According to [MSN Money](http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CollegeandFamily/Raisekids/P37245.asp), that’s the cost of raising a child these days.
Come May, we’re going to need it.
(and diapers and rattles and a crib and strained peas…. you get the idea!)
Howdy all from the floor of the Burlington Mall. Peter and I are sitting patiently in line for the opening of the Burlington [Apple Store](http://www.apple.com/retail/burlington/week/20051106.html). According to a preliminary count we are 34th and 35th in line. All of the usual suspects are here…The young guys next to us who are watching the Simpsons on their iBook, the twenty-somethings with their earbuds plugged in, the dads and moms with thier excited kids…AND the elderly mall walkers who, on each go round, question us as to why we’re in line…and what we’ll win for being here 🙂
Perhaps this is the time to refer you back to my essay [Why Steve Jobs is a Hottie](http://prwdot.org/archives/2005/07/a_shot_in_the_d.html). Enjoy.
We should also note that as of today we have been to the Apple Stores in BOTH BurlingTON (Ma) and BurlinGAME (Ca).
I guess that’s all the news for now…
Update From Peter at 5:30 p.m.
We have [pictures](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/geekiness/apple_store_burlington/)!
The store was pretty nice, with a slightly larger and newer layout than some of the other Mass Apple Stores. This store has “The Studio”, a bar area in the back which seems to be a replacement for the Theater I’ve seen in other stores. It’s basically a place where you can go to get help with creative projects… movies, graphics, music, etc. They have a bunch of PowerBooks setup, and they do periodic workshops on different topics. The store was very crowded, and lots of people seemed to be making purchases. iPods, iMacs, and PowerBooks seemed to be brisk sellers.
The Boston area has two very exciting store openings coming up!
First, we have the [Apple Store Burlington Mall](http://www.apple.com/retail/burlington/) opening on Saturday, November 5 at 10 a.m.. Becky and I will be waiting in line early in the morning for the grand opening. The first 1,000 people through the door get free t-shirts! We probably won’t have much reason to visit the Burlington location on a regular basis, since the [Northshore](http://www.apple.com/retail/northshore/) location is just minutes away from our house. But it will be cool to attend the opening day festivities. For an example of what those festivities might entail, check out the photos from the [Chestnut Hill](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/geekiness/apple_store_chestnut_hill/) opening day event.
Next, we have the [IKEA Stoughton](http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/IkeaNearYouView?storeId=12&StoreName=stoughton) opening on Wednesday, November 9 at 10 a.m. This will be the first IKEA in Massachusetts! Up until now, the closest one was in New Haven, CT. Sadly, we both have to work on the day of the grand opening, but we do plan on taking a trip out there sometime soon to check it out!
I have revitalized and reorganized [Gordonexus](http://prwdot.org/gordonexus.html), the page where I keep track of the webpages of various folks who have attended [Gordon College](http://www.gordon.edu/) (in Wenham, MA – not that annoying, bane of my Google searching existence, Gordon College in Barnesville, GA… curse you!). Mainly, I have now organized the listings first by year of graduation, then alphabetical by last name. I had a few difficult cases where I had to split up married couples since they graduated from different classes, and also some people who are married, but whose spouses did not graduate from Gordon.
The Gordonexus has a permanent link on the left side of our site under the ‘Site Content’ heading. As always, if you would like to recommend a new site to link to, or correct/update/remove information, please let me know!
If you’re a geek like me, then you’ll love [CyberGuys](http://www.cyberguys.com/). They sell all sorts of special-purpose, hard-to-find, and custom computer equipment. Looking through their 180-page catalog, you’ll find all sorts of interesting things, like a hand-cranked universal remote control (never needs batteries!), a portable power center that can jumpstart your car or power your laptop on the road, the best waterproof tent review, or even an external USB 2.0 hard drive enclosure that also accepts CompactFlash cards AND has a built-in fingerprint reader! This catalog is great for hours of fun, reading and dreaming of all of the great junk you’d love to buy (even if you never buy it). The website is okay, but you really need to order the catalog. While you’re at it, also order the catalog from their sister company, [X-Treme Geek](http://www.x-tremegeek.com/). X-Treme geek is more oriented towards entertaining toys than actual useful computer gear, but I think you’ll find both of them equally wonderful in their own ways.
Two thumbs up for two catalogs I actually *like* to read!
P.S. If you’re not as much into geeky stuff, but you are into the outdoors, then you owe it to yourself to order the [Campmor](http://www.campmor.com/) catalog. It is to outdoorsy folk what the CyberGuys catalog is to geeks… tons of cool and useful stuff for camping such as cool camper accessories, canoeing, hiking, etc…