The Slice: That’s just 1 pound every 20 days

As of Saturday, there will be 100 days remaining in 2006.

Time enough to …

“Break at least one bad habit.

“Make lots of to-do lists.

“Wait 30 more days before acknowledging Halloween.

“Lose five pounds.

“Find a radical Muslim cleric and inform him that free speech is one of your values.

“Distance yourself from middle-aged men overly familiar with Lindsay Lohan’s oeuvre.

“Let everyone know you don’t want sweaters.

“Put Spokane on the map with your groundbreaking performance art piece, “It’s Nice Out.”

“Speculate about how things might be different now if the Pilgrims had somehow landed in what is now Coeur d’Alene.

“Explain to someone why the separation of church and state protects our rights.

“Face the fact that Washington and Idaho’s few remaining grizzly bears tend to have Canadian accents.

“”Northwest” vs. “Empire” continued: Whitman County’s Eva May Hendrickson finds the currently popular phrase “Inland Northwest” to be “distasteful.”

She thinks “Inland Empire” has truth, justice and tradition on its side.

I respect her opinion. But “Empire” has three strikes against it:

1. The Inland Empire east of Los Angeles has us outgunned when it comes to marketing clout.

2. From a national perspective, the word “Northwest” prompts mostly positive associations.

3. To some jaded ears, “Inland Empire” has a corny, boosterish sound.

I’d solicit more give and take on this. But the truth is, that marmot is out of the hole.

“Slice answers: Respondents were sharply divided in the matter of people who take the elevator to go up or down one floor. Some were harshly critical of what they regard as supreme laziness. Others defended the practice as still permissible in a society not totally ruled by fitness Nazis.

Alice Williams, who has arthritis and breathing problems, asked that she not be judged “by looks alone.”

And in the matter of whether kids still get allowances, a reader named Joan said, “Yes, they’re allowed to do most anything.”

“Life with the mug shot: Every now and then I encounter someone who recognizes me but is unsure why. My favorite recent incident along those lines took place when I was at Deaconess with my dad.

A nurse kept glancing at me. She got that look on her face. Finally, she asked: “Are you a doctor?”

I just said, “No.”

But I immediately realized I should have come up with a better response.

In my shoes, what would you have said?

“Today’s Slice question: How many Spokane adults have never been drunk?