Ants...

Ants fascinate me. An individual ant has a brain the size of... well, the size of an ant's brain. Can't get much smaller than that. But as a group, an ant colony can do some pretty complicated things, including building nests, caring for baby ants, foraging for food, and, in some cases, building leaf bridges, farming aphids, attacking other colonies, etc. It shows that some pretty complex behavior can arise from a group of individuals who follow some pretty simple rules and exchange some pretty simple signals. Kind of like the cells in the human body. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Fearfully and wonderfully made. God is a heck of an engineer (among other things).

Marketing...

Sam's brand charcoal briquettes (or charcoal biscuits, as I like to say) are 60% larger than other briquettes. The package proudly proclaims this as if it's the greatest thing since man first figured out how to use lighter fluid. (We still haven't learned how to use it safely, but who needs eyebrows anyway?) When I see the label I'm instantly attracted. First of all, bigger is almost always better. Secondly, they must be longer lasting, right? That way I can have hot coals for two full hours to cook my steak for 15 mintues. But here's the real hook: If they put it on the package in big bold letters, it must be a valuable feature, right? If larger briquettes weren't better, they wouldn't plaster the fact all over the package, right? Wrong. I am pretty much convinced that marketers have learned how people think with regard to labels and advertising.

For example, I believe that larger charcoal briquettes are not advantageous to the average griller. They have less surface area per weight, and since the burning happens at the surface, this means they produce less heat per weight. Therefore, for a certain amount of cooking heat, I burn more charcoal than with another brand. But it's OK... Wal-Mart is happy to sell me some more when I run out. Also, if this was really a revolutionary advance in grilling technology, I would expect Kingsford or one of the other industry leaders to be on top of it. Not to mention that larger briquettes require less machine activity per unit weight, so they're probably cheaper to make. The moral of the story is that 60% larger briquettes are better... better for Sam Waldron... but not better for my grilling. But Sam knows what P.T. Barnum knew: you'll never go broke betting on gullible consumers. If you list a feature in big yellow letters on the front of the package, John Q. Public will assume that it's better. He won't wonder about surface area-to-weight ratios. He'll think it's a great deal because it's cheaper than Kingsford and the briquettes are 60% larger to boot. What a bargain.

But the real question is this: Knowing all the above, why do I usually make a special trip to Wal-Mart for Sam's brand charcoal briquettes? Raise a glass to P.T. Barnum.

Dental Hygiene...

Sometimes I wish I was a toothbrush engineer. Gina came home with a new toothbrush yesterday and I once again marveled at the constant advances in toothbrush technology. I remember when the revolution began. For decades (maybe centuries?) humanity struggled along with a square toothbrush with only simple white bristles. Then, sometime in the 80's, the golden age of home dental care began with the introduction of the tapered head and the bent neck of the Reach brand toothbrush. Now, 20 years later, we have all sorts of bristles that do a much better job of removing plaque between teeth and along the gumline (at least according to the fancy animations on the commercials), various shapes to fit deep within your mouth, colored bristles to tell you when to buy a new brush, and even battery powered oscillating paddles to massage your gums. And everyone knows that if it takes batteries it must be better.

All this means that somewhere there are teams of engineers furiously designing ever-newer (and better?) toothbrushes so we'll be convinced to buy them. With our dental hygeine hanging in the balance, I imagine that these engineers are the cream of the crop, with fancy desk chairs, big computers, and personal assistants. What a life that would be.

The advances in toothcare come so fast now that you better not get too attached to a particular toothbrush. By the time you need a new one, they'll all be different. But at least you'll have 30 or more types to choose from.

Back to Texas...

They say that the sense of smell can evoke very powerful memories. All I know is that Friona, Texas has a certain delicate fragrance that I like to call Eau de Bovine. Imagine a town of 5000 people, half of whom work at the large beef slaughter plant 4 miles upwind from town, which is supplied by the million-plus feedlot cattle in the general vicinity.

I Took a trip to Kansas and the Panhandle of Texas for "business" last week. I had a very nostalgic visit to some of the beef plants I used to work in. I was also reminded how beautiful Nebraska is. On Thursday morning I had to drive from Amarillo to Plainview. There are several places where one can see for 15 miles in every direction without a single other than a fence-post. Sounds nice, right? Very scenic? Except there's also not a single tree or other feature, and the horizon is completely flat. No... I mean flat. Like a coffee table, only witout a matching end table. Like the middle of the ocean. It makes Nebraska look like a mountainous forest. I'm glad to be back.

On Friday I visited the Panhandle's best feature: Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Billed as the second largest canyon in the US, it's a great place to visit. Here's a picture that I took in April '03 at the canyon.