Steven Coppola's blog

The pursuit of new hobbies goes well. I'm starting to get my bow set up the way that I want it. The first time I went shooting I was a little off of the target. I managed to hit it about 15% of the time. I've since adjusted the sight a little and lowered the arrow rest. That's brought me up to 20% I think that through adjustments I'll only get another couple of percent.

As everyone knows, we find ourselves with a good deal of down time while away on a training camp. With practices bookending the days, I find that there is only so much time sleep will take up before I need a break from even that. So I've made an effort to diversify my life a little. With the advent of Rock Band, my interest in video games has fallen drastically.

Well, its been a while since I last updated everyone. I got out of the habit since we were regularly updating the Four-o-meter, but now that it is still in hibernation, I think its time to let readers know what has been going on with this guy. Let me sum up.

How many out there remember the first time they had the toe in their coxless boats? We've started our starboard stroked matrix and yesterday we did our first set of racing. Needless to say, things got a little intersting. On the first piece we almost hit the shore. However, by the second piece we were going straight enough to pull off a win. I'm getting better every day, but it is still a humbling experience to know just what everyone on port side already knows.

We just wrapped up a nice weekend. It all started off with a nice hard workout on saturday morning. After a quick brunch me and Walsh headed in to PB to the ZLAC rowing club where we were treated very well. But, by the end of our little talk we were quite famished. So... we headed down to Taco Surf to grab some dinner. It was pretty crowded and after tasting some of those fish tacos I can tell why. From there we headed downtown to say goodbye to some navy friends who are shipping out pretty soon. Man were they going after it. It is a shame that we had practice the next morning, otherwise we could have done some damage.

So, I'm not good enough in the single to get a good workout in right now, so I've been rockin' the erg. I can't wait to do pieces tomorrow. Although, I must say, when the wind gets blowin' and it is not that nice out on the water I would much rather erg than be out in that crap.

This cold snap is really wearing thin me right now. I'm in San Diego. I can see the Mexican border from where I'm sitting. I should be able to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt. I shouldn't have to be all layered up. Whats the deal? I thought we came here to get away from this cold.

On another note... Jack Bauer is the man.

Here is a little tip for all you do-it-yourselfers out there... If you are in a pinch for a fermenting vessel you can use a milk carton (Sterilize with hot water first), a latex glove, and a rubber band. I was reading about this in the Alaskan Bootleggers Bible the other night. First you take your milk carton. Open it up and put your mash inside. You let it begin to ferment, and after a little while of active fermentation, you place the latex glove over the top and secure it with the rubber band. That acts as your fermentation lock. When the glove has deflated you can bottle it, or enjoy it right away.

So, I didn't mean to get at all political or anything in my last entry, just goofin' around a bit. But seriously, San Diego is a great place to train for the winter. The water has been so nice that all Mike wants to do is row. Which is good, because I need it. So far the only two places I've ever been on a training trip is Tampa and here (San Diego). It is a toss up, but I'm gonna give my vote to the training center as the better location. I wonder what the other places that teams go are like? I know some teams like to go to Atlanta, Coco Beach, and Austin. Which is the best? Do I sens

So, it is christmas day. The perfect day to sit around and rest. When baby Jesus was born, God said to the earth, let there be rest. And, the United States Constitution supports our right.