AT&T Versus 15,000 Data-Crazed Velociraptors

Source: The Real War At SXSW: AT&T Versus 15,000 Data-Crazed Velociraptors | TechCrunch

AT&T’s struggles to stay up last year are well-documented. CNN recently ran a piece about how AT&T hopes to avoid a similar fate this year. But actually, “struggles” is way too kind of a word.

I must be psychic or something. TechCrunch ran this article yesterday, at the same time I wrote Buzzwords for SXSWi and CNET ran theirs. They also wrote an article on March 9, about Location Wars.

When 15,000 people are trying to use 3G in downtown Austin things get “a little” dicey. My co-worker at SXSW said he heard that AT&T would step it up this year. So far he’s sending tweets, but I don’t know if he’s on their network or not.

This topic is so hot that it’s trending on Twitter, at least until they crash Austin’s network or Twitter.

Buzzwords for SXSWi 2010: Geolocation, Check In

I wont be at SXSW this year, but I’ll be able to find my tweeple there. Two companies, Foursquare and Gowalla, plan to push geolocation at this year’s SXSW Interactive Festival.

Eighteen months ago, neither Gowalla nor Foursquare existed. But their similar “geolocation” mobile apps, which let users “check in” from their smartphones, share their location with their friends, and compete to earn virtual goods (in Gowalla) and “badges” (in Foursquare), are two of the hottest start-ups in the tech world. They’re in aggressive competition to be SXSWi’s big standout, making the digital-culture bonanza’s Texas-sized showmanship even bigger than usual. Source: SXSWi: Let the geolocation games begin | CNET News.

Geolocating apps were present at last year’s SXSW, but they were more beta tests than full scale applications. As big as I may make it, these two startups are the only players in the game. Some of the heavy weights are looking seriously at geolocation for targeting ads and other applications.

Geolocation is unlike anything the Web has ever seen, but it’s likely that the rush to dominate the space will pan out in a way similar to any other big development in social media. We’ve seen (and in some cases continue to see) the personal Web page wars, the blog platform wars, the social-network wars, the real-time-streaming wars, and the social-gaming wars. Like its predecessors, the geolocation wars will see major, complicated privacy concerns. There will be more hand-wringing from start-ups who don’t believe it when a company like Facebook (presumably) says they don’t want to snuff out third-party services. There will be poorly spent venture capital and ad dollars. And eventually, there will be winners.

But for now, Foursquare and Gowalla can enjoy their week of attention at SXSWi, giving out free T-shirts, turning on the taps at open bars, and wooing potential marketing partners. Their executives can get a little drunk, and it probably won’t matter; in the long run, a week in Austin won’t mean much. Source: In geolocation wars, SXSWi is mere skirmish | CNET News.

So, I’ll search for the hastags #sxswi and #geoloco, and I’ll follow @gowalla and @foursquare, but I have a feeling something else will rawk the SXSWi world. Check in and stay tuned.

Why do you tweet?

I saw a tweet from @Robin2go which had a hashtag, #psutlt. I looked up the hashtag, trying to find what she was talking about, and I found another tweet by @jeffswain talking about “Why do you tweet?” with the same hashtag. Jeff also has a blog, five-4-six,where he posted the same video. Here is my response.

Why do you tweet?

This is such a simple question but everyone finds it impossible to simply answer. It’s like asking why do you talk to people or why do you listen to people.

I tweet to and talk with and listen to people – like you Jeff – that I’ve never met but with whom I have something in common. I think of tweeting like a constant conversation taking place on the internet and twitter users can choose to join or listen. I think there is a little more transparency with twitter than with instant messages. So, I, like a lot of people, have more personal conversations on twitter.

I started my twitter account in October 2008. I didn’t really commit to tweeting until March 2009 at SXSW. It seemed like everyone there had an iPhone and was on twitter. I was actually blogging my notes from the conference and I found a nice API that would tweet my blog posts. So that why I started tweeting.

In October 2009, I went to HighEdWeb, and again everyone had an iPhone or a laptop, and it seemed like everyone was tweeting – constantly. I started reading the hashtags in tweets from the conference and putting a face with the presenters I was hearing. I realized then that they are people like me and twitter is another tool – like instant messengers – that we can use to have conversations. I also realized the difference from AIM is that twitter is a many-to-many conversation. The only limitation on how many people you can talk to is how many people follow you. Since HighEdWeb I’ve followed lots of people from the conference and we have shared several ideas about higher education.

