OT: General Off-Topic Thread [No politics or Religion]

[humanrefutation]

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[LittleRooster]

Ya'll believe in ghosts? What's your best paranormal story?

I do or want to really. When I was 5, after my great grandmother died, I saw her at the top of the stairs. I rubbed my eyes thinking I was seeing something but there she still was, blueish/whitesh light reflecting from here.

I closed and rubbed my eyes again and she was gone. Right away, I thought, she was saying goodbye.

Only time I've had an experience like that


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[LittleRooster]

Heather Wade, a paranormal expert and radio talk show host, claims that she obtained a top secret US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) document from an unnamed source. The DIA document, she says, contains a detailed report on how the UFO crashed in New Mexico.

On June 2, 1947, the U.S. Air Force announced in a press release that a flying saucer crashed on a ranch in Roswell. Before long, the military retracted its statement, claiming that the UFO was just a crashed air balloon.

Ms. Wade says that the leaked government documents in her possession show proof that the U.S. government has not been telling the entire truth about the Roswell incident.

The said document describes four decaying alien bodies found two miles from the crash site a week later after the Roswell incident was reported.

http://www.inquisitr.com/4303430/roswell-incident-update-expert-obtains-top-secret-documents-proving-aliens-crashed-in-new-mexico/

I miss Art Bell hosting that show


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[MickeyDavis]

Art Bell was a riot.

[LittleRooster]

Art Bell was a riot.

I still hold out hope he's coming back lol


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[stellation]

Hey girlfriends, little whackadoodle tip. This Channa Masala recipe from Kenji is pretty great (as you'd expect) and I can't recommend it enough. Out of curiosity I made a dip by taking some leftovers from that recipe, blitzed them in a food processer until relatively smooth then turned a few spoonfuls of greek yogurt through it (add more to smooth it/take some heat if you have to). It was wonderful.

Have made it since just to make the dip, the full recipe amounts Kenji has is enough for a pretty decent sized dip to have sitting around for picking at for about 8 folks. Broken up poppadoms as crackers, went down a treat and people thought I was a genius.

[midranger]

Are poppadoms Aussie prophylactics?

Seriously though, that dip sounds dope. May have to try.

[Beorn]

doing sprints and explosiveness training outdoors is a terrible experience when it's 35C in shadow. Damn ankle

[drew881]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/breaking-team-ice-cubes-big3-league-001545791.html

Has anyone seen news of this yet? Should be XFL levels of hilarity.

[midranger]

Had some George T Stagg tonight (i.e. Not Jr. but the BTAC),for the third or 4th time and my lord is it ever the essence of bourbon.

[BuckHole]

Anyone going to follow the BIG3?
https://big3.com
"The BIG3, a 3-on-3 tournament featuring former NBA players, will feature a stacked lineup in its first year and should inspire some curiosity from viewers. Allen Iverson playing competitive basketball once again is alone almost too much to resist."

The first game airs Monday, June 26 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

[BuckHole]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/breaking-team-ice-cubes-big3-league-001545791.html

Has anyone seen news of this yet? Should be XFL levels of hilarity.

I could go for some XFL right about now.

[BuckHole]

I wonder if Larry Sanders' desire to play basketball is strong enough for him to play on the G-league or somewhere overseas.


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[MickeyDavis]

From the JS

MADISON - Wisconsin’s craft brewers and wineries are banding together to head off a plan they fear could force them out of business by prohibiting them from selling their beer and wine where it is made.

No bill has yet been introduced, but a proposal in a memo obtained by a conservative group could force brewers and wineries to work with distributors to sell their products instead of selling directly with customers. Opponents say the Wisconsin Tavern League and alcohol distributors are pushing the plan and fear it could be slipped into the state budget at the last minute.

Tavern league lobbyists say they’re not aware of any specific proposal, but bars need a level playing field to compete with craft breweries and wineries that are becoming tourism spots. Craft brewers counter that the regulations would hurt business, and bars shouldn’t turn to the government for help dealing with competition. They’ve joined state wineries in an attempt to kill the plan.

“They see us as a threat because our parking lots are full and theirs aren’t,” said William Glass, president of the Wisconsin Brewers Guild and Eau Claire brewery The Brewing Projekt. “Our industry is manufacturing, it’s tourism, it’s hospitality. They’re fearful.”

