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The Slice: As you spring forward, try saving time in a bottle

Long-suffering Slice readers who have endured my annual rants about Daylight Saving Time, please take note.

This isn’t another one of those.

Sure, I still think we should adjust our schedules instead of monkeying with the clock. But today I have something good to say about DST.

It’s this: The loss of an hour this weekend provides those of us who would prefer to stay on the couch with a versatile excuse.

Just imagine.

“Are you going to be able to do something today with those boxes in the garage?”

“You know, I’d love to. But with this whole loss-of-an-hour thing, I just don’t think I’m going to have the time.”

Silly? Maybe. But how about this?

“Were you thinking this would be a good day to go over to the storage unit and make some decisions?”

“Well, I had forgotten that this is the spring-ahead weekend. And with losing an hour tonight, I’m afraid I am going to be running behind for days. I’d better just stay here and conserve my energy to help compensate for the looming sleep deprivation.”

In a sense, fans of inertia could almost view the switch to DST as a holiday.

“Are you going to get the tax stuff ready today?”

“Don’t think I’m going to have time. I need to spend the day figuring out if it’s about to be lighter earlier or darker later or lighter darker or what. Sorry.”

Today’s Slice question: A search of this newspaper’s online archive going back to 1994 shows 302 hits for the phrase “lake cabin” but just nine for “lake cottage.”

So here’s the question.

Why do people around here seldom refer to a lake place as a “cottage”? A) This is not the East. B) Associations with cottage cheese. C) Many here think “cottage” seems sissy. D) “Cottage” sounds like it describes a tiny dwelling and many here would rather have you believe that their lake place is something grand. E) Who ever heard of a survivalist nut job being holed up in a cottage? F) This is not Canada. G) “Cottage” sounds like something made of gingerbread. H) The same reason people say “North” Idaho instead of “northern.” I) “Cottage” sounds like the owners might not own a lot of guns. J) Other.

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Letting the yard go to blazes isn’t exactly the same as xeriscaping.

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