It was about lunchtime on Wednesday, August 9. We were on the last leg of the hike from Toxaway Lake back to Pettit Lake and home. We hiked in the previous Sunday and had spent three night together on the trail. Over Snowyside Pass from Alice Lake, down into the Toxaway drainage, up on Tuesday to Sandy Mountain and a quick look into the Edna Lake drainage.

With only about three miles to go, it was time for lunch. Plus, my knee hurt, my feet hurt, and I was tired! Even so, the joy, thrill, and beauty of our four days together -- Ben, Mike, Chris, and Dad -- was very much on my mind. It was the first experience at backpacking for all of us except Mike, who was our organizer, leader, and guide. Also it was the first time all the Hirby "boys" had spent such sustained time together. We had a wonderful time, and if the three of us who are married can persuade our wives that the benefits of our being away outweigh the costs, we may do it again!

Lunch break (and foot break!)
Originally uploaded by troelby.

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A century and a half ago, Charles Darwin sparked a scientific revolution. Now that revolution has become a culture war. But does the concept of “intelligent design” have validity as an alternative to evolution? Three new books look beyond the rhetoric.

Reviews by Robert Lee Hotz of three books analyzing (and largely rebuffing) the claims of intelligent design to be "scientific" in method and conclusions.

The books are:

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin:
An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution
David Quammen
Atlas Books/W.W. Norton: 304 pp., $22.95

Intelligent Thought:
Science Versus the Intelligent Design Movement
Edited by John Brockman
Vintage: 258 pp., $14 paper

Why Darwin Matters:
The Case Against Intelligent Design
Michael Shermer
Times Books/Henry Holt: 202 pp., $22

The Christian Science Monitor writes about Henry Paulson, new Treasury Secretary as follows:

The wide gap between the richest and poorest Americans has not often been the topic of choice for the Bush administration's two previous Treasury secretaries.

So it was notable this week that Henry Paulson, the president's latest Treasury head, chose to put that issue on his short list - as one of the nation's four prominent, long-term economic challenges. Mr. Paulson's head-on approach during one of his first public appearances as secretary differs from his predecessors' strategies, some analysts say.

The optimist in me thinks that someone in the administration has finally figured out that continued collusion with rich and powerful elites is morally offensive and a failed strategy. Maybe the President's often-avowed Christian values will finally start to become evident in his political life. The pessimist, however, suspects that as Paulson's agenda becomes more widely known within the administration, he'll be quietly forced out.

This is an interesting article about the first grants from a new foundation "for projects that have broad implications for our understanding of the deep or ultimate nature of reality."

So far, all of the institute's money is from the Templeton Foundation, which has often been criticized by scientists for attempting to blur the lines between science and religion.

Even skeptics, though, suggested that the new institute, which used the Templeton money as seed money and is run completely separately, could be good for science.

Pat, Steve, and Chris spent the weekend with Ben, Sage, and Reed in Oak Park. Yes, it was hot! But we cooled off vicariously while Reed played in the backyard pool. He's newly walking (a couple of days), and was very much enjoying this new mode of mobility.

Nuthin' better on a hot day
Originally uploaded by hirbyfam.