Viral Video or Google Ad

I think this video was really an ad for Google – maybe one of the long, lost tapes.

It struck me last night as I was getting ready for bed that the colors in the video match Google almost perfectly. If “red” and “green” were switched the colors would match.
Source: YouTube – OK Go – This Too Shall Pass – RGM version.

Earthquakes shorten our days

Wow. I never realized that this happened.

The Feb. 27 magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile may have shortened the length of each Earth day … by about 1.26 microseconds. Source: NASA – Chilean Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days.

What does this mean? Is the earth is spinning faster? Some answers are around on the web, but not many.

A shortened day could mean sunlight shines on a spot for less time, and darkness would cover an area for less time too. I think what it would affect more than the clock though. I think gravity, surface temperature, climate, the moon’s orbit, satellites’ orbits, would be affected to name a few. Only (a shortened) time will tell.

Performance Rights Act and Radio Freedom Act

I heard about this today. From the http://www.noperformancetax.org/ website:

There are currently two bills pending in Congress that would levy a performance tax on local radio – H.R.848, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (MI-14) and S.379, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT). Your members of Congress need to hear that you strongly oppose these bills.

Additionally, anti-performance tax resolutions have been introduced in the House and Senate in support of local radio. In the Senate, Sens. Blanche Lincoln (AR) and John Barrasso (WY) introduced S. Con. Res. 14, and in the House, Reps. Gene Green (TX-29) and Mike Conaway (TX-11) introduced H. Con. Res. 49. Both are known as the Local Radio Freedom Act. Many members of Congress already support local radio and resolutions against the performance tax. Others still need to hear your voice.

Take action now!

Neither Texas senator supports S. Con. Res. 14, the Local Radio Freedom Act. Tell them how you feel.

• Sen. John Cornyn (R)
• Sen. Kay Hutchison (R)

The following Texas representatives support H. Con. Res. 49, the Local Radio Freedom Act:

• Brady, Kevin
• Burgess, Michael
• Conaway, Mike
• Carter, John
• Culberson, John
• Cuellar, Henry
• Edwards, Chet
• Granger, Kay
• Green, Al
• Green, Gene
• Hinojosa, Rubén
• Hall, Ralph
• Marchant, Kenny
• McCaul, Michael
• Neugebauer, Randy
• Olson, Pete
• Ortiz, Solomon
• Paul, Ron
• Poe, Ted
• Reyes, Silvestre
• Sessions, Pete
• Thornberry, Mac

First nuclear plant in 30 years

This is great news. I’m glad we finally got a power plant. I’ve been out of the nuclear game for 12 years, but I have always wanted more nuclear power in the United States.

The Obama administration yesterday (Feb 16, 2010) pledged a conditional $8.3 billion loan guarantee to support the construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia, which would be the first new U.S. nuclear plants in more than three decades. Source: NYTimes.com | PETER BEHR | February 17, 2010 | DOE Delivers Its First, Long-Awaited Nuclear Loan Guarantee.

Thirty years ago a series of events led to the stoppage of nuclear power in the United States. The Three Mile Island accident occurred March 28, 1979. Then a severe recession began in December 1980 and the prime interest rate eventually reached 21.5% by June 1982. Nuclear power was deemed unsafe and too expensive.

Today, terrorism is more of a concern than accidents. Unfortunately for the industry I fear the results would be the same. If an attack was successful, I think the nuclear power industry in America would shift into reverse. Existing power plants would be taken offline, and their radioactive materials would be buried deep underground. I could be wrong. They might strengthen walls, increase security, and fight back, but that is less likely considering the tension between the public and nuclear energy.

Here’s an interesting comparison. In 1977 Crystal River began operating one PWR. Doing my ol’ back of the napkin calculations, the estimated cost (in 2006 dollars) to build would have been roughly $1,365,940,000. The an average overrun of 169% the actual cost would have been roughly $3,667,926,000. So, that tells me costs went up roughly 13%. This time its not inflation or interest its labor and materials that puts the price so high.

838 MW * $1,630,000/MW = $1,365,940,000

838MW * $4,377,000/MW = $3,667,926,000

Social Media Bursting Bubbles

From Business Insider, an online news site, an article titled “This Guy Represents The Biggest Bubble Yet” talks about how Keith McCullough, CEO of Hedgeye, thinks politics is the next bubble.

