"It is something I have thought about a lot, " says Mr. Fidelo, who designed Ms. Williams's garden and connected it to his own, which in turn connects to the yard of a third neighbor, Ken Druse, 62, a garden writer and photographer.

WSJ: Shared Backyards: Advice for Homeowners on Removing Fences to Create Bigger Gardens, More Space

Does CouchSurfing represent something new, then, or is it simply an Internet-enabled version of the age-old practice of crashing with the friend of a friend of a neighbor of a third cousin of someone you sat next to on a bus?

NEWYORKER: You��re Welcome

Nearby Rancho Mirage is neighbor Larry Ellison, ranked the third wealthiest American on the Forbes 400 list.

FORBES: Walter Annenberg's Sunnylands Estate To Become A 'Camp David West'

And he says, third, this is an example of how little our closest neighbor knows about our country.

NPR: 3 min 57 sec

First, Northridge was a sleepy, third-tier commuter school with nothing like the pressure-cooker politics of its elite neighbor.

WSJ: Best of the Web Today: See You in the Funny Papers