Disability Pension

I've posted previously on the Epilepsy Australia Facebook site about the disability pension but I'd like to go over it in a bit more detail for those interested.

I will go through what I think is basically required by Centrelink. But please obtain further advice from Centrelink. I can only provide what I know from failing a few times before succeeding the final time.

Social Security (Tables for the Assessment of Work related Impairment for
Disability Support Pension) Determination 2011

There is a severe functional impact from loss of consciousness or altered state of
consciousness during waking hours when occupied with a task or activity
.
(1)
The person:
(a)
either:
       (i)
has episodes of involuntary loss of consciousness:
    (A) which occur at least once each month; and
    (B) which require the person to receive first aid
measures and may require emergency
medication or hospitalisation; or

(ii)
has episodes of altered state of consciousness:
(A) which occur at least once per
week; and
(B) during which the person’s functional abilities are
affected during these episodes (e.g. the person
remains standing or sitting but is unaware of their
surroundings or actions during the episode); and

(b) is unable to perform many activities
of daily living between
episodes; and
(c) cannot obtain a driver’s licence on medical grounds and has other
safety
-
related restrictions on activities; and
(d)
is unable to attend work, education or training activities, for at
least 15 hours per week.

This is the information Centrelink provides.
So you need to have a seizure at least once a month with some lack of awareness and require first aide OR a seizure once week where your functional abilities are affected. Most seizures have some affect on functional abilities. A lot of seizures require some first aide. Someone to sit with you afterwards is even an example.
You also need to be unable to perform some daily living activities BETWEEN SEIZURES. That's important. Are you unable to catch public transport? Can you cook yourself dinner? Do you forget things easily? How does this affect your day to day life? You need a few examples here. And not just memory loss.
You also need to be unable to drive.
Your condition also needs to be stabilized. This means it is not going to change for many years. If you have just started or are going to start a new treatment not a good idea to mention it as this means your condition has a slight chance of improving and you won't get it.
It is also a good idea to have been on Newstart and part of the Employment program for 18mnths beforehand.

Get your doctor to write a report on all these factors. Maybe make notes yourself. And bring it all, including your epilepsy diary (which you should have if your condition is that bad) to the Centrelink Interview.

I think I've covered everything, but it's 2am and I might have missed something. Please tell me if you want me to add something. Especially if you work or worked for Centrelink. :)

Data Retention Scheme - Logging out of Internet Privacy

The federal government has recently proposed a data retention scheme whereby ISP providers would be required to log our precise browsing history and possibly even emails for 5 to 10 years.

Presently companies don't hold this kind of information unless they are given court order approved by a judge.

As information would be able retrieved without a warrant the policy disregards our rights and treats everyone as criminals. It also forces the ISP providers to act as substitute law enforcement officers as they collect the information.

We also have no idea for what this information will be used. While we are assured presently that it will be used only to deter criminal behaviour, we do not know whether in the future it may be used to monitor people's general internet use (for shopping behaviour, use of wikileaks, electoral behaviour).

As we come towards the election I am wondering why so few know about this scheme? and Why is it not an election issue?

Further info and Facebook site:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-the-Australian-Governments-Data-Retention-Scheme/105734222814079?

http://blog.igloo.com.au/?p=2102

http://www.i-policy.org/2010/06/au-.html

http://www.webspy.com.au/blogs/index.php/government-sanctioned-isp-filtering-and-monitoring/

Social Networking - No More!

Is it just me or are the number of social networking sites just a bit too much to handle? I got my head around "Facebook" (which still comes up as misspelling on my computer) and have joined "Twitter" and now there are heaps of new ones.

Now I realise that some sites like "Delicious" and "Linkedin" have been around a while but seriously do people honestly have the time to have profiles on all of these AND keep them up-to-date. I know I don't and I don't work. What are people doing?? Of course there are some of these new ones that keep track of all your profiles for you but isn't that just making more accounts? It's INSANE. Ok and yes I realise I'm posting the thing about 'social networking' on a 'blog.'

