Archive for January, 2011

January 29, 2011: 8:00 pm: Legal

The Social Security Administration is the sole arbiter of qualifying for social security disability. The actual criteria seem simple. Workers must pass a “recent work test” and a “duration of work test” in order to qualify. However, the actual forms, evidence, and process involved can be extremely difficult to understand and navigate. Which is why so many applicants choose to hire a social security disability attorney to help them with the process.

Theoretically, having a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that interferes with the ability to work for at least a year or will lead to death is all that is required to qualify. Unfortunately the SSA has very strict guidelines as to which impairments count and which do not. They also have another set of guidelines and requirements as to the evidence that can be used to determine that the impairment is valid.

How old a worker is at the time of disability can affect eligibility under the recent work test. It can also affect the size of the actual benefit awarded. The duration of work test refers to how long a worker has been paying into the social security system in the form of taxes being deducted from paychecks . The number of credits built up in the system can mean the difference between eligibility and being denied benefits.

As long as a worker meets all three criteria: age, work credits, and provable, qualified disability, they should be granted disability benefits.

January 19, 2011: 8:00 pm: Women

Role models are an important part of childhood. They give children someone to emulate. A good role model is going to inspire and motivate kids to excel in both their personal and public life. While there are plenty of good role models out there for boys, it’s a bit harder to find female role models . This isn’t because there is a lack of successful women out there, but more because women’s history and contributions have been overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed over the centuries.

Even in this post-feminist age, kids can easily think that only men are responsible for building the digital world and the only success stories on the web are male entrepreneurs. This leaves the impression that men are natural risk takers and women aren’t capable of succeeding in the electronic frontier. This is an extremely misleading and potentially dangerous viewpoint.

The reality is that women have been an important part of the internet revolution from the beginning. It just takes a big of digging to discover their names and contributions. Some played roles as designers and strategists like Tery Spataro. Women like Aliza Sherman were among the first women publishers on the web and business women like Katie Yeakle found new ways to use the internet to provide career guidance and information.

January 12, 2011: 8:00 pm: Leisure

To the dedicated cigarette smoker there are plenty of obstacles to getting a nicotine fix. There are so many places that ban smoking, due to the dangers of second hand smoke ,and more places are joining the list of “no smoking allowed” every day. This is where electronic cigarettes come in. They are a smokeless alternative to traditional cigarettes.

Because these are true Smokeless cigarettes , smokers can use them pretty much every place that smoking is prohibited. These e cigarettes offer a hit of nicotine without the secondhand smoke. They are also free of tar, carbon monoxide and the other harmful additives found in regular cigarettes. This means they are better for smokers as well as those around them.

Electronic cigarettes consist of a built-in atomizer that delivers a solution of nicotine along with a choice of flavoring. The ability to enjoy nicotine with a boost of flavor is also an advantage over the additive filled taste of regular cigarettes. E cigs also eliminate smoker’s breath and that heavy smell of tobacco that lives on clothes and in hair long after the cigarette is out. They even allow smokers to express their personality since the holders come in a variety of colors and skins. These smokeless smokes return a lot of the fun to smoking after years of everyone making smoking cigarettes anything but.