It doesn’t take much to raise the semantic eyebrows of PS-sssst! these days but we do feel sorry for the occasional old grammatical friends that find themselves out of work in today’s version of the English articulation.
One such victim is the traditional hyphen, that short little link that separates compound words from being misunderstood, the popularity of which is slowly drying up and leaving readers to work out for themselves whether they are dealing with an actual name, a two-word adjective or a writer who was away from school when how to use an hyphen was taught.
Not naming any particular State or Public Service, but in the past week PS News came up against the hyphenated inconsistency of reporting creativity when one story followed another – number one was dealing with a hyphenated Auditor-General and the other a non-hyphenated Attorney General!
It raises the question: Who is more correct – the hyphenator or the non-hyphenator?
Which in turn raises the questions: Can one person be more correct than another and why doesn’t ‘hyphenator’ end in ‘er’?
Not-knowing is most-likely answer!
The speed of it all!
Wow! Things move fast in New South Wales ’s SafeWork NSW agency when its special website app gets to work collecting anonymous reports of incidents that happen in workplaces around the State.
Hailed as a success back on 5 April by PS News reporting its first two years of impressive activity, the agency’s Speak Up Save Lives app was congratulated by the State’s Minister for Fair Trading for receiving a significant 1,297 reports since its inception two years earlier.
Little did anyone know how much more it had up its sleeve for the two months that followed.
In a second story on 5 July in PS News, the same Minister issued a similar statement, congratulating safeWork NSW for reaching a major milestone by recording more than 10,000 on the Speak Up Save Lives app.
Amazing!
In the words of the Minister: “Ten thousand reports is a fantastic achievement,” she said.
In the words of PS News: “Two months to turn 1,297 into 10,000 is an even fantasticker achievement!”
Still, it all goes to a good cause so we should be glad it’s being published.
Is there a Mr in the house?
To sunny Queensland now where mates are mates and everyone knows everyone else so what’s a ‘doctor’ title if the said doctor is a good mate?
So it is in the State Government where the Deputy Premier has the task of managing Local Governments and setting up new arrangements limiting the amounts of money election candidates can legally spend to win their Council seats.
Introducing the Minister with his full and well-earned nomenclature as the Honourable Dr Steven Miles, the public statement went on to explain the new arrangements for all to see and, hopefully, understand.
Ever keen to ensure his hard-working personnel receive recognition for loyal support and hard work, the Minister was happy to endorse an explanation they wrote on his behalf.
The paragraph went: “My Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning released a discussion paper to key stakeholders in April, with a consultation period of six weeks,” Mr Miles said.
Dr or Mr?
Maybe there are two!
2 chances to own it!
To Rama Gaind’s ever busy giveaway now where we find we have a world record in our lap.
For the first time in 15 years, no-one has successfully answered Rama’s winning quiz question so the giveaway will be a getaway this week so readers can try their chances against not one, not two but THREE freebies up for grabs in Rama’s rich returns for responding rightly with the rightful reply to her regular rivalry.
So to enlist for Rama’s Army of rewarded readers simply visit her good luck giveaway for the overdue prize for Own It, Honouring and Amplifying Accountability at this week’s PS News link; her latest good luck giveaway of the DVD Murder at Yellowstone City at this PS News link; and/or her record-breaking third review of the Book The Happy Healthy Leader at this PS News link on overtime!
As always, it’s free to play and the prizes are there for the picking.
Good luck to all who pick.
Dispotted!
And finally, a word from the perceptive and prudent Philomena S of the Victorian Department of Health who has given us yet another of nature’s needle-sharp newsworthy narratives to add a glitter of gaiety into the wide world of work as evidenced by Ms S!
Today, Philomena takes us to her gorgeous garden where she, as a highly graded garden gazer, experienced a disappointing outcome when planning for another botanic bed for some very lucky plants.
“I was going to grow a herb garden,” the disappointed Philomena apologised to anyone who would listen.
“I tried everyday,” she said, “but I couldn’t find the thyme.”
Ka-Boom!
On that note…..
‘Till next time …..
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