tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post7090638434462271178..comments2024-03-14T04:07:39.792-07:00Comments on Earl Pomerantz: Just Thinking...: "My Favorite Inanimate Object"Earl Pomerantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16963705121297866334noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-59423286353093004952011-10-20T13:07:19.733-07:002011-10-20T13:07:19.733-07:00Your description of what might have happened to th...Your description of what might have happened to the man who invented the calculator reminds of the description of the 1951 movie "The Man in the White Suit."<br /><br />From IMDB:<br />"An altruistic chemist invents a fabric that resists wear and stain as boon to humanity but both capital and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons."Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04933592707663663584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-31580609525248853562011-10-20T10:15:30.280-07:002011-10-20T10:15:30.280-07:00I sit here with a Franklin Spelling Ace Computer t...I sit here with a Franklin Spelling Ace Computer that I got in about 1986. Small thing with 4 AAA batteries that I still use. <br /><br /><br />And I still have an 18" 4 decimal place slide rule that I picked up a 'couple' of years ago. Engineers used to wear these like swords. The longer the slide rule the 'better' the engineer.GRayRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11355369343845540787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-51094377772476279892011-10-19T13:42:15.031-07:002011-10-19T13:42:15.031-07:00I have a similar calculator - solar that works in ...I have a similar calculator - solar that works in any environment (that I've tried). Think I paid $7. for it, but it was probably 12 yrs. ago, so it's nowhere near 'as proven' as yours is. Sadly, I don't know where it is anymore as I just use the calculators on the computer (mostly) or the cell phone. Is that sad, or just reality? I fear however that if I spill Coke on it, the end will fizzle to the top.Billy Harronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-69059228543766047352011-10-19T13:03:13.103-07:002011-10-19T13:03:13.103-07:00Be sure to leave that calculator in the will so it...Be sure to leave that calculator in the will so it can last for eternity.Franknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-88461909022274128762011-10-19T11:11:19.395-07:002011-10-19T11:11:19.395-07:00Volvo made a galvanized car which didn't rust ...Volvo made a galvanized car which didn't rust (if you didn't scratch it), and sales of new Volvos tailed off so badly in the next few years, they went back to the definitely-will-rust version. <br /><br />Then there was a rumour (maybe an urban myth) about a car manufacturer who put microscopic holes in their car panels, to ensure rust a few years down the road. Built-in obsolescence = future business.Macnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-68537476043119609742011-10-19T09:41:12.198-07:002011-10-19T09:41:12.198-07:00The calculator company will be calling to buy it b...The calculator company will be calling to buy it back from you. They would like to study the reason why it has lasted so long and fix it so that will never happen again!YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7823625636675642409.post-77409355292776968442011-10-19T08:37:22.779-07:002011-10-19T08:37:22.779-07:00Dear Mr. Pomerantz; many manufactured devices can ...Dear Mr. Pomerantz; many manufactured devices can last much longer than we use them. Cars, for example, with reasonable maintenance can last generations. Are they any good after a decade? Not really, but they still work. I suspect that a lot of things you and I have thrown out were not worn out, but just out of fashion. A calculator that works never goes out of fashion unless it's a slide rule.<br /><br />-zZarayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00336440600394588306noreply@blogger.com