The Slice: What a nice present: aging in high-definition!

I’m just wondering.

How many people around here besides me have their birthday on the date when the conversion to digital television takes place next year?

You might have heard about it.

OK, let’s move on.

•The state we’re in: In our area, there’s a simple difference between people who live on the Washington side of the state line and those who live on the Idaho side.

It has to do with statewide elections.

Eastern Washington residents know that, nine times out of 10, it doesn’t really matter how they vote. The vastly bigger Seattle-area population will decide the outcome.

For some in and around Spokane, this is a source of great frustration. For others here, it is a comfort and relief.

In Idaho, well, one hears rumors of a two-party system. But the situation has not been comparable to the Evergreen State Schism.

Voters in the Idaho Panhandle might not be big in numbers. Still, they can at least tell themselves that they are part of the process when it comes to state races.

Eastern Washington voters know they are virtually irrelevant.

Sure, sure, in a close election, our ballots might actually count. Usually, though, Washington’s state races are strictly a West Side story.

And the choice left to voters here is to either curse Seattle or face westward and mutter a quiet, heartfelt “Thank you.”

•Slice answers: Janessa Todd really enjoys watching a good demolition derby. But she estimates that she doesn’t care for 95 percent of the others who do.

Lan Hellie is fond of heavy metal/hard rock music. “I pretty much can’t stand 99 percent of the other fans.”

•In the matter of people around here not wanting to get dressed up (Monday’s Slice): Kathy Brainard shared a poem with her French students at Cheney High School. It’s called “La Cravate,” which means “The Tie.”

“Before reading the poem, I asked them what a tie symbolized to them, expecting something along the lines of discomfort and/or corporate drudgery,” she wrote. “Instead, a male athlete responded enthusiastically, shouting out ‘Game day!’ ”

Perhaps you are familiar with the tradition of those involved in sports dressing up on days they have competitions.

“Another young man added that he liked the feeling of dressing in formal wear for prom and knowing that he and his date looked good. Apparently, the negative connotation that goes with a suit and tie doesn’t kick in until a little later in life.”

•Today’s Slice question: How far could you throw a football?