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	<title>The Miller TimesThe Miller Times | The Miller Times</title>
	
	<link>http://theandrewmiller.com</link>
	<description>An Aimless Blog by Andrew Miller</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:07:31 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>A Weekend on Ice</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/a-weekend-on-ice/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/a-weekend-on-ice/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:59:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ice fishing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=5061</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past weekend, I joined my dad and a family friend for an ice fishing trip at Mille Lacs Lake, which is about two hours north of the Twin Cities. We spent Friday evening, all of Saturday and Sunday morning sequestered in an 8 x 20 ice house, which came equipped with a stove, oven, four beds, a 20-inch plasma TV and DirecTV. Roughing it? Not so much. Unfortunately, we only caught two fish the entire weekend &#8211; one of them, mine, a nice-sized perch. We also caught two NFL playoff games on Saturday. All in all, it was a pretty good trip. Here&#8217;s some photos from over the weekend. Not pictured: The sound of lake ice cracking and settling after a warm start to winter. Didn&#8217;t sleep that well, but more importantly, didn&#8217;t fall through the ice and die. &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>Dudes Love Grocery Shopping. So What?</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/dudes-love-grocery-shopping-so-what/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/dudes-love-grocery-shopping-so-what/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:15:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=5042</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I confess, I love grocery shopping. No, really. I enjoy the actual process of going to the grocery store, pushing a cart up and down the aisles under the bright glow of buzzing halogen lights, picking out my favorite staples, perusing the best deals, trying a new item or two. I enjoy bagging my own groceries, as I did for my first job at age 14. I enjoy going home and filling the cupboards and refrigerator with my haul. Strange as it sounds, grocery shopping brings me a sense of accomplishment. Last weekend, I read that I&#8217;m no exception at all, but rather a member of the fastest growing demographic in food retail. According to Emily Bryson York of the Chicago Tribune, more men are taking on the role of head grocery shopper in their household and marketers are taking notice: &#8220;Experts say the trend has been building slowly for decades &#8230; The recession has hit men disproportionately with layoffs and left many of them home to manage the household. &#160; &#8220;The nation&#8217;s biggest food and personal-products manufacturers are taking notice, attempting to market products and adjust store layouts to cater to men. &#160; &#8220;It&#8217;s a paradigm shift for the [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Treat Yo’ Self</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/treat-yo-self/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/treat-yo-self/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:22:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=5039</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Take $50, $100 &#8211; shit, take $1,000 &#8211; and do something stupid with it this weekend. Treat yo&#8217; self!]]></description>
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		<title>Life Unplugged</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/life-unplugged/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/life-unplugged/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:50:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pico Iyer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=5032</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Sunday, while on vacation at Lake Okoboji (IA), I read an opinion piece in the New York Times from Pico Iyer titled &#8220;The Joy of Quiet.&#8221; Iyer made the point that all of the technology that surrounds us, rather than making us more enlightened and connected, is slowly making us insane. So much, in fact, that more people are going out of their way to go &#8220;offline.&#8221; Not coincidentally, I read Iyer&#8217;s article on my iPad after checking some work-related emails. While on vacation. When you&#8217;ve got 10 minutes, give Iyer&#8217;s stance a read. Here&#8217;s the gist: We have more and more ways to communicate, as Thoreau noted, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating. And — as he might also have said — we’re rushing to meet so many deadlines that we hardly register that what we need most are lifelines. So what to do? The central paradox of the machines that have made our lives so much brighter, quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot teach us how to make the best use of them; the information revolution came without an instruction manual. All the data in the world cannot teach [...]]]></description>
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		<title>2012 Resolutions — No, Seriously</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/2012-resolutions-%e2%80%94-no-seriously/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/2012-resolutions-%e2%80%94-no-seriously/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:47:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2012]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new year's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resolutions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=5023</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Banner year, 2011. I started my professional career. I got engaged. I learned how to become a dog owner. Some of my best friends got married. I attended NBA games, MLB games, even a NASCAR race. I started experimenting with craft brews. High-fives all around. It&#8217;s been real. You&#8217;d think I&#8217;d be against making resolutions for 2012 given my cynical nature, but I like resolutions, even if they&#8217;re totally cliche. The most successful people I&#8217;ve met all share one thing: They set goals. If a new year forces you to sit down and make up some goals, more power to you. Here&#8217;s what I&#8217;m working at in 2012: Reading books — to the finish. I earned an English degree in college, but only finished about 14 percent of the assigned reading. (Thanks, SparkNotes.com.) I&#8217;m the king of half-read books. It&#8217;s not even a matter of disinterest. I just can&#8217;t commit myself long enough to reach that back cover. Dressing like I care. I hate buying clothes, but at age 27, the charm of running shoes, aged jeans and hoodies has worn off. I&#8217;ve been making an effort lately to look less like a schlub and more like like someone who&#8217;s gainfully [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Christmas Shopping: When the Lazy Prevail</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/christmas-shopping-when-the-lazy-prevail/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/christmas-shopping-when-the-lazy-prevail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:38:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas shopping]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=4988</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Fortune favors the bold, but Christmas shopping favors the lazy. What it must be like or those who zealously finished their Christmas shopping on Black Friday Thursday. I spent some time at the mall this weekend and every store seemed to be 30-, 40-, even 50-percent off the entire store. What&#8217;s better — no crowds of gargoyles willing to slit your throat with a