AI Restoration Makes Apollo Moon Landing Footage Look Like It Was Shot In HD
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shirappu writes: AI technology is getting better and better at improving old video footage by adding new frames to improve smoothness and adding color to black and white footage (a great explainer for the techniques can be found here). Now, YouTube channel DutchSteamMachine is applying the same techniques to the moon landing in 1969. The AI-restored footage stabilizes the shaky old footage, adds frames, and motion smooths the whole thing to essentially bring the footage into the present. Though it can be difficult to improve these videos because high-quality source footage is a necessity, it’s still a good example of how improved these technologies are becoming with the development of AI support. The actual improved video of the moon landing can be found here.
Somehow, it has only been a week and a day since the first presidential debate of the 2020 election season. If you watched it, you may even still be recovering from the chaos. Well, it’s time to regroup, because the first and only vice presidential debate is on tonight. Here’s what to expect from the face-off between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris—and how to watch it, whether over the air, on cable, or online.
What to expect from the VP debate
After last week’s debate, having a “what to expect” section seems a little pointless, but here goes. Vice President Mike Pence (the Republican nominee for vice president) will debate Senator Kamala Harris (the Democratic nominee for vice president) tonight at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City starting at 9 p.m. ET. This time, Susan Page, USA Today’s Washington bureau chief, will moderate.
Pence and Harris will be seated 12 feet apart with a plexiglass barrier between them, as well as with another between the two candidates and Page. Though the Cleveland Clinic—which hosted the last debate and has been providing health and safety protocols for in-person campaign events—approves of this measure, the Pence campaign opposes it. “If Sen. Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it,” Katie Miller, a Pence spokesperson, told Politico.
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How to watch the VP debate
Like the first presidential debate, there are plenty of ways to watch this round for free. It will be shown live on every major network and cable news channel, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and C-SPAN. There will also be multiple livestreams of the debate on YouTube, including ones from CBS News and C-SPAN. Viewers can also stream the debate through Twitter’s US Election hub in the “Explore” tab.
“One thing I was taught is to never waste a sunrise. My dad was a hard worker, so it kinda instilled into me the fact that when the sun come up, you should be up.”
Professional shooter Jerry Miculek is well-known by shooters and gun folks, and he’s known for posting short videos… but this one is a little different. It’s called “Get Some! The Jerry Miculek Story” and it’s about 44 minutes long.
(Image: Screenshot from video)
Obviously I’m not going to try to do a blow-by-blow on this video, but here are some highlights:
– Both Jerry’s parents were hard-working farm kids from Texas, and his father was raised on a small farm with three brothers. – Jerry loves revolvers because when he was coming up, revolvers were king and some of his role models (Bill Jordan, Ed McGivern) did impressive speed work with revolvers – Jerry’s job is shooting, and he’s done it in 20 countries — including Russia, where he competed with a semi-auto rifle. – He grew up in south Louisiana and has always loved guns and the great outdoors. – Jerry worked as a mechanic at a chemical plant for about 15 years before he was able to start shooting for a living. – He grew up with 4 brothers and no sisters. – When he worked as a mechanic, he exercised his trigger finger during his daily commutes using an old K-frame S&W revolver that had been through a fire. – He prefers speed shooting because there’s always room for improvement; there is no perfect score, so he can always improve and do better. – He’s done a lot of competition with pistols, rifles, and shotguns as well as revolvers. – Jerry’s wife was a gunsmith and skilled competitive shooter before they even met.
“I had to marry the lady. She just shot too damn good.”
– Jerry and Kay’s daughter Lena Miculek is also an award-winning competitive shooter who currently works as a shooter for Sig Sauer. – Jerry owns a large shooting range where he can train in any shooting skill at any time. – Jerry’s reloading shop is set up to load about 60 cartridges and he keeps enough lead alloy on hand to cast roughly 4 million bullets. – He’s been accused of using substances to enhance performance — but says the only ones he’s used are chocolate syrup, chocolate bars, candy cigarettes, and wax lips. – Jerry’s been competing in shooting since 1976. – He tries to forget past wins and performances whenever he shoots a competition; this helps him concentrate on the “here and now,” which is the only place/time in which we live. – Jerry, Kay, and Lena like to get together and shoot side by side to push one another to do better. – At age 65, Jerry is still looking to get better every day. – Jerry has a special secret warmup routine for his trigger finger — which he says he will “take to his grave.”
“To be quite honest with you, I can’t wait for the next sunrise; I get to do it all over again.”
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technology
via Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/36ATBn1
Kevin James stars as an oversize Ewok fighting his way back from the brink of extinction in “Nature Planet.” While he’s no Sir David Attenborough, you’ve gotta hand it to “Sir” Adam Sandler for his narration work on this spot-on nature show parody.
Ryan Reynolds stars in this comedy-action flick about a guy who lives inside of a video game, but isn’t yet self-aware of his lot in life as an NPC. But when he finds out the truth, he turns his virtual world upside-down. Originally slated as a summer release, Free Guy now drops 12.11.2020.
