The Slice: Sprinkled with reminders

Because the house is apt to be quiet, the sound of water running through the pipes will usually alert you to the fact that you went to bed before turning off the manually operated lawn sprinkler.

Another tip-off can be the thud the newspaper makes when it hits your front door at 4:47 a.m. after being hurled from a distance by a strong-armed S-R carrier who understandably didn’t want to get soaked by the sprinkler. Though maybe not if it’s Monday’s paper.

Today is the late newspaperman H.L. Mencken’s birthday: So let’s note the occasion with a few tidbits from a guy who was a quote machine.

“I never lecture, not because I am shy or a bad speaker, but simply because I detest the sort of people who go to lectures and don’t want to meet them.”

“It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull.”

“A man may be a fool and not know it, but not if he is married.”

“A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.”

Long-distance roundup: Horses belonging to Joan Butler’s daughter got out of their pasture and were loose on the Palouse Highway.

Someone took a picture and emailed the photo to a local farrier. The farrier recognized the horses and called Butler’s granddaughter, who was in Colorado on a business trip.

Butler’s granddaughter then contacted her mother up here and a successful rescue operation was put in motion.

Warm-up question: In response to a Labor Day question about holding jobs for which one was ill-suited, a couple of readers told about stunningly unsuccessful stints as door-to-door encyclopedia salespersons. That makes me wonder. Did anyone ever buy an encyclopedia set from someone who just showed up at the door? Some people must have. Did that include anyone in your extended family?

Today’s Slice question: For those employed outside the home, what’s the No. 1 downside to eating lunch at your desk or work station?