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[Vanity/Geek Humor and Otherwise] RPN Jokes?
2014-03-28 Zulu | my $self = undef

Posted on 03/27/2014 6:18:30 PM PDT by re_nortex

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...which brings me to one of the earlier jokes that I recall about RPN calculators:

Using an RPN calculator means nobody will borrow your calculator a second time.

1 posted on 03/27/2014 6:18:31 PM PDT by re_nortex
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To: Mycroft Holmes; ShadowAce; zeugma; PastorBooks; muir_redwoods
I also came across this RPN-related dialog in a Straight Dope column:

"Can I borrow your calculator?"

"Sure."

"Where's the equal sign?"

"There isn't one. You put in the first number, 
press enter, put in the second number, and press the sign."

"You do it."

2 posted on 03/27/2014 6:22:49 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP - that's what I like about Texas)
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To: re_nortex
I saved my pennies and bought a TI SR-52 in High School. A friend had the HP programmable equivalent.

I never could get the hang of RPN, even though it was supposed to be “faster” with fewer keystrokes.

3 posted on 03/27/2014 6:25:00 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: re_nortex

Word of the day today was “infix”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3137875/posts


4 posted on 03/27/2014 6:29:12 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: Yo-Yo
I saved my pennies and bought a TI SR-52 in High School. A friend had the HP programmable equivalent. I never could get the hang of RPN, even though it was supposed to be “faster” with fewer keystrokes.

TI vs. HP set the stage for a whole lot of other "Holy Wars" that followed in the dawn of the tech era: vi vs. emacs, big vs. little endian, BSD vs. AT&T Unix and more. Since I had Lisp programming language background, RPN came easier to me so I had to slow down and think a bit when I had to deal with the TI notation.

5 posted on 03/27/2014 6:31:02 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP - that's what I like about Texas)
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To: ClearCase_guy

I’m glad I had no typo in my post, because if I did, I’d want to do a post-fix, and Free Republic doesn’t support that.


6 posted on 03/27/2014 6:31:36 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: re_nortex

That brings back memories of circuits class! I can’t recall if I had the CV or the CX but i recall it cost me about $200 which was real money back then (1984).

I recall non engineers asking to borrow it and having similar conversations.


7 posted on 03/27/2014 6:34:52 PM PDT by posterchild
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To: re_nortex

My 5 years elder brother and I were both engineering students. In 1971 he had a $400 HP with RPN. In 1976 I had a $79 TI with algebraic. Both could do the same calculations but worked differently. When did RPN leave the market? I never noticed it.


8 posted on 03/27/2014 6:35:08 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: re_nortex

Geez, just the picture takes me back to college freshman year (1971). That calculator was ultimate status symbol....but was as powerful as today’s throw-away calculator.


9 posted on 03/27/2014 6:38:34 PM PDT by mason-dixon (As Mason said to Dixon, you have to draw the line somewhere.)
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To: ClearCase_guy
Word of the day today was “infix”

Another word that I'm accustomed to in its computer language sense is Sigil. Because I'm one of these:

SkFQSA==

...I do a lot of "sigiling". :)


I didn't see the infix thread earlier, thanks for pointing it out. Odd that I would chose this topic in light of that WOTD.
10 posted on 03/27/2014 6:38:46 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP - that's what I like about Texas)
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To: re_nortex

I have a vague memory of seeing ads for HP calculators that let you choose infix or RPN. But once I was actually a professional and had the coolness of an actual computer at my fingertips with a real live 24x80 screen and QWERTY keyboard, I never looked back. My old calculators just gathered dust and battery leaks, never to glow their numerals again.


11 posted on 03/27/2014 6:40:24 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
When did RPN leave the market?

This article from 2007, implies that HP was going to release a handheld, A New HP Calculator for RPN Nerds, but, alas, the link it points to is dead.

12 posted on 03/27/2014 6:42:36 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP - that's what I like about Texas)
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To: mason-dixon

Can today’s cheap throwaway calculators solve simultaneous equations?


13 posted on 03/27/2014 6:42:59 PM PDT by posterchild
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To: HiTech RedNeck; re_nortex
From wikipedia:

As of 2011, Hewlett-Packard is producing the calculator models 12C, 12C Platinum, 17BII, 20B (financial), 30B (business), 33S, 35S, 48GII and 50G (scientific) which support RPN.

14 posted on 03/27/2014 6:48:57 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: posterchild

When I last used a programmable they were getting enough steps to be able to program the math for such a thing. Maybe by 2020 there will be Linux on $5/$10 machines with QWERTY and some crude color graphics. If the whole world hasn’t gone to hell that is.


15 posted on 03/27/2014 6:49:00 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

50G has “The choice of efficient RPN, Textbook or Algebraic data entry”

I don’t know where they actually put the = sign.


16 posted on 03/27/2014 6:52:16 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: re_nortex

Big hp/rpn fan here.

I had the 41cx, an 11c, and a 15c, then later the 48g & 49g. Loved them all.

Now I’m running the free apps go41c and droid48 as my favorite calculators on my motorola moto x.


17 posted on 03/27/2014 6:56:42 PM PDT by paint_your_wagon
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To: re_nortex

No joke, but I use an RPN calculator every day. I have an HP calculator emulator loaded on every computer I own, including my iPhone. My 22-year old HP48SX works just fine, too.


18 posted on 03/27/2014 6:59:35 PM PDT by backwoods-engineer (Blog: www.BackwoodsEngineer.com)
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To: re_nortex; null and void

I had one 30+ years ago. I suppose it ended up in the abyss of the kitchen junk drawer, or was lost in a move, but I sure miss it. I would spend extra time with it just for fun. :-]

Something to do with being at one with the “thought” process. I don’t know why it was called “reverse entry” because it’s the annoying equal sign that’s a$$ backwards, heh. That equal sign has been a pet peeve ever since.

I don’t use a calculator enough to justify tracking down a RPN calculator, but my old friend comes to mind whenever I open the primitive calculator on the computer.

2 + 2 = 2 ENTER 2 +

It just has more substance and meaning that way, lol. I’m sure you understand.

Thanks for trip down Memory Lane!

;-)


19 posted on 03/27/2014 7:01:09 PM PDT by Ezekiel (All who mourn the destruction of America merit the celebration of her rebirth.)
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To: Yo-Yo
There's one on Ebay with 0 bids that starts at $250 (someone's smoking crack!)

But then there's also one that has 4 bids and is at $10.

20 posted on 03/27/2014 7:01:53 PM PDT by Slump Tester (What if I'm pregnant Teddy? Errr-ahh -Calm down Mary Jo, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it)
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