The story is really shallow, but it made me think of the bigger picture. If there is a bubble it’s actually part of a transparency bubble that exists in every private and public sector. If it bursts it will be because the sector didn’t share the truth with their customers or constituents. This is a growing concept in social media and it pervades the latest generation(s) of workers/voters. Basically the concept says, “if you can’t converse with me and be honest then I don’t want to be your friend and you can’t follow me.”

Doing a Google search for this topic I found a note-page on Facebook that was written by Keith McCullough that talks about the bubble of U.S. politics.

2010 Election Information for Central Texas

Since today, February 15, is the start of early voting in the Texas Primary, I thought I would list the candidates so I know who is running and who to vote for. The following is the most current information I could find as of January 30, 2010.

Texas Secretary of State website lists Important Dates for 2010 Elections in Texas:

• Primary election day: March 2, 2010
• Primary runoff day: April 13, 2010
• May uniform election date: May 8, 2010
• November uniform election date: November 2, 2010

The Secretary’s website also lists What is on the ballot.

U.S. Congress:

First, look at the congressional district map for Texas. I live in the 17th congressional district for the U. S. House of Representatives; south central Texas including Waco and Bryan.

Senators:

• Sen. John Cornyn (R) Next Election: 2014
• Sen. Kay Hutchison (R) Next Election: 2012

Representatives (District 17):

• Rep. Chet Edwards (D) Next Election: 2010

Election Candidates:

• Chet Edwards (D)
• Rob Curnock (R)
• Timothy Delasandro (R)
• Bill Flores (R)
• Dave McIntyre (R)
• Chuck Wilson (R)
• Richard B. Kelly (L)

Texas Legislature:

I live in the Senate’s 5th district and House’s 14th district.

Texas Senate (District 5):

• Steve Ogden (R) Next Election: 2010

Election Candidates:

• Steve Ogden (R)
• Ben Bius (R)
• Stephen M. Wyman (D)

Texas House (District 14):

• Brown, Fred (R) Next Election: 2010

Election Candidates:

• Fred Brown (R)
• Rick Davis (R)
• Gerald “Buddy” Winn (R)
• Blanche Brick (R)

Texas Governor:

Rick Perry (R) Next Election: 2010

Election Candidates:

• Rick Perry (R)
• Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)
• Debra Medina (R)
• Larry Kilgore (R)
• Bill Lawrence (R)
• Koo-Hyun “John” Kim (R)
• Felix Alvarado (D)
• Bill Dear (D)
• Farouk Shami (D)
• Bill White (D)
• Alma Ludivina Aguado (D)
• Clement E. Glenn (D)
• Star Locke (D)
• Jeff Daiell (Libertarian)
• Kenneth Griffin (Libertarian)
• Steve Nichols (Libertarian)
• Fran Cavanaugh (Independent)
• Les Sanderfer (Independent)
• Kevin Still (Independent)
• Clement Glenn (Independent)
• M.J. “Smitty” Smith (Libertarian)
• Ed Tidwell (Libertarian)
• David Carpenter (Independent)
• Curtis “Tank” Hartfield (Independent)
• Kenneth Richardson (Independent)
• John Roland Ross (Independent)

Here is some interesting news. Texas Senator Steve Ogden (R-District 5) is Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. This position has an automatic seat on the Legislative Budget Board (LBB). The LBB decides, among other things, the State’s support to public universities. So, one of the people that lowered property taxes (temporarily) and raised cigarette taxes (permanently) in the name of education* will help decide how that money is spent. It’s good to be in Finance.

* From Steve Ogden’s website, I’m Proud of What We Accomplished in the Special Session: ”Other tax changes included revising the calculation of sales tax on used cars and raising the cigarette tax by $1 per pack effective January 1, 2007.At the end of the day,this means state tax revenues will now fund about half of public education, up from approximately 38 percent today.”

Snow In Texas 2010

Originally uploaded by teamsiems

It snowed in Texas tonight, February 11, 2010.

teamsiems.com tagline

I don’t write about myself or this site too often, but I had a small epiphany about the tagline of teamsiems.com. Like every other story I can remember this story starts off with, “I was surfing around the web and….” I happened upon the Google’s Webmaster Tools website. This site lists, among other things, a ranking of your site’s pages in the Google search engine. It made me realize that visitors were coming to my site for some odd topics, and furthermore the tagline was basically lying or misrepresenting the content of teamsiems.com. After that revelation I wanted to fix it and make it more search engine friendly.

