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Prep football and basketball seasons intersect once in a while and this score showed up last Friday in the middle of dozens of pigskin playoff games: Davidson Day 104, Harrells Christian 80.
Prep football and basketball seasons intersect once in a while and this score showed up last Friday in the middle of dozens of pigskin playoff games: Davidson Day 104, Harrells Christian 80.
At first glance, that had the appearance of a shootout basketball game and the independent schools always take to the hardwood earlier than the public schools.
Except this wasn't a basketball game. It was a football game. Yes, honestly, a football game. It sounds like a video game played between two teenagers but they actually lined up 11 to a side and played a football game. Or maybe they did it without defenses on the field.
Some staggering numbers came out of this game. Davidson Day quarterback Will Grier completed 35 of 42 passes for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns. Harrells Christian running back Russell Washington carried the ball 45 times for 438 yards and eight touchdowns. All told, Harrells had 701 yards rushing.
Grier's passing yardage surpasses the national record of 764 yards set by Daniel Koral of Pacific Palisades High in California in 2000. The officially recognized state record is 667 yards by Wakefield's Connor Mitch, set this year in a 70-42 win over Broughton. Mitch threw for 634 yards last Friday in a 76-34 loss to Garner.
Though the numbers were other-worldly, in order for the 837 yards to be considered a national record, it has to be accepted by the National High School Sports Record Book and there's no guarantee of that happening. And that brings into focus the circumstances, not the least is the level of competition.
Grier himself is quite legit. He has scholarship offers from North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Wake Forest and East Carolina.
But as for Davidson Day, it plays in Division II of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association. That's not exactly public school 4-A level. Davidson Day is 10-2 and has one game against a public school, a 53-21 win over Parkwood, which had a 1-9 record. The Patriots were hammered 56-15 by Charlotte Country Day and fell 24-15 to Providence Day. Grier threw for less than 300 yards in each of those games.
It's important to put records in perspective. There are certain factors, such as the quality of the opponent and how many touches a player gets in determining how records are established.
Central Davidson's Saig Skeen had 178 yards and three touchdowns against East Davidson — in the first 10 minutes of the game. If Skeen had kept getting the ball, he might have run for 800 yards. He was that unstoppable. Skeen only got four more carries as Central had the game well in hand.
Back in 2001, Thomasville's Trevan Davis had 221 yards and four touchdowns against Jordan Matthews — a minute into the second quarter. Davis was done for the night in Thomasville's 47-7 win. A state sprint champion, Davis could have easily gone for several hundred more yards.
In both those cases, the coach decided what was best for the team and that meant doing what was best to avoid injury with a game already well in hand.
On the other hand, Thomasville's Gabe Brockett put his name in the NCHSAA record book by rushing for 433 yards — the eighth-best single game mark in state history — on 47 carries on Oct. 26 against Lexington. But Brockett wasn't just piling up yards against an overmatched foe. This wasn't a 70-0 rout. Thomasville won 42-21 and it was 21-21 entering the fourth quarter.
Records are nice but they need to be put in perspective.
Mike Duprez can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 218 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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WASHINGTON -- Hoping to prod Democrats to offer new concessions on spending and taxes, House Speaker John Boehner on Friday accused President Obama of an effort to "slow-walk" negotiations on the "fiscal cliff" in his zeal to raise taxes.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill at the end of another week that saw little progress in the stalemate between the GOP and the White House, Boehner said Obama had "wasted another week" by refusing to engage after the House leadership put forward a counterproposal.
"This isn't a progress report because there's no progress to report," the Ohio Republican said.
Boehner's camp downplayed a report that he had asked for talks to be narrowed simply to he and the president, though he and Obama appeared to have reopened lines of communication.
Obama and Boehner, the key players who must ultimately bring their respective parties along should a deal be struck, spoke on Wednesday in a phone call that Boehner described Friday as "pleasant" but "just more of the same."

subset: commoncrawl


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A full closure to automobiles and other vehicles will shorten the time to construct a trench for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) trains to pass under Dixon Landing Road for SCVTA's BART Silicon Berryessa Extension.
The Dixon Landing Road grade separation is one of 11 required in the BART corridor to separate BART trains from vehicle traffic and pedestrians. These separations are a key component to safe and efficient BART service. Dixon Landing Road, as well as the freight railroad will remain at their current ground level.
The eight-month closure allows for crews to work extended hours and avoid numerous traffic switches that would have to occur if limited access to vehicular traffic were provided. A partial closure would have also extended the construction schedule to 18 months instead of the accelerated eight months schedule. Dixon Landing Road is expected to reopen in early 2015.
Construction activities include relocating major utilities, excavating the roadway, installation of metal sheets for shoring, building a street level bridge for Dixon Landing Road, corridor grading and a new BART trench.


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Nearly a hundred lawyers filled the Routh Street Brewery's private party room one hot evening last summer. The faux rustic setting -- hewn limestone walls, antler-trimmed cabinets, and weathered rafters -- echoed with the clink of beer steins, the hum of conversation.
In attendance were many of the city's top plaintiffs' lawyers, the side of the legal world representing patients against doctors, injured workers against employers, the guy whose van got rear-ended against the other guy's insurance company. Powered by multimillion-dollar contingency fees, some rank among the heaviest political hitters in town.
Despite the festive backdrop and flowing beer, lawyer Fred Baron was not in a party mood.
The meeting had been called to decide whether 14th District Court Judge John Marshall, a quirky individualist with a habit of making news, should be targeted for defeat in the March 14 Republican primary. Baron, who recently hosted a $25,000-a-couple fundraiser with President Clinton at his $5.2 million walled estate in Preston Hollow, was among the most influential lawyers in the room. And he made no secret of the fact he wants Marshall's head.
"He isn't running on all eight cylinders," Baron said later. "He's gone over the edge."
On one level, the meeting had all the markings of a beer-hall revolt, a rare event considering that lawyers rarely rise up so publicly against sitting state court judges.
It's more like a "vendetta," says Marshall campaign manager Brian Mayes. Baron, he says, wants retribution for the judge's decision to refer Baron's 50-lawyer firm to the grand jury in 1998 over alleged coaching of clients in asbestos cases. Baron & Budd was embarrassed nationally by a paralegal's memo that outlined for clients the correct answers to critical questions in their health-related damages claims. Former employees admitted to implanting memories while preparing witnesses, but the grand jury took no action against the firm.
Baron, known as the "king of toxic torts" for the wealthy practice he has built, has only contempt for Marshall, although he insists it has nothing to do with the coaching matter. Never mind that Baron was not at all exercised about Marshall four years ago during the judge's previous re-election bid.
Shirley Sutherland, a board member of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association, the group holding the brewery event, says it appeared Baron packed it with associates and like-minded lawyers. "He was pushing for a vote to target Marshall," she recalls. But as an equal and opposite force, lawyer Frank Branson was also in the room. Branson, known for his record-setting judgments in personal injury lawsuits involving everything from plane crashes to faulty amusement park rides, moves in the same lofty universe as Baron, and is just as influential in Bar politics and beyond. Both have raised millions for the national Democrats.
And Branson happens to like Marshall. "I said I found him to be a good judge, a man of high integrity who's been fair and well-versed on the law. My clients have always been treated fairly," Branson recalls telling the group.
Ultimately, talk at the brewery meeting got down to whether to target Marshall's race with campaign money from a newly organized political action committee. The plaintiffs' lawyers wanted a club to wield against judges they deemed overly friendly with corporate defendants and insurance companies, which is a popular stance in the courthouse in as conservative and business-friendly a place as Dallas.
With the trial lawyers in the room roughly split down the middle, the group reached no conclusion about Marshall that day in late July. They didn't do any better six months later, in early February, when a group of lawyers controlling the PAC met at an Oak Lawn seafood restaurant and took no action to spend the $50,000 they had raised. "We don't talk about it anymore," says medical malpractice specialist Bill Liebbe, the group's president. "It was causing too much division."
Judging John Marshall has turned out to be a difficult job, to be sure. Some say he's erratic and far from impartial. Others say he's just eccentric, but driven by conscience.
Whatever the verdict, enough well-heeled lawyers are after his hide that he's landed in the most talked-about judicial race this year.
Known more widely for his rulings halting live pigeon shoots at the Dallas Gun Club last December, and for temporarily stopping the cutting of trees at Old East Dallas' Tenison Park golf course in late 1998, Marshall is in the toughest race of his 19-year career. In effectively one-party Dallas County, the GOP primary constitutes the whole race. He's on the ropes because forces at the courthouse have gathered against him and reached critical mass. Enough money, political energy, and big-name support is behind his opponent to ensure a close contest.
Lawyer-supplied campaign money has flowed evenly to Marshall and his challenger, big-firm lawyer Mary Murphy -- $151,056 and $144,340, respectively, to date. "John has always been John," says Tom Pauken, a former state GOP chairman, a lawyer, and a Marshall supporter. "What's happened is that a number of firms on both sides [plaintiffs and defense] are unhappy with the results they've been getting down there."
Described as quirky, "a little different," Marshall is far more comfortable than most judges at making bold calls and making up his own mind about what constitutes the civil law. To supporters, this is called being "slightly mercurial" or "having an agile mind." Mike Parham, who handles serious injury and death cases, says being hard to predict isn't especially a fault. "He is a bit of a wild card, but when he calls them, he isn't predictable for or against either side of the docket." Besides, Parham says, as a lawyer fighting for underdogs, he likes a man who will take on an institution such as the Dallas Gun Club. "It's a Who's Who of Highland Park. Executives with shotguns. It took a lot of courage to do that. You make a lot of powerful enemies and not a lot of friends. Who cares about pigeons, anyway?"
