Published Jul 27, 2004
Since I’m taking remedial math, I figured I should bring a calculator to class; so I dug out my trusty old TI-34. My TI-34 has been by my side since at least 1992, and probably 1991 (sadly, I didn’t keep my receipts back then). Probably because it has almost no moving parts, it’s plugging away today, giving me the right numbers assuming, of course, that I put the right numbers in, which is a rare enough occasion.
I hadn’t touched my TI-34 since Calculus II, 8am Monday-Wednesday-Friday of my freshman year of college. Fortunately, it comes with a great reference card that tells me how to use all of the functions. What’s funniest, though, is that I can’t find a picture of the calculator on the web; it doesn’t look like what’s shown in the Texas Instruments link above, nor is it quite what you see in this japanese picture; the colors are more tasteful and muted. But I’m too lazy to take a pic.
The TI-34 helped me get a couple of questions right in class today, and it helped the people sitting next to me too, since they hadn’t brought calculators. Nothing like a little unplanned bonding experience; I met two of my future classmates (well, present classmates I guess): a real estate finance guy and a chemist making a career change. Next time maybe I’ll steal all the handouts and make everyone introduce themselves to me!
That’s it, bully your way into camaraderie.