Matthew DeBord/Insider

• I tested a roughly $33,000 Polaris Slingshot R, a three-wheeled "autocycle."
• The three-wheeler category includes vehicles from Can-Am and Harley-Davidson, offering a motorcycle experience in a less demanding package.
• My Slingshot R had a new, Polaris-developed, 203-horsepower engine and an automatic transmission.
• In all but three US states, no motorcycle license is required to operate the Slingshot (New York, Massachusetts, and Alaska continue to require the motorcycle certification).
• The Slingshot is insanely fun, with a modest learning curve — it's a great alternative to a two-wheeler, although the price is definitely steep for the Slingshot R.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Motorcycles are cool, but they aren't for everybody. Fortunately, there are some alternatives out there that offer an equally compelling, open-air experience.

One of the most popular is the the Polaris Slingshot, manufactured by the Minnesota-based powersports company. Until recently, Slingshots were available only with manual transmissions and GM-sourced engines, but for 2020, Polaris has updated the autocycle with an in-house motor and an automatic.

The automatic transmission in particular really broadens the Slingshot's potential. So I was excited to sample the machine, which I first saw about five years ago.

Polaris was kind enough to loan me a tester for a few weeks. Here's how it went:

The Polaris Slingshot is a three-wheeled autocycle/motorcycle that Polaris industries has produced since 2014. My 2020 Slingshot R tester cost about $33,000 and was outfitted in a menacing red-and-black paint job.

The cheapest Slingshot is about $20,000.

This wasn't my first crack at a Slingshot. Polaris brought the vehicle to Insider's New York offices when the vehicle first launched.

And I generally have a gander at the Slingshot when I visit the annual New York motorcycle show.

See Also:

• All the coolest features of every Tesla vehicle ever made or unveiled, ranked
• Here are 20 cars you can drive off the lot new for less than $20,000
• How Tesla's cargo capacity stacks up against other iconic front trunks in the car industry: From Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, and more

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More contractors go bankrupt due to cash flow than they do because of profitability. Given the unprecedented events of COVID-19, the construction industry is particularly prone to major cash flow issues that could easily bankrupt your business. During this webinar session we will address critical cash flow considerations. This webinar is co-hosted by NECA and the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). The presenter is Michael McLin, Managing Director at Maxim Consulting Group responsible for leading several service line teams within the firm.

In this GDC 2020 virtual talk Supercell's Eino Joas discusses the two-year process that led to the development of a Battle Pass for Clash of Clans. ...

During the boom times of recent years, businesses concentrated on growing the top line and managing costs, and not as much time focused on working capital components, such as accounts receivable, accounts payable and inventory. Now with financial strain on businesses as a result of COVID-19, business owners and leadership teams need to not only...

The post 10 Tips for Managing Cash Flow in a Crisis appeared first on Anders CPA.

1. Senators Release Water Infrastructure Legislation

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Senator John Barrasso (R-Wy.) and Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.), released two NECA-supported water infrastructure bills, the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 (AWIA 2020) and Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020.

NECA’s Look Ahead: These bipartisan bills address the critical need to secure water infrastructure. The are successor bills to the NECA-supported America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 that easily passed through Congress and was signed into law in 2018. NECA will continue to monitor this important legislation as it moves through Congress.

• Read the section-by-section of the draft AWIA 2020 here.
• Read the section-by-section of the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act here.

2. Senate Returns to Washington Next Week

The Senate is scheduled to return to D.C. on Monday, May 4, 2020, to begin filling judicial vacancies and continue work on new coronavirus legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), released the following statement on this decision. The House has decided to postpone returning until further notice. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is expected to release an anticipated return date soon.  

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA looks forward to the Senate being in session to work on additional coronavirus legislation. The government affairs team continues to advocate on behalf of our contractors during this period.

3. Register Today for the Upcoming Government Affairs Webinar

On May 5, 2020 at 2 p.m. EDT, NECA’s Government Affairs team will brief participants on NECA’s requests for Congress in the Phase IV coronavirus response legislation. During this webinar, participants can take action and send a letter to their Member of Congress requesting help for the electrical construction industry to remain viable during this crisis. Participants will also hear messages from key Members of Congress on the current legislative response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Register Today!

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA is committed to ensuring the voices of our industry are heard during this time. We continue to advocate for the needs our contractors daily and remain devoted to keeping our members well informed on the policies impacting them.  

How will the sudden plunge in US oil prices impact India: WTI crash explained

With consumer outlets being shut, fashion brands and retailers have taken an enormous hit to their bottom line and cash reserves. But the worst hit were the factory workers, of which almost 85% are women, who typically earn below living wages and do not accumulate any savings.

