New! Feedback response Casio fan mail, and the inevitable wristhanger...

 (December 1998; emended March 1999) What is this mysterious nature of Casio watches? Ever since I saw my first one, I was allured by the lifestyle enhancement. As a jogger, I had always wanted a stopwatch, and here there was one, incorporated into a digital wristwatch. Also, the countdown alarm would save countless oven dishes from becoming charcoal, and signal innumerable laundry loads forgotten at the laundromat. And even an alarm clock. Always ready to travel. By the way, it also keeps very accurate time for years and years on the original battery. And... you can swim with most models. Ah, technology!

I lost my favorite Casio, a 100M with the marvelous, though now discontinued feature: a 10-minute interval beep on both the countdown and the stopwatch. I lost this wonderful watch in a boony bar in Maine one winter night. I guess it must've fallen out of my pocket.

Why was it in my pocket?

That brings us to the dark side a Casio watches. Did I mention that their batteries last--like forever? Who would know? By that time you would need to have it replaced, you will have gone through several watchband changes, or gotten discouraged and just carried the watch in your pocket...

It wouldn't be so bad if replacement bands could be found, would fit, or wouldn't turn your wrist into a massive rash.

Right now I am using a Casio "Jog Walk Calorie" JC-20, several years old and still running strong. I am wearing it on my wrist with what remains of the original watchband, held together with packing tape and rubber bands. No staples--yet.

How long can I last? How long will I be able to forebear this homely construction at my arm's end? How long can I wear such an emblem of nerd frugality before I start scanning the sale ads in search of my next Casio wristwatch?

Feedback response:     I was a bit surprised at the immediate response my Casio lament generated. I guessed that some robots were out looking for new Casio references. A number of people thought I might be some sort of expert on collectible Casios (or is it "Casioes"?). Sorry but I haven't a clue on this. In fact I didn't even identify my current Casio model accurately (the information now corrected in the original text above). I can certainly imagine that there's a quiet underground of aficionados scooping up the coolest stuff. And cheap I bet. There were a lot these made and they're pretty hard to destroy. I do like the old retro-tech styling.

To bring you up to date, it did eventually, inevitably, come to staples, and just days ago the band broke at the buckle and so now into my pocket. This can't last. Maybe more staples. Maybe shopping.

One more incidental tidbit. While recently moving to a new residence, what should pop out of my jostled lazyboy but another old Casio. No band, natch. Another pocket watch, misplaced but now found. This one (my third Casio?) had a dual time function along with the standard time/stopwatch/alarm/countdown. Never used it. Always seems to be some extra function that I never use. Never bothered to figure out the calorie function on the current watch. For me the only improvement I've seen since the earlier models is the electro luminescent backlighting.

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