Milwaukee bad...Miami good.

My little wife and I get super tired of winter in March. Yuck yuck yuck. March is that month where big snow storms are no longer fun, rather they are big bummers that cover my driveway with ice. And when it does snow in this late in the season, all the commuters have become sick of driving cautiously, so you'll probably just die on the way to work. All the snow piles from the plows have become black heaps of road sludge, and the cars in town look like they came directly from first century Pompeii, thanks to the salt. Add to the mix the constant "lamb" and "lion" references from the news weather people and you've got a very obnoxious month. Not to mention all those pesky soothsayers constantly reminding me to beware of those cursed Ides.

The whole point here is that my little blog is now officially protesting the slushiest month of the year by way of posting some pictures from the cruise we took a year ago last December. Now before you change the channel, I hereby promise that I will not show picture after picture of me with people you don't know holding umbrellad drinks by the side of a giant boat. Instead, you'll be seeing us in tropical locales that are far better than wherever you're sitting right now. I mean look around you...don't you realize that there are thousands of beach chairs in the world that you're not sitting in? What's wrong with you people?

Sara and I love checking out new cities, so we couldn't just fly into Miami the day of the cruise and rush to the port. We got there a day and a half early, and spent many hours walking up and down Miami beach, and lounging about like sea cucumbers. Somewhere along the beach we came across this giant man made of letters. This was our first time to experience a Jaume Plensa work of art, and boy did we like it. It was this same guy that did the Crown Fountain in Chicago's Milennium Park. A few postings back I did a bit of a spotlight on the man. He's pretty cool. I gotta say a lot more about Miami Beach, but I think it merits it's very own posting, so tune in next time. I'm gonna go sweep all the gunk out of the little linoleum square inside of our front door...the black sludge hills keep trying to get inside on my shoes.

Zoe takes Toilet Town

Like all good parents, Sara and I are always looking for new ways to brainwash our child. The current propoganda is geared toward potty training. Yes, Zoe is still a little young to get a lifetime pass aboard the porcelain bus, but we figure that its never too early to plant a little seed that will hopefully grow into the plastic sapling of training pants, and eventually into a giant redwood forest of panties (with a day of the week printed on each tree). Boy do we have the appropriate motivation...I calculate that we spent about $750 on diapers last year, nearly burning away the entire $1000 tax credit afforded to us by this bundle of joy.

Since the Elmo in Pottyland DVD is getting really old, we began to brainstorm about new ways to convince Zoe to more seriously reconsider her current potty situation. That's when I remembered that we live only a half hour away from the toilet capitol of the world, Kohler, Wisconsin. The Kohler company has been one of the world's largest producers of bathroom fixtures since 1873, and is conveniently located just west of Sheboygan, between Milwaukee and Green Bay. I did a bit of research and was pleased to discover that the company has a toilet museum! Let me repeat that shoutily, a TOILET MUSEUM! Perfect!! We spent a few hours there a couple weekends ago, and are pleased to announce that Zoe is now completely potty trained. Or let me rephrase that, Zoe is now completely trained about potties.

For those of you who don't plan on making a special trip out here to see it for yourself, here are some pictures of the toilet museum. I've included some handy captions in case you're not up to date with your toilet-lore. This is a picture of Sara and Zoe in front of a wall of toilets. I don't think any plumbing is actually hooked up to these toilets, but even if it were, I'd rather not use the cans on the bottom of the stack. I like the pink ones, but the yellow ones seem so much more practical.

Kohler was the first company to use wooden toilet seats in an effort to increase the comfort of the sit-ee. Ends up that several years down the road some crazy scientists discovered that wood is like a sponge when it comes to toilet germs, and the seats quit selling. Yep, Zoe most certainly is touching this wooden toilet seat. We're just glad she didn't try to lick it. Kohler made sure the exhibits were interactive, and she had to slam the lid down on every model. She's learning.

Some of the more modern toilet models are made to look more like clothing hampers. This confused Zoe a little bit, and we most certainly do not want her to confuse the two, so we were quick to leave the museum and head back home.

As if this post weren't long enough, I must share this interesting Kohler fact. In 1888 Kohler Water Works began producing the first drinking fountains, which they originally called "Bubblers". People in Wisconsin still call them bubblers today. Weird.

Zu Zu is finally born!

Tax Return Part I came bouncing into our checking account over the weekend. Meanwhile, the good people at Circuit City discounted everything in their store several percentages. Thanks to the traditionally high prices that drove Circuit City out of business, and the improved tax position given me by my daughter, I am now the proud father of a 120 gigabyte Zune, which we have named Zu Zu. This is the realization of a dream I've had since I was in High School. If only I could take all my CDs and put them in one place, wouldn't that be smart as a whip? Yes. Now I can finally do it. Not only can I fill it with music, but movies and radio and some strange creature called a Podcast. I don't know what a Podcast is, but Zu Zu really wants one. Or several. The whole reason I bring it up on the blog is that I plan on spending a lot more time cramming this bad boy with all things uploadable, so posting may be slim for a week or two...we'll see.