The offering of ‘Cardless Cash Withdrawal’ from iMobile enables customers to withdraw cash securely and conveniently for everyday usage and purchases, all from the convenience of their mobile phone. Here is a look at how you can use this facility.

Instead of using traditional fire-and-wick ceremonial lamps, the priests use muslin bags filled with ashes to worship the ritually decorated icon.

Liquidating assets to pay off debts is recommended only if you find it difficult to pay EMIs.

Apart from Paranjpe, HN Motiwalla, Rammohan N Bhave and Thomas Panamthanath are other independent directors of the company while TC Suseel Kumar is a nominee director on the board of LIC Mutual Fund Trustee.

The committee will consist of four Democrat and three Republican senators. Democratic senators include David Frockt, Manka Dhingra, Christine Rolfes and Rebecca Saldana and Republicans include senators Randi Becker, Tim Sheldon, while one member is yet to be named.

Lockdown was easy, opening up to require a lot of confidence: Rashesh Shah

The Maharashtra government has decided to make available its bus services free of cost from Monday to facilitate travelling of people stranded in various parts of the state to their homes during the lockdown period, transport minister Anil Parab said on Saturday.

Lockdown 3.0: Migrant workers clash with cops in Surat, over 100 detained

Nepal: Chinese protesters arrested after clash with police, 6 cops injured

Nearly 82 per cent of the total remittances received by the country originated from eight countries - the UAE, US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, UK, and Malaysia.

An IAF fighter jet crashed into the fields here, Nawanshahr Deputy Commissioner Vinay Bublani said. The crash took place around 10.30 am, the officials said. An IAF spokesperson said the Mig-29 aircraft was on a training mission from an Air Force base near Jalandhar.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated the road link from Dharchula, a town in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district, to the Lipulekh pass, which is located at an altitude of 17,060 feet at the border between India and China.

They said while the government is strictly enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown, the additional restrictions were imposed on Friday to ensure that the day passes off peacefully.

What he didn’t know was oil’s first trip into negative pricing had broken Interactive Brokers Group Inc.

"After the moratorium, it was expected that there would be outflows."

The Commission of Railway Safety, which investigates all serious rail accidents and clears all rail projects, also said that now that such an incident of migrant or other persons walking along the tracks leading to consequent deaths have come to notice, all-out efforts must be made to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.

A Lake Worth, Florida, businessman pleaded guilty today to tax evasion and willful failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Account, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Natasha Guinan has been named Chief Counsel, Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA). As Chief Counsel, Ms. Guinan will provide legal guidance to the Chief Accountant and the other OCA groups in…

Seventy-seven passengers and seven crew members were aboard when the train derailed and pulled 13 cars off the tracks.

The change made in response to COVID-19 is expected to stick.

The NTSB is now recommending that commercial drivers be banned from using hands-free devices when operating their vehicle.

Washington Post: In the early days of the pandemic, the U.S. government turned down an offer to manufacture millions of N95 masks in America. “It was Jan. 22, a day after the first case of covid-19 was detected in the United States, and orders were pouring into Michael Bowen’s company outside Fort Worth, some from … Continue reading Washington Post: In the early days of the pandemic, the U.S. government turned down an offer to manufacture millions of N95 masks in America

The Guthrie's plans for three shows would be the briefest season in its 60-year history. Among the cuts: "A Christmas Carol."

The University of Washington in Seattle is a big place. It includes the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which has produced a widely-circulated and widely-criticized coronavirus model. As we’ve discussed, the IHME model is essentially a curve-fitting exercise that makes projections using the second derivative of the time trend on the log scale. […]

Driver survives crash over canyon rim https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/driver-survives-crash-over-canyon-rim.htm

Thes plush scarves and face masks were designed to block out 95% of common contaminants that pose health risks—and 99% of germs that cause colds or flu.

The post N95 Scarf Filters the Air Around You – With Fashionable Sustainable Solution for Personal Protection appeared first on Good News Network.

This easy and tasty recipe can be made in the microwave

A study of commercial timber harvesting activities in Oregon and Washington was conducted from 2011 through 2015 to characterize current tree utilization, logging operations, and assist with estimating the amount of woody biomass left onsite after harvesting.

A driver of a car collided with a bridge barrier and two lorries

The discovery of a maroon Vauxhall Astra and a body by the A3 has become a Surrey urban legend

This report summarizes timber resource statistics for the 20 counties in eastern Washington. The inventory sampled all private and public lands except those administered by the National Forest System in 2001, and those that were reserved from management for wood products.

A 4-year-old Douglas-fir plantation in the western Washington Cascades was monitored for 8 years after fertilization with potassium (K), nitrogen (N), and K+N to determine fertilizer effects on rates of mortality from laminated root rot (LRR) and other causes relative to a nonfertilized control.

The Fall River research site in coastal Washington is an affiliate installation of the North American Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP) network, which constitutes one of the world's largest coordinated research programs addressing forest management impacts on sustained productivity. Overall goals of the Fall River study are to assess effects of biomass removals, soil compaction, tillage, and vegetation control on site properties and growth of planted Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Biomass-removal treatments included removal of commercial bole (BO), bole to 5-cm top diameter (BO5), total tree (TT), and total tree plus all legacy woody debris (TT+). Vegetation control (VC) effects were tested in BO, while soil compaction and compaction plus tillage were imposed in BO+VC treatment. All treatments were imposed in 1999. The preharvest stand contained similar amounts of carbon (C) above the mineral soil (292 Mg/ha) as within the mineral soil to 80- cm depth including roots (298 Mg/ha). Carbon stores above the mineral soil ordered by size were live trees (193 Mg/ha), old-growth logs (37 Mg/ha), forest floor (27 Mg/ha), old-growth stumps and snags (17 Mg/ha), coarse woody debris (11 Mg/ha), dead trees/snags (7 Mg/ha), and understory vegetation (0.1 Mg/ha). The mineral soil to 80-cm depth contained 248 Mg C/ha, and roots added 41 Mg/ha. Total nitrogen (N) in mineral soil and roots (13 349 kg/ha) was more than 10 times the N store above the mineral soil (1323 kg/ha). Postharvest C above mineral soil decreased to 129, 120, 63, and 50 Mg/ha in BO, BO5, TT, and TT+, respectively. Total N above the mineral soil decreased to 722, 747, 414, and 353 Mg/ha in BO, BO5, TT, and TT+, respectively. The ratio of total C above the mineral soil to total C within the mineral soil was markedly altered by biomass removal, but proportions of total N stores were reduced only 3 to 6 percent owing to the large soil N reservoir on site.

We review 12 large-scale silviculture experiments (LSSEs) in western Washington and Oregon with which the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the USDA Forest Service is substantially involved. We compiled and arrayed information about the LSSEs as a series of matrices in a relational database, which is included on the compact disc published with this report and available online at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/research/lsse. The LSSEs are both spatially and temporally large scale, with experimental treatment units between 5 and 100 acres and proposed study durations of 20 to 200 years. A defining characteristic of the LSSEs is that a broad range of response variables are measured to characterize the response of forest ecosystems to experimental treatments. We discuss the general value and limitations of the LSSEs and highlight some possible roles that can be played by the LSSEs in addressing management issues emerging at the beginning of the 21st century.

The work described in this report was initiated during the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP). The ICBEMP produced a broad-scale scientific assessment of ecological, biophysical, social, and economic conditions for the interior Columbia River basin and portions of the Klamath and Great Basins. The broad-scale assessment made extensive use of potential vegetation (PV) information. This report (1) discusses certain concepts and terms as related to PV, (2) describes how a PV framework developed for the broad-scale ICBEMP assessment area was stepped down to the level of a single section in the national hierarchy of terrestrial ecological units, (3) describes how fine-scale potential vegetation types (PVTs) identified for the Blue Mountains section were aggregated into the midscale portion of the PV hierarchy, and (4) describes the PVT composition for each of the midscale hierarchical units (physiognomic class, potential vegetation group, plant association group).

The effects of mechanical disturbance from traditional ground-based logging and site preparation on volcanic ash soil and associated tree growth were investigated by using two study approaches in a retrospective study. This research was conducted on volcanic ash soils within previously harvested units in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southwest Washington. We assessed soil and tree attributes and their association with higher and lower levels of soil disturbance. The two approaches were independent efforts that yielded very different results.

Lichens are highly valued ecological indicators known for their sensitivity to a wide variety of environmental stressors like air quality and climate change. This report summarizes baseline results from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Lichen Community Indicator covering the first full cycle of data collection (1998-2001, 2003) for Washington, Oregon, and California. During this period, FIA conducted 972 surveys of epiphytic macrolichen communities for monitoring both spatial and long-term temporal trends in forest health. Major research findings are presented with emphasis on lichen biodiversity as well as bioindication of air quality and climate. Considerable effort is devoted to mapping geographic patterns and defining lichen indicator species suitable for estimating air quality and climate.