There are a legion of critics, though, whose cumulative complaints have turned Marshall's performance ratings in the annual Bar poll into the worst in the courthouse. Some 58 percent of the 685 lawyers responding said Marshall does not correctly apply the law; 51 percent disapproved of his performance overall. Just 50 percent think he's impartial. In a recent preference poll, 60 percent of the lawyers who voted said they prefer his opponent, Mary Murphy, a former partner in Jenkens & Gilchrist.
"The thing I need in court in any case is for the judge to apply the law fairly and with reason. Marshall gets reversed [by appellate courts] half the time, so it's like flipping a coin," Baron says. Marshall's habit of having his cases overturned "adds layers of expense and delay" for both sides, he says, "and it's been that way for a long time." Marshall cites statistics saying he is overturned less: about one-third of the time.
He had 16 reversals in 1999, according to a review of appeals listed on an appeals court Web site. Nearly all were for taking the decision away from the jury once the trial was under way and deciding cases himself -- "directed verdicts," in legal parlance.
Typical, says attorney Mary Alice McLarty, was the case of Maria Martinez, a nanny who was beaten by an irate Park Cities parent. According to court papers, Martinez had worked for Mark and Julee Butler for six years when, one day in 1995, Mark Butler came home in a rage. He cursed her, threw her purse at her, grabbed her around the neck and hit her with a hard plastic golf club, then kicked her out the front door with his foot.
A jury found Butler guilty of misdemeanor assault and sentenced him to two years of probation. When it came to filing for civil damages, McLarty says, the case came down to a question of whether the Butlers had furnished the nanny a safe workplace. The lawsuit alleged that Julee Butler, an executive and the main earner in the family, "was negligent because she knew or should have known" that her husband had an "uncontrollable temper" and "violent propensities." About $100,000 in insurance money was at stake.
She knew how upset her husband was that afternoon, and that he had only a few weeks before yelled at Martinez for stopping by her own house while she was watching the Butler child, the suit alleged. At the trial in October 1998, McLarty says the judge assured her several times that she had made her case sufficiently enough that the seated jury should be allowed to render a verdict. In civil legal terms, it's called making a prima facie case. "He told all the lawyers several times in his office that we had met our prima facie burden of proof," McLarty says.
On the fourth day of the trial, though, Marshall issued a directed verdict, ruling, in effect, that there was no matter for a jury to decide. He sent the jury home and ended the case. "He just poured us out of court," she says. "The jury just sat there with its mouth open."
Legally, she says, the ruling held that there was no way Julee Butler could have known her husband would be violent. "Afterward, Marshall takes us all back in his chambers and tells my client she'd better move and watch out for this man. He tells the wife she needs to get away from that man; she and her children are in danger."
Those thoughts seemed at complete odds with his ruling, says McLarty, who says she has only been tossed out in that fashion once in 46 trials. "It was nonsensical."
Marshall says he has no recollection of either telling McLarty she had made her case, or of telling the parties anything in his chambers. "I've never made a guarantee to a lawyer in my life," he says.
As for directed verdicts, he says he's issued them in about 15 percent of his trials. "When a case doesn't go right for a lawyer, there's always someone to blame," he says.
McLarty says it almost pains her to speak out against the judge. "He married my husband and me in '96," she says. "I considered him a friend. But I can't ignore something like this. That lady was ready to get some justice, and what he did was just wrong." The case in the end was not added to the list of Marshall appeals because her client decided not to continue to fight, McLarty recalls.
These kinds of stories have been bouncing around for years at the granite conference tables of the city's white-shoe law firms, the 200-plus-lawyer partnerships that handle disputes between businesses, or defend then against such things as consumer claims. A lawyer at one such top 10 firm, declining to speak by name or to have his firm identified, says Marshall is "so high-minded, so iron-clad and rigid, nobody agrees with him. He thinks he is better than everyone else. He puts himself up on a pedestal and tries hard to act smarter than everyone else, which he is not. That's why he's insufferable."
Randy Johnston, a legal malpractice attorney and past president of the local trial lawyers group, puts it in even more concrete terms: "Marshall plays games up there. I never know what I am going to end up arguing in his court. The points he brings up come out of nowhere and everywhere. I might end up having to argue about the Magna Carta and whether Charlemagne had the best interests of the Holy Roman Empire at heart. Other judges bring up issues that I might not be prepared to argue, that I didn't think of, but you can always see how the judge came up with them and why they think they may be important. Not with him.
"The only good thing I can say is that he doesn't seem to have an agenda," adds Johnston, who says he has won in Marshall's court and has no ax to grind. "That is, he's not totally against all plaintiffs' lawyers or defense lawyers the way some judges are. In every case, he early on thinks who should win and ignores evidence and fits the law to accomplish that result."
Around the civil courts, lots of gossipy stories about erratic rulings and wacky comments abound, although most are either impossible to prove or would identify the source, most of whom wish to remain anonymous. Given that a Marshall win would put these lawyers in the awkward position of standing in court before someone they have so openly opposed, there's an understandable reluctance to speak out by name.
"I'm hosed anyway," says the trial lawyers' Liebbe, who agrees with Baron that Marshall's habit of having his rulings overturned on appeal is a sign of poor performance. "Quite a lot of the Bar has had enough of this nonsense. It's time for a new judge."
Fit and vigorous from practicing tae kwon do, John McClellan Marshall has the patrician look of a headmaster at a New England prep school. Boyish and youthful at 56, he puts off a formal, courtly vibe as he takes a seat in an upholstered swivel chair in his courthouse office. It's not surprising that he lists heraldry -- the study of coats of arms -- as a hobby on his résumé, which boasts knighthoods in sacred orders, memberships in chivalric societies, and Mensa, the club for certified geniuses. Between his extravagantly detailed 18-page résumé, his two decades on the bench, the various controversies surrounding him, and his volunteered knowledge of everything from court and legal history to missile guidance systems to his own genealogy, there's a lot to talk about.
Given his long and strenuous answers, he seems to enjoy the sound of his own voice. Marshall volunteers during his answer to the very first question that he is a direct descendant of John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court, the legal giant who established the court's powers in the early days of the republic. He is connected through an almost uninterrupted line of lawyers.
"He has been an inspiration in a great new way over the years, certainly in my present career," says Marshall of his great-great-great-grandfather. "In the 35 years he sat as the chief justice, there were numerous occasions where the decisions that were rendered by that court were not, shall we say, popular in some parts of the community."
As an example, Marshall recounts, the chief justice wrote an opinion that the Cherokee Nation should by virtue of a treaty with the United States be treated as a sovereignty, as if it were France or England. He ruled that their land in Georgia should be protected from state interference and left intact. President Andrew Jackson responded with his famous quote, "John Marshall made his decision. Let him enforce it," and ordered the Army to evict the Cherokees, sending them on the Trail of Tears. "That took courage then, and I think some of the decisions that it has been my privilege to participate in have been ones that at the time were not universally popular," Marshall says.
The comparison is grandiose, but it fits well with the legal community's criticism of Marshall's courtroom style. Rather than simply interpret the law, Marshall seems to be striving for something more creative, more active, they say.
Two generations after the chief justice, the Marshall line arrived in Dallas in the late 1890s. Marshall's grandfather was returning to Virginia after joining the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896. He detoured to Dallas to see a cousin who was practicing law. The cousin offered him a job, and he stayed. "My grandfather built the first house in the town of Highland Park...at 3601 Lexington," Marshall says. "The house is still there."
Taking after his father, a rare engineer in the family tree, Marshall recalls building model rockets and firing them off in Goar Park, not so unusual a pursuit in the Sputnik-inspired '50s. "Some of them actually flew," he says.
Graduating from Highland Park High School in 1961, Marshall moved on to college at the Virginia Military Institute, a sort of kinder, gentler Citadel that Marshall says has had a big impact on his life as a judge, and in most other things. With its strict honor code, which says "a cadet does not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do," Marshall says VMI instilled him with important life lessons. "Truth is truth...There is such a thing as objective truth. Aristotle said so," he says. "There are a lot of lawyers and a lot of professors who would snicker at that statement. They would say, 'Well, Judge Marshall is very quaint.'"
Marshall says that's why he takes such a dim view of lawyers making false statements in his courtroom -- why he referred Baron's firm to the grand jury when it appeared from a paralegal's memo that witnesses were being prepared illegally. "You can talk to four or five lawyers out of this building at random and ask them, 'Which judge are you least likely to want to risk having a false statement on an affidavit?'"
Marshall went on to get a master's in history at Vanderbilt University and worked as an instructor in the Skylab space program, writing textbooks for engineers and technicians, before returning to Dallas and SMU law school. Classmates there remember him as the type of eager student who would make eyes roll when he began to speak, usually at length, and he would do so often enough. "People say he became judge so he'd have a captive audience to listen to him," says one SMU alum.
After five years in private practice, Marshall says he was recruited by then-county GOP chairman Fred Meyer to run in what was still a county dominated by Democrats -- but not for long. He was swept into office in the Reagan landslide. "I've always been a Republican," Marshall says, adding that he cast his first vote in a presidential election for Barry Goldwater in 1964.
He can't emphasize this enough, given that one of his camp's main campaign strategies is to underline his opponent's shallow Republican roots.
On the bench, Marshall says he has followed his sense of principle and ruled decisively. In 1988, for instance, he ruled in a case of an AIDS patient attempting to obtain the drug AZT through Parkland hospital that the hospital had an obligation to dispense the drug, even though it was experimental at the time. "It was the right thing to do," Marshall says.
"You can ask anyone in town," he says, "Does Judge Marshall look over his shoulder and worry about being reversed before he rules on a case? I think the answer will be 'no.' He's not going to worry about the Court of Appeals." That attitude has him leading the county in appeals, as well as the number of appeals in which his rulings have been overturned.
Marshall would like to see himself above reproach, but his own ethics have been questioned in recent years.
In a story first reported by the Dallas Observer in 1997, Marshall faced accusations of favoritism after he had granted a client of the Bickel & Brewer firm a nearly $1 million summary judgment. Marshall was alleged to have accepted a limo ride to the firm's luxury suite at a Cowboys game and his court clerk received a $250 watch as a graduation present from a Bickel & Brewer paralegal while the case was pending. The same paralegal also bought a catamaran from Marshall, which he had advertised at the time for $1,500.
