To the wonderful world of abbreviation once again (OA?) now where we find the South Australian police force encouraging the good people of SA to appreciate the significance and wisdom of using passwords to protect their properties.
Electing to celebrate passwords on World Password Day last week (5 May), the SA police (affectionately known as SAPOL) quoted the advice of its Neighbourhood Watch and PS News enjoyed the privilege of passing it on.
“The stronger your password, the more protected your device will be from hackers and malicious software,” the police said the Neighbourhood Watch said.
“You should maintain strong passwords for all of your online accounts,” it said.
Wise words and welcome but PS-sssst! noticed one account that doesn’t quite line up.
Abbreviating ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ SAPOL has chosen ‘NHW’ when one would expect the more accurate abstraction to be the simple NW.
Maybe it’s a police thing, letting the world know that ‘Hoods’ can’t hide, wherever they are!
Poking the pokies
To the national capital now where movements are being made to discourage people from playing poker machines due to the fact that some people can’t manage their betting.
A good cause and one to be supported of course and the ACT government plans to do just that by limiting the amounts of money a player can bet on a poker machine, reducing the winnings machines can pay out and adopting an IT system that keeps an eye on all machines so they and their players are under control at all times.
“Government has committed to lower the bet limit on ACT poker machines from $10 to $5 and to introduce a $100 load-up limit,” the responsible Minister said.
“These changes will slow down the speed at which money can be spent,” he said.
Except that PS-sssst! has found from the official announcement that players win more than they lose.
According to the Minister: “In 2018-19, nearly $2 billion was spent on poker machines by the ACT Community, with $166.9 million retained by venues after paying out winnings.”
Arithmetic may not be PS-sssst!’s strongest point but if the total amount spent is nearly $2 billion and only $167 million stays with the operator, the rest must have gone to the players and if that’s the case, the percentage of losers to winners is 8.4% losers and 91.6% winners.
PS-sssst! thinks he might have discovered a new full-time job!
In ham we trust – or do we?
To the absorbing mind of Philomena S of the Victorian Department of Health now who has directed her wise and witty wit to the wonders of the wacky world, seeking answers to questions few of us would know there was an answer to!
Philomena’s offering this week is sizzlingly significant.
“What disease” the ever inquisitive inquisitor says we should ask, “Was the cured ham actually cured of?”
Something to ask a butcher, if not a doctor.
A thankyou to Philomena! We may have just put hundreds of PS News readers off ham for ever!
Have book will travel
Another week of Rama Gaind’s gripping giveaway again now with the first of her exciting Lonely Planet Experience guides on offer, this one on the way to experience Japan.
To win the Lonely Planet giveaway all we needed to do was name the six guides Rama has to hand out and then be first out of the PS News Barrel of Booty with the correct answer which was Japan, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Scotland and Iceland.
And the first correct entry to escape from the Barrel was the one entered by Terry L from the Department of Defence in Victoria, whose exciting experience in Japan will be on its way very soon.
Thanks to Terry and everyone who took part in Rama’s roundabout this week where another gratis giveaway will be given away next week at no cost to some more lucky readers.
So take your chance and put your chance through its paces, simply by clicking onto Rama’s latest Book review of Resilience Recipes at this PS News link and/or her equally fun-filled review of the DVD Sharp Objects, Season 1 on this PS News link.
Good luck to everyone who does.
Letters at work
And finally, a rare and unusual example of a complicated acronym being exactly what it says it is without the alphabetical acrobatics so often implemented to make it fit.
Congratulations to the Western Australia Police for buying a couple of specialist armoured vehicles to use by officers responding to terrorism and other emergencies, the name of which is even threatening in its own right.
The WA Police have spent their money on ‘BearCats’, the nomenclature that stands for Ballistic Engineered Armoured Response Counter Attack Trucks.
May their Bears catch many Cats!
Until next week
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