groovy> a = '4'
groovy> b = '5'
groovy> println a + b 
45

groovy> println a.asType(int) + b.asType(int) 
105

groovy> // WTF?
groovy> println a.asType(int)
52

groovy> println b.asType(int)
53

groovy> // leave long and prosper ASCII
groovy> println a as int + b as int
expecting EOF, found '+'

groovy> println (a as int) + (b as int)
Cannot invoke method plus() on null object

groovy> a = a as int
groovy> b = b as int
groovy> println a + b
9

groovy> // w00t!