Although everyone denied wrongdoing, Marshall recused himself, and a visiting judge threw out the summary judgment. When those facts, which weren't in dispute, were presented to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the panel voted in February 1998 that nothing inappropriate had occurred.
"The facts were true," Marshall says now. "The innuendo was not."
In other words, Marshall can do things that appear untoward, but because he is so ethical, appearance is all there is.
Bickel says now the whole thing was much ado about nothing. He went to law school with Marshall and considers him a friend. "I think it's ridiculous for anyone who knows Judge Marshall to believe in good faith you could gain favor with him by doing anything for him," says Bickel, who is supporting Marshall. "He's his own man."
Marshall landed in another ethical flap last October, when it was reported that he had conducted a public opinion poll about his ruling to protect trees at the Tenison Golf Course. The telephone survey took place just days before the judge was set to rule for a second time on the trees -- after an appeals court ruled that the people attempting to stop the cutting did not have legal standing to sue. Respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the judge's December 1998 decision to halt the cutting.
This is another case of correct facts, wrong spin, Marshall insists. "People in the public eye take polls all the time in various ways," he says. "Do those questions condition the decisions, is that the issue? The answer is no."
Marshall's campaign manager Mayes, who says the poll was his idea, says the point of the survey was to determine Marshall's name recognition and whether he was communicating his message effectively.
Although the poll had been conducted while the Tenison case was pending, Marshall says he did not know he was going to rule again on it and did not know the results of the poll when the matter came up. He ended up recusing himself but will not release the results of his poll -- which continues to be an issue in the campaign. A source close to his opponent alleges it was a "push poll" containing a variety of negative statements about his opponent, which would explain why he has refused to release the results. Mayes and Marshall say it was not a push poll.
There could be no spin, however, to explain such ethical lapses as the mints. The little rolls of mint wafers Marshall popped into his mouth, one by one, during what stretched on to be two two-hour interviews. At the end, he offered his visitor a bunch of rolls from a dish on his console table. Packaged in red, white, and blue paper, they read, "Re-elect Judge Marshall."
It might not be covered in any college honor code, but state penal code section 39.02 prohibits elected officials from using their offices or time for non-state purposes. Bill Moss, an attorney with the Texas Ethics Commission, says he's pretty sure that includes a judge electioneering in his office with a bowl full of mints.
Ask Marshall's camp why he's facing such a fight this spring, and they mention two words: Fred Baron.
"Marshall has never been a friend to the big defense firms," says Bickel. "But this year you add to the mix his high-profile scuffle with the largest plaintiffs' firm in town, and the forces converge."
As early as last spring, Baron was casting about, looking for a candidate to back. "I talked to half a dozen people. We were looking for any candidate we could get who would be qualified to run against John Marshall, no doubt," he says. "It's a major sacrifice, giving up a lucrative practice to take a bench."
Among them was Mary Murphy, who started out as a paralegal, went to SMU law school, graduated at the top of her class, and landed a job at Jenkens & Gilchrist. A few years ago, she took a year off to work as a volunteer civil court master, handling all the stuff the judges hate -- discovery disputes and the like. She did it to prove to the county commissioners that hiring court masters would help grease the wheels of the court system.
Murphy acknowledges that Baron tried to recruit her but says she only made her decision when other lawyers asked her to run. Those circumstances have Marshall's camp characterizing Murphy as "the one Baron & Budd picked to run" -- a phrase that particularly agitates Baron. "I have never seen a campaign run with more inappropriate innuendo, to use a mild term. I had nothing to do with getting Mary Murphy to run. That's a lie, a complete and absolute lie," he says. Of course, once she was in the contest, his firm was near the front of the line of contributors with a $5,000 donation -- the maximum allowed by state law.
As a former partner in a big defense firm who is married to Greg Huffman, also a lawyer in a big establishment firm, Murphy doesn't appear on the surface to be a candidate hand-picked by any plaintiffs' lawyer.
Still, Mayes sees another link. Despite listing on her résumé memberships in the Dallas County Republican Party, Park Cities Republican Women, and Dallas Republican Career Women, Murphy was a solid Democrat only four years ago. In 1996, during President Clinton's reelection campaign, she gave $1,000 to the Democratic National Committee.
"We welcome her to the party," says Mayes. "But from her voting record and contribution record, she's a true blue Democrat."
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Although party loyalty issues have little to do with the real forces behind this election -- a revolt of some big-money lawyers -- it could have more effect at the polls, where all the voters will be GOP.
As for Murphy, she says she's running because of what is truly wrong with Marshall's court. "The [Bar polls] accurately reflect the problems in this court," she says. "He defends his 50 percent approval rating by saying he's been there a long time and the people who are opposed to him have lost in his court. That explanation only works if you're ruling for the same 50 percent all the time. I am running because I want to stop judicial activism and the ignoring of the law."
Marshall says that's not his style at all. "I don't call it judicial activism," he says. "I would say I'm someone willing to make decisions and not punt. Judicial activism is anything but Pontius Pilate. I'm not going to wash my hands."
Former Dallas Observer staff writer Ann Zimmerman contributed to this report.


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We are never going to 'make' this reality meaningful. But we could, perhaps become aware of its meaning. Where we go is where we come from.
What is it about deathmetal? Is ugly necessary, in order to appreciate beauty?
Point to a meaning in the world? That's a strange challenge. The world, the cosmos, life, evolution, all are meaning(s).


text:
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text:
Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
You are not logged in.
Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to
The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
Some more eggcorns and kin from the hardworking folk at . Feel free to doc any that tickle your fancy—some reach the pin knuckle here. I haven't yet check for previous entries; I'll add the acorns later too.
I think I'm have to get my wisdom teeth out my limp notes are all swollen
Lord Please reframe me from going TF off today
i think my nephew got 80HD cause he be running in circles fa no reason
Man. Jayz is really the pin knuckle of success.
rush and roulette
That one call that makes your whole day worth wild.
Mopehead [Moped]
OrderGraph {Autograph}
Harden is a disc race to the bearded men of America.
She was diagnosed with cycle-cell anemia
Does Remy get my conjungle visits?
Twitter is a lot of people Altar Eagle
Lauren Hill is one for nominal artist
Good dick cures a lot of elements
Only fear mediocracy
Bottle of mascato $4, new alphat $100 , spening quality time with my twitter boo? Price list.
damn whitney houston oddtopsee results came back.. cocaine
Do black people cARE ABOUT air humidifier & common monoxide? Nope
This general toast chicken doing it right now.
I'm not paying no 10.25 for general toss chicken
If u a boy and u gay…. Im shovin you back in da wound
Beyonce baby come out the wound with its demo tape prepared
Maryland Monroe is sexy
Some of these smell a bit like eggcorns. Oodles of hits for . We have already noted it on the forum, however. .
"Pokeadot" looks promising. Each little dot is a poke. Lots of web examples. High marks. (One wonders, by the way, what the connection is between the dance and the pattern. The OED points out that "polka" gave its name, at the time "polkadot" began to be used, to a number of pop culture items, so the link may not be to the physical design.)
"Oddtopsee" is attractive. But almost nonexistent on the web.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
Oddtopsee could be a heroic attempt to understand the word autopsy – or not. But why have odd and see in there if you weren't trying to make sense of the word.
Here's another act of semantic heroism that I've never submitted—all topsy. When your organs get all topsy turvy.
Also on the results of his all-topsy it stated that there was a bandage on his nose. During an all-topsy everything such as jewelry and clothing must be removed. So if the bandage was on his nose it was never supposed to be their. Also on his all-topsy results and his will there was an error. MJ's name is Michael Joe Jackson. That is his full name. It is even written that way on his license and birth certificate. But, on his will and all-topsy results it is written as Michael Joseph Jackson. Those are two very official documents and must be written 100% correct."
My XH says 'hypnocrit' for hypocrite. And 'Alltopsy' for Autopsy.
Why didn't the state have this thing alltopsied? Maybe it's a alien or maybe it was some kind of messenger. They should release more photos. Don't look like no coon to me. Either way, it should be in a museum all taxidermied up.
New ones I think are grade A: Housepatality, blank of an eye, rush and roulette, mopehead, ordergraph, conjungle visit, mediocracy, generals toast and toss. And the winner is : wound for womb. Come on, that one is both wrong and right in so many ways that I'm just embarrassed to point it out. It's scissarian.
Also ovoid: limp notes, cycle-cell, Altar Eagle, worth wild ... maybe, disc race … maybe, for nominal … maybe, price list … maybe
Mondegreens: limp notes, 80HD, pin knuckle, worth wild ... maybe, disc race … maybe, for nominal … maybe, elements, price list … maybe
Classic cupertino: Maryland Monroe
Acorns not yet mentioned: lymph, node, ADHD, pinnacle, hospitality, blink, Russian, worthwhile, disgrace, sickle, conjugal, alter, ego, phenomenal, mediocrity, muscatel, outfit, priceless, carbon, Tao.
Last edited by burred (2013-06-21 11:05:22)
Looks like cycle cell is a pre-existing condition on the Eggcorn Forum.
Last edited by larrybob (2013-06-21 17:52:59)
Oops. We've also seen . And both alter eagle and altar ego, if memory serves.
Some spotty documentation.
conjungle visit
OP: So let's see what do you have to offer him…Other than conjungle visits! ... So, other than maybe conjungle visits,,,what have you done for him?
