Florida Workers' Comp

MARCH 31, 2024

There is a fair bit being written about the "next generation." The "lost generation" (1883-1910; 114+) is passed, the "greatest generation" (1901-1927; 97+) is dramatically shrinking. The "silent generation" (1928-1945; 80-96) is rapidly aging out of active societal participation, but perhaps retains some potential to mentor and influence. Now comes the decline of the once mighty "baby boomer generation (1946-1964; 60-78).

IT 80

IT Education Mining Consulting 80

Florida Workers' Comp

MARCH 28, 2024

All skill is in vain , under certain circumstances. There was a humorous homily that led with "all skill is in vain" and implicated an "angel." Back in the days when no one had a printer or copier at home (a long time ago), we used to use stores that sold photocopy services. Seriously, we did not have printers, copiers, computers. It was an analog world.

Engineering 80

Engineering Government Media Employment 80

Florida Workers' Comp

MARCH 17, 2024

The news very recently reported regarding a United States State Department Commission study on artificial intelligence. The results reportedly include some quite dire predictions. Reading the report I was reminded of a quote from the 1980s classic Ghostbusters, discussing the safe use of their technology: "Spengler: It would be bad. Venkman: I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing.

Government 80

Government Commissions Technology Media 80

Florida Workers' Comp

MARCH 14, 2024

It was recently International Women's Day (March 8). In the sometimes vacuous and disturbing world of social media, there are positive moments. One example is that I learned it was International Women's Day. Not through the news, but through social media, I was informed. That ability to pass information is a critical benefit of the medium. Granted, there are plenty of countervailing challenges with those platforms, but some opportunities for greater knowledge.

Media 80

Media Workers’ Compensation Education IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

MARCH 12, 2024

The topic of "deep fakes" is back in the news recently, right here in Florida. Readers will remember that "deep fakes" have been in the news. The term refers to any time something is forged, whether it be someone's voice, image, etc. There have been newsworthy instances of See AI is a Tool (October 2023). that post introduced some youngsters in a "sleepy little town in Spain.

Electronics 80

Electronics Utilities Technology IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

MARCH 7, 2024

The criminal defense legal practice has evolved over the almost 250 years that America has existed. Our legal system is imperfectly bound by purported parameters that are equally imperfect. I strive in my teaching to help students realize that these challenges exist and persist. They all want to excel, to go to law school, and to make a career path in this imperfect world of statutes, rules, and the ubiquity of judicial interpretations, the "common law.

IT 80

IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

MARCH 5, 2024

I have written a post or two about weed. See Marijuana May Be a Problem (January 2016) Marijuana Headaches in Colorado (March 2017); Federal Law Matters in Maine (June 2018); Decriminalizing Marijuana (May 2021); Edible but Stomach Churning (October 2023); Edibles and Illness , (November 2023); Harmless? (January 2024). There has been a sentiment in this country that dope should be legal because it is a panacea of harmless relief to so many.

Medical 80

Medical Government Healthcare Taxes 80

Florida Workers' Comp

MARCH 3, 2024

A "closed ecosystem" is: "a self-replenishing ecosystem in which life can be maintained without external factors or outside aid." There is no plethora of such systems. We are not surrounded by such independence and interconnectivity. There was a time when geographic isolation drove such characterizations. The advent of technology long ago began to threaten and invade such singularity, isolation, or novelty.

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Education Technology IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

There are many interesting applications of the economic concepts of supply and demand. Those are largely lost on the population, but the effects of economics are arguably universal. They surround us in our daily lives. We address them individually and collectively. Imagine a workforce that would band together to artificially control supply, and thus strive to manage the economic equation regarding the value of services.

Health and Welfare 80

Health and Welfare Workers’ Compensation Medical Government 80

Florida Workers' Comp

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Dante suggested that there is probable difficult terrain ahead for those who are less than stellar in their participation in the living world. He espoused several "circles" in hell. A Penguin Bool review describes them in some brevity and they need not be repeated. There is some humor there, but it is a workable overview. The character traits that present dangers of such an eternity include Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery.

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Retail Food Media 80

Florida Workers' Comp

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

The news is persistently about Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). It has been revolutionary in recent years both in the investigation of crimes and in the exoneration of those convicted in the past. This month, NBC News reported on a " 50-year-old Colorado " case that was solved. The evidence led the police to "a career criminal who spent much of his life in and out of prison.

Life Insurance 80

Life Insurance Insurance Medical Workers’ Compensation 80

Florida Workers' Comp

FEBRUARY 18, 2024

I remember many years ago encountering an individual with a spinal cord injury. He had some assistive devices and used a "mouth stick." Another recollection is more recent of a person using a "tongue drive" that was somehow interpreting tongue movement to steer a wheelchair. At a conference in Florida recently, I watched a demonstration of a device that somehow allowed blind people to "see" and the connection to the brain there also involved the tongue.

Medical 80

Medical Software Technology IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

I did a computerized search for the Florida Supreme Court opinion regarding professionalism ("supreme court professionalism"). It yielded results back to the 1950s. I re-sorted from "relevance" to "date" and the July 6, 2023 order was still number 8 on the list. The July 2023 decision is In re Code for Resolving Professionalism Referrals , 367 So. 3d 1184 (Fla. 2023).

