Wordology

Adapt and Adopt - Adapt and adopt are not synonyms
The words adapt and adopt are only similar in spelling and style. According to Merriam-Webster, adapt means "to make fit (as for a new use) often by modification." Animals adapt to their environments.

Adopt means "to take up and practice or use." Parents adopt a stern tone when their children are being naughty.

Especially and Specially - It is easy to understand how adverbs especially and specially are commonly mistaken for each other. Not only do they look the same, but they also have very similar meanings. While especially means "in particular," specially means "for a special purpose."
Specially and especially can sometimes be used interchangeably, for instance, you can say you bought a snack both specially and especially for after work, but generally, they are not the same.
Amoral and Immoral - Something or someone that is amoral is neutral from a moral standpoint. Something or someone that is immoral, meanwhile, is not moral and knows that their behavior is wrong. If you ever get these words confused, just remember that an amoral person is apathetic and perhaps even unknowing, while an immoral person is unethical.

Emigrate and Immigrate - Emigrate and immigrate are commonly confused words. The difference between these two words is subtle, but significant. When you emigrate, you leave one country to live in another. When you immigrate, you go to another country to live there permanently. So, if you are a resident of Germany moving to the United States, you are emigrating from Germany and immigrating to the United States.

5G Networks Myth

They are much faster than 4G networks, they also operate on a much higher spectrum (up to 6 GHz), which results in a signal that can’t go much further than 100 meters and cannot be positioned higher than 50 ft. above the ground.

Because of shortened range, it is estimated that approximately 100 to 350 small cells per square kilometer will be needed in areas that require 5G densification, further necessitating the construction of brand new cell sites, or, at the very least, cell site upgrades.

5G is radio technology and there is no relationship between virus and radio waves.

National Unicorn Day, 9 April

National Unicorn Day on April 9th each year celebrates the mythical horse-like creature with a single, pointed horn growing from the center of its forehead.

Unicorns have been a popular mythical creature since the Ancient Greek times when people believed they lived in exotic India. While they were once considered to be fierce, powerful animals, many now see them as a symbol of love, purity, enchantment, and magic. Let us all think of something fun today. We can sure use some positive fun thoughts.

How do You Pronounce That, Part Two

English is a delicious language.
Mayonnaise - Americans find it necessary to argue over the correct pronunciation of sandwich condiments, too. Though there are some slight variations within regions, the general consensus is that in the West and Midwest, you will put may-uh-naze on your sandwich, and in the North and South, you will use man-aze.
Coyote - Unless you live on the West Coast, you probably don't even realize that there are two ways to pronounce "coyote." "Ki-ote is a Colorado-Wyoming kind of pronunciation," Andrew Cowell, director of linguistics at CU Bolder, told 9 News. "If you come from the East, you are much more likely to say ki-o-tee."
Mischievous - The word "mischievous" is spelled so that it should be pronounced like mis-che-vous, but somehow the Harvard Dialect Survey found that over 26 percent of Americans pronounce the word with four syllables.  According to Merriam-Webster, a variant spelling of the word with an -ious ending existed as far back as the 16th century, though today both this spelling and pronunciation are considered "nonstandard."
Creek - The majority of Americans can agree on the fact that the "ee" in "creek" is pronounced like "seek." However, in the Harvard Dialect Survey, approximately 4 percent of people noted that they pronounced the "ee" in creek so that it sounded like "crick." Most of these people were from Midwestern states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

Adult - If you choose to pronounce it like add-ult or uh-dult, you are correct.

Asterisk - It might not come up often in conversation, but when it does, it is pronounced differently depending on the region. In parts of the Northeast, it is pronounced asteri[ks]; up and down the Northern coast, it is pronounced asteri[k]; and in the rest of the country, it is asteri[sk].

Realtor - How many syllables are there in "realtor"? In the Northeast they will tell you that there are two. Ask someone from the Midwest or the South and they are more likely to use three syllables, pronouncing it either reel-uh-ter or ree-l-ter.

What's in a Name, Tupperware

Meal-preppers and leftover lovers everywhere have Earl Silas Tupper to thank for these endlessly useful and portable plastic food containers.