There are good things about social networking, that being the whole 'networking' angle. I just say enough already!

Big Robots Kill People... sometimes

Last Saturday a friend and I went to the drive-in (yes they still exist and I say THE drive in because I believe it's probably the only one in the city in which I live) to see a double feature film.

Transformers 2 and Terminator the whatever.

I did hear one comedian describe the former as "watching Michael Bay w%&*k at a toaster." Good call! Check out the ah.. 'legs' of some of the some of the new Transformers and the behaviour of one peculiarly strange one around a female characters leg. Well really strange for a robot, maybe not for a dog!

Maybe it was better had I been a fan of the cartoon as a child . Apparently there were some references to matrices and the like that were part of the original series. But I'm sorry I just didn't 'get' it. The plot was weak and contrived and if my mother is reading this don't watch it, don't ever watch it for God's sake!

Generally speaking I think it's hard to walk out during a movie, even if you think it's a load... even harder if the movie happens to be at a drive-in and you have to physically move your car, annoying people with lights noise and other distractions. However I noticed during the second movie (T4) at least 20-30 cars leaving. It was that bad. I mean how can a 20 foot terminator walk up behind a group of people and surprise them! At times I asked my companion which movie I was watching.

Still I kinda think this is cool...

So I will end by saying that Big Bad Killer Robots of ANY kind are obviously no match for teenagers with no weapons so bring'em on!!

For trailers of both see:

http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/144044,movie-trailer-roundup-terminator-salvation-transformers-2-footage-andgi-joe.aspx

Outblogged!

I can't believe it. I have been outblogged by my own father!

Most 50 somethings in my experience would be happy to sit and read, maybe watch some TV and watch a few movies in their retirement, but not mine... oh no. After I introduced him to the idea of having his own blog instead of just contributing to others all the time, he has the downright nerve to outblog me.

It won't stand for it I tell you.

Of course I can communicate... see

I am sure that I am not the only one who believes that writing to selection criteria is hopelessly depressing, irritating and should not be necessary. Why should I write a case to prove, for example, that I am a good communicator? If I wasn't a good communicator you wouldn't be able to read this, now would you. And how do I prove an "honest, caring personality" I could tell you I have one, tell you other people said I have one, but it isn't necessarily true. I could have everyone fooled.

So it's really about 'selling yourself'. But what does that mean? Blow your own trumpet? Well what if you don't own one?!? But seriously, with people in HR who know nothing about what we actually do in our jobs doing the selecting and interviewing and who just care about getting a person who can write a nice looking application that says a few choice key words, what honest hope have the people who can really do the job have in the long run?

Maybe I should go with the words of a good friend... "Hire me or I'll kill you!"

Been watching the NRL

Those who know me know that I have been a Cowboys fan for a number of years and have been watching the NRL before that. While I have to say that, unlike many of my relatives and friends, I do love the game, I do find a few things confusing.

First why is a 'try' called a 'try?' Surely if you have managed to get the football across the line without one of your players offside (or touching the sideline etc) then you have SUCCEEDED not TRIED. I would really like to know the origin of the word here because it confuses me. I try to understand.

Second - Scrums - WHY? a left over from Union? A reason to show the fans the players butts? A chance to give one side a little break for a minute? Makes little sense to me?

Next thing is in every game, every one, a running tally is kept for each player of the number of penalties, metres gained, offloads etc, etc. for every player in a match. Now my question is who is keeping these tallies? Is there one person per team or per player. Whatever the answer here it is NOT a job I would like. So boring. So tedious.

On a final note who thought of the names of the positions in this game huh? 'Utility' sounds like... well somewhere I would go to relieve myself or maybe something to do with economics and 'dummy half' uh... half a dummy? not quite much as a dummy as the receiver?

This all being said I do like my league. Just telling it like it is or how I see it.

I'll leave you with a quote from a commentator on ABC Grandstand concerning the Sharks this week. "There incompetency is worth photographing." Not at all nice but probably an accurate portrayal of an ailing Cronulla team. Poor Sharkys.