From Bob's Cluttered Desk

Most fireworks are illegal in my state. Anything other than a hand held sparkler is strictly verboten. It is illegal to use “exploding and/or flying fireworks in Florida, which include: shells and mortars, multiple tube devices, Roman candles, rockets and firecrackers.” Someone forgot to tell the idiots in my neighborhood. It happens every year, and…

They are having a really tough time in Oklahoma. A few years ago they proudly rolled out their new and shiny workers' compensation reforms, declaring a new day had dawned and life would henceforth be wonderful. Today the bent and twisted wreckage of that effort litters the ground, looking more like a rickety plane that…

I was going to use the word “final” instead of “another” in the headline to this post, but there is nothing final about the people who assembled at the 2016 Workers' Compensation Summit in Dallas last month. It is clear to us that most are in for the long haul, and genuinely hope to make…

The Board of Directors for Kids' Chance of Florida met telephonically last week and voted to award scholarships totaling $15,000 to four college bound students. Not bad, considering the organization didn't even exist 6 months ago. It just goes to show that, even in workers' comp, good things can happen when there is a strong…

Florida Judge David Langham wrote last week about a very important idea discussed in Dallas during the first meeting of the 2016 Workers' Compensation Summit. It was, in my mind, one of the biggest ideas from our two-day gathering, and I fully intended to write about it earlier than now. However, life gets in the…

One of the unstated goals of this blog is to help educate and inform people about new and innovative processes to improve workplace safety and efficiency. This is particularly useful to those of you who are too busy actually earning a living to waste massive quantities of time piddling around the web trying to fill…

For the last 5 years I have enjoyed the tremendous honor of serving as president of my homeowners' association. And by tremendous honor, I mean I am the only one stupid enough to take on and maintain that wholly detestable and thankless position. I have served with mostly the same people on the HOA board…

Normally when a sordid story crosses the Cluttered Desk, especially one that is work related as part of its foundation, I do not hesitate to wade in and opine about the facts of the saga. Rarely one to be concerned with potential offense, I delve in and harangue away to my heart's content. Yet once…

The entire nation mourned last week when Captain Jeff Kuss, a member of the elite flight demonstration squadron The Blue Angels, was killed while conducting a practice flight for an air show in Tennessee. It was a national tragedy, a loss of a dedicated pilot representing the very best our country has to offer. I,…

An email that came out last week is causing a bit of buzz and consternation within the workers' comp “speaking community”. It was sent by Stuart Ruff, Vice President Events and Education for RIMS, the international “Risk Management Society” that produces the largest annual risk-centric conference in the country.  The email, published yesterday by friend…