After working in the plastics division at DuPont, Tupper founded the Earl S. Tupper Company in 1938. It was there that he focused on developing plastic consumer goods, eventually inventing a more durable and resilient type of plastic, as well as an air and watertight seal that he modeled after the lid of a paint can. It is especially useful these days of hoarding and prepping for the unknown. PS - toilet paper does not require Tupperware to stay fresh.

Paul McCartney Honors

He is the only musician to have number one singles as a solo artist, as part of a duo, a trio, a quartet, a quintet, and a sextet.

Tinder vs. Kindling

Tinder is the smallest. Tinder ignites into flame with the smallest spark. Types of tinder include: cotton balls. dry grass, Cattail fluff,  and Birch tree bark.

Kindling is slightly larger. It refers to any ignitable material that is larger than tinder, but smaller than firewood (fuelwood). Most people use small sticks, cedar bark, and dry leaves for kindling, which ignite more quickly than the firewood and burn for longer than the tinder.

San Francisco Fact

It is mostly water. The 232 square miles that make up the Bay Area city are 80 percent water, 20 percent land. Seems like now it is also about 10% poop on sidewalks.

Wordology, Ennui

(on wee) This is especially appropriate during this virus time to know. It is the feeling you get when you are simultaneously bored and annoyed. It describes a feeling that combines tiredness and boredom. You were expecting more, but did not get it. You are not depressed exactly, but you would definitely rather be anywhere but here. Cheer up. Better days are coming - hopefully soon.

Doorbell Opt out

Ring shares your doorbell activity and data with third parties like Facebook and Amazon unless you tell them not to. An investigation by the Electronic Frontier Foundation found that Ring has shared personally identifiable information such as when you are home and away, names, email addresses, when you use the doorbell app, model numbers, and your home internet address. Here’s how to block third party data from being shared by Ring.

Launch Ring app > tap menu on top left > Control Center > Third Party Service Providers > Opt Out
Next see if there are any strangers currently signed into your Ring doorbell. From the Control Center in the Ring app, select Shared Users.

Then set Two-Factor Authentication within the Control Center to make it next to impossible for a hacker to get into your Ring doorbell.

SpaceX Update

The FCC has granted Elon Musk's SpaceX a license for up to a million terminals that will allow Starlink satellites to deliver broadband service. The decision was shown in a public notice from the FCC on March 18. “Granting this application would serve the public interest by helping to speed broadband deployment throughout the United States by authorizing the ground-based component of SpaceX’s satellite system,” says the FCC.

GeekWire reports that Starlink satellites are being made at the SpaceX facilities in Washington, at a rate of 6 per day. 360 satellites have been launched, with thousands more to come. The service is slated to begin in 2020.

Wordology, Slang

Non-standard, slang or colloquial terms used by English speakers are sometimes alleged not to be real words, despite appearing in numerous dictionaries. Irregardless is sometimes dismissed as not a word. All words in English became accepted by being commonly used for a certain period of time; thus there are many informal words currently regarded as "incorrect" in formal speech or writing, but the idea that they are not words is a misconception. Examples of words that are sometimes alleged not to be words include "conversate", "funnest", "mentee", "impactful", and "thusly", all of which appear in numerous dictionaries as English words.

Incidentally, slang is a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people, such as grass is slang for marijuana.

Sign Languages

They are not the same worldwide. Aside from the pidgin International Sign, each country generally has its own, native sign language, and some have more than one. There are substantial similarities among all sign languages.

Mezcal vs. Tequila

Both spirits are distilled from agave plants, but tequila can only be distilled from certain agave plants. In order for a spirit to be legally advertised as tequila, it must be made from the Weber blue agave, and grown in specific territories recognized by the General Declaration on the Protection of the Appellation of Origin Tequila, as put forth by Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council.

Anything else made from the agave plant – even to near-identical standards – is a mezcal, which is technically a blanket term for any spirit distilled from agave.

Agave hearts, or piñas used in the production of either tequila or mezcal can be cooked before fermentation, though those used for mezcal are more often roasted in underground pits, imparting the finished product with generally more of a smokier aroma and taste.
Following the fermentation and distillation processes, tequilas and mezcals can be aged to varying degrees before bottling, resulting in multiple distinctions. The distinctions include Blanco (bottled within two months), Reposado (aged between two and 12 months) and Añejo (aged longer than 12 months), with the younger tequilas generally being better for mixing, and the older better for sipping.
All tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila.

Incidentally, Mezcal is Spanish and mescal is English spelling.