I recently purchased a Fujitsu Scansnap S1300 (review coming in the next few weeks) after borrowing both a S1500M from work, and an S300 from a coworker. I hate having to deal with paper ((Heck, I hate people printing at work (it’s an ongoing debate in the building… it seems like I’m sometimes the only one saying we need to curtail printing) )). My hope, with this in hand and some knowledge gained from here, I can turn years of files in my filing cabinet, into years of digital documents in Dropbox that can be searched, easily found, and worst case, printed (if absolutely necessary). I’ve been shredding personal documents for years, so the thought of being able to scan something, then quickly shred it, just makes me all kinds of happy. My goal, then, is the “myth” of paperlessness ((Also, this is the first post in what will probably become an ongoing topic on my site (such that I’ve created a new category for it).)). (which I don’t consider as much a myth as some). While paperlessness may be a lofty goal, my hope is to become closer and closer as time goes on (now that most banks, utilities, etc offer paperless billing, much to the USