Big Apple Pizza and the #Politics of Yelping

Yesterday, Scott Van Duzer, powerlifter and owner of Big Apple Pizza in Fort Pierce, Florida gave a big hug to Obama and said that, although he was a traditional Republican, he supported Obama for reasons that seemed good to him. Hey, it's America, right?
Then today a wave of people were jumping on this business's Yelp reviews and giving him low (one-star) reviews based, not on his pizza or anything, but on the politics! This is wrong. Love him, hate him, buy his pizza, boycott his pizza ... do what you want! But don't go mess around with reviews - that hurts everybody.
The internet reacted. Now at this moment the reviews condemning the political reviews are driving the political reviews down. I don't know how it all works out mathematically; just off the top of my head, it seems likely that a spate of 1-star and 5-star reviews will drive the overall score toward the median, masking the actual, quality-based score. But I found it interesting enough to try to be funny in  writing my own review:

"You may or may not like Obama,
You may be all focused on drama,
 But when pizza you're rating -
 Think "food" and not "hating"!
You should have learned that from your Momma!"

I'm happy to see that other reviewers rated this little limerick as "funny" as well as "useful" and "cool".  I'll probably never go to Florida and see this guy's pizza shop, but we are now connected in a little way, thanks to the internet, a desire for fairness, and a shared love of humor.

Updated 9/11/2012:
It looks like Yelp has purged a lot of reviews, including mine. Ah well! My only regret is the loss of so many positive responses to my review ... it was 2nd in the "funny" category and in the top 10 of "cool". I suppose this is a lesson to writers: preserve your work on more than 1 site!

More About This Story:

• A On Daily KOS
• The Van Duzer Foundation

From the Paint Locker to #ZeroWaste - A #CTWW Challenge!

In honor of Zero Waste Week, this week's Change the World Wednesday Challenge is:

"This week, consider your recycling habits and decide on one more thing which you can do to reduce landfill waste. Let us know what you're doing, and how, so that we can all learn and be inspired."

We've already cut back on our garbage can to the smallest size available, and thanks to Seattle's fine residential recycling program, we don't fill up the trash can even over the course of two weeks. But there's always room for improvement!
When your creativity is stuck, one place to look is at a project that you've been delaying for no good reason that you're willing to admit.
A task that I have been avoiding has been cleaning out the paint locker. When we bought this house a couple of years ago, there were several cans of paint in the basement left over from who-knows-what.  While latex-based paint may be safely disposed of in the trash, oil-based paint has to be treated as a hazardous waste, and either way, they contribute to the mountain of garbage. I've been putting off dealing with this.
Meanwhile, there are a number of plain concrete surfaces around the house: the walls of our laundry room, and the outside of our foundation. I have been gradually painting the foundation, a little at a time, because I like the way it perks up the look of the place, and it (may) give it a little more protection from the elements.
It just struck me: why not go through may old paint and apply anything that's still usable to my surfaces?
I'm pretty sure the latex paint would go fine in the laundry room, and perhaps reduce the dust that seems to collect on bare cement surfaces. The oil-based paint should be o.k. for the parts of the foundation that don't get seen very often, regardless of the color. There just doesn't seem to be any reason to have a collection of half-full paint cans or to send them to the landfill/hazardous waste facility, when there are perfectly good walls ready to put them to use!
This project will take a bit of time, to sort through things and apply them, but as a bonus, I will then have an empty paint locker than can be used for something else. I'll write when the paint locker is empty and hope I have good news to report!

