Last night I updated this website to use WordPress v2.8. There’s a lot of new features under the hood. One that I really like is the ability to browse new website themes.
The calculators should all be completely impervious to changes in WordPress. However, its theoretically possible you might notice a little bit of weirdness in how the rest of the website looks/acts. If so, please drop me a line and let me know so I can look into it.
Enjoy!
The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board recently solicited amicus briefs regarding the Weiner v. Ralphs case. After review of the amicus briefs on the topic of the repeal of Labor Code Section 139.5 and vocational rehabilitation, the WCAB has just issued their en banc opinion.1
Download a copy of Weiner v. Ralphs (en banc) right here:
Obviously, you’ll need to read and interpret Weiner v. Ralph’s for yourself. Here’s the Board’s own summary:
What does Weiner v. Ralph’s mean to you?
I’ve updated the Medical Provider Network lists as of 6/5/2009. Most of the updates to the MPN lists page are contributed by loyal users of this website. What’s interesting about the latest update is that it was actually contributed by an insurance company themselves!1
One thing I’ll never understand is why so many MPN lists have logins and passwords. The whole point of a website is to make that kind of information available. Its not like these lists of MPN doctors and providers are secret, right? If anything, making these website more user friendly and more navigable will enable people (injured workers, applicant attorneys, defense attorneys, and judges) to actually find physicians and help smooth the operation of the system.
In any case, I think this is a great first step. I would love to offer everyone a unified source for all California Medical Provider Network websites, logins, and passwords. It would be even better to have the insurance companies and third party administrators just send me the updated information for their links as they update their sites.
It turns out that this website is actually in the top 5% of all blogs in the WORLD. Where did I get this incredible statistic? The Internets, of course.1
While there are some 133,000,000 blogs in the world, all but 7,400,000 of them have been abandoned. 2 Since I add a blog post on average at least once a week, I’m quite safely in the top 7.4 million blogs. That doesn’t even count the number of updates to the permanent impairment and permanent disability calculators.
Top 5%! I wish I had prepared a speech.
Unfortunately, one of the coolest features of my calculators is that some of them will give you the answer you’re looking for before you’ve even finished typing the search term. This works with the:
While these are all very cool while you’re sitting at your computer, I found out (much to my dismay) that this system didn’t work at all when using these online calculators from my cell phone! 1 Well, I’ve updated the calculators to make them more compatible with more phones.2
Save yourself from your own workers’ compensation claim and just leave that heavy rating manual at home.
A few days ago I posted about how to prevent spam. That method works in most instances by allowing you to give out fake e-mail addresses. It also works most of the time against the shadier kinds of people/entities sending out spam.
However, few methods will work that spam is coming from a legitimate source. A few days ago I received spam about “Bing.” This is a new MicroSoft search engine, intended to be a competitor to Google. I’m using the term “competitor” loosely here. This spam e-mail was from “communications@communications3.msn.com”1
A recent blog post on BoingBoing.net summed up MicroSoft woes. The “I’m a PC” ads are just not as compelling as the “Mac ads” with Justin Long. The Zune is a poor shadow of the iPod/iPhone. Hell, Windows Vista can’t compete with Windows XP. On top of it all, the recent public interest in cheap laptops/netbooks has made Linux an actual competitor in the marketplace.
But, stooping to spamming? Can I really expect to be receiving e-mails about MicroSoft along with Nigerian investment oportunities, hot young singles in my area, and erectile dysfunction medication?
Workers’ Comp Executive will be providing a live steaming broadcast of the Workers’ Compensation rate hearings taking place in Sacramento on June 8th, 2009.
Now, don’t mind that funny looking guy yammering on about CompLine. 12 He’ll be replaced with a live streaming broadcast of the rate hearings come Monday afternoon at 12:45pm.3
Will the rates go up? Will they go down? Who knows!
Yesterday afternoon in Fresno I showed another attorney how I could perform an Ogilvie calculation on my cell phone using the best workers’ compensation calculator website in the world.
I don’t know.2
I have to be at the Fresno WCAB this afternoon. 1 Stop by and say hello if you’re in the area.
This weekend I went to the Maker Faire. Having never been to a Maker Faire before, I described my expectations to a co-worker as it being a cross between the State Fair and the Exploratorium.1 It was way better than that.
Art cars, robots, and all kinds of incredible stuff. Everything was made by ordinary people who would happily tell you exactly how they made everything you saw. I also got to see Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame.
The highlight was meeting the guys of MakerBot (Zack “Hoken” Smith, Bre Pettis, and Adam Mayer) and seeing their Cupcake CNC machine in action. These guys are real-life MacGyver’s and Scotty’s. 2
Their Cupcake CNC is a computer controlled robot that builds a 3D object layer-by-layer using molten plastic. You can buy a kit or build one from the plans freely available on their site. Their robot is based upon the incredible work of the RepRap project. The things it can build are really only limited by your imagination.
