The Slice: As the leaves fall, they’ll be out in force

Coming soon …

They might not be the most efficient laborers.

But it’s always entertaining to see little kids working in a yard with rakes that are taller than they are.

Re: Saturday’s Slice: A gaggle of readers reported that they work for thermostat dictators. “All the employees are stealth temperature adjusters as a result,” wrote one e-mailer. “This is a situation for which we are all exceedingly unrepentant.”

Slice answer: You’ve seen those commercials promoting body sprays for young men that supposedly make females wild with desire. Right. But you didn’t actually think anyone could fall for that.

Well, you’re wrong. Apparently some young guys use a lot of that stuff. And it is in their presence that several Slice readers said one most reliably encounters fragrance overkill.

One high school teacher noted that when you combine these chemical fumes with the tendency of some teenage boys to shower infrequently, the results can be staggering. Not in a good way.

Just wonder: Ever injure yourself by running into a cactus?

Slice answer: “I’m not much of a sports fan but the Seahawks’ Super Bowl game (2006) buried my interest completely,” wrote Greg Baker.

It’s not just that they lost, but how they lost. “There were so many bad calls.”

One fun thing about being part of Spokane’s cycling community: It occasionally puts me in contact with amateur social critics who so loathe the mainstream media that they seem to fear being civil to me might somehow endanger their hard-earned status as irrelevant pipsqueaks.

Let’s move on.

Today’s Slice question: Other than talking on the phone or texting, what are some of the distracting things you have seen Spokane area drivers doing while behind the wheel?