Ok so my son, who is studying engineering in college, texts me a trivia question this morning: “What is so important about today? You have 5 minutes.” Of course I see this a no brainer since he’s in engineering – my answer: It’s the 30th anniversary of the HP 12C calculator today! (It actually is) “No”, he corrected me, “it is the start of WWII“. Of course I’m thinking Pearl Harbor and December 7th but that’s only the US entry point.
Where’s reverse polish notation (RPN) when you need it?
This year I reluctantly retired my HP 12C after 25 years of loyal service. I bought one in 1986 when we launched our appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Since 1986 I’ve only changed the battery once, its logo fell off, 3 footpads are missing, there was gunk on the screen and lots of dents in the metal. However, it had done billions of dollars in calculations and was a great thing to have handy at all times.
I eventually got an HP 12C app for my laptop and one for my iPhone and iPad. The built-in calculator for macs now has a setting for RPN -> think “1 enter, 1 +” instead of “1 + 1 =”
Earlier this year, several number buttons wouldn’t work without pressing very hard, so I eventually made the painful decision to replace it. I even considered dragging my new model behind my car for a few miles to break it in, like stone washing a pair of new jeans.
Ok, back to work.
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