Apropos of nothing, here’s a funny cartoon that illustrates the difference between Italy and the rest of Europe. It makes me think that China and Italy have more in common than a love of noodles.
Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of classical music at work. Though I’m an unrepentant fan of sports talk radio, I find that I when trying to solve a hard programming problem it’s easier not to have chatter about Barry Bond and Pacman Jones in the background. Today I’m listening to Henryk Górecki’s Symphony […]

Day 5: Gandhi went to prison. So did Martin Luther King Jr. So did Robert Downey Jr. and Martha Stewart Jr. and I think Nelson Mandela Jr. Mandela was imprisoned for, like, 50 years or something for being black and also for driving an uninsured vehicle, if I’m reading Wikipedia correctly. Nicky often mentions me […]

I didn’t see the debate last night (The election is 17 months away, can’t we just enjoy the summer?) But Andrew Sullivan did, and he believes he saw George Bush’s legacy on display:
He has decisively increased the religiosity of public debate - as well, of course, as its fatuousness. How can we “end poverty” in […]