I started this site in 2006 as a sandbox to try new web technologies and techniques. In the back of my mind I always wanted to make this into a business. Here we are in 2010 and I have launched a few sites from here, but for the most part this site has become my collection of blog posts and PHP code. It’s time to acknowledge that this site will not become a business anytime soon and clearly state that this site, like my life, is a collection of odds and ends and (seemingly) random bits of information.

How do I reflect this idea on this site? I started with the tagline. I’ve burned through a few description tags and taglines since 2006, but the last one I wrote was done quickly and it only furthered the murky purpose of this site: organized chaos of a web developer. I am a web developer, but teamsiems.com really doesn’t have anything to do with web development.

I rewrote the tagline. It’s not as easy as it looks. It took me a while to think of a tagline that more accurately reflects the scope of this site: The Siems Team: observing life on the web. I think this is true. My name is Siems. I recently added more members to my family and it’s not a stretch to call us teamsiems. I think the last part is clever. I observe and collect information from the web and store it here – on the web.

So, until I change it again, this site will remain a collection of life taken from the web and saved on the web.

Memphis Ribs in Winter?

In my defense I offer two arguments: 1) it has been about 8 months since I made brisket, 2) tomorrow is the Super Bowl and (2.5) we had good weather today. I wanted some ribs so I found a recipe from Marlboro of all places and decided what the heck.

There is something you need to know about BBQ: all barbecue is not the same. And for god’s sakes don’t slap some barbecue sauce made in New Jersey on a rack of ribs and call it barbecue. I didn’t learn about barbecue styles until I came to Texas, but apparently there are 4 styles in the US.

Memphis style comes wet or dry. The wet is mopped with a mustard and vinegar sauce while cooking. The dry is made with a rub and not mopped.

Carolina style is rubbed and mopped with a vinegar sauce. Variants range from North to South Carolina.

Kansas City style depends on the sauce. The rubbed meat is smoked and then  served with sweet sauce at the table.

Texas is so big it has 4 regions of it own. From experience I can say Texas style is cooked with a rub and then a tomato-based sauce at the table – if you really need sauce. In fact they will probably call you a Yankee if you sauce your bbq; it’s all about the rub in Texas.

Well, I’m made wet and sloppy Memphis style ribs today. I rubbed them this morning and let them setup for 5 hours in the refrigerator. Then I made the mop sauce when I lit the gas grill. I setup the grill for indirect cooking as much as one can on a gas grill. For ribs its not really about the low and slow method. These ribs were supposed to cook within 2 hours.

Rub Ingredients

1/4 cup paprika
1 1/2 Tbsp black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp dark brown sugar firmly packed
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
6 lbs pork ribs (I use two 3lbs racks of baby back ribs)

Mop Ingredients

1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp salt

The secret to tender ribs is to pull off the membrane on the back. Make a cut parallel with the ribs in the membrane and insert the knife under the membrane and gently pull it up. Then pull the rest of the membrane up with your fingers.

Combine the rub ingredients and rub about 2/3 on the ribs. Wrap in plastic-wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

When you wait for the grill to come to 200° F, combine the mop ingredients and set aside.

Cook the ribs 1 hour meat-side up then mop the top and let cook for another 30 minutes. Flip them over and mop and let cook for 30 minutes. Continue mopping and cooking for 30 minutes until you run out of mop sauce or the ribs are done. Be sure to check the temperature. I try to keep mine at 200° F the whole time. It took my ribs about 2 1/2 hours to cook.

I served my ribs with baked potatoes and baked beans.

High School Reunions Via Social Media

If it wasn’t for the Internet and the explosion of social media I probably would not know about my high school reunion. We started finding each other through email before the last reunion in 2000, but facebook, myspace and twitter make finding and communicating a lot easier and cheaper than some places (ClassMates.com). Although the other sites may have served a purpose in the past, social media sites are king today. They’re free and more and more people are using them for way more than class reunions.

Clearwater High School Class of 1990 (on Facebook)

Obama a lame duck in less than a year

Tomorrow, January 21, is Obama’s first anniversary as president. Last night Massachusetts elected a Republican senator to replace Democrat Ted Kennedy after he left office in August for health reasons. This gives Republicans the necessary 41 votes to kill any legislation in the Senate. In one quick and decisive move the GOP has rendered Obama a lame duck less than one year after he took office.

