Friday, May 26, 2006
And Yet More Evidence
I made a major purchase the other day and I couldn't be any more excited about it. I bought an HP-12C, the coolest calculator ever made. No, it doesn't graph. Hell, it doesn't even have a cool display where you can make letters and such. It's just a basic financial calculator that I love more than sweet life itself. (Okay, maybe not that much, but close.)
When I first started working as an actuary, they gave me an HP-12C. It's the calculator of choice for financial dorks. It's a weird calculator to use because it has Reverse Polish Notation (RPN). Instead of typing [5] [+] [5] [=], you type [5] [enter] [5] [+]. What's so great about that? Nothing to most people. But to me, it was a godsend. It let me do my calculations very quickly. (It's sad that that's all it takes to make me happy.)
When I stopped being an actuary, I stopped using an HP-12C. It wasn't a cognitive choice. I just didn't take the calculator with me when I left. Later, as a quality engineer, I had no use for one. When I started going to school, I just used whatever financial calculator I had at work. It was a poor substitute. In fact, it was broken for the last 6 months. But I refused to replace it. My theory was that I'd wait until I got a new job. Then THEY'D give me an HP-12C.
Unfortunately, LAF didn't see the HP-12C as a necessary thing to give me. I was so bummed by this. So I had to go out and buy my own HP-12C. And even though I'm upset about having to shell out money myself, I'm so elated to finally be reunited with my little calculating buddy. And I couldn't possibly feel like a bigger dork.
When I first started working as an actuary, they gave me an HP-12C. It's the calculator of choice for financial dorks. It's a weird calculator to use because it has Reverse Polish Notation (RPN). Instead of typing [5] [+] [5] [=], you type [5] [enter] [5] [+]. What's so great about that? Nothing to most people. But to me, it was a godsend. It let me do my calculations very quickly. (It's sad that that's all it takes to make me happy.)
When I stopped being an actuary, I stopped using an HP-12C. It wasn't a cognitive choice. I just didn't take the calculator with me when I left. Later, as a quality engineer, I had no use for one. When I started going to school, I just used whatever financial calculator I had at work. It was a poor substitute. In fact, it was broken for the last 6 months. But I refused to replace it. My theory was that I'd wait until I got a new job. Then THEY'D give me an HP-12C.
Unfortunately, LAF didn't see the HP-12C as a necessary thing to give me. I was so bummed by this. So I had to go out and buy my own HP-12C. And even though I'm upset about having to shell out money myself, I'm so elated to finally be reunited with my little calculating buddy. And I couldn't possibly feel like a bigger dork.
