Immersion blenders are FABULOUS. Another thing we like to use ours for is to make quick fruit sorbet by just blenderizing semi-frozen fruit... no additives required.

Interesting about the notes vs. think it through approach. I can understand feeling weird about that comment, at the same time that I'm intrigued that that was his approach. I wonder if it's partly a learning style difference. Sometimes people get weirded out when I take notes of something they're saying... but writing it down is essential to how I internalize information, more so even than reviewing what I wrote.