A. Check out Conjungle Visits, a titillating addition to the Discovery Channel's primate primetime lineup.
A. Conjungle visits…maybe he's got a Tarzan/Jane fantasy
A. But "conjungle" makes sense Leigh. Those visits are to cons who are in a jungle of sorts.
ever dentally ... this must be a mondegreen, but it's an interesting change of imagery.
a dog walks into a bar….it sees the horse and starts barking which ever dentally startles and confuses the horse
http://anti-joke.com/anti-joke/popular/ … and-chairs
Yeah don't no why but ever dentally if you join in the loading screen some or all people won't be able to hear you.
http://forums.epicgames.com/archive/ind … 92270.html
But hes a guy with an career and bright future so he should know what and what not to do, but ever dentally he don't care.
http://www.pelicansreport.com/showthrea … -LSU/page2
ever dentally you didn't hear what Harry Ried said the Senate will not work with the Republican president. STUPID
http://social.msn.com/profile/XD6Ko5ttT … en-US&pg=5
blank of an eye. I only looked for blank back tears, and found 6 hits, all using blank as the past tense of blink. Stink/stank, blink/blank.
I blank back tears and forced a smile on my face repeating, "I'll be okay" over and over again
Oops. Just noticed poke-a-dot, with dashes, is in the Database: http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/488/poke-a-dot/
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
For the first time in her whole life, five second was felt forever. Then she would wish she lost her hearing sense when Kyuhyun closed his eyes for a while before he said. "Let's end this.." The pain that he felt wasn't unseen but it could be felt. ..."You.. you wont let me go, will you?" her question filled by scar. Kyuhyun closed his eyes. He could feel a hundred metals fell in his shoulder. Victoria blanked her eyes, and suddenly she felt she was near to cry. "Err.. I don't love the girl who cry in front of me, actually," Kyuhyun smirked then touched her cheeks with his own finger. "But for you, it is an exception." Victoria let her mind flied at back then…
Victoria step her feet out from his car and didn't look back at him. She touched her left chest. She felt something hit that part for more than once and had made it bleeding. But in the end she couldn't find the scar. They –Kyuhyun and Victoria didn't move. Victoria was still busy to find her bleeding heart while Kyuhyun closed his eyes.
I blanked back tears over Marcos shoulder as I clung to his neck


text:
Eileen Weaver-King
Eileen Weaver-King, 70, of Crescent, died Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Allegheny General Hospital. She was born on Aug. 11, 1941 in Oswaldtwistle, England.She worked as a nurse, working with the Royal Air Force in England. She also had her own desktop publishing business and was also an administrator for a care facility. She was very active in the Lion's Club.She was preceded in death by her first husband, William E. Weaver, in 2002; and by her second husband John King III, also in 2002. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, William and Paula Weaver of Alabama; three daughters and sons-in-law, Deborah and Michael Kearney of Crescent, Linda Sarginger, and Donna and James Cheatle, all of St. Marys; and seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services were held Feb. 2 in Ambridge.


text:
Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?smiley Mar 15, 2011 1:02 PM (in response to jamessf)
I think it could be helpful for homeowners if they were specific about the situation with that particular renter.
I've thought about such a list and wished I could warn other homeowners in my area on the rare occasion we have a difficult/destructive renter.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?vrh Apr 2, 2013 2:00 PM (in response to smiley)
Yeah I'd have a few ...
Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?apexrentals Aug 1, 2011 4:35 PM (in response to jamessf)
James, www.Guestchecker.com allows you to post reviews about problem guests AND post a compliment about good guests as well. The service is free and it works really well. I heard someone say they are working on an integration with VRBO software, but no word confirmed yet.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?marilyn Apr 22, 2012 12:39 PM (in response to jamessf)
Not sure if this would be legal. Ratings on individuals is different than ratings on a home (object, not human).
Check with homeaway, they are working on a traveler profile that we will receive when they make an inquiry. Traveler fills out profile, lists past rentales and reviews.
I just came away from homeaways conference and saw tons of new features they are working on. Really fabulous for the vacation owner.
No, I do not work for homeaway.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?msdebj Apr 22, 2012 1:22 PM (in response to marilyn)
Marilyn, I'm certainly glad to hear that HA is taking us seriously and addressing tthe fact that ALL negative reviews are not going to be accepted at face value. It seems as thought this is becoming the new "scam".
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?dogwoodridge Apr 22, 2012 3:46 PM (in response to marilyn)
Hi Marilyn!
I think this is good news as well! This sounds a little like the Airbnb model. Airbnb considers themselves a "community" of travelers and hosts in which each has a profile and you can see who you're dealing with, where they've stayed and travelers rate hosts, BUT hosts can also rate travelers and it is encouraged. Were they clean, did they treat your home with respect, etc. The thing I DON'T like about Airbnb is that they insert themselves into the rental process - i.e. all transactions are done through them and you don't receive funds until the day after the guest checks in; blocking contact information until a reservation is made - bleh. It's just backwards. But, if there were a "happy medium" between the two entities (HomeAway and Airbnb) it might be a good idea. Thanks for keeping us posted on the summit. I'm looking forward to being able to go - hopefully next year if I can swing it!
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?marilyn Apr 22, 2012 4:13 PM (in response to dogwoodridge)
Hi Stephanie
Sounds exactly like airbnb. I also will not use them as I do not like the idea of someone collecting MY money. We also charge very high security despot between $2000 and $3000 depending on house. This is also an issue with them.
Homeaway is also working on ways to be imbedded in our business. They are creating a program to help us prevent being phished. Their program has us answering emails thru them and they then process our emails. They are creating a wall atound us. Hate the idea of big brother being inside my business. I would like to think that I am smart enough to catch someone phisihng inside my emails.
I am sure that homeaway will list on their website all they "sneaks" as they call it.
Some are outstanding. Some of no use to me.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?ideamom Mar 26, 2013 8:01 AM (in response to jamessf)
I believe a ratings system would be an excellent idea! I just had a disagreement with a particular renter who had a few minor issues at our home to contend with. Mind you, I understand a minor issue for one renter is a major issue for another. During my conversations with this renter, however, I discovered he had a habit of writing bad reviews on rentals, which he would remove if and when the homeowner complied with his wishes. Consider this type of system in terms of eBay -- buyers and sellers are both subject to a rating. I believe this would hold renters accountable, just as it does the homeowner.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?alohawahine Apr 2, 2013 4:53 PM (in response to ideamom)
My feelings about renters leaving bad reviews or threatening a bad review to gain something from their host (generally a monetary concession after some disappointment with the rental) is best dealt with right where it begins. If not there, when the review comes on. We have the opportunity to respond to any review. that is enough.
At present I am debating the airbnb review of a guest who pulled the above on us. Their complaint was legit, and we dealt with it but could not be as on the spot as I wish as it came in late at night, after all had been fine earlier. Resolved in the morning, with monetary compensation back to guest. The guest however took advantage and has been non-responsive afterwards. After mentioning it would "all" go into the review. Somehow, I doubt the fact they shorted us on $$ owed after the rental will be mentioned. I hesitate to write a bad guest review, as to do so will surely invite retaliation from the guest. I would never rent to them again. But that is just my experience.
I have not seen any bad guest reviews on Airbnb. Has anyone else?
So bottom line is I would rather not get into a bad-review contest with a guest. I cannot imagine any good coming from it. I question whether it is my duty to report this sort of behavior. I guess I would like feedback on this.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?marilyn Apr 2, 2013 5:35 PM (in response to alohawahine)
I think we would like like to have the opportunity (as you do) of not renting to these bad tenants as well.
If you don't tell us, unfortunately we will get to experience the same bad tenants.
If we are afraid to report bad tenants for fear of retailiation, we are being intimidated by our renters.
Not great!. These are our homes. These are our investments. The reason for this community is for all of us to band together and to exchange information.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?kellython Apr 2, 2013 8:35 AM (in response to jamessf)
I think this is a great idea.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?irirap Apr 2, 2013 8:39 AM (in response to jamessf)
i think this would be fair, it should be a two way street. i do keep a file called "epic fails" with pictures of various mess and damage made by guests. i have never published them, but i had very strong urges to do that...
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?marilyn Apr 2, 2013 10:18 AM (in response to irirap)
Tenants should be just as accountable as homeowners. A rating system would help us all. Tenants would know they could not just trash a property and get away with it and homeowners would provide the best home to the tenants. This is a two way street.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?toricole Apr 2, 2013 10:15 AM (in response to jamessf)
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE implement a renter rating system for owners!! Someone mentioned GuestChecker.com, but it is not well known, and ineffective for that reason. If HomeAway promotes a renter rating system they can notify owners of its existance, so it would be highly used. I have a list of guests from over the years that I would love to post, both good and bad.Owners are completely at the mercy of renters with the current review system, and some renters do know how to leverage it to their advantage, quite skillfully in fact. I think renters should know BOTH sides have the right to review each other, so they will hopefully think before acting, if they wish to be let into another vacation rental in the future. AirBnB is right on in that regard, even though I don't care for the rest of their business model.
I pay a lot of money for my ad. This would be leveling the playing field to a certain extent to help justify staying with HomeAway. Are you listening HomeAway???
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?marilyn Apr 2, 2013 10:19 AM (in response to jamessf)
This was discussed at the Summitt meeting 2012 and never implimented. Not sure why not. We all need this
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?allison.jones Apr 2, 2013 2:12 PM (in response to jamessf)
Maybe HomeAway could give guests an opportunity to become "certified" or "trusted" by gettting a certain number of positive review from owners? I would be willing to give a discount to renters that I know are trustworthy. I think renters would be willing to jump through a few hoops to show that they are trustworthy and get some of incentives.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?marilyn Apr 2, 2013 2:25 PM (in response to allison.jones)
fabulous idea!!!
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?mudstump Apr 2, 2013 7:12 PM (in response to jamessf)
I would be in favor of a system much like Ebay. Both buyer and seller have a feedback area and each side understands that their rating is at risk. I think is a more balanced and fair approach. I know when I buy something on Ebay that if I don't make my payment promptly or communicate effectively with the seller I may get less than glowing feedback. And, vice versa the seller knows that if they don't pack the item well or if they don't ship the item right away or if the item isn't as described they too risk a negative feedback which in turn could damage their business in the long run.
