Author Archives: Stan Flouride

A picture snapped by Spirit near Home Plate shows silica formations poking out of the soil, which may have been formed by microbial life. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) Minerals sprout from Champagne Pool in New Zealand Microbes created these similar silicate shapes around the … Continue reading →

I’ve always wondered how long the flare of a supernova lasts. There is, of course quite a bit of variation but the brightest part of this one, that occurred during our own Cretaceous Period, lasted from the beginning of March to the … Continue reading →

An adult male of Aphonopelma johnnycashi, a new tarantula species named for Johnny Cash. A new study that reorganizes the tarantula group, reclassifying the majority of 55 known species and adding 14 new ones, including the creepy-crawly named for Cash. The study researchers evaluated close to … Continue reading →

Turns out that when you Google “TRUS”, the logo at once becomes hilarious and hilariously appropriate: “A transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) is an ultrasound technique that is used to view a man’s prostate and surrounding tissues. The ultrasound transducer (probe) sends … Continue reading →

More signage and wordplay illustrations:

Spacecraft Rosetta continues to circle and map Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Crossing the inner Solar System for ten years to reach the vicinity of the comet in 2014, the robotic spacecraft continues to image the unusual double-lobed comet nucleus. The featured image, taken one year ago, … Continue reading →

For Kids Only is leaving the Haight Ashbury after 30 years. Few other businesses reflect the changing demographics of this neighborhood as well as this one. I have dozens of boutiques, cafés, and clothing stores come and go over the … Continue reading →

On Saturday, 300 plumbers from unions across the country descended on Flint to install new faucets and water filters for free. Many Flint residents needed new faucets because their existing faucets were so old they could not accommodate water filters provided … Continue reading →

Interior Decoration A to Z, by Betty Pepis Betty Pepis was an interior designer who in the mid-twentieth century, sought to de-mystify the decorating process. During the course of her career, she wrote for and/or edited sections of the magazines McClure, Look, and House … Continue reading →