Wisconsin has always been known for its bars. But the picture has been shifting over the last decade as high-profile craft brewers such as New Glarus and Ale Asylum have gained fans. The number of craft breweries has grown from about 75 in 2011 to about 140 last year, according to the Brewers Association, a national craft brewing advocacy group.

It’s unclear who is pushing the proposal. The Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a national group backed by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers, obtained a memo laying out the plan’s framework with the acronyms for the tavern league, the Wisconsin Beer Distributors Association and the Wisconsin Wine and Spirit Institute, which represents wine distributors, on top of the first page. AFP’s state director, Eric Bott, declined to say who leaked it.

According to the memo, alcohol producers would be prohibited from having any ownership in a distribution or retail operation. A new Office of Alcohol Beverages Enforcement would take over alcohol regulation from the state Department of Revenue. The office’s duties would include ensuring producers don’t distribute or sell on their own.

The changes would mean the end of brewery tap rooms, rooms where brewery visitors can purchase beer. Wineries would no longer be able to sell to on-site visitors. Instead, they’d have to work through distributors to get their product to market, said Alwyn Fitzgerald, president of the Wisconsin Winery Association and owner of Fisher King Winery in Verona.

He called the changes the “death knell” for both industries. Distributors already have plenty of business, and even if they were to pick up an obscure label their charges would be exorbitant, he said.

Tavern league lobbyist Scott Stenger said the league had nothing to do with the memo. He declined further comment since no formal bill or even a draft has emerged, saying it’s dangerous to debate something outside the Legislature’s public sphere. Still, he added that his members can’t compete with craft breweries that are growing into destinations for events.

Eric Jensen, executive director of the distributors association, said in an email that allowing craft breweries to distribute and sell their products directly helps them grow, which often results in distribution deals later.

“We have no interest in banning those activities, and doing so would likely harm our own growth opportunities,” Jensen said.

WWSI lobbyist Joel Frank didn’t immediately respond to an email.

Even though no bill has been introduced, Glass fears the budget committee could tack the changes onto the budget just before it’s passed using what’s known as a 999 motion. The motion contains the committee’s final revisions to the spending plan before it goes to the full Legislature. It’s traditionally introduced and approved with little debate, often late at night, and has served as a repository for contentious policy moves. The motion for the last budget, for example, would have gutted the state’s open records law. That language was later struck amid public outrage.

The winery association, the brewers guild and the Wisconsin Distillers Guild announced last week they’ve formed a coalition to pressure lawmakers to maintain the status quo. AFP-Wisconsin has launched a media campaign criticizing the proposal, too. Bott said the proposal is too strict and shouldn’t be slipped into the budget without scrutiny.

Aides for budget committee co-chairs Rep. John Nygren and Sen. Alberta Darling didn’t respond to email messages. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos reiterated there’s no concrete proposal, but didn’t rule out that something could appear in the 999 motion.

[jute2003]

Lobbyists are an easy group to hate

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[KidA24]

Wait, big money breweries and a group backed by Tobacco are feeling the pain of more customer-centric craft breweries and are lobbying for legislation to cause them harm? I've never heard of such a thing...

[MickeyDavis]

Unfortunately the budget process here ends up being a dumping ground of stuff that gets added at the last minute. None of those things have anything to do with the actual budget. It's a way to reward donors and lobbyists. It's always been that way regardless of who is in power.

None of the items would ever pass on their own.

[Mags FTW]

I think this is why Horny Goat ended up closing. Some weird bill that stated you couldn't sell beer directly to consumers if you produced a certain amount of barrels per day or whatever.

[MickeyDavis]

I know originally HG said they were going to keep brewing beer even though they closed down the rest. But they didn't do that. And that property was sold a couple of months ago to a developer who hasn't announced plans for the site.

I think the whole distributor system for beer and booze is antiquated.

[Thunder Muscle]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/breaking-team-ice-cubes-big3-league-001545791.html

Has anyone seen news of this yet? Should be XFL levels of hilarity.

I could go for some XFL right about now.

Sounds like they had big attendance yesterday. I'm half intrigued.