Argh!  Escalators!  When I was a kid I overheard a local news story on the TV about a woman who got killed in the machinery of an escalator.  I have chosen to take the stairs at every opportunity since.

Argh!  Escalators!  When I was a kid I overheard a local news story on the TV about a woman who got killed in the machinery of an escalator.  I have chosen to take the stairs at every opportunity since.

The "K is for Kate" illustration is my favorite of the Gashlycrumbs, because it's so hilariously over-the-top.  The others are all so sinister and foreboding, and then — BOOM!  Massive carnage!  It helps that one of my close relatives is named is Kate; for Christmas a few years back we had a copy of that illustration…

The "K is for Kate" illustration is my favorite of the Gashlycrumbs, because it's so hilariously over-the-top.  The others are all so sinister and foreboding, and then — BOOM!  Massive carnage!  It helps that one of my close relatives is named is Kate; for Christmas a few years back we had a copy of that illustration…

My parents all kinds of books full of documentary/news photos of corpses; Civil War, Wild West, both World Wars.  And seriously, what kid can look away from that sort of stuff?  No matter how much I regretted it, I'd always find myself pulling the books off the shelf to stare some more.  Just awful.

My parents all kinds of books full of documentary/news photos of corpses; Civil War, Wild West, both World Wars.  And seriously, what kid can look away from that sort of stuff?  No matter how much I regretted it, I'd always find myself pulling the books off the shelf to stare some more.  Just awful.

Oh god, I recently read Richard Preston's New Yorker article (excerpt?) "The Demon In The Freezer", with the graphic description of exactly what smallpox does to you.  Holy crap.  I went weeks where I literally could not get it out of my mind, and still get queasy thinking about it.

Oh god, I recently read Richard Preston's New Yorker article (excerpt?) "The Demon In The Freezer", with the graphic description of exactly what smallpox does to you.  Holy crap.  I went weeks where I literally could not get it out of my mind, and still get queasy thinking about it.

Oh god, teeth falling out!  Now that's the stuff of nightmares.

Same here.  And if I can manage to get through washing my hair without freaking out, I'll end up reasonably confident that there's going to be something's waiting to get me on the other side of the bathroom door.

Same here.  And if I can manage to get through washing my hair without freaking out, I'll end up reasonably confident that there's going to be something's waiting to get me on the other side of the bathroom door.

There was nothing 12-year-old me loved more than staying up too late at night reading a John Bellairs book.  I can't remember many specifics about any of the plots (and they kind of do become sort of interchangeable after a point), but the atmosphere and the creepiness and the magnificent, magnificent Gorey…

There was nothing 12-year-old me loved more than staying up too late at night reading a John Bellairs book.  I can't remember many specifics about any of the plots (and they kind of do become sort of interchangeable after a point), but the atmosphere and the creepiness and the magnificent, magnificent Gorey…

@avclub-3be42d8a3412057f79af152555e39bd4:disqus  and @Patrick_Batman:disqus — if you're looking to make some lime pickles, this looks like a pretty straightforward recipe.  I've used her preserved lemons recipes, using much the same process, and it couldn't have been easier (or more delicious).

@avclub-3be42d8a3412057f79af152555e39bd4:disqus  and @Patrick_Batman:disqus — if you're looking to make some lime pickles, this looks like a pretty straightforward recipe.  I've used her preserved lemons recipes, using much the same process, and it couldn't have been easier (or more delicious).

@LJo1:disqus I toast them with the cumin seeds when I'm making my chili powder blend, but that's just because it's what Alton Brown's recipe (my starting point) said to do, and far be it from me to not follow instructions.  When I'm just looking for some ground-up chiles, I don't bother toasting.

@LJo1:disqus I toast them with the cumin seeds when I'm making my chili powder blend, but that's just because it's what Alton Brown's recipe (my starting point) said to do, and far be it from me to not follow instructions.  When I'm just looking for some ground-up chiles, I don't bother toasting.

Is there such a thing as too many pugs?

Is there such a thing as too many pugs?

I'm also that way.  Because goodness knows I wouldn't want to take any shortcuts.  I mean, someone somewhere must be keeping score, right?