Education 80

Education IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

We have known for some time that the economy is being impacted by long-forgotten inflation levels. The pandemic was a time of great panic and economic turmoil. Perhaps there has not been a similar time of economic upheaval, and certainly not in living memory. In retrospect, there were so many poor decisions made regarding federal borrowing and spending.

Government 104

Government Food Engineering Retail 104

Florida Workers' Comp

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

For over a year, the 22nd Statewide Grand Jury has been looking into the potential of "crimes and wrongdoing committed against Floridians related to the COVID-19 vaccine." There has been a nice post-COVID period in the last two years. We have seen the world come back together, with significant normalcy. Well, significant. I still see people wearing masks.

Hospitality 80

Hospitality Food Government Medical 80

Florida Workers' Comp

FEBRUARY 4, 2024

According to Oxford Reference , it was Walter Reuther who coined the phrase: "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it just may be a duck." Similarly, at some point, someone said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Many attribute to Freud, but there are doubters and even critics. The point of the phrase is explained to focus on analysis and consideration: "the importance of considering both the conscious and the unconscious aims of an action.

IT 80

IT Media Workers’ Compensation Commissions 80

Florida Workers' Comp

JANUARY 30, 2024

We must remember what we are being told persistently: "Pot is harmless." See Edibles and Illness (November 2023). If I had a nickel for every time I have been told "harmless," I would be able to buy a really nice value meal. Nonetheless, I do hear it a great deal. Everyone who tells me they use it says there are no side effects and it is really efficacious for whatever it is that ails them.

Medical 80

Medical IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

JANUARY 28, 2024

The world is evolving at such a rapid pace. A brilliant man once said to me "No matter how cynical I get, I can't keep up." That resonated then and frankly, it resonates at an increasing frequency and pace with each passing day. Days ago, I recapped the exceptional webinar "The Point." Last week it was all about Artificial Intelligence. See A Fool With a Tool (January 2024).

Media 80

Media Mining Software Technology 80

Florida Workers' Comp

JANUARY 25, 2024

Wednesday was all about AI. Bob Wilson hit us with the title of this post "A Fool with a Tool is still a Fool." I thought he would go the other way: "A Fool with a Tool may be a Tool." The Point is a webinar produced by the team at WorkCompCollege.com. We started it in November 2022, and it is hard to imagine it was that long ago. We have had some great guests, and the focus of this quarterly gathering is to ask the simple questions in life, like "What is the point?

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Engineering Recruitment Technology 80

Florida Workers' Comp

JANUARY 14, 2024

When lawyers are hired, there are various duties owed to the client. A recent news story highlights this, and illuminates the challenges of closure when such relationships do not persist. This Clearwater example involves Dennis Szafran, who reportedly "abruptly" closed his law firm in October, as reported by Fox13 Tampa. Since then, he has "been trying to, as diligently as possible, trying to file motions to withdraw" from about 800 cases.

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Banking IT Management 80

Florida Workers' Comp

JANUARY 11, 2024

In the spring of 2018, I penned a piece regarding the Forum. I remember attending that year. There was an opportunity to sit at a hallway table with various judges and lawyers. It seems different in retrospect. That was pre-COVID, pre-OJCC Consolidation, and for whatever reason it is etched on my memory. In 2018 Forum Recap and Professionalism (April 2018) ; 2015 Frierson-Colling Professionalism Award (2015), I had the chance to discuss professionalism and The Florida Bar Workers' Compensation S

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Compensation System Commissions IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

JANUARY 7, 2024

I predicted in Copyright Infringement (December 2023) that Harvard would have a new president in 2024. There is perhaps little that any personality can do to stay the course under the withering pressure that is the modern news cycle. There are lessons in the Harvard situation, and with some introspection, we can all likely learn from the mistakes of others.

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Software Technology IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

JANUARY 4, 2024

The workplace remains a challenging environment for many. There have been instances described here over the years. See Remembering Today (December 2020), Violence, Arising, and Course (August 2021), Violence in the Workplace (August 2021), Workplace Violence Again (December 2022), and Triggered and Violent (June 2023). The violence is not limited to the work environment, but it is becoming either more prevalent or more noticed there.

Food 80

Food Healthcare Engineering Finance 80

Florida Workers' Comp

JANUARY 2, 2024

Last year, Newsweek published a set of directions regarding How to Disclose a Disability to Your Manager and Co-Workers. This is a reasonably frequent conversation in the realm of workplace injury and challenges. In recent years, there have been many instances in which employers and coworkers have been similarly challenged to have conversations about exposure to the virus, absence from work, and accommodation.

