 way of eroding tradition. Over the decades the German Märzen has lost much of its color and body, illustrated by the world-famous Hofbrau's Oktoberfest, which is virtually indistinguishable from their flagship light lager.
Leave it up to the American craft brewers, as usual, to come to the rescue. The style has undergone a renaissance here in America, especially in the German heritage-heavy Midwest, where craft brewers have taken the style back to its roots, producing the dark, malty, toasty brews that Ludwig and his fellow revelers guzzled down in 1810 during that party for the ages. So without further ado, let's do a quick rundown of some of the better known Midwest Oktoberfestbiers.
I was absolutely shocked by how light and lagery Bell's entry was this year. More akin to today's Märzens, with a thin maltiness and watery aftertaste. I'd suggest leaving this on the shelf if you happen across it, something I'd never thought I'd say about a beer coming from this excellent brewery.
The Goose displayed some nice maltiness, but only a hint of that toasty, almost porter-like backwash that, in this Beer Dork's opinion, defines the style. Leinenkugels just a hair less so in both departments, and a lot less body. The Summit entry was another bit of a shocker, coming in even more flat than the Leinies.
Capital's entry had always been the epitome for me of the Oktoberfest style: loads of maltiness offset by a full bodied toastiness, damn near bordering on coffee-like. Sprecher's entry came very close as well, but a slightly hoppy profile (rare in Sprecher's stuff) keeps it firmly behind Capital. And then there is the New Glarus Staghorn, an undisputed masterpiece in the Oktoberfest genre, its malt-body balance eclipsing even Capital's entry. You can't get it outside of Wisconsin, but it makes a roadtrip to the state worth it by itself.
That's it, folks. Stay tuned for updates as more Midwest Oktoberfests roll out. I've got Tyranena's Oktoberfest chilling in the fridge waiting for a taste-off, and I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for others on the liquor store shelf. So if you know of any tasty seasonal brews you think are deserving, make like a beer and give me a buzz.Memory Disorders & Assessment: A mini-review

Memory disorders and disturbances are frequently encountered in the clinical practice and are a feature of the majority of psychiatric and neurological conditions causing significant disability. With the rapidly evolving understanding of the nature, different forms and assessments of memory disorders, it becomes crucially important to periodically take stock of the nature of research that falls within its purview. Assessment of the nature of the memory disorder and the functional consequences for the individual should precede remediation and intervention planning. The present mini-review is one such attempt to provide a scan of the emerging empirical literature that has attempted to understand, assess and enhance memory disturbances in the clinical setting.The Army Education Center at West Point is located on the grounds of the United States Military Academy. West Point is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, north of Bear Mountain and south of Newburg. Entrance to the academy is through one of two gates, the Thayer Gate and the Stony Lonesome Gates. Visitors to the West Point Education Center should be advised that they will have their vehicles searched before entering the grounds.
If you are entering West Point through the Thayer Gates, follow Thayer Road which will eventually turn into Washington Road. Follow Washington to the cemetery and turn right on Buckner Road (at the end of the cemetery and the cemetery will be on your right), The education center is in the building next to Subway.
If you are entering West Point through Stony Lonesome Gates, you will follow Stony Lonesome Road. At Washington Road make a left and a right at end of cemetery. The education center is in the building next to Subway.Old Navy Canada has the mighty mighty sale and is offering 20% off everything. This deal is available in-store and online. Old Navy offer is valid until Monday, May 6, 2013. Enter coupon code ONMIGHTY at checkout to get your discount. Everyday free shipping is valid online on purchases of $50 or more in the same order.Searching databases of conserved sequence regions by aligning protein multiple-alignments.

A general searching method for comparing multiple sequence alignments was developed to detect sequence relationships between conserved protein regions. Multiple alignments are treated as sequences of amino acid distributions and aligned by comparing pairs of such distributions. Four different comparison measures were tested and the Pearson correlation coefficient chosen. The method is sensitive, detecting weak sequence relationships between protein families. Relationships are detected beyond the range of conventional sequence database searches, illustrating the potential usefulness of the method. The previously undetected relation between flavoprotein subunits of two oxidoreductase families points to the potential active site in one of the families. The similarity between the bacterial RecA, DnaA and Rad51 protein families reveals a region in DnaA and Rad51 proteins likely to bind and unstack single-stranded DNA. Helix--turn--helix DNA binding domains from diverse proteins are readily detected and shown to be similar to each other. Glycosylasparaginase and gamma-glutamyltransferase enzymes are found to be similar in their proteolytic cleavage sites. The method has been fully implemented on the World Wide Web at URL: http://blocks.fhcrc.org/blocks-bin/LAMAvsearch.Brin is one of the reasons why I love Google and remain a loyal Google user and stockholder. His mindset toward using technology to really change the world keeps me hopeful. Google isn't perfect, but I feel that they have done an excellent job at showing you can still be profitable while doing work that can better mankind as a whole. All you have to be is willing to take the risk.

I'd love to be able to work for Google (or dare I say Google X) someday. The positive things you could do with the financial backing of a company like them. Wowza.Is it time to think about a larger square baler?
The costs associated with feeding or bedding with large square bales will just begin when the bale hits the ground...
The author is a biological systems engineering professor with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Large round bales can be made for less cost than large square bales...
The author is an associate professor and extension forage specialist at the University of Georgia.Dairy producers have to keep a sharp pencil to ensure the milk check covers all their costs, but there...An upcoming talk at the Vancouver Public Library is stirring debate over LGBTQ rights and the the limits of free speech.
The event features feminist speaker Meghan Murphy, the editor of Feminist Current, who has been permanently banned from Twitter.
The January talk, slated for the VPL’s central branch, is billed as a discussion on gender identity and women’s rights.
Murphy’s writing on sex and gender — particularly questioning whether people can change their biological sex and arguing that “men aren’t women” — has drawn condemnation from trans advocates, earning her the label of “TERF” (trans exclusive radical feminist) from some quarters.
“What does it mean to be transgender, how does a man become a woman? How does a person change sex? What is a trans woman?” Murphy asked Global News.
But Murphy rejects the notion her ideas are hurtful.
“Feminists are not going around attacking trans people. We would never do that. We’re not against trans-identified people. Again, we’re just trying to have this conversation,” she said.
The planned event has drawn a flurry of opposition.
Opponents have launched a petition calling for the VPL to remove Vancouver police “safe place” signage that indicates the library is a hate and harassment-free environment for LGBTQ people if it won’t cancel the talk.
LGBTQ advocacy group Qmunity is also calling on the library to scrap the event, arguing that hosting it is as good as promoting Murphy’s ideas.
“In providing a platform for Murphy’s hateful views, the VPL is tacitly endorsing these views,” wrote the group in a Facebook post.
“I would say that her banning from Twitter was about much more than dead-naming,” said Heather Wong-Mitchell with Qmunity.
All reasoned conversations are important to have, not all debaters.
Publishers who claim transgender women are mentally-ill or delusional men who hurt women do not necessarily get to organize those debates. There's a difference between sharing ideas and inciting discrimination.
“VPL is not endorsing, or hosting this event; it is a rental of our public space,” reads the statement.
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart also raised concerns about the content of the talk, but said Friday it would be inappropriate for the city to intervene.
“Although I find it despicable and it’s not something I support at all, part of living in a free society is a right to free speech as well,” he said.
Murphy’s event is scheduled for Jan. 10.
Singapore-based oil and gas exploration company KrisEnergy Ltd said on Wednesday that the fabrication of the minimum facilities wellhead platform (Mini-Platform) for the Apsara oil development offshore Cambodia has been completed and its components are on their way to the Kingdom’s waters.
The