I have had sellers include notes in their packages that say, "This is not my hobby, it's my business and please give me the opportunity to rectify any mistakes or problems before you register negative feedback."
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?brokenpineview Apr 2, 2013 7:26 PM (in response to jamessf)
I really like the idea. Just last weekend we said good bye to our first ever renters, and I can not stop crying over the state my house is in now. I wish I could warn other owners of this family.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?mudstump Apr 2, 2013 8:08 PM (in response to brokenpineview)
brokenpineview, I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your first renters. This is my first year too and I've been extremely lucky with my guests. I had one renter's child stand on my dishwasher door when it was open and pulled it out of the cabinet but, other than that all of my guest's have been great. I'm learning to screen them very carefully, I've reduced the max capacity to six (the city permitted 8), and explain nicely that I don't rent my cottage to large groups or parties of any kind and I also keep my prices just above the local competition. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?brokenpineview Apr 2, 2013 8:53 PM (in response to mudstump)
Thank you "mudstump" for kind words. Our house is of "higher end" property, and we charge a pretty high price. I just thought that it will keep the careless renters away... Mistake!
How can you screen potential renters? Would appreciate any input here.
Also,lowering number of guests makes sense too.
Thank you.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?suetahoe Apr 3, 2013 12:37 PM (in response to jamessf)
I absolutely would love to see a "Guest Rating" system. For the majority of my guests I would give them a positive rating. But, there are a handful that I feel should be put on a "Red Flag" list. I truly feel in my market that there are "professional" guests who may or may not trash your home, and then threaten to post negative reviews if you do not refund them their money. Each one of them has told me they are frequent VRBO travelers.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?toricole Apr 3, 2013 1:09 PM (in response to suetahoe)
I am in complete agreement with SueTahoe. A 5 star rating system of tenants is more than fair. A 5 star system tenant rating system would be different and considerably better than Ebay. I also think it would HELP PROMPT TENANTS TO WANT TO RECIPROCATE IN THE FORM OF A GOOD REVIEW, if leaving a good review about them. People appreciate kind words. Good reviews help us to move up the list in prospective areas. Here are other beneficial points that owners should consider:
- Did a renter break a rule of your Rules and Policies and/or lease, then blatantly lie about your place or the incident in a review?
- Do you like being at the mercy of a renter that has rediculous expectations, is unbalanced, or potentially unethical?
- Tenants are less likely to bring extra guests or pets beyond those claimed, as they would be exposed.
- BUT MOST IMPORTANT....if you receive a negative review, IT WILL BRING YOUR STAR RATING DOWN, potentially pushing you down further in the list for your area, making it considerably more difficult to compete. THIS ALSO DRIVES BUSINESS AWAY. I know from experience.
When both sides have the ability to be scrutinized, it puts everyone on their best behavior, taking away the ONE SIDED THREAT, and balances the playing field.
Tori Cole - The Historic Balch Retreat on Hood Canal
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?carol Apr 3, 2013 1:56 PM (in response to toricole)
Toricole: Isn't it just the number of reviews, not the star ratings, that counts in the Homeaway sort order?
SueTahoe said "Each one of them has told me they are frequent VRBO travelers". I wonder if anyone ever asks inquirers who say this for the email or phone of a prior owner as a reference? If they refuse to provide it, big red flag! I am hesitant to ask for references for fear of chasing away renters, but if it were common practice, I might do so.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?toricole Apr 3, 2013 4:34 PM (in response to carol)
Addressing Carol's question regarding number of reviews vs star ratings in sort order. HomeAway states that amount of reviews boosts sort order, but is so minute, it is not worth mentioning. However, the QUALITY of those reviews is what ACTUALLY affects sort order.
As an example, the vacation rental next door has 11 reviews with a 4.81 average quality star rating (per HomeAway customer service). I have a 4.72 review avg and 34 reviews. We both have platinum listings. The other vacation rental stepped into first position, even though it has been with HomeAway less than a year, and way less reviews. I have been with them for 3 years. Don't be fooled by HomeAway that seniority has anything to do with sort order as that is DEFINITELY not the case, but is also another story. We both update our calendars daily, and verified through HomeAway that we were doing everything identically, except I didn't have a pin point locator. So.......it all comes down to REVIEW QUALITY if you are in a competitive market, which I am. HomeAway confirmed this with me on 2 different occasions. I was informed by them that it was the REVIEW QUALITY that put me in second position by a small fraction of a percent. The only thing that put me back in first, was adding the pin point locator on the map. So much for seniority, and amount of reviews. I am VERY careful about which tenants receive a review request.
ALSO, IF YOU ARE IN ANY WAY WORRIED ABOUT BEING SUED FOR REVIEWING A TENANT, THEN DON'T WRITE ABOUT THEM! Please don't attempt to sabotage a potential review system that countless owners feel would be VERY HELPFUL. If this idea is not for you, merely remain silent. HOMEAWAY IS OBSERVING. Also, your vacation rental homeowners insurance steps in and fights legal issues, on the one in a million chance someone attempted to sue. If it is not legit, its thrown out of court (I have a legal background in real estate).
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?alohawahine Apr 3, 2013 3:28 PM (in response to suetahoe)
I would like to add another two cents worth to this discussion.
I worked for many years in another sort of life altogether, chasing down white collar criminals. In the course of that work, a few things became very clear to me.
First of all, most people are not dishonest. If we as hosts are straighforward about what offer, we will draw to us people who appreciate what we offer, and all will go well.
Second, into every bowl of cereal some dust will fall. We go ahead and eat the cereal anyway. It is pretty much the same with our guests. Every once in awhile someone will choose us and discover they have erred. Some will leave a bad review. Other guests will see that the bad review is not about the place they stayed but is about their experience. They will filter what they read through their own sensibilities, and make a decision. In that sense, all information is good information.
Finally, yes, there are some dirty do-ers out there. When we cross paths with them, and they target us, our best possible defense is to say no to them, and then ignore them. It is tempting to want to publish their names. And sometimes that is appropriate, but I would say never when we have contributed to their negative experience through confusing information or inadequate attention. We all make mistakes, guests included. Even when they are aggravating, it is important to weigh every aspect.
The idea of a guest "bad list" leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a host. I don't believe the names of "bad guests" should routinely be published. If anything, have a "report board" and if the same guest makes it onto it twice, then consider publishing their information, but carefully, including what went wrong. At 3 mis-deeds, their identifying info goes up, along with what they did or failed to do. This list would be a short one. And in it would tend to be those who threaten a bad review while they are present on the property, making complaints that are sketchy.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?suetahoe Apr 3, 2013 4:21 PM (in response to alohawahine)
I agree that a "bad guest list" is a negative thing. Yet, if there are strict guidelines to the rating system, it could be a good tool. Only paying members of VRBO/HomeAway would have access to it, so it is a private paid for list.
Would you want this guest to return? After check-out guest informed me that my property was completely unsuitable for her non-ambulatory elderly parents, one of which needed a wheelchair. If I did not return her money, she would post a negative review.
In all our multiple email communications, she never once mentioned a wheel-chair. She even knew there were stairs as they were mentioned in several emails and the photos on the VRBO site indicate stairs. Had she mentioned the wheelchair, I would have advised her to seek an alternative property.
This guest checked in early when I had specifically asked her to adhere to the check-in time due to a turn over on that day. My housekeeping crew was still there when they arrived. In fact, my housekeeper left and then returned to finish up something after they had settled in. My housekeeper never saw a wheelchair. There was no mention of unsuitability at that time or at any time during their stay, when it could have been addressed. I refused to return her money, she posted a negative review, and a complaint to VRBO. I responded to her complaint and was successful in having her negative review pulled as she blatantly was using "blackmail by review".
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?alohawahine Apr 3, 2013 8:16 PM (in response to suetahoe)
I think you handled this fine.
No way will any system result in no unhappy experiences.
Overall I love what we do. Our ratio of unhappy guests to happy is about 1:400. I will not let this fractional minority cause me the unhappiness of taking them to task, reporting them, or trying to make them see the light.
The Dalai Lama says it is more useful to be aware of a single shortcoming in our own selves than a thousand in other people. If we know we are doing the best we can, offering up the best guest experience we can provide, the rest will take care of itself. The key here is stepping up when things go wrong and doing out best to make it right. If a guest still wants to complain, the 399 I mentioned above will see right through them.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?susaninrehoboth Apr 3, 2013 3:35 PM (in response to jamessf)
On first glance, a review system of tenants seems great. But I'd worry about getting sued if I posted negative comments, even if true. There is a difference between a bad review of a person versus a property. It's the tenants that mistreat your property that may not be very rational & try to sue. Even if they have no chance of winning a suit, who needs the hassle & expense? I'd prefer a system only available to owners and managers that have a listing on HA or VRBO.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?sapphiresteve Apr 3, 2013 8:33 PM (in response to susaninrehoboth)
I doubt if this will ever happen, but one solution might be for whoever is maintaining the list to charge a fee for reporting a bad guest. The money could then be used to defend any suites, and counter-sue.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?toricole Apr 3, 2013 9:09 PM (in response to susaninrehoboth)
AGAIN....If you DON'T submit a tenant review, you have ZERO risk of legal suits related to them. Down playing a rating system that some of us have wanted for YEARS to protect our properties, and that you would receive the benefit of viewing DOES NOT HARM YOU IN ANY WAY. PLEASE DO NOT RUIN IT FOR THE REST OF US, AS I'M SURE HOMEAWAY IS MONITORING.