Who would have thought that Teddy Kennedy would be succeeded in the U.S. Senate by a Republican? The GOP now has the necessary 41 votes to block anything that the Democratic Senate majority wants to do, from passing legislation to confirming judges. The White House has been very slow to fill judicial and U.S. attorney slots and have squandered that opportunity. The Democrats have achieved NOTHING, and now they can’t do anything without Republican votes. George W. Bush became a lame duck with two years to go when the Republicans lost control of Congress in the 2006 midterms. Obama may have become a lame duck for the remainder of his term. Source: Unhappy anniversary | BurkaBlog.

The health care bill that was before the senate seems all but doomed to fail in light of this election. Time will tell, but I don’t expect any helpful legislation coming from Washington any time soon.

Budget cuts for Texas’ universities

In 2009 I said the recession isn’t over. I guess it needs to be said again – for future reference: history repeats itself! This is the third time I’ve gone through a recession or slow-down or bubble-burst in the 15 years that I’ve lived in Texas. In the public sector, especially higher education, I think the recession doesn’t really hit until 2 years after the worst of it hits the rest of the world. If we say the recession started in 2008, it was at its worst in 2009, then higher education can expect the worst (at least in Texas) in 2010-11. It’s no coincidence that the Texas legislature is deciding the biennial budget for 2010-11, and universities are facing huge budget cuts – some as much as $14 Million each year. The worst is still to come.

Texas A&M may have to cut $28 million out of its budget over two years. Source: Texas A&M looking for funds to cut after state mandate | The Eagle.

What does it mean to be the worst for an institute of higher education? It means the legislature cuts state monies going to the university systems. In Texas there are at least 6 major university systems: University of Houston System, University of North Texas System, University of Texas System, Texas A&M University System, Texas State University System, Texas Tech University System.

Texas A&M-College Station is in the early stages of identifying potential cuts. Officials have asked departments to prioritize projects in case the state doesn’t provide all the requested funding. Source: Texas universities to cut back after endowments hit | Dallas Morning News.

The Shorty Awards

This is what the social media is for: an award show for people that are online writing about being online.

The second annual Shorty Awards nomination process has begun! In January 2010, the community is invited to nominate Twitter users for excellence over the past year. The awards recognize each content creators entire body of work, not just an individual tweet. Nominations are made by sending a tweet, whether its through this site or on Twitter. In February, the nominees will be narrowed down to five finalists in each category. Winners will be determined by a combination of popular vote and by the members of the new Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences. An awards ceremony, complete with 140-character acceptance speeches, will be held in March in New York City. Source: About the Process, shortyawards.com.

Florida football is changing forever

Many are asking “Is Friday the last night of the Florida dynasty?” Source: ESPN. Friday, January 1, 2010, Florida plays Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, but it may be the last time (for a long time) they play in a bowl. Urban Meyer, the coach that led the Gators to 2 National Championships, suffered chest pains after the loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship. He said he will retire then he said he will take off indefinitely. Add to that his star quarterback, Tim Tebow, is graduating. Florida wont be the powerhouse again for several years, if ever.

At the same time, Florida State is retiring a legion, Bobby Bowden, after 33 years. Friday, FSU won against West Virginia in the Gator Bowl – it was his last game.

Finally, 2010, The Year We Make Contact

Is this the year we make contact? With whom, you might ask. Well, if you ask that then you don’t know what I’m talking about. The year 2010…the movie 2010…this is the year! Will we make contact with aliens? Who knows.

What I do know is what I remember thinking about what will happen in 2010. I thought I’ll turn 39 in 2010, and that sounded old. When I graduated high school my first thought was that my 10 year reunion will be in 2000, and my second thought was that my 20 year reunion will be in 2010. I thought maybe I would be working on space nuclear power by 2010.

Things I didn’t know would happen include the death of both of my parents before 2010. I never thought I would be married let alone on my second marriage by 2010; or have 3 step kids. I didn’t know I would be living in Texas for 15 years in 2010.

It’s easy to say, “I wish I knew then what I know now,” but the truth is “life is like a box of chocolates,” you really don’t know what you’re going to end up with. I wish my mom and dad could have lived forever, but they’re in a better place now than where they were a few years ago. I wish I only married once – to avoid that pain – but I’m glad I met my second wife.