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Health Insurance Medical Insurance 80

Florida Workers' Comp

DECEMBER 28, 2023

There must be something in the air this week. The news pulls me back to how we use the works of others. There is significant coverage of the plagiarism allegations at Harvard. See Challenges of Service (December 2023). The Boston Globe put an interesting headline on it later that same day: " Harvard strains to find other words for ‘plagiarism ’." Billy Shakespear wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Education 80

Education Technology Government IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

DECEMBER 24, 2023

Recently, in The Value Exchange (October 2023), this highlighted a younger worker who had thoughts about the challenges of a 9 to 5 world of work. It is not easy to make ends meet in this world, and it it is an uncertain place. There are times when circumstances beyond one's control can make the paycheck-to-paycheck existence challenging. There is also too much tendency to see this as a "today" problem.

Food 80

Food Engineering Retail Salary 80

Florida Workers' Comp

DECEMBER 21, 2023

The world has changed significantly regarding our access to information. What used to require research and often legwork can now be far simpler. Information travels at the speed of light and is at our fingertips. It is therefore troubling to learn that news has nevertheless eluded you. I received a call several weeks ago informing me of a rumor that a workers' compensation attorney had passed.

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Education Employment IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

DECEMBER 19, 2023

Did you ever make a mistake? As Forrest Gump so aptly noted regarding his error in not watching where he was going, "it happens." That is a hilarious exchange, but poignant also. We all make mistakes. One (or one million, perhaps two) that has been in the news recently has to do with a series of mistakes that have come to light at the Social Security Administration.

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Government Deductions Deductible 80

Florida Workers' Comp

DECEMBER 14, 2023

I am not much of a country music fan (sorry if that is your genre). But I had a news story hit my list yesterday that was intriguing. It involves someone who sings that music, and he is apparently well-known (I really need to get out more, perhaps). But, the interest is in the concept of due process that lies at the foundation of our constitutional republic and the way the adjudicatory process works.

Workers’ Compensation 104

Workers’ Compensation Hospitality Retail Banking 104

Florida Workers' Comp

DECEMBER 10, 2023

A few years back, there was a discussion of vulgarity and its impact on credibility. Credibility from Vulgarity (October 2021). That post has several links to other thoughts on credibility. The subject is persistent in my travels. I meet many who want to discuss the credibility of witnesses, I updated the topic earlier in 2023: Credibility Again (June 2023) in a piece that also includes some thoughts on the direction appellate courts may choose in light of the new ubiquity of video testimony.

IT 80

IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

DECEMBER 5, 2023

The good folks at the world of words recently announced that "the word" in 2023 was "authentic." They provide an explanation that includes the admission that this is "A high-volume lookup most years." But it was the top lookup in 2023 (or at least the part of 2023 that preceded the selection). People are often interested in "authentic." But there was an additional "substantial increase in 2023," which the dictionary world attributes to the present "conversations about AI, celebrity culture, iden

Manufacturing 80

Manufacturing Media Education IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

I once posted using my friend Simone, a tertiary but crucial character in the 1986 classic Ferris Beuler's Day Off. See Perceptions about Adjudication (February 2016). Yes, Virginia, this blog has been around a long, long time. This is a great way to teach people about the challenges of hearsay, which was the main theme for the 2016 post. Simone, sincere as the day is long, explains Ferris' absence with: "my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows th

Government 80

Government IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

NOVEMBER 26, 2023

There is breaking news about artificial intelligence (AI) and computers taking jobs. This may be a bit difficult for some to stomach, but Business Insider says it is a true story. A story-book story of a girl writ large. She is an out-of-nowhere unknown making a splash on social media. She is way younger than I am, earns six figures, and has way more followers on Instagram (she is, literally, "Internet famous").

Media 80

Media Consulting Employment IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

The day dawns brisk. Temperatures across the country are finally getting into the range that screams fall. There are leaves falling from trees here in Paradise. Not in the colorful hues of the northeast. They are brown, crisp, and frankly an annoyance. All you leaf lovers can chide me for that. Be thankful you don't have my leaves. What is Thanksgiving?

Health and Welfare 80

Health and Welfare Retail Food IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

I find myself persistently surprised by the depth and breadth of the Code of Judicial Conduct. I am confident that I have studied it as much as any judge I know. I have had spirited debates about what it says, what it means, and what it doesn’t. I had a great debate last summer with a judge regarding the distinctions between recusal and disqualification.

IT 80

IT 80

Florida Workers' Comp

NOVEMBER 19, 2023

We are in a world that is transitioning around us. It is evolutionary at least and at moments "revolutionary" is more accurate and descriptive. There has been so much discussion recently about artificial intelligence. AI is not news to me. I have been writing about it since 2016, see Intelligence? (November 2022) for links to older material. It has come up again more recently.

Workers’ Compensation 80

Workers’ Compensation Medical Technology Payroll 80

Florida Workers' Comp

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Medicine is a science. But there is art involved. I was asked recently to deliver a lecture on credibility in opinion evidence, and there is a great deal to unpack there. There is much that contributes to credibility, and much that may detract from it. See The Chair of Truth (February 2018); Credibility - a Conversation (December 2019); Magic Word s (February 2021), and Credibility from Vulgarity (October 2021); But, this presentation was about the science of medical opinions.

Medical 80

Medical Entertainment Workers’ Compensation Education 80