Here is a quote from Edmund Burke "EVIL PREVAILS WHEN GOOD MEN DO NOTHING". We would no longer be completely helpless and at a tenants mercy if we choose not to be. You may like to be a sitting duck, but I certainly don't.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?carol Apr 3, 2013 9:28 PM (in response to jamessf)
Of course, we could avoid all the hassles with reviews of bad renters if we had a system of reporting GOOD renters. If I found a prospect on the list, it wouldn't be a guarantee of good behavior, but I'd be very grateful for a recommendation from another owner. And if a renter is not on the list, I'd be extra careful.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?sapphiresteve Apr 4, 2013 8:05 AM (in response to carol)
That's a great idea, Carol. Why not have a 1-5 system + comments.
But, I wouldn't put any import on someone not appearing on the list. Like most guests, most owners will not bother to leave reviews.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?jlynn Apr 4, 2013 9:22 AM (in response to jamessf)
Yes, of course VRBO and Homeaway need a rating system where we property owners have "equal" rating opportunity -
this likely would provide incentive to renters to be "good renters" and take care of the property, make payments on time, leave the property in good condition etc - - -
I see few problems with this system, and generally, a benefit to good renters - - - - just a s good property reviews are a benefit to owners!
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?thaxterlane Apr 4, 2013 10:27 AM (in response to jamessf)
I disagree with the majority of other owners who believe a renter review system would be a good idea.
I think it would be perceived negatively by renters and could result in potential guests returning to traditional vacation lodgings.
How would renters be reviewed? By whose (and what) standards? Cleanliness? Noisiness? Politeness? Timeliness of payments? Attitude? I think such a review system could be considered an intrusion and put travelers off vacation rentals.
I don't think a renter rating system is a good idea for growing vacation rentals, once you begin to consider the details.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?mlbmaine Apr 4, 2013 10:52 AM (in response to jamessf)
I agree with thaxterlane. I believe that allowing owners to post reviews about renters would have a chilling effect on most potential renters. I am an owner with a listing on VRBO. I am also a renter who uses VRBO. (In fact, I am currently staying at a property in Florida that I rented through VRBO.) I think that qualitatively there is a huge difference between a renter giving a vacation property a poor rating and an owner giving a renter a poor rating. I take a lot of pride in my rental property and would be very upset if I received a poor rating. My property, however, is just a house.
My good name and reputation are much more important to me than my vacation home. As a renter, I would no longer utilize an internet site such as VRBO if it meant that a property owner could post negative comments online about me. I would not open myself up to the risk of being pilloried online by some quirky owner. Remember, not all owners are above reproach.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?hosueguy Apr 4, 2013 1:46 PM (in response to jamessf)
I'm confused...this topic has been talked about for over 2 years, and still nothing has been done? What good is a community of information if the information goes nowhere? YES, WE NEED RENTER GRADING SYSTEM...
1. Cleanliness of tenant
2. Items lost or stolen
3. would you rent to tenant again?
EBAY figured this out YEARS ago, a community that shoes the cards of all players is a system that everyone benefits from. Can we expect VRBO.COM and HOMEAWAY.COM to follow suit?
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?msdebj Apr 4, 2013 4:00 PM (in response to hosueguy)
As a former employer and a landlord of "regular" rental properties I really see no downside in providing some kind of clearing house or referral system. I wouldn't even mind if there was a way for Travelers to provide references, but I imagine many Owners wouldn't want the hassle of this.
A simple "would you rent to this person again" , with a way for an Owner actively screening someone to contact the previous Owner would be okay with me, both as a Traveler and Owner.
Tenant and employment laws prohibit me from providing specific negative information to potenital landlords or employers, but a simple "Would you rent to this person" Or" Would you rehire this person?" are legitimate responses.
I know my own state's law's do require me to disclose the fact that I provide notification in my Contract that I particpate in a reference clearing house . BUT, that is why Guestchecker .com has that requirement, and allows the tenant to dispute any "bad review".
just my 2 cents
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?sage Apr 4, 2013 4:35 PM (in response to jamessf)
Some owners have cited eBay's feedback for buyers as showing the merits of allowing reviews/ratings of travelers. These owners must be thinking of a bygone era, and eBay's experience should be a warning to those who advocate for feedback of customers.
Once upon a time, eBay did permit sellers to post neutral or negative feedback for buyers. eBay changed its policy in 2008, however, and now sellers may post postive feedback for buyers, or may post no feedback at all. See http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/howitworks.html
Why did eBay change its policies to prohibit criticism of buyers? Too many sellers were abusing the process, intimidating buyers by threatening, or giving, negative feedback in retaliation for neutral or negative feedback to the seller, even when the seller's performance fully deserved negative feedback by any objective standard. Some sellers threatened, and gave, negative feedback to buyers who complained that purchases were not delivered, even sellers who could not show that they had shipped the purchase.
The legitimacy of the feedback received by sellers became questionable because the most abusive sellers were those most likely to intimidate their customers through the threat or use of negative feedback. As a result, those bad sellers tended to have more favorable feedback than those sellers deserved, while honest sellers, who occasionally made a mistake and received negative feedback as a result, often appeared to be worse than the truly bad sellers because the honest sellers were not using buyers' feedback as a weapon against their customers. Buyers began avoiding eBay because of the hostile, adversarial atmosphere arising from sellers' use of feedback.
For several years I worked mediating disputes arising from eBay transactions. A large part of my business included feedback issues. I had many repeat "customers" who were sellers who slapped negative feedback on buyers at the slightest provocation. Invariably, doing that alienated the customer and the larger dispute could not be resolved. When sellers had not given negative feedback to the buyer I almost always could help buyer and seller to reach a mutually acceptable resolution. From my experience I have to say that publicly criticizing a customer is a sure way to make a committed enemy.
I do understand how it could be tempting to smack a guest with puclic criticism when that guest has caused probems or posted a less than glowing review. It might help to ease the anger an owner may feel when there has been a problem. But the hostile atmosphere would pervade the site, and we could expect to see travelers take their business elsewhere just as buyers cut back on eBay purchases prior to the ban on neutral/negative buyer feedaback.
There still are eBay sellers who call for a return of the policy that permitted neutral or negative feedback to buyers, but any honest assessment needs to conclude that eBay sellers, as a whole, are doing better business under the current policy than they did just before the change was implemented.
There are other sites, such as guestchecker.com mentioned by Debj, on which owners can post information regarding guests. (Likewise, there are sites to collect complaints relating to eBay buyers.) Those who want to criticize guests may use those sites.
eBay learned that feedback to purchasers can cause far more problems than it solves. I would hate to see HA fail to learn from eBay's experience.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?hosueguy Apr 4, 2013 11:19 PM (in response to sage)
You start out with a logical thought, negativity doesn't help out! I agree. But your thought process takes a turn that doesn't help out your stoic, wise advice.
Ebay is a community of NONE licensed individuals who are working in the "wild west" slinging guns left and right, or using threats, to gain power over the buyer. There is no "law" protecting either party over use of language on thier responses. BUT Landlord tenant law's in most states would have protection for the tenant, so the Abuse potential is shall we say, minimal. Not to mention, an owner who complains about tenant after tenant, is going to be "seen" as probably an owner NOT to work with, so in this instance the negativty can work against an owner.
Secondly, you state it is a BYGONE era...And I had to look again at my ebay account because it has been awhile since i last sold or bought something but sure enough there is still a Postive, Nuetral, and Negative ability of grading, yes, you are right it is only for sellers that can be given a negative grade? What you forgot to mention is, if you are buyer on Ebay, and seller after seller leave "NO" feedback, this lowers your percentage of positive ratings. Ebay, figured it out; by taking the ability to Abuse out of the hands of the abusers....Simply Percentage of "positive" still indicates if you are a good or bad buyer to work with...
KISS...a five star rating of
1. on time payments
2. number of complaints/requets while a guest
3. cleanliness when vacated
4. check in/check out timeliness
5. Left the place as they found it
AND have NO ability to "write" damaging, hurtful words about a tenant....Take the "power" or "potentail for damage" out of the hands of owners.....BUT allow them to rate guests....in a decade of doing this, I have had 3 guests I would never rent to...99.4%, have been wonderful...BUT i promise you those few bad apples make everyone's life horrible who they rent from...in fact two of them I heard others complainging about at community pool months after. They didn't use names, but they spoke of exactly same problems i had, and I just laughed knowing that I turned that guest away, and he made someone else's life in the community horrible...but my neighbor said she would never rent to him again and she warned her friend she was chatting it up with at the pool. Wish there was a "warning" system on Homeaway...But i guess for now I will just check out Airbnb.com since it sounds like they have a system owners desire.
Lastly, I have to laugh because at the top of this Page there is a "report abuse" section....so it's good enough for the like minded community but it's not good enough for the "world" in which we do business...too funny.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?serenade Apr 4, 2013 9:17 PM (in response to jamessf)
That would be an excellent thing to do. That's why I love AirBnb. It gives both the hosts and the renters a sense of responsibliity to 'do their job' and not abuse the review system.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?bandt Apr 5, 2013 8:13 AM (in response to jamessf)
Being new, (owner) I'd like a somekind of rating system also. If I were a renter with real good rating, maybe owners would desire some of these high stared rated renters and even offer them a discount. I know I would, as to avoid or reduce problems.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?maui-vacation-rental Apr 5, 2013 11:05 AM (in response to jamessf)
So I recently found out about guestquery.com and it lets vacation owners add and search for reviews of renters. I actually found out about it from a recent guest who had a profile on there and asked for a discount for having recommendations from previous trips. I haven't had much luck finding existing reviews on people I get inquiries from so instead I have been asking them to sign up on the site and get recommendations from other vacation owners so I know they are trustworthy. Hopefully if more owners get on the site the number of reviews will increase and it will be more valuable for all of us.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?hosueguy Apr 5, 2013 11:35 AM (in response to maui-vacation-rental)
Why is everyone suggesting we go to another Site to do the exact thing we want on Homeaway? It would seem, since other sites are providing this service, that the "industry" is ok with it, so it throws out the Ebay concern....and why is everyone who responds in an attempt to get us to go somewhere else for this service always out of Hawaii area?? For 2 years this discussion has gone on, apparently everyone else just goes to a third party site, instead of encouraing homeaway and vrbo.com to "improve" thier product offerings...
