Time. Is there ever enough of it? Perhaps there is universality in time, or it could be relative. I leave that to the quantum physicists out there. One great perspective on Time was simply titled "Time" (Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon, Harvest/Capitol, 1973). The lyrics are incredible, and the older I get the more sense they make. Must be a senility thing? Click the link and read the lyrics, seriously.  There are reminders there. They focus us on our demise, the fragility of this existence, and the persistence of time. In some part, that is about knowledge and perspective. Floyd notes ..read more

Sometimes we struggle with challenges we don’t perhaps fully understand. At times, forces conspire against us, consciously or not. Life is a journey filled with uncertainty, misconceptions, and mysteries. But frequently, the problem is all too clear, an 800-pound gorilla in the room. The world of work faces a systemic dilemma in the midst of the third decade of the 21st century. Generations have been raised with various values and perceptions that we do not necessarily understand. Some believe that the distinction is somehow starker in the community of workers' compensation, but I am dubious ..read more

There is an ancient rhyming song that features a teapot. I have heard it many times over the years. It is used as an interactive with children and is quite entertaining. One version ends with the realization that the singer is actually a sugar bowl.  I was reminded of that when I noted there are various issues that seem to persist in the news. One of note is identification. The news is replete with people's stories of identification. There are those who struggle with that, and rightly so perhaps. Each is entitled to her or his own beliefs in the general sense. If you believe you are a lit ..read more

The news has recently focused on decriminalizing drugs. The British Broadcasting Corporation recently noted that British Columbia is the first Canadian province to do so. It notes that there are many fatal overdoses. That is not news. I have written about overdose for years. There is a growing problem with people putting chemicals in their bodies. Water is wet, the sky is blue, the Browns choke every year. Some truths are unavoidable. The BBC notes that seemingly each year we set a new record for deaths. In the US the rate reached 112,000 most recently. That is more than died in our entire in ..read more

Artificial Intelligence is back in the news, with a state court judge confronted with the admissibility of a "video enhanced by artificial intelligence." It is a criminal case in Washington state, and there is a familiar discussion in the reasoning that led the trial judge to exclude the "enhanced" evidence. The story illustrates that perhaps we already possess tools to evaluate and assess the impacts of AI in the realm of litigation. I suggested as much previously. See AI is a Tool (October 2023) and A Fool With a Tool (January 2024). The theme there is that AI shares similarities with vario ..read more

Back in the day, remember SARS-CoV-2? We went home for Spring Break 2020 and before it was over the Universities had all told us "STAY AWAY! We did the shift, the pivot, the switch. I went to video for teaching. We went to video for trials. We shifted mediation to telephonic. It was a tumultuous time. I later wrote Little Black Boxes (December 2021) riffing on the old Mellencamp tune Little Pink Houses. I shared some of my perceptions of videos. There was ample introspection about the pandemic, about remote work. Many found the virtual world challenging and even untenable. Many found it prefe ..read more

There was a great hue and cry in recent years about "steps." I came across it at a national conference when I observed someone wearing a wristband step counter. I inquired. "ten thousand steps a day, gotta have em," I was impressed by the number and asked about the reason for it. The answer was two parts elusive mixed with on part ambiguous and stirred carefully with a reference to "a study." I got to looking into that later. It turns out that the 10,000 was a marketing tool for a Japanese company They liked the name they had for their step counter, which translated to "10,000 step meter," ac ..read more

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). The oldest "boomers are in their late 70s and the youngest are on their final approach for retirement. These are the old guys like Rafael Gonzalez who has "bee ..read more

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.  Those printers would put pithy sayings on various colored papers, with their logo and phone number, and you could pick them up for free. It was good for laughs before there was email, social media, and the like. Yes, we actually h ..read more

Three shootings. Three examples. An opportunity to discuss the interaction of "arising out of "and the parallel requirement of "course and scope." Too often, there is confusion between these two distinct tests. The confusion is due in large part to poor appellate analysis and intermingling. The three examples for this conversation today include the instance in New Mexico in which actor and producer Alec Baldwin stands accused. See Workplace Gun Safety (August 2022). Today, I address recent instances in the case law and news. We begin here in Florida with last August's Normandy Ins. Co. v ..read more