credit card to get the last $39.99 Blu-ray player. The earlier you begin Christmas shopping, the more you spend, the more time you waste and the more you&#8217;re herded like cattle. By Dec. 21, the crowds have thinned out, and retailers get sort of pathetic with their deals. They sell their goods for pennies on the dollar, they quadruple rewards points, they throw in freebies, they offer you company stock options. They give you absolutely no reason to shop early. Of course, most guys have known this for years. It&#8217;s the one instance when procrastination is practical. I put off Christmas shopping for other reasons, too: I hate hiding gifts. Too much plotting and scheming. Too covert for my taste. If I buy someone a gift on Nov. 25, they will receive it by Nov. 28. [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Facebook Timeline: History Haunts Us</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/facebook-timeline-history-haunts-us/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/facebook-timeline-history-haunts-us/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:15:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mark Zuckerberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[privacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[profiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Timeline]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=4971</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Facebook is rolling out its new Timeline profiles this week, and people – namely, my peers – are freaking out. For those of us who joined Facebook under the premise it would only be for college students, the Timeline profiles more easily expose messages we probably never would&#8217;ve shared online had we known someday our parents, bosses and even grandparents would be able to read them. What&#8217;s the big deal? Well, Facebook&#8217;s wall has always maintained messages back to the start of one&#8217;s account, but to read posts from, say, 2005, one would have to scroll through every message over the past five years to get there. Timeline now indexes wall posts by year and month, and its featured pretty prominently on the upper right-hand corner of each profile. I don&#8217;t say 2005 by accident, either. I joined Facebook in May 2005 — my sophomore year of college. That fall, I turned 21. Relatively speaking, my college experience was pretty savory and boring compared to most. But I took a little a trip down memory lane last week and found myself wincing at some of the stuff I wrote. Just immature, stupid college guy stuff. I will not be going [...]]]></description>
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		<title>I Haven’t Quit Blogging</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/i-havent-quit-blogging/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/i-havent-quit-blogging/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:03:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=4968</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not so long ago, I published a new blog post five days per week. That was back when I didn&#8217;t appreciate the art of sleeping in. My current run of blog inactivity can be blamed on: Laziness (23%) &#8211; Too &#8230; much &#8230; thinking &#8230; required. And at 7 a.m.? Brutal. Lack of Inspiration (40%) &#8211; I haven&#8217;t been out in the world enough lately to find things to complain about. And let&#8217;s be honest, pissing and moaning about minutiae is my forte. Love for Sleep (15%) &#8211; Hard to say this on a December morning when it&#8217;s 40 degrees outside, but rolling out of bed in the winter is so goddamn difficult. I haven&#8217;t been respecting my alarm clock. Blogger Fatigue (22%) &#8211; I spend a lot of time researching blogs at work and most of them are just sitting their idle, untouched for years, their most recent post, some nonsense about calling it quits because the rigors of life have swallowed up said blogger&#8217;s free time. I could sit here and mine for excuses, but the fact is blogging is (relatively) hard work. That is, compared to not blogging. But I&#8217;m still blogging. It might be slow through [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Cecil Otter @ 7th Street Entry (12.8.11)</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/cecil-otter-7th-street-entry-12-8-11/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/cecil-otter-7th-street-entry-12-8-11/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:47:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cecil Otter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dessa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doomtree]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[P.O.S.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sage Francis]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=4959</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Beth and I and our friend Alex snuck out on a school night last night to catch local rapper Cecil Otter at the charming 7th Street Entry as part of the week long Doomtree Blowout. About 300 malcontents crammed into First Avenue&#8217;s baby brother as Otter displayed the kind of braggadocio and nonchalance one could only expect from a rapper wearing flannel and a driving cap. Pause — let&#8217;s talk about laptops. I counted a total of six Apple MacBooks on stage through four acts last night. Could you imagine Miles Davis on stage with a MacBook? Led Zeppelin? The Beatles? How has this become acceptable? One of the opening acts included a gentleman hunched over his MacBook, pecking away at the keyboard to create booms and paps as if the concert was a computer game. When he introduces himself, how does he describe his role in the band? I play the MacBook. Anyway, back to Cecil Otter. Charismatic emcee playing to a home crowd — just doesn&#8217;t get much better than that. Otter debuted new material off his upcoming album and welcomed fellow Doomtree members Dessa and P.O.S. on stage for guest spots. The highlight of the night was [...]]]></description>
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		<title>How to Appreciate Bon Iver</title>
		<link>http://theandrewmiller.com/how-to-appreciate-bon-iver/</link>
		<comments>http://theandrewmiller.com/how-to-appreciate-bon-iver/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:54:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrew Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bon Iver]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theandrewmiller.com/?p=4947</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week, indie folk band Bon Iver was nominated for four Grammys, causing half the people who take stock in that sort of thing to say, &#8220;Who is Bon Iver?&#8221; Seems there&#8217;s always one dark horse at the Grammys. Last year&#8217;s unlikely winner was Arcade Fire. who took who Album of the Year for The Suburbs. This year, it might well be Bon Iver that comes away with Song of the Year or Record of the Year for &#8220;Holocene.&#8221; They are also up for Best Alternative Music Album and, inexplicably, Best New Artist. If/when those who have never heard Bon Iver give it a chance, they might be confused. It&#8217;s not the most accessible music compared to, say, fellow Grammy nominees Katy Perry and The Black Keys. Furthermore, their music isn&#8217;t particularly uplifting. There&#8217;s imperfections throughout their self-titled album Bon Iver. Lead singer Justin Vernon&#8217;s vocals are difficult to parse without reading the lyrics. Most of the tracks are somber as hell, if not melodramatic. The use of AutoTune can be gratuitous. (As if there&#8217;s a proper amount of AutoTune.) Here&#8217;s the thing – I don&#8217;t think anyone who enjoys Bon Iver appreciated the music on first listen. At one [...]]]></description>
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