Casio Really "Adds" Up!

“OK, you got me.” Once again, you will find out more than you wanted to know about my “real life” quality time. One of the things that this real life quality time contains is the reality that if I want a birthday gift, I may have to buy it myself. After thirty years and too many birthdays to mention, I confess that I usually DO buy my own gifts. However, five years ago, I told my husband that I will NO LONGER wrap my own gifts. A nice compromise, don’t you think?

My birthday is in the middle of February two days before our anniversary. He’s really good about that celebration. I get a flower for every year we’ve been married. I will admit that the roses turned into carnations on our 24th anniversary but I love carnations too, so that was fine. (Let’s face it. Roses bought the week of Valentine’s Day are excessively expensive. Since it’s too late to change our wedding date, I’ll love that fact that he never forgets to send me flowers, period.)

But, birthdays are another story. My husband had never even celebrated birthdays before we got married so I should have been forewarned that birthdays, to him, would be “no big deal.” And, at the beginning of our marriage they definitely weren’t. Once we had kids, he got into the swing of it all: cakes, candles, parties, and family (at least my family) gatherings held on these personal celebrations. But, the kids are grown now, he’s run out of ideas, and I personally don’t want the world to know I’m having another one anyway. So, birthdays now consist of writing a list of things priced right for the kids to buy me, and mentioning a couple of things I’d like to receive from him. His standard reply is,“Well, when you’re out shopping, if you see something you want then get it.”

So, I did. What did I want this year? I wanted a calculator that actually would work. I have purchased a couple of really inexpensive ones during the last couple of years and the only “adding” that they did was to “add” to my frustration when using them. I wanted one that wasn’t too big in size (but had a large read out) and one that wouldn’t stick constantly. The other “biggy” feature that I was looking for was one that had the + sign and the = sign on the same key. (That feature was probably the hardest one to find in the models that I looked at.) Why I needed it to be like that is one of life’s strange oddities that fits the category of, “I really don’t know. I had one calculator that had this set up and I really liked it. Does it make a difference to anyone else? My answer is probably not.”

So, I took a trip to Office Max to look them all over. I came up with two models that I really liked. I decided on the Casio HR-150LC Plus because the price was right, it had the + = feature I was looking for, and it was smaller than the other one I was considering. While it is listed here at Epinions as a calculator, I would like to say that I might really classify this as an adding machine. An adding machine, in my mind, means that there is a printout and roll of paper that prints out the calculations. This feature was not one that I was actually looking for but my husband occassionally uses this machine and he likes it to verify his calculations. It comes with a small roll of paper included in the purchase, but I’d advise getting a full size roll if you plan on using it much.

Some of its other features include:

(A) Power On/Off Switch
This calculator is run by either batteries (4 AA’s) or by a plug in AD adapter. The adapter is included. I usually rely on the batteries because I often carry it from place to place but both work fine.

(B) Paper Roll/Roller
The paper roller is easy to install and replace. I did have to try a couple of times to get the feed to work properly, but I’m mechanically challenged.

(C) Two Colored Printout
The print out has two colors. Black (as in the black) or Plus and Red (as in “in the red” or Minus). This is really a nice feature and one that I’d definitely insist on if print out is an important feature to you. The ink roller is a disposable cartridge type and it is very easy to change when needed.

(D) 12 Digit Capacity
This feature will often cost you more than a 10 Digit Capacity machine. It is offered on the Casio at about the same price as many of the 10 Digits found on other machines. I like having the 12-digit display because it insures that any of the calculations that I personally may be using it for, it will be big enough. I calculate a lot of student grades and often need this 12-digit capacity.

(E) The color is a two-toned gray. The size is about 7” X 11” and it is lightweight to carry and move around. It is larger than some of the smaller calculators but is small enough to carry in one hand. I leave mine sitting on the kitchen table where I do most of my bills and grading and it takes up hardly any space at all.

(F) Automatic Shut-Off Feature
This is one feature that I really like. If you turn the machine on, use it, and then walk away, it will turn itself off after about 5 minutes (the manual says 6 minutes exactly). This saves on batteries and should be on any appliance "I” use.

Needless to say, I really like this birthday gift. It has all of the features that I would have chosen for myself (whoops! I forgot, I did choose it for myself.) I should state here, though, that a strange thing happened on this birthday. My husband actually bought me a calculator too. He thought that I wasn’t going to have time to get out and get one, so he stopped at the store and got me one. The one he got me was a little bit bigger in size and didn’t have the + = feature that I liked but it was so nice that we kept it too. He’s using it on his desk in the den and we are both happy. Hmmm….now that I think about it, maybe that was the plan all along.