25-Cent Soda And Electric Calculators

Like most kids (in Canada, at any rate) I got a weekly allowance. Initially it was a couple of bucks a week but at some point Mom decided to just give my brother and I the monthly Child Benefit from the Federal government, which I believe was $20 per child at that time, on the condition that we were henceforth responsible for purchasing our own school supplies.

In those days fifty cents could buy you a soda and candy bar so 20 bucks was a significant chunk of change for a kid and I ended up saving a lot of mine. At some point my savings passed the magical $100 mark - which seemed like a small fortune to me - and I began to dream of what I would buy with all that money.

Those dreams took on more solid form with the release of that year's Sears Christmas Catalog. As usual I pored over the toy section of the catalog first and while many delights leapt to my eyes, none exhibited a strong enough pull to extract my hard-won savings from the bank vault in which they sat. Besides, for a mere toy there was always a good chance that I could wind up getting it for free, as a Christmas present.

It was in the business section of the catalog, while looking at typewriters, that my dreams became desire. There I saw a wondrous marvel of modern technology: an electric calculator. On the off chance that there is anyone under the age of 30 reading this, I should be specific here. I'm talking about an electro-mechanical calculator. A device which uses electric power to drive motors and gears to make mathematical calculations and print the result on a roll of paper tape.

To be sure, electric adding machines and cash registers had been around for as long as I could remember, but this sleek little beauty could do multiplication and division, too! And unlike those previous behemoths she could be had for the low, low price of just $179.99 (taxes not included).

Of course $179.99 was greater than $100, so I had more saving to do. In the meantime I'd take the catalog into my bedroom and gaze longingly at the calculator's full-colour picture, in much the same way that I imagine other boys were gazing at the lingerie models. Which is not to say that I didn't take a peek at the lingerie section, too, but come on, how can that compare to a machine which does multiplication and division?

I don't recall that I ever went to the Sears store and fondled the object of my affection. Indeed, I don't ever recall that it even occurred to me to do so. It's probably just as well, though, as I might have been arrested for public indecency.

At some point my bank account reached the long-awaited $179.99 (plus taxes). At last the calculator could be mine! But I hesitated. I still lusted after her, but did I really want to blow my entire wad on her? What was I really going to do with her? Oh sure, she would be a great help with arithmetic, but arithmetic was easy. We were already into basic algebra in school and what good would she be with that? What if I used her to calculate a few sums and then got bored with her?

So I waited and pondered and slowly the dream faded away, to be replaced by new ones.

Today I sit at a desk, surrounded by computers. 18 processor cores, each more than a billion times as powerful as that old calculator, await my bidding.

But I still remember that first boyhood crush fondly.

Milestones

It seems that exercising while watching TV is working its magic on me as I've lost about 15 pounds over the past three months. That just barely shifts my BMI from the middle of the "Obese Class II" category down into the upper end of "Obese Class I". The next category is a looong way away, so I'd best savour this victory as long as I can.

Numbers can be a bit abstract but the loss is made more concrete for me by the passing of some useful milestones:

1) I can now fit into my best pair of jeans again and there's even some room to spare.

2) A couple of the old t-shirts that I use as bedclothes are no longer form-fitting but loose, which makes them more comfortable. They're still not long enough to completely cover my belly, but they're getting close.

3) I can zip up my windbreaker without having to empty the pockets first. And I can breath freely now when it's zipped up.

4) I can now sit in a chair and bend over to tie my shoes without passing out. Previously my gut would press into my sternum, making it impossible for me to breath, so I had to tie one shoe, sit up, gasp for air, then tie the other. I never actually passed out, but where's the drama in that?

Obviously I'm quite pleased with that. Alas, the same cannot be said for my eating habits, which remain pretty awful. I seem to be a tiny bit better than I was at reigning in the late-night snacking, but I still don't get nearly enough fruit and veggies in my diet.

I continue to be surprised at how poorly I fare when hiking up hills, despite all the hours put in on the exercise bike. I guess there are some leg muscles which hiking needs and cycling doesn't. I expect that deep knee bends could take care of those, but I don't think that's very compatible with watching TV.