Donald The Orange Returns Triumphantly As Donald The White
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WASHINGTON, D.C.—While battling the darkest monster from the pit of hell, known as “COVID,” Donald the Orange fell to his doom several days ago, sacrificing himself to save America from the deadly demon.
So Americans were ecstatic to learn that Donald the Orange had returned in a new, better form, now known as Donald the White. A brilliant white light shone from Walter Reed Medical Center as Donald the White emerged just in time to save America from COVID, Antifa, and the Deep State.
“I come back to you now at the turn of the tide!” he cried as he rode triumphantly out in Shadowfax, cutting right through the ravenous hordes of Antifa counterprotesters blocking the way.
“Donald! Donald the Orange!” cried his supporters outside Walter Reed Medical Center.
“Yes…” he said as he sat in the back of the presidential limousine, codenamed “Shadowfax.” “Yes… Donald the Orange… that is what they used to call me.” The newly revived president has a newfound passion for life and even more energy than before, though sources say he’s also taken up smoking.
Donald the White says he will use his newfound powers to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, shouting at would-be immigrants, “You shall not pass!”
Babylon Bee subscriber Mitchell Moody contributed to this report. If you want to get involved with the staff writers at The Babylon Bee, check out our membership options
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Dangy Dagger 9MM Round Defeats Level 3A Body Armor
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U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Austin Jones and Atlas Arms announced that they have successfully defeated level 3A body with their Dangy Dagger round.
The video released by the non-profit research group shows the founder of Atlas Arms fires their 9mm round at level 3A soft body made by AR500. The round blew through the panel and continued into the backstop of the range. What makes their round so revolutionary is that it can penetrate armor without violating the federal armor-piercing ammunition ban.
Much like Congress passing the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 because of a misconception about Glocks due to Hollywood, they also acted on bad information to ban so-called “armored piercing” bullets. In 1982, NBC ran a story on Teflon-coated bullets. Various gun control groups called these rounds “cop killers.” The report claimed that the bullets could defeat police body armor. The news organization’s claims were fake.
Hollywood helped spread the anti-gun propaganda about the bullets in movies such as Ronin and Lethal Weapon. Companies using Teflon to coat their bullets was just a marketing scheme. In actuality, the coating did nothing to increase the penetration of the bullets. Congress took the word of the anti-gun groups, the fake news, and Hollywood on the ammunition’s deadliness and enacted a ban.
Austin Jones decided that he needed to use the skills he developed in making durable inflation sections for the International Space Station to defeat an unjust gun law. The engineer and his team decided to take a multifaceted approach to defeat the ban.
One of the best determinations on if a bullet can penetrate armor is the speed of the round. The law doesn’t restrict how fast a bullet can move, so the team shed some weight from the bullet and found the optimum amount of powder to use in the round. They developed a 9mm round that shooters can fire at 2200ft/sec.
The ban also restricts jacketed bullets, so Atlas Arms made their rounds hollow points with a spike in the center. The hollow point causes a massive cavity when it hits soft tissue. Atlas Arms uses a center spike is to penetrate the armor.
Dangy Dagger 9MM RoundDangy Dagger 9MM Round
Atlas Arms uses a still yet revealed material for the spike. By keeping it under wraps, the organization hopes to improve its design to defeat even tough armor and avoid federal and state governments’ legal actions. Even if the government does ban the ammunition material, the organization has contingency plans.
The round is not cheap. Jones believes the round will run customers between $2 and $4. Atlas Arms will offer a more affordable alternative that will sacrifice some penetration. Since customers do have a legitimate concern of over-penetration, these cheaper alternatives might be a happy medium.
Atlas Arms plans to release the bullets’ plans so anyone can make rounds utilizing the Dangy Dagger bullets. They also plan to release a cutting code for the Ghost Gunner 3 to make round casings. The company is also filing a patent on the design so anyone will be able to look up how to make the rounds even if individual states try to make sharing the plans illegal. It would make the federal government the ones sharing the designs online.
John is also an Amazon best selling author and investigative firearms journalist. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two sons. He can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
The first ‘Monster Hunter’ movie teaser sets up an enormous battle
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After several years of development, you’re finally getting your first glimpse of the Monster Hunter movie in action. Sony and IGN have shared a teaser trailer (via Polygon) for Paul W.S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter production that gives a hint of what to expect. It’s very brief, but promises a climactic fight. Milla Jovovich(as Artemis) and T.I. (Link) are about to face off against a gigantic Black Diablos catching them by surprise as it erupts from the desert sand.
There aren’t any of the game series’ signature swords in the teaser, although promo photos (such as the one above) make clear they’ll show up at some stage.
The movie also stars action legend Tony Jaa, Ron Perlman, Diego Boneta and Meagan Good. It’s slated to debut “only in theaters” this December, although we wouldn’t be surprised if the pandemic changes the timing and availability like it has with other movies.
This looks like it might be a classic video game adaptation, for better or for worse. However, there are some aspects that work in its favor. Anderson and Jovovich are well-known for the Resident Evil movies (one of the few enduring game-based franchises), and there’s clearly talent attached beyond one or two recognizable names. It probably won’t be a timeless classic, but it might just be enjoyable.