I’ve changed quite a bit in 25 years since the movie came out. In 1984 I turned 13 years old in 6th grade. I wasn’t thinking too much about the future. I was concentrating on making good grades in 6 classes per day in a new school. It wasn’t too long before I would start focusing on what I would do in college and beyond.

In high school I started thinking about space nuclear power, specifically space ships and nuclear powered rockets. It wasn’t until I went to college that I learned we had already made nuclear powered rockets, but we should not expect to use them any time soon. It’s 2010 – about 50 years after the first test of a nuclear rocket – and we still don’t have a nuclear rocket.

2009 A year in the life of Twitter

I think 2009 will go down as the year Twitter became a household name. I know I’ve used Twitter a lot this year, and I’ve written several blog posts about Twitter and the influence of social media. It will be connected with significant events and insignificant Internet chatter. People will say, “I remember reading a tweet about that,” or “I tweeted about that.” When asked about significant events of 2009 – Iran election, Michael Jackson’s death, “balloon boy” – I’ll bet Twitter will be mentioned in the conversation.

Many people have assumed that Twitter is just another social network, some kind of micro-blogging service, or both. It can be these things but primarily Twitter serves as a real-time information network powered by people around the world discovering what’s happening and sharing the news. The Iranian election was the most discussed issue on Twitter in the final year of a decade defined by advancements in information access.

In the new year, Twitter will begin supporting a billion search queries a day. We will be delivering several billion tweets per hour to users around the world. These are figures we did not anticipate when we founded the company in 2007. Source: Why we can never rest: a year in the life of Twitter | Times Online

In much the same way that instant messaging became a household term 12 years ago when AOL Instant Messenger arrived, Twitter, and a true social media network, will spread news (and propaganda) at the speed of light around the globe; perhaps even to the ISS.

One thing I’ve come to realize is that Twitter holds immense power. Just think about it for a minute. If your product was used by more than 1 billion people everyday to talk about anything from “I’m now online” to “I survived the plane crash into the Hudson.” The potential to spread news is endless. But, I still say that a “town crier” ranting on Twitter without corroborating information is dangerous. They can influence millions of people to take action especially if the rest of the world was ignorant of the truth and the ruse continues long enough for it to grow legs and become sustained. I look forward to the time when conspiracy theorists use Twitter to actually persuade us that something happened or didn’t happen.

You can “@ me” on Twitter in 2010.

German Sauerbraten – Patience Is Key To Perfection

Sauerbraten or “sour roast meat” is a dish that is marinated in a vinegar and herb solution for several days to break down the toughness of the meat. After marination, the meat is cooked for several hours like a traditional roast. Traditionally, sauerbraten is served with potato dumplings (Kartoffelklöße) and red cabbage (rotkraut or rotkohl).

I love sauerbraten and I wanted to share it with my new family. Because it takes 3 days to marinate and 3 hours to cook it requires patience, but I think it is worth it.

I started with a recipe from Cooks.com. My technique is to start with a recipe and make it my own by modifying it a little. For my version I chose bottom round of beef and added some uncooked bacon and Merlot wine to the marinade. I also warmed the marinade to a simmer to let all the flavors come out at the start. Then I let it sit in my refrigerator for 3 days. I turned the meat over every night.

When it was time to cook the meat I saved the marinade and brazed the meat until lightly brown on all sides. Then I put the meat into a baking dish and added some of the marinade’s carrots and onions and new water. I roasted the mixture in a 350 degree oven for 2.5 hours.

Meanwhile, I boiled carrots, celery, onions and the remaining vegetables from the marinade with some new water and the juice of the marinade. I also made the red cabbage and potato dumplings. When the meat was finished I made a quick gravy from some of the drippings, flour and water.

Original Ingredients

1 kg beef
1 onion
4 peppercorns
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
1/4 liter vinegar
3/8 liter water
salt and pepper
sour cream
corn flour and water
Maggi liquid seasoning

All in all it came out alright. There were a few things I could have done better. I think one mistake I made was not covering the meat while it cooked. The meat was a little dry and not as tender as I wanted it. I also started cooking the vegetables too soon; they only need about 20 minutes to cook.

So remember, it takes patience and love to cook sauerbraten. If you take the time you will be rewarded in the end.