America, once had a theory that we build a "BETTER PRODUCT" and continually improve upon that we will have customers for life! What happen to that America? Last time i looked, all my friends Foreign vehicles were run down, beat up, thrown out in 3-5 years...i am still driving a 2001 Ford Pickup, with 280,000 miles... on it, so Some company's haven't lost the American ideals..
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?thaxterlane Apr 5, 2013 12:21 PM (in response to hosueguy)
I'll attempt to address some of your questions.
I'm not convinced that a reviewing/rating system for guests is in my interest. I am an individual property owner - I have one house that I rent on a weekly basis. It's a seasonal rental in New England.
I think that your your point of view on this subject, driven by your needs as a property manager, is going to be different than mine. I'll assume you may have many properties that are year 'round rentals - a very different rental responsibility and process than my simple vacation house.
I am concerned that reviewing guests would drive business away. I do not know of any service for purchase of goods or hire of services where buyer/clients are reviewed and the information shared amongst all service providers.
I have several steps to screening potential guests, and tools in place for limiting the potential for "problem" guests (how does one define a problem guest?), that have worked for me over the years and that I would trust more than an unknown owner's opinion of a guest.
I don't use a third party site. And, I'm not in Hawaii.
I don't favor reviewing/reporting on guests' behaviors. I think a review system could have a chilling effect on inquiries. I think buyers/clients are likely to see a review system as disrespectful and demeaning. I would.
As a traveler, I would not agree to stay in a property that might lead to a "rating" of me as a guest. It's an intrusion that I would not be willing to risk as it would leave a mark of sorts on my personal record ONLINE. A review, whether true or false, could live forever. I think a review/report system poses a risk to all travelers' reputations and the few "problem" travelers that are avoided through such a system are not worth the overall risk.
If an owner or property manager is having frequent difficulties with "problem" guests I suggest they first seek to eliminate risk by examining their screening process and putting in place procedures that help uncover these guests before a rental agreement is signed. I know it's not easy, and I don't intend to suggest it is. But, attempting to catch the "problem" guests by subjecting all guests to a review system is not an appropriate nor reasonable answer.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?hosueguy Apr 5, 2013 12:35 PM (in response to thaxterlane)
Do you drink Alcohol? I don't, but every time I go the the grocery store, there it is, one isle of wine and one isle of cold beer. It is there for those who choose to use it and it does not effect the quality of my grocery shopping experience. In fact it enhances my experience.
What's my point, just beacuse the system is there, doesn't force you to use it. HA, odly, your rentals sound exactly like mine, vacation home properties. Doesn't "Homeaway" suggest, Vacation properties, and isn't VRBO an achronym for Vacation Rentals By Owners....What it that term sounds like Long term year round rentals?
If you think it would be an advantage for you to not use the rating system great, use that angle to grow your business. Again, we are talking about less than 5% of the polulation that causes headaches...I promise you those 5 percent cause enought head aches that they are likely a voice not heard amongst friends, so the "Fear" or loosing potential guests, just seems far fetched to me. I have only been doing this for a decade, just about the time the little old family started up VRBO, and in that time I have never had a problem renting out my property 100% of the Season...I just don't see the fear motive.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?thaxterlane Apr 5, 2013 12:39 PM (in response to hosueguy)
hosueguy, I think we have reached a point in this conversation where we should agree to disagree. Best, thaxter.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?maui-vacation-rental Apr 5, 2013 12:58 PM (in response to hosueguy)
hosueguy, I agree it would be nice if HomeAway would offer this feature but what's the problem with going to another website like GuestQuery or GuestChecker? It takes me almost no time at all to switch over to another browser tab and look up information on another site. Plus, since these companies specialize in letting us review guests I'm guessing they will always have HomeAway beat on features in that particular specialty. I find it more annoying when HomeAway forces you to use their system and services for things because I can usually find another service that is better and done on my terms instead of HomeAway's. It really doesn't seem worth complaing so much about.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?mike-dfv Apr 6, 2013 8:58 AM (in response to maui-vacation-rental)
I think a rating system might be useful, but not a review system. In other words, nothing negative or positive could be written about the guest. HA/VRBO could just ask for a number of stars and some very basic yes/no questions, like: Did they pay on time? Did they check out on time? Those could then show up in the owner's dashboard with that guest's inquiry, but nowhere else.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?kerry9 Aug 8, 2013 2:42 PM (in response to mike-dfv)
VRBO already has the capabilities to deal with the situation through Renter Profiles.
I like the idea of a renters/guest profile, because they are making their own bed.
It should be manditory for any guest to make/have a profile in order to review a property.
Time for VRBO to level the playing field, and do more for the owners- who are paying for the service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
visit this thread too...
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?kerry9 Aug 8, 2013 2:42 PM (in response to jamessf)
VRBO already has the capabilities to deal with the situation through Renter Profiles.
I like the idea of a renters/guest profile, because they are making their own bed.
It should be manditory for any guest to make/have a profile in order to review a property.
Time for VRBO to level the playing field, and do more for the owners- who are paying for the service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
visit this thread too...
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?rscottb Aug 16, 2013 2:03 PM (in response to jamessf)
I think there should be a owner's section where you could post positive or negative reviews on your experience with a traveler. This section could only be viewed by owners. I'm new to renting my home as a vacation spot. I just had my 4th traveler stay and the mess they left has me considering if it was a smart decision to try the vacation rental route. I would love to be able to warn other owners "DO NOT RENT' to these people.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?wimbushmansion Sep 4, 2013 12:57 PM (in response to rscottb)
Yes I agree that it would be a great idea. Airbnb does this. We have been really lucky 90% of our guests have been wonderful. One trend we have had the misfortune to experience in our area is groups in for Jam Bands are our popular local music venues. These same groups come to town alomst every year and have big house parties. I am learning what to look for, but twice I have been fooled - once with lots of mess including drugs to clean up.
Communicating in advance of bookin that we will subtract additional cleaning fees from a guests security deposit and clear check out instructions on property has really worked the best for us.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?neverever Sep 17, 2013 9:52 AM (in response to jamessf)
I can't agree more, that there needs to be a Renter Rating system for Owners. I have been dealing w a horrible person who damaged my house and followed that w an illegal Chargeback. Even if she had not damaged my home and initiated the Chargeback, she would have still received an "F" as a guest for adding to the housekeeping chores by doing multiple things like throwing coffee on the walls, for being indignant at check-out time that the contract required they leave the premises (they wanted to stay and use the pool, which was just cleaned for the next guests), and for insisting we provide beach items that I had told her I did not guarantee, prior to her booking. When will HA and VRBO understand that the people that buy the ads deserve a bit of protection from grifters that use VRBO or HA because the local management companies have blacklisted them?
Also, if you have a traveler whose behavior was so egregious that the Sheriff's Office is investigating them in a Criminal Complaint, that is something that other homeowners should know, imo.
Re: Should HomeAway Create a Renter Ratings System?serenade Nov 30, 2013 2:06 AM (in response to jamessf)
Yes, I agree with many of you - this is certainly way overdue. We do need to be able to review guests as well. Two way street is always a good thing.


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Free Xbox One/360 Games With Gold Titles For August 2017 Revealed
This month, Xbox One gets Slime Rancher and Trials Fusion, while 360 gets Bayonetta and Red Faction: Armageddon.
This month, Xbox One gets Slime Rancher and Trials Fusion, while 360 gets Bayonetta and Red Faction: Armageddon.
Gearbox software purchases the Homeworld IP at auction, while Darksiders and Red Faction go to Nordic Games.
Alex from XCAR joins Danny on a voyage to Mars where they blow up rocks, shoot fish and sympathise with the plight of the space man.
This week's episode brings a PC Game Extravaganza!
This week we feature Joe Danger Special Edition, Sonic CD, Marvel Pinball, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires, Red Faction: Armageddon, Alice: Madness Returns, and Battlefield ...
Check out some Red Faction: Armageddon - Path to War gameplay action, where Mason uses his sharpshooter to do some serious damage.
Jody takes center court to update you on Grand Slam Tennis 2, Age of Conan F2P, an exclusive Gotham City Imposters trailer, and more!
This week, we check out Madden NFL 12, Red Faction Armageddon, Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon, Driver: San Francisco, and more.
A player piles lethal shards onto his foes.
An airship explodes a marauder base.
Mason rolls through the desert in a hulking tank.
This week we check out Let's Golf 3D, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team, and Galaga Legions DX, among other titles.
This week, we feature Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, EA Sports Season Pass, Rugby World Cup 2011, and Red Faction: Armageddon DLC.
Check out a trailer for Red Faction: Armageddon's latest mission pack, Path to War available now.
This week on PSN check out Deadliest Warrior: Legends, Section 8: Prejudice, Back to the Future, the No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise demo, new L.A. Noire DLC, and much more. ...
Mark dons his finest bowler hat to bring you a veritable feast of financial news, including the 3DS price drop and big losses for Sony and THQ.
Nintendo becomes the target of a 3DS lawsuit, Red Faction goes on sale on the PlayStation Network, and DICE talks the future of Mirror's Edge.
We spent some time with art director Chad Greene at E3 2010 to chat about Red Faction: Armageddon's new underground direction, as well as a bit about its enemy and ...
Lead writer at Volition Drew Holmes, who has worked on Red Faction: Armageddon and Saints Row: The Third, sits down with Dan Chiappini to discuss the game writing process.
This week on Crosshairs we chat to Snowblind Studios about the co-op chaos in Lord of the Rings: War in the North, we sit down with the lead writer at ...
Red Faction: Armageddon magnetizes Chris Watters in this video review.
Darius uses his magnet gun creatively to get rid of some alien scum.
Darius uses the superweapon that is Mr. Toots, a magical unicorn that shoots a barrage of rainbow destruction out of his...
