Calculate this, sucka!!

[susandennis]

I discovered another Linux (ish) pot hole. I can't work the calculator. As in I do not know how. 

The first calculator I ever met was in statistics class in college. I hated the class. I hated the professor (Dr. Wu who pronounced it study sticks). The calculator was the size of an old Royal typewriter and it made a horrible racket and never did what it was supposed to - at least under my fingers. 

Oh, I just went and found a picture of one.  See above.  It weighed about the same as Dr. Wu, by the way.

I was good at arithmetic (at least in those days) and could work a slide rule so who the hell needed that giant piece of shit?

Then in the mid-70's when I had a sales job at IBM, I got an HP pocket calculator. I got it because the branch manager said to and it looked cool in my brief case. I never did learn how to use it.

I can use the Windows calculator, although I'd kind of rather use Excel and/or have a print out.

I cannot figure out the Linux calculator to save my soul. And it's mostly probably because I don't want to.

-- 

But, speaking of numbers... I got the work package thing from my ex (she says gratefully) CPA for taxes today.  So I just pulled out my pencil and sat down and filled in 90% of it!!  And I got out copies of the past two years and started a nice little bundle for Mr. New CPA.  

Interestingly, when the guy who retired had the place, there was always a nice cover letter thanking me for my business and telling me how he looked forward to serving me again.

This year, no letter.  Just a notice that they will be outsoucing some of the work (the way it was worded it sounded like offshore outsourcing, too) so if we don't like it, tough.  And, they would much prefer that we file extensions and do the returns after April 15.  

I'm so glad I have Mr. New CPA.

--

I am so glad I have that appointment with the skin doctor on Monday morning first thing.  Some of these spots are just itching me to death and the others feel like scleroderma.  I'll go and she'll probably tell me that there's nothing that can be done - that it is my karma and lot in life and I should suck it up and be grateful I have fingers and toes.  At least then, I'll know that there isn't an easy and obvious fix and I'm suffering for a reason.

--

Both Travis and Betty are being exceptionally adorable today.  So much so that it makes me want to go search the house and see what they broke.

Comments

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

I'm not exactly Mr Linux, but if you like spreadsheets as your calculator of choice, there's the Open Office spreadsheet and probably a bunch of other spreadsheets out there.

[susandennis]

Yep, there's a spreadsheet that comes already installed on the Eee. It doesn't show me how to use the calculator, though. The problem is not that I don't have any way to calculate, it's simply that I am not capable of operating the calculator that is installed on the computer.

[qnetter]

I think you actually could, if you ignored the functions you don't need...

(I just typed "200*200=" at it, and it gave me back "40,000" just fine.)

BTW, how did you make it remember your network key?

[susandennis]

Did you get one??!!

When I type 200, the calculatory says 200 then I add * and the calculator says 1200,00.

The network key thing turnd out to be silly. If you hook up via 'Wireless Networks' you lose it when you shut down. If you hook up via 'Network' it persists over sessions. wild, eh?

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

Some ways of connecting to networking on Windows are session-only too. My home network is a mess, so I doubt I'd find Linux networking any more irritating.

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

http://www.taswegian.com/SRTP/JavaSlide/javaslide.html

And if you go out grab some Aveeno lotion. I love the stuff. Winter is bad for psoriasis because it gets dry and make the itching worse. Aveeno is the first lotion I have found that actually stays all day.

[geordie.livejournal.com]

There's a bunch of other calculators, you can just fire up synaptic and pull in another one. Some of them are just like the Windows one.

[qnetter]

I did - I want to travel light visiting the in-laws.

The calculator thing worked for me - I'll check it out again.

And I'd already fixed the network issue - I just didn't know it.

[susandennis]

Cool! I have found www.eeeuser.com to be very helpful - both the wiki forums.

[lacachet.livejournal.com]

So, the "People's Pharmacy" remedy didn't work? Very disappointing---
I tried one of their suggestions for sleep, which involved taping a small rock to my inner wrist. It started to annoy me, so I never did find out if it was going to put me to sleep, or not! *Laugh* I still love reading the column, regardless.