Another blog transition

For the latest from brian, visit brian.copeland.bz

So, it's 2015 and I'm up for posting new content about myself. But Alicia's sold me on Wordpress (it just looks so much sexier!) and I'm sick of splitting my content between work and casual. No one wants to visit two blogs by one guy.

So head over to brian.copeland.bz for the most current blog about me.

See ya there?

Kanban the Board Game

Board games are generally Monday nights for me. Here's the latest game I've been playing for the last few weeks:

Kanban!

The game is set in a car manufacturing company and your goal is to impress your boss the most, earning victory points. Do that by drafting car plans, getting parts, building cars or testing cars. 

Worthwhile part of this game is the tongue-in-cheek business stuff. The game rewards you just as much for saving time and training as actually building cars, which is pretty realistic. Most of the points are scored in the end of round meetings, where you brag to your boss about your pet projects.  It's note-worthy that someone captured corporate America in a board game.

Long story short, I've played it 4 times with 2 or 3 players, I'd say it's an 8/10. I love the open ended possibliities and blocking other players from taking the action they really need, but the end isn't terribly satisfying. I've seen other games do the same mechanic in a much simplier way. 

Cool Display Downtown

One thing I've appreciated lately is this display on Nicollet Ave.:

Apparently, it's from some design school, but the lights are awesome. I'm a sucker for lighting. 

I mean, c'mon, that red string light stuff? Badass.

Oh man, in green too!

Song on Repeat

There's a good probability that everyone does this, I'm not claiming this makes me special. But I can't stop listening to The Raconteurs' song "Blue Veins". We're not talking once in awhile, we're talking on repeat. 

Feel free to give it a listen here: http://vimeo.com/49507347

This has happened several times in my life, but only happens about three times a year. Previous songs that I couldn't stop listening to:

- "Brooklyn Zoo" by Ol' Dirty Bastard

- "You and Whose Army" by Radiohead

- "Normal People" by Arcade Fire

- "Song-Song" by The Brad Mehldau Trio

How 'bout you? 

Sunday Night Suck

Yeah, not a big fan of Sundays. Was really lazy for the second half of the day. At least some 22 year old scotch was a pick-me-up:

This little guy is a dram of Bowmore 22y Oak Aged Scotch. I got it about half a year ago at the MoA. Cute little bottle, right? 

It was delicilous. 

Trains have ETA now

Ya know who deserves some credit? MetroTransit in the Twin Cities. They've added these expected arrival times to the displays that are surprisingly accurate.

Come to think of it, I haven't had a problem in months. No buses-replacing-trains, no nasty seats, nothin!

Way to go, Blue Line!

Fantasy Football Loser

Behold, the Brandon H. Anderson Memorial Trophy. 

It's the loser's trophy for our fantasy football league. Only the worst of the worst get the distinct honor of housing this trophy all year. 

This year, that honor goes to me. In 2014, I lost ten games in a row, starting in week 2. It was a painful year. 

Just some bullet point history behind this trophy for the curious:

- I built this last year using Ax-Man parts. I think the total cost was $2. 

- Brandon Anderson isn't actually dead. But he was last place in 2012. This trophy commemorates his loss. 

- Matt Davis had the distinct pleasure of housing it last year. When asked whether it held up, he responded "naw, I had to super glue the photo on the way over." 

I've got some plans for this baby. It's going to retain the heart and soul, but get asome nice finishing touches so that it's ready for 2015's hero. 

New Year's Resolution

It's not quite the 15th of January, so I'm hoping it's not too late to keep up with my NYE blogging resolution. Instead of every day, I'm going to aim to post a new picture or story every other day. Let's see how it goes? 

lolololol

It's hard not to chuckle at blog posts like my previous one, "I'm back, yo", then see that I haven't blogged in three months. The hubris of posting "I'm going to blog more!" must be a creative death sentence.

Ah well. 

Let's give you a good old Brian Update. Here are some of the major bullet points over the last few months.

I finished my weight loss goal - I'm now down to a BMI of 21.5, which is dead center of the "Normal Weight" category. I'm 22.5lbs lighter than I was in September, and 45lbs lower than I was in March when I set a "lose weight for the vacation" goal. No real secret to it, just diet and exercise. I ate very tiny breakfasts and lunches throughout the week, and started running pretty regularly.

Really proud of my Halloween costume - Every year prior, I've regretted procrastinating on my costume up until the week prior to Halloween. This year, I began planning it in September. I wanted to recreate the cover of the American Horror Story: Asylum DVD: 

It took two weeks to get the full-black-eye contacts and three cranky nights trying different ways of whiting out my face (I recommend Snazaroo over every other face paint available around Halloween costumes - they were all terrible). 

No major Halloween plans, just a party and a bar afterwards. But it certainly feels good getting compliments like John Becker's tweet.

Alicia's got a horror movie blog - Starting in September, Alicia started watching classical horror movies in chronological order as recommended by "Studies In Terror". As she goes, she's blogging her review of the movies and adding other tid-bits along the way. 

Frankly, I've been dripping with jealousy. Horror movies have always been an interest of hers and she's found a way to actively contribute to the world and ... well ... create something. She's got a great discipline (about 3 posts a week, consistently for 3 months) and pretty darn good design. 

If you're interested checking it out, let me recommend starting with some of her best posts: 

• Alicia's Top 25 Horror Movies
• Freaks vs. American Horror Story
• How to Survive as a Zombie
• Review: Island of Lost Souls (1932)
• How to Host a Horror Movie Marathon

Fantasy football sucks - I'm 2-10 and 3-9 in both of my leagues. On the 2-10 league, I'm deep within a 10 game losing streak. Oy.

All systems go -  Life is generally good all-around. I picked up golfing over the summer, now picking up racquetball to tide me over for the winter. Entire family is healthy, cats are good, job is great.

Thanks for checking in!

I'm back, yo

Why not blog more?

You're right! Why not?

I've caught up a little recap from the summer. Back on the wagon posting tomorrow.