Gain the Impact ability and get to the turbine room.
Use a light mech to help you decimate infected buildings and then make your way to the gondola station.
Lots of pretty effects and mass carnage abound in this Infestation mode clip from Red Faction: Armageddon.
Darius and his squadmates try to survive the Infestation in this clip from Red Faction: Armageddon.
Darius uses all his tricks to survive an enemy onslaught in this Infestation mode clip from Red Faction: Armageddon.
Check out the Mr. Toots weapon featured in Red Faction: Armageddon after completing the single-player campaign.
Watch Red Faction: Armageddon as Darius blasts his way into the turbine room.
In this gameplay video for Red Faction: Armageddon, Darius causes some serious damage with his brand-new mech.
Watch the hammer-wielding Darius Mason in Red Faction: Armageddon as he crumbles towers in this gameplay video.
Chris Watters demos Red Faction: Armageddon on the Xbox 360.
Chris Watters and Maxwell McGee rip open our copy of Red Faction:Armageddon.
In this video, we follow Darius as he inadvertently breaks the seal holding back an ancient enemy, which now threatens to unleash hell across the whole of Mars.
This week, we feature a demo for Red Faction:Armageddon, an explosive title by the name of Gatling Gears, and free identity protection from Sony.
This week, we feature Gatling Gears; editor's choice downloads, including Vanquish and Dirt 2; and a demo for Red Faction: Armageddon.
Check out this history of Red Faction: Armageddon franchise trailer.
Check out the trailer for the Recon Pack, which includes the clandestine Recon uniform, constructed specifically for Red Faction snipers and spies.
Check out the trailer for the Commando Pack, which includes the armored Commando uniform and adds two new weapons to your arsenal.
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The Midday S&P Is Down Again Due to Mixed Earnings Reports
By Anthony Shields Nov 08, 2012 2:53 pm
Windstream Corp and Hospira Inc. stocks fall on bad third-quarter news.
MINYANVILLE ORIGINAL The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) is down .65% to 1,385.42 as of 2:15 p.m. today. Leading this fall is Windstream Corp (NASDAQ:WIN) which fell 8.88% to $8.59 per share after missing estimates for its 3Q earnings report. Also down is Hospira Inc (NYSE:HSP) which fell 4.97% to $29.96 a share after its 3Q report revealed shrinking gross and operating margins, despite growth in net margins. Today's big winner is Verisign Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) which rose 6.26% to $42.96 per share.
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Submission + - Video Celebration 100y of IBM (engadget.com)
Kilrah_il writes: 2011 will be IBM's 100th anniversary, and in celebration, it has produced a video remembering famous projects. "Want to know who the self-confessed "mother of the motherboard" is? Or why every piece of organically farmed, tenderly loved food at your local Trader Joe's has a barcode on it? Or perhaps you're curious to learn more about how millions of airline reservations can be made around the world with unfailing reliability?"


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THE sun shone on Warrnambool's art scene yesterday, and the crowds turned out to bask in it.
About 200 people stopped by the Civic Green to watch two artists at work as part of the Arts On The Grass series.
The summery weather was a relief for organisers, who had to cancel one of the December events and move another indoors due to rain.
Former Warrnambool artist Tom Pendergast and local graffiti artist Shaun McIntyre entertained the crowd by creating an artwork each from scratch in two hours yesterday, while Warrnambool guitarist Dave Burgess performed on the Civic Green stage.
The WAG's curator of exhibitions and outreach Gareth Colliton said the turnout was excellent.
"A lot come for an hour for their lunch break and then they go and the next wave comes for their lunch break, so the seats are always full," Colliton said.
"I'd say a couple hundred would stay for a while, and a lot more would pass by, check it out, and move on."
With two more sessions to take place over the next two Fridays — each featuring different artists — Colliton said each Arts On The Grass event exposed audiences to different artistic styles and techniques.
Pendergast and McIntyre both used spray cans in their work, which Colliton said showed off different methods of using an uncommon medium.
Another new twist at the event was the addition of kids' easels, where children could create art as well as interact with the artists.
Some of the youngsters were certainly interacting, telling Pendergast to add clams and a shipwreck to his picture.
"It is a little bit strange, I suppose, because art is usually a solitary pursuit," he said.
"But it's been good having people come up and talk to you.
"The kids are full of suggestions."


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The story of Maggie, her doorway and Rainier Provisions
I heard something over lunch yesterday that made me tear-up over my roast beef sandwich. I was at Rainier Provisions, checking out Sean Heather's latest Gastown foodie-magnet. Gastown is a tricky district to define. On the one hand it's Vancouver's oldest and most tourist-friendly; home to the 'Gassy Jack' statue, the singing Steam Clock, cobbled streets and twinkly fairy-lit trees. There are more hipster joints here than you can kick a hackysack at. It's also home to the Downtown Eastside, where you'll find more crushing poverty, drug addiction, homelessness and downright misery than any other area I've encountered in Vancouver. These two extremes live uneasily side by side. Occasionally, as with newcomer Pidgin, things break out and get weird.
I get it. Gentrification brings its problems between the haves and have-nots but I have to wonder – what would you rather? If it's a choice between an empty building and no jobs, or a buzzing establishment that makes a conscious effort to give back to the local neighbourhood, well, it feels like a no-brainer to me.
Sean's been in Gastown for almost two decades. He's got a solid record of giving back and getting along with his neighbours. Rainier Provisions is next to the Rainier Hotel, a women's single-room occupancy hotel, which just had a block of federal funding removed. Thanks to Sean, residents get fed, for free, once a week and a similar meals programme has been in place for years at another of his places, The Irish Heather. I got all mascara-smudged yesterday because I was told about Maggie, a lady who'd lived in the front door of the previously-disused building for three years. When Rainier Provisions was being constructed, instead of evicting Maggie from her doorstep home, it was decided instead to give her some security. So they frosted windows on three sides of one of the unused doorways, added a combination lock on the gate and now Maggie has a place to leave her things where she can come and go as she pleases. She says she feels safer now.
That's what made me cry. So yes, while many talk up a storm about what gentrification may or may not mean for an area and those who are less well-off, I put all my support behind a company that pays more than lip-service to the idea that we all deserve a place in our community and a damn good meal too.
Oh – the food? Hey, it's Sean Heather – a by-word for excellence – small producers, local suppliers trying to get along with their foodie dreams, so on the menu, great sandwiches, a daily roast (a huge plateful for as little as $8) and jaw-clangingly great ice cream from Vancouver's finest, Earnest Ice Cream.
Pop in for a meal, or to stock up on deli items like East Vancouver's Moccia Urbani, D-Original Sauage Company, Germany's Drews Driessen, and England's Neal's Yard Dairy. Take an empty bottle to fill up on peppery olive oil and choose a treat from the towering pantry shelves. And say hi to Maggie if she's home.
I ate here as a guest of Rainier Provisions. As ever – my views are 100% my own.


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Researchers map gene for connective tissue diseaseResearchers from UNMC and the Center for Genomic Sciences at Allegheny Singer Research Institute in Pittsburgh have identified the location of a gene on the human genome that is responsible for Dupuytren's contracture, the most common inherited connective tissue disease. The team's discovery recently was published in the journal Clinical Genetics.
Dupuytren's contracture is a soft tissue disease that affects the palmar fascia, the thick connective tissue that lies above the tendons and beneath the skin in the palm of the hand. Through its attachment to both the tendons and skin, the palmar fascia works as an anchor, facilitating the hand's ability to grasp or manipulate objects.
Dupuytren's contracture is a progressive thickening and shortening of the palmar fascia, causing a permanent flexing of the fingers that can significantly impair the hand's functioning, said Garth Ehrlich, Ph.D., scientific director of ASRI's Center for Genomic Sciences and a principal investigator in the study.
"Duypuytren's contracture is the most common simple genetic trait that has yet to be genetically mapped. Although its cause is not completely understood, it is believed that the disease results from a defect in the body's normal wound healing response. Understanding its genetic origins therefore, will likely provide insights into a host of other similarly characterized diseases," Dr. Ehrlich said.
Clinical signs of Dupuytren's contracture are typically first noted in the fifth or sixth decade of life and disease progression is variable. While all fingers can become involved, the disorder most often affects the ring and little fingers. Usually painless, the condition can be debilitating as affected fingers bend towards the palm and cannot be straightened.
Though the hereditary form of Dupuytren's contracture is most prevalent in Scandinavia and among Scandinavian immigrant populations, the disease is found among all ethnic groups. The disease is more common among men than women.
Collaborating with researchers from the Universities of Linkoping and Umea in Sweden, a team led by Dr. Ehrlich and N. Ake Nystrom, M.D., Ph.D., a hand surgeon in the UNMC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, identified a five-generation Swedish family with a genetic history of Dupuytren's contracture by age 60.
Blood samples were collected from all affected and informative unaffected family members for the performance of a genome-wide assessment. The analysis mapped a gene for Dupuytren's contracture to human chromosome 16q.
"We have essentially identified a single small region within the vast human genome where the gene for this disease exists. Efforts are now underway to identify the gene itself. Once that is accomplished, the next step would be to develop a better, less invasive method of treating it," Dr. Nystrom said.
There is currently no known way to alter the course of Dupuytren's contracture once it begins. Standard treatment for the disease is a surgical procedure known as fasciectomy, in which segments of the palmar fascia are removed.
Complications with surgery, however, are common, Dr. Nystrom said, as Dupuytren's tends to envelop adjacent structures as well, particularly the small nerves of the hands and fingers.
"Dissection of the palmar fascia is often slow and tedious and injury to nerves is a serious potential complication. Even if a procedure goes well, the contracture still may return months or years after surgery. Better understanding of the genetics of this disease will hopefully move us in the direction of a more effective therapeutic approach," Dr. Nystrom said.
Funding for this research was provided by Allegheny Singer Research Foundation and by grants from the National Institutes of Health.