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A really old story (but it is real!):
I was in high school when the very first calculators started arriving. There were the budget '4-function' versions, with +-*/, and the expensive '5-function' versions which could also do square root. One of my classmates bought a 4-function budget model, with a blank square in the position of the square root button of the 4-function model. He was hoping that if he cut a hole there, it might allow him to solder a cable pair to the circuit board for a miniature push button he had in his toolbox.
So he dug out his scalpel to cut through the front plate plastic. ... Out popped a square root button! They hadn't even cared to remove the button, but simply pressed it down under the front plate. Once the button was released, it worked perfectly fine, and my classmate had a 5-function calculator for the price of a 4-function model.
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I was in middle school when my dad came home with several of the 5-function calculators. They'd offered them cheap at his workplace back when companies offered very generous benefits packages. Ah! da goodol dayz!
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My favorite part of that story is your friend's willingness to cut and modify his expensive new toy. 
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A very long time ago Dad had a similar experience with a garden watering computer.
Several versions, different number of channels or programs to differentiate them.
Dad bought the cheapie and was able to upgrade it from 4 somethings to 6. Always fun watching the lazy Goliath outsmarted by the nimble & determined David.. 
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keyboard with numpad on it - windows calc (or excel/lib calc depending how many things calcing)
but no numpad - calculator in draw🤗
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I use the calculator on my phone most of the time. I have been known to reach for it to do a calculation while working in a spreadsheet :facepalm: but corrected myself before actually opening the app.
My calculator from my old college days is one with reverse polar notation, so it would take some getting used to again to prefer it. Not a temptation unless or until I'm doing more advanced math for some reason.
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If I need a quick calc, I pick up the TI-85 that sits under my monitor. If things get more needy, I use Excel. Calculator apps only get used as a last resort. I like the old calculator, it feels nostalgic.
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Like others have said, I'm using Windows calculator or the app on my phone these days. In my case, I don't have a calculator sitting next to me and, though I still own a few, I'm not sure if the batteries or solar charging is still working.
I'm not going to fire up a spreadsheet unless it is appropriate, like needing to compare a set of calcs or changing inputs in fixed formulas.
I'd say that has been in the last five years or so; prior to that I'd have the mental battle with myself.
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It's a mix; I have a default spreadsheet that opens with Excel for various notes and scratch work.
If it's a calculation with lots of terms, I use an RPN calculator, either an HP 35s (which is the worst HP ever) or Realcalc on an Android phone. This thread reminds me that I have some kind of solar Casio somewhere which is infinitely better than the HP for base conversions. I don't miss it too much as Realcalc is very good at this. If only it was available on an iPhone.
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funnily enough. I wrote out my calculations for bonuses and budgetting for next year on a piece of paper this weekend. Because I didn't want to deal with a computer then
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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I most often use the HP41CV emulator on my phone nowadays. My real one is still **in** my desk, but the emulator is **on** my desk -- or in my pocket in the lab when I need it. Much faster for me to use that than Windows calculator for most things I need to do.
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My $10 calculator uses cells both recovered from and charged with solar lights.
It's probably been about 2 years since I last charged them.
I use a paring knife, a meat cleaver and a chef's knife in the kitchen.
Use the appropriate tool for the job when I'm in the office too.
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I actually now use the calculator in my iPhone (if I have to, I do a lot more mental math, especially converting Fahrenheit to Celsius).
Funny though, long before I hacked my Sony PSP to learn videogame console programming, I learned to program portable devices with my TX-89...those were the days.
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Got my TI-36X Pro right beside me on the desk, and a drawerful of more sophisticated calculators for when additional horsepower is required.
Of course if I'm feeling particularly nostalgic, not in a hurry, and don't need eleventy digits, I'll reach for one of my collection of slide rules.
When the CME hits and solid-state electronics become paperweights, I shall be a god 
Michael
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I have a TI-83 emulator app on my launch bar. I use the VTI emulator. There is also Wabbitemu if you'd rather use the TI-84.
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Well, I definitely agree about it not being very convenient to do the quick calculation on a desktop but the app I have on my cell phone is about as good as a dedicated calculator. Before I retired, I would start the app on my phone when I got to work so it would be ready to use when I needed it. It's an old calculator app that appears to no longer be available in the google store. It looks very similar to the RealCalc app.
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That's a no-brainer. Most of what the Windows calculator can do, I can do in my head. For anything mildly challenging, I reach for my trusty HP-35s. I may be biased, but my first calculator was an HP-67, and I wrote immensely complicated programs for that thing that got me through engineering final exams. My favorite was a huge one that would solve the roots of a 20th order linear control system transfer function. I've tried others, but there is nothing as efficient as RPN for complex calculations.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I know that in this area, Java is very big because of all the government work and .Net can be a second class citizen. How is it on the West Coast, SoCal? My nephew is starting his career after college and I am trying to offer some direction. He knows Java and I figure he should leverage what he knows, but it still might be better for him to just jump to .Net. What do you think? How about C++? His brother learned that but I think that is a smaller niche than .Net or Java. Can you suggest other resources to research this?
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Fascinating... Java Andriod... That makes sense but his training is primarily in networking so I figure his path will be to learn Linux first, which is also Java friendly. Hmmm.
By the way, there are an awful lot of developers working in SoCal.
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Michael Breeden wrote: awful lot of developers working in SoCal
... and likely a lot of awful developers...
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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Well, I mean, I'm no longer in SoCal...
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Honestly, the "most common language" is determined by the target platform on/to which you're coding, and really has no relationship to your geographic location.
I've found that when you get right down to it, all languages are pretty much the same. Hell, java and c# are almost like conjoined twins separated at birth.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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You are correct about the similarities but you can get paid much more for Java around here. It's also easier to get a Java job. I'm partial to C#.
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You spelt communist wrong. 
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