Free Republic

Johnson & Johnson, Barnes & Noble, Dolce & Gabbana: the ampersand today is used primarily in business names, but that small character was once the 27th part of the alphabet. Where did it come from though? The origin of its name is almost as bizarre as the name itself. The shape of the character (&) predates the word ampersand by more than 1,500 years. In the first century, Roman scribes wrote in cursive, so when they wrote the Latin word et which means “and” they linked the e and t. Over time the combined letters came to signify the word...

AMP, as the program is called, will harness the power of public-private partnerships between universities, industry and governmental agencies in an effort to streamline innovation and bring products more quickly to market. "We need to reinvigorate our manufacturing sector to lead the world," Obama said in the speech. "We need to do it now. Not sometime in the future. Now." AMP will be co-chaired by Susan Hockfield, president of MIT, and Andrew Liveris, chairman, president and CEO of Dow Chemical. "I'm enthusiastic about the spirit and content of our joint work," Hockfield said in a press release. "and I'm also...

The U.S. Air Force appears to have halted the forthcoming competition to build C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) kits, a sign that this program could be terminating in the coming budget request for 2011. On Dec. 16, the Air Force program office overseeing the C-130 AMP program issued a statement noting that the "government is finalizing the way forward on the C-130 AMP program" and the solicitation is "cancelled." The statement adds that "the government will readdress the [issue] once a way forward for the AMP program has been determined." This is the latest chapter in the troubled $5.8 billion...

A North Attleboro man faces financial ruin because he built a new home so close to dangerous high-voltage transmission lines that fluorescent bulbs inside the house light up without even being plugged in. The electric currents running through the two-story home are considered so potentially harmful that the town’s fire department has strung “caution” tape around the house while an electrical inspector has refused to issue a final permit out of fear someone might get electrocuted. The home’s metallic door knobs and exterior shingles give off mild electric jolts when touched, while flowing currents are strong enough to light up...

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE - To about 1,000 Warner Robins Air Logistics Center workers, the vision of the future includes 112 C-5 aircraft bristling with state-of-the-art guidance, navigation and communications systems, new engines and more than 70 modifications to the airframe and subcomponents. That possibility seemed more like a pipe dream a few years ago as airlift advocates called for mothballing at least 60 C-5s - the older "A" models - in favor of buying more C-17s, the newest of the Air Force transports. But the vision seems a little less murky today, although major hurdles remain before it becomes...

Guitar gods and demi-gods I need freeper advice. A small to medium sized amp is needed to allow proper practice of a vintage tele and new Gibson LP. I have a budget of $1000 'cause the wife says so. So I am soliciting advice. Tube or SS? Modelling or bare bones (I have stomp boxes)? New or vintage? Thanks, doodad

It appears that Line 6, the California guitar amp/effects company, is supporting the Punkvoter.com tour (aka the Rock Against Bush), letting it out by touting the fact that one of their endorsing bands is on it. Punkvoter.com is a corporation put together by members of several punk rock bands and record labels with the sole goal of tarnishing Bush's reputation and getting people to vote against him. The punk band Midtown, whom before this I had never heard of, is featured on their Artist's News section for being on this tour, even though there are hundreds of more well-known Line...