4freeCLE: Your Free CLE Newsletter! September 9, 2012

4freeCLE: Your Free CLE Newsletter! September 9, 2012 In This Issue Multi-State Mega-CLE September 19 Webinar CLEs In-Person CLEs Past Issues   September 19 Multi-State Mega-CLE 20th Annual Estate & Charitable Gift Planning Institute One of the biggest free CLE events is the Salvation Army's annual Estate & Charitable Gift Planning Institute. At over a hundred locations across the USA, you can earn 4-6 credits, including an ethics credit, while learning some very useful information! Locations including cities in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin. Pre-registration is essential; some locations are already filled up.  Learn More And Register Now! Webinar CLE Join top experts in learning and earning credit whereever you have web access!  September 11: FLS Public Benefits Overview for Non-Public Benefits Specialists. Basics of public benefits. By Florida Legal Services Inc.  September 11: Resistance and Rights: Civil Society and the Surprising Resilience of the Rule of Law after 9/11. The role of civil society in restoring the rule of law in post-9/11 America. Also presented in-person (Cleveland). By Institute for Global Security Law and Policy. September 11: Understanding U.S. Export Regulations. Companies and their counsel need to stay on top of U.S. Export Administration Regulations to stay in compliance and avoid potential investigations. By LexisNexis.  September 12: Advanced Tips for Enhanced Legal Research on Fastcase. By Fastcase.  September 12: The Fourth Amendment: Is There A Future? Recent Fourth Amendment developments, and others that may be down the road. Also presented in-person (Cleveland). By CWRU. September 12: The Sunshine Act - Best Practices for Industry Compliance and the Pathway to Improved Patient Care. The Physician Payment Sunshine Act: a step forward for patient care or a step back for the industry? By LexisNexis.  September 13: Selecting the Right Testifying Expert & What You Need to Consider. The differences between testifying and consulting experts, how to research both the other side's experts and your own, and much more. By LexisNexis.  September 24: Boolean (Keyword) Search for Lawyers. By Fastcase. September 27: Preventing Slavery and Human Trafficking Within US Industries - Prevention Efforts and the CA Supply Chain Transparency Act. The role and legal obligations of U.S. companies in preventing slavery here and abroad. By LexisNexis.  September 27: From Anti-Slavery Lawyer to Chief Justice: The Remarkable Career of Salmon P. Chase. Also presented in-person (Cleveland). By CWRU. October 8: Introduction to Fastcase. By Fastcase.   On-Demand CLE Since you can view "On-Demand" on your own time and re-view them as needed, they often lectures provide better education than do live lectures.  Electronic Discovery in Florida State Court: Navigating New Rules for New Issues. New rules on the discovery and production of electronically stored information in civil cases. By Florida Bar. Litigation Coaching & Litigation Consulting: A New Resource for Trial Lawyers. Psychological expertise can enrich and assist the practice of law in new and creative ways. By Lexvid.  4freeCLE's List of On-Demand CLE. Several dozen CLE you can take now - free! In-Person CLEs State-by-State In-person events are often eligible for credit in other states, either by reciprocity or upon attendee application. If you know of an event offering free CLE, email event to the editor! California    September 18/San Francisco: Introduction to Landlord Tenant Training and Housing Negotiation Project training. By Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF). September 19/San Francisco: Introduction to Family Law training. By BASF.  October 5/Central Valley: 2012 Cancer Rights Conference and MCLE. By Cancer Legal Research Center.  Florida September 11/Web: FLS Public Benefits Overview for Non-Public Benefits Specialists. This webcast is of especial interest to Florida attorneys. By Florida Legal Services Inc.  Massachusetts   September 10/Boston: VLP Training - Intro to Guardianship of Minors. By Volunteer Lawyer Program (VLP).  September 11/Boston: VLP Training - Fair Debt Collection Practice. By VLP.  September 17/Boston: VLP Training - Fair Debt Collection Practice. By VLP.  September 18/Boston: VLP Training - Family Law 102. By VLP.  September 24/Boston: Unemployment Insurance Appeals. By VLP. October 26/Boston: Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program 2012 Training Seminar. By Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program.  Minnesota September 11/Minneapolis: Searching Westlaw.com and Searching WestlawNext. Two programs back-to-back. By Hennepin County Law Library.  September 11/Saint Paul: A Time to Change: Prosecution of Predators After The Sandusky Case, and Making Institutional Environments Safer. By Hamline University.  September 22/Minneapolis: Empirical Professional Ethics: Ethical Development in the Learning and Practice of Law. University of St. Thomas. Ethics Credit! September 26/Stillwater: A View From the Bench. By Washington County Law Library.  September 27/Minneapolis: New Conversations About Racial Advantages. By Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) & Hennepin County Bar Association. October 3/Minneapolis: New Volunteer Orientation / Working with Pro Bono Clients. Two programs back-to-back. By VLN.  October 7/Plymouth: The European Patent - Where is it Different and Why is it so Expensive? By Clise, Billion & Cyr, P.A.  October 9/Saint Paul: Unraveling the Basics of DNA Evidence. By Hamline University.   New York September 10/Brooklyn: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. By Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project.  September 13/Brooklyn: Bankruptcy Update 2012 - Part 1. By Brooklyn Bar Association (BBA).  September 18/Albany: Corporate Formation of the LLC 101. By Tully Rinckey.   September 19/Staten Island: Basic CLARO Training Program. By Fordham Law School's Feerick Center for Social Justice.   September 20/Brooklyn: Bankruptcy Update 2012 - Part 2. By BBA.   September 27/Brooklyn: Bankruptcy Update 2012 - Part 3 - Advanced Bankruptcy. By BBA.  October 5/NYC: New York State's Campaign Against Sex Trafficking: What's Next? Register by October 2. By Fordham University.  Ohio September 11: Resistance and Rights: Civil Society and the Surprising Resilience of the Rule of Law after 9/11. The role of civil society in restoring the rule of law in post-9/11 America. Also available as webcast. By Institute for Global Security Law and Policy.    September 12: The Fourth Amendment: Is There A Future? Recent Fourth Amendment developments, and others that may be down the road. Also presented as webcast. By CWRU.   September 27/Cleveland: From Anti-Slavery Lawyer to Chief Justice: The Remarkable Career of Salmon P. Chase. Also available as webcast. By CWRU. October 3/Cleveland: The Resolution of Systematically Important Financial Institutions. By CWRU.  Pennsylvania September 14/Philadelphia: Quiet Title/Homeownership Litigation. By Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP). Texas September 12/Dallas: VAWA, U Visa, SIJS & Asylum Training Class. By Human Rights Initiative of North Texas.  September 14/Houston: Justice for Human Trafficking Survivors: Civil Litigation in U.S. Courts. By Tahirih Justice Center, Children At Risk, and the law firm Jones Day Wisconsin September 21/Madison: Networking Professionally and Ethically. For University of Wisconsin Law alumni. Credit approved for IN, MN, NY, OH, WI. By University of Wisconsin. About 4freeCLE 4freeCLE is delivered weekly and will always be free! Please forward to your fellow professionals so they may benefit; if this was forwarded to you, get your own subscription for free by signing up now!