I used to keep a slide rule in the glovebox of the Rx-2 to use to figure gas milage for my logbook. I still do the logbooks for all the cars (except our Soul EV) but use a calculator on my watch now to do the division for the gas milage entry.
A calculator watch is better nerd cred than a slide rule.
Man, I wish I had still had my 15C. I loved that thing.
I graduated from my 15C to a 42S. My 42S was stolen from my car is '95. By the time I tried to replace it, it was discontinued and used ones cost two to three times what new ones had.
Now I have
Free42 installed on my PC, my work laptop, my tablet, my phone, and my work phone. But my phone and the work laptop were recently upgraded to Plus42.
But my favorite calculator is one that was never physically realized, and only existed as a PalmOS app. It was called MathUPro. It was very HP-like with a bunch of advantages. I bless its creator for creating it, and curse him for refusing to port it to Android.
My dad's work gave him an HP-35 when it first came out, came in a fancy leather-covered "jewelry box" along with the pocket pouch. First calculator I ever used.
My dad's employer split the $400 price of one of those with him.
My buddies and I had a lot of heated arguments about whether the HP-21 or TI SR-50 was better... but us RPN guys know the answer to that!
I've known a few HP users who had to get used to TIs and become proficient, and they all went back to HP when they had the chance. I've known a few TI users who had to get used to HPs and become proficient, and only a minority went back.
I also once saw a comparative review of the current HP and TI calculators of the day that ended with throwing both of them had against a wall. The TI flew to pieces and the HP still worked just fine.
Are there any points in fixing a hotel room telephone with a pocket knife and a bottle of shampoo?
Oh, heck yeah, whether you broke it yourself or not. Just two weeks ago I fixed* a hotel room's sagging towel shelf just because it bothered me.
* OK, I greatly improved it. To restore it to nearly original condition would have taken more tools than I had available: two pair pf pliers and/or a hammer.