Go north, young man

We're heading up to NoDak tomorrow. All of John and Hanna's cousins will be there at Grandpa and Grandma's house. A full house. We'll come back Wednesday. Ellie will go to the dogsitter. I picture her in a scene out of Lady and the Tramp, a fragile flower, trapped in a cell with tough street dogs. Gritty bulldogs, sharp-tongued Chihuahuas, deadly wolfhounds that would slice you open in an instant to get your daily biscuit ration, etc...

I was watching a little bit of the British Open last night, and John was there. He saw those big sand bunkers the British Open, and St. Andrews, are known for, and he said "Are those big holes? Did someone dig those holes?" Heh.

Another comment on Design. I happened to see something on Animal Planet about bugs. Some guy was pointing out how this one species of cricket, a mole cricket, had two big front legs to help it dig down through the dirt to get at food. It's body was smooth, because, as the host said, this allows the cricket to slip more easily through the dirt. Well, that sounds like a design goal to me.

So my question always is, how does evolution explain how the cricket got this smooth outer skin? I mean, if the cricket had a rough outer skin, it might make it harder to get through dirt, but presumably it wouldn't be impossible. So, the cricket could still get at food, it just might have to work a little harder. So, how did Nature conspire to give this cricket this smooth coat?

Also, this cricket had ears out on the knees of the big front legs. The guy said this made it easier for the cricket to hear in stereo, and tell what direction sounds are coming from. Sounds like a design goal to me. So, how did Nature conspire to get these ear out on the knees, for heavens sake? Can anyone explain how this happens through random processes? (Again, if we're eliminating the possibility of an Intelligent Designer right off the bat.)