For 2015, the exhilarating Renegade 1000, with its proven 82-HP Rotax V-Twin, is offered in both a base and industry-exclusive X xc package. A wild, new Digital Camo & Manta Green graphic package is now available.
Can-Am Renegade 1000 Family Highlights
PERFORMANCE
82-HP Rotax V-Twin 1000 EFI
CVT transmission
Large radiator
High-grade exhaust and silencer
Dual-room, no-tools air box
HANDLING
SST G2 frame with Geometric Contact Control
Double A-arm front suspension with dive-control geometry
TTI rear suspension
Visco-Lok‡ front differential
214mm disc brakes with twin-piston calipers
Separate front and rear braking control
12-inch (30.5 cm) cast-aluminum wheels with centre-less design
ITP Holeshot ATR tires (base model)
RIDER-FOCUSED DESIGN
Easy access to maintenance items
Large fuel tank
Full floorboards with aggressive foot pegs with kick-ups
240 watts of lighting
D.E.S.S.
Can-Am Renegade 1000 X xc Package:
Tri-mode Dynamic Power Steering (DPS)
Visco-Lok QE
FOX Podium X fully adjustable suspension
12-inch (30.5 cm) aluminum beadlock wheels
Aluminum skid plate
Aluminum taper-profile handlebar with square pad
Handlebar wind deflectors with aluminum braces (full wrap)
Powerful magneto
Renegade X xc-specific graphics and seat cover
Two color choices: Yellow & Black; Digital Camo & Manta Green
By Raphael Rosen, Space.com Contributor | April 27, 2014 09:20am ET
This rendering shows the Lockheed Martin future supersonic advanced concept featuring two engines under the wings and one on top of the fuselage (not visible in this image). Credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin
The dream of a supersonic passenger airplane lives on. NASA is currently researching new designs for supersonic aircraft, and the space agency is now focusing on reducing the strength of the sonic booms, the bane of supersonic flight. For a long time, scientists have known that sonic booms — the sound created by a shock wave from an aircraft that moves faster than the speed of sound — are affected by many factors, including the shape of the aircraft and where the plane's components are located. Because of this, engineers are able to change the signature of a boom by design to minimize its loudness during flight, NASA officials said in a statement.
This rendering shows The Boeing Company's future supersonic advanced concept featuring two engines above the fuselage. Credit: NASA/Boeing
The Federal Aviation Administration doesn't have a specific level of "loudness" that is acceptable for a sonic boom created by a supersonic plane. In 1973, the FAA prohibited domestic civil supersonic flights overland, and this ban prevented Concorde — a supersonic airliner that stopped flying in 2003 — from making supersonic flights over land. The prohibition has helped reduce impacts on the environment and made the skies quieter, NASA officials said. But space agency officials have still been researching ways to quiet the boom and help make supersonic flights with passengers over land a reality. [NASA's Vision of Future Air Travel (Images)]
"Engine installation is a critical part of achieving an overall low boom design," Peter Coen, manager of NASA's High Speed Project, said in a statement. "If we mount the engines in a conventional manner, we need to carefully tailor the shape of the wing to diffuse the shock waves. If we mount the engines above the wing, the shock wave can be directed upward and not affect the ground signature. However, such installations may have performance penalties."
Inside Glenn's 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel, technician Dan Pitts inspects Boeing's 1.79% scale model, which shows the two installed flow-through nacelles. Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn
All of the new designs for a supersonic airplane — one each by Boeing and Lockheed Martin — have some basic features in common: either swept-back or delta wings, a pointy nose, and an extremely aerodynamic fuselage.
Inside NASA Ames' 9- by 7-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel, researcher Don Durston inspects the mounting hardware for the 16-inch scale model of the Boeing concept. Credit: NASA/Dominic Hart
What sets each design apart are the other parts of the aircraft and how the components are arranged. Boeing's design has two engines mounted beneath a delta wing, with a third engine on top of the aircraft. The Lockheed Martin design has swept-back wings, with two engines on top of each wing (an unusual configuration). NASA is testing the designs by placing small-scale models of the proposed aircraft in wind tunnels. They are also testing models of the engines by themselves, studying how air flows through and around them. "Capturing this flow rate is important because it directly impacts a supersonic aircraft's thrust performance in flight, as well as cruise efficiency," Coen said. The research is being overseen by NASA's High Speed Project, a part of the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.
NASA Warns: ‘If space super storm like 2012 storm hits earth we will be picking up the pieces for years’
April 30, 2014 1:45 AM EDT
By Mac Slavo | SHTFPlan
A new video from NASA’s science division highlights the fact that earth is one X-Class solar flare away from a situation that would completely alter life on earth as we know it today.
Such events have played out at various times in our history, with the most notable recent examples occurring in 1859 and 1989.
The 1859 ‘Carrington Event’ was so powerful that newspapers of the time reported communication lines showed visible surges and telegraph offices literally went up in flames.
The Great Geomagnetic Storm of 1989 was responsible for taking down Hydro-Québec’s electricity transmission system and reached as far down as Salem, Massachusetts. Pictured below is what one of the transformers looked like after the storm hit. What’s scary about the following image is that it was taken at the Salem Nuclear Power plant and shows just how susceptible even our most protected facilities are to solar storms.
Solar storms are nothing new and scientists watch them via early warning satellites systems on an hourly basis. But even if a large solar discharge was identified, there’s not a whole lot we can do except brace for impact.
As we’ve reported previously, we came close, very close in the summer of 2012. Had the sun’s rotation been just a week ahead of where it was at the time there’s a strong chance you wouldn’t be reading this information. That’s because the flare was so powerful it would likely have fried the entire global electricity grid according to the NASA report below:
They [researchers] have concluded this was one of the strongest in recorded history. “If it had hit earth we would still be picking up the pieces,” says Daniel Baker of the University of Colorado.
This storm might have been stronger than the Carrington Event itself.
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A similar storm today could have a catastrophic effect on modern power grids and telecommunication networks.
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Multi-ton transformers fried by such a storm could take years to repair and impact national security.
Though our dependence on electricity is often taken for granted, the fact is that a downing of the grid would lead to serious and immediate repercussions across the globe. Without it transportation would come to a standstill, gas pumps wouldn’t work, cellular phone service would be inoperable, and any job requiring the use of a computer or an electrical outlet would be instantly made irrelevant.
Had it hit Earth, the July 2012 event likely would have created a technological disaster by short-circuiting satellites, power grids, ground communication equipment and even threatening the health of astronauts and aircraft crews.
It would be a technological disaster of unprecedented proportions. So much so that the Center for Security Policy estimates 90% of Americans would be dead within a year.
Former Congressman Roscoe Bartlett noted in the documentary Urban Danger that the problems are within the outdated national power grid. There are scores of transformers required to switch electricity from one place to another. Should those go down simultaneously there simply aren’t enough backup transformers available to repair those damaged by the storm and since we source this equipment from foreign countries like China it could be anywhere from 18 months to four years before the grid would start being restored.
We could have events in the future where the power grid will go down and it’s not, in any reasonable time, coming back up. For instance, if when the power grid went down some of our large transformers were destroyed, damaged beyond use, we don’t make any of those in this country. They’re made overseas and you order one and 18 months to two years later they will deliver it. Our power grid is very vulnerable. It’s very much on edge. Our military knows that.
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There are a number of events that could create a situation in the cities where civil unrest would be a very high probability. And, I think that those who can, and those who understand, need to take advantage of the opportunity when these winds of strife are not blowing to move their families out of the city.
But is this just fear mongering or is there something to it?
How likely is it that we could be hit by a solar flare powerful enough to take down our grid?
Coronal Mass Ejections and Solar Events happen on a daily basis. Most of them are benign and don’t rate high enough on the scale to affect anything except maybe radio communications. This year we’ve already experienced scores of the medium-sized “M-Class” flares, as well as various low end “X-class” flares.
But the 1959, 1989 and 2012 events aren’t out of the ordinary either. In fact, in 2003 the sun delivered what researches call a “whopper.” A flare that, had it been facing earth, would have caused some serious damage, certainly on the order of the 2012 event.
Researchers from the University of Otago used radio wave-based measurements of the x-rays’ effects on the Earth’s upper atmosphere torevise the flare’s size from a merely huge X28 to a “whopping” X45, say researchers Neil Thomson, Craig Rodger, and Richard Dowden. X-class flares are major events that can trigger radio blackouts around the world and long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere that can damage or destroy satellites. The biggest previous solar flares on record were rated X20, on 2 April 2001 and 16 August 1989.
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY), a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee recently suggested that the chance of a serious solar event on our planet is a certainty.
“The Likelihood of a severe geo-magnetic event capable of crippling our electric grid is 100%.”
Though the stars (and earth) would need to align in order for such an event to take place, history shows that it happens quite regularly in the grand scheme of things.
At the very least we would be facing weeks without power, perhaps on a national level. As depicted in the recent NatGeo documentary American Blackout, it wouldn’t take more than a few days for the entire system to collapse in on itself as grocery stores ran out of food, water utilities were unable to deliver potable water, and emergency response became non-existent.
When the needs of the population cannot be met in an allotted time frame, a phenomena occurs and the mindset shifts in people. They begin to act without thinking and respond to changes in their environment in an emotionally-based manner, thus leading to chaos, instability and a breakdown in our social paradigm.
Should we be struck by a high level X-class flare the effects will be felt within seconds.
If you happen to see a power surge, your cable/satellite TV no longer works and you can’t get your cell phone or car to turn on, then chances are that we’ve either been hit with an electro-magentic pulse weapon or the sun has sent a solar flare our way.
Either way, we’ll be in for a long and arduous recovery period that could span a decade or more.
Video: Huayhuash – An Epic adventure above the treeline
“¿Huayhuash?¿¡Huayhuash con bici’s!? No. No noooo… Es imposible.” In the winter of 2014, three friends set out on a self supported ride, looking for nothing more than a truly genuine experience. The goal: to circumnavigate one of the most wonderful and wicked mountain ranges in the world – the Huayhuash, by bicycle.
This was all a spur of the moment idea; part of the vicious cycle of making every adventure more thrilling than the last. January was the off-season, or rainy season, for the Andes so the wilderness would be completely desolate. The three friends hoped to be the second group to complete this trek on bikes. However, they underestimated the relentless weather they would encounter as they traveled for a week above treeline.
The friends tagged first descents down rocky couloirs and 16,000ft passes, watched sunrises against the tallest peaks in the country, and slept to the sounds of serac fall at night.
In the end, they didn’t quite make it as far as they had hoped. Between rain storms, concussions and waving guns the Huayhuash had ripped at their eager ambitions. A sense of wonder was fulfilled and the friendship of three adventure loving friends was reinforced. Huayhuash is the story of genuine adventure and the challenges that come along with it.
The assault initiates with a large SVBIED. Their T-72 appears to take a direct RPG hit at 6:44. After taking casualties, the Chechen group falls back. A mortar round sends lethal shrapnel into the rendezvous, killing Commander Saifullah al-Shishani.
Police working on a “live Google Earth” to monitor small areas
APRIL 21, 2014
While it will be a long time before we see a live version of Google Earth, as Frank recently explained, there are some places where small scale real-time imagery is starting to come out.
The most recent example is in Compton, California, where they can monitor a 25 square mile area for six hours at a time thanks to a company called Persistent Surveillance Systems(PSS).
PSS attaches high-resolution cameras to aircraft that fly around and stream the imagery back to the ground. You can learn quite a bit more about it in this video or by reading this blog post on Gizmodo.
A lot of people wonder about Google Earth imagery. Why is the image of my house so old? Why can’t I get a picture of my car accident from a month ago? Why doesn’t Google get newer pictures? This article gives a broad perspective about how Google gets the imagery and why it’s hard to get more recent imagery. It also provides you with ways to see lots more imagery built in to Google Earth by showing you where to look.
You would be surprised how many people initially think Google Earth (GE) will show imagery in real-time. Or, that surely it will only be a day or two old. I guess part of this thinking comes from watching the news deliver weather satellite photos which are only a few hours old, or spy TV shows with “live” satellite imagery (that’s pretty much science fiction except in rare expensive military operations). But, the problems of getting quality high resolution imagery are very challenging. Weather satellites are at geosynchronous orbits (36,000 km) and take low resolution imagery. High resolution satellites (e.g. those operated by commercial satellite companies like DigitalGlobe or by the government/military) operate just a few hundred kilometers above the Earth. This means they only see a small part of the Earth with their camera as they orbit over. They typically go around the Earth every 90 minutes, but only cover about 1% of the Earth on each pass – but, most of the area covered in a pass is water. Not only that, but imagery for Google Earth is only going to be good if the sun is at a high angle when the satellite goes over (fewer shadows), when there are no clouds, and as little haze/pollution as possible. Believe it or not, the times when all these factors come together are pretty rare. It can take months or years for a good quality image to be taken by satellite even if you pay lots of money!
Once the imagery is taken, it takes time to process the data before it is available to customers. Google is one of these customers (a really big one). Google has to evaluate the new imagery against the current imagery to determine whether the new is better than the current. They have computers to automate as much of this as possible. But, for important areas with large populations the process to check and verify the quality takes time. Once an image is selected, it has to be processed into the format and coordinate system of Google Earth’s databases. Then it has to go through a quality control process and fed into a processing system before it gets distributed to the live Google Earth database servers. This is one reason why you usually do not find any imagery younger than about 6 months in Google Earth and Maps. And why updates usually only happen about once every 30 days.
Not all the imagery in Google Earth comes from satellites. A lot of the imagery comes from aerial photographers – mostly in airplanes with special high resolution cameras. Some of the imagery even comes from kites, balloons, and drones. Google acquires imagery from a variety of sources. Some of the imagery is given to Google by city or state governments. The age of the imagery varies greatly, but most of the high resolution imagery is between 6 months and 5 years of age. Again, because the imagery comes from a variety of sources, the process to get this imagery into Google Earth is complex and involves a great deal of time and effort.
Another reason why you don’t find imagery that is newer is that it can cost a great deal of money to acquire quality aerial imagery. The companies who spend this money need a way to recover their costs. More recent imagery is more valuable than older imagery. As a result, these companies are reluctant to have their newest imagery available for free for anyone to view in Google Earth. Read the agreements for Google Earth before you try to use its imagery for business applications (more information). You can’t sell or use the imagery from Google Earth for business purposes without permission.
Google has been known to release much more recent imagery in GE for unique events. For example, for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Google released 2-week old imagery for the Beijing area.
However, near real-time imagery of Earth is available in Google Earth! “What?! After all that you are saying it is available?” you ask. Sure, there’s the Weather->Clouds layer. The clouds are actually taken from weather satellites and are a global picture of the clouds as recent as 3 hours old. Ok, so that’s not the kind of imagery you were thinking about?
There used to be a cool layer for Google Earth from NASA which showed the entire Earth at a medium resolution (about 250 meter resolution per pixel). The imagery was taken by the MODIS Terra satellite and was processed as quickly as possible and showed the entire Earth between 6 – 12 hours old. The imagery was continuously updating. You could see dust storms, large fires, volcanoes, haze conditions, droughts, floods, and – of course – clouds. This was the most recent, highest resolution imagery of the Earth continuously updating available to the general public, but it’s not available now. But, the resolution was too low to see things like your house or car clearly. There are a few new commercial companies launching multiple low-earth-orbit satellites in an attempt to get more near-real-time imagery of the Earth at at least medium-resolution, at an even more frequent update rate. We’ll be following these efforts closely, and hope layers to view them will appear in Google Earth.
Since Google Earth version 5, Google has the historical imagery feature, so you’re not limited to just the imagery shown by default in Google Earth. Google has archives of imagery from many sources and dates. For many places, Google has 2, 3, or even 30 different images over time for any one location (sometimes decades old). In some cases, you can even find newer imagery than the one shown by default. Usually in a case where the older imagery looks better overall than the newer. The historical imagery feature is a an amazing resource, which I encourage everyone to check out.
Let’s not forget to mention Google’s ground-level Street View imagery which is increasingly available in places all over the planet (viewable in Google Earth and Maps as well as on mobile). But, can also be months or years old for similar reasons (challenges of covering the entire planet and processing huge amounts of data).
Anyway, I hope this article helps provide a better understanding of the imagery in Google Earth and how it all works. This is a high-level overview and is based on my own observations and opinions.
Thousands of Rohingya have been forced to flee violence, driven by an extreme Buddhist ideology in Burma. On route to Malaysia, many fall prey to unscrupulous human smugglers, and face slave labour in Thailand.
"Sixty Bath? He not have money...", fears Durman, whose Rohingya relative is being kept captive in the jungle, on one of Thailand's paradise islands. The sixty Bath, or two thousand dollar bail, is an impossible obstacle to freedom. The road to democracy in Burma has been beset by explosive ethnic conflicts. In 2012, Buddhist fundamentalist's torched houses belonging to Rohingyas. Now many flee in unseaworthy boats to Malaysia, a Muslim country quietly accepting them. Mohammad, who escaped one of the prison camps, describes the "torture" which he was subjected to for months. The human trade is allegedly conducted with the assistance of the police and military. Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, Police Major General admits he's heard reports of officials getting involved: "I have seriously investigated this issue. But I still do not have any evidence yet". Chutima, a journalist investigating the extent of human trafficking, and the involvement of Thai police and military, is heartbroken. "It's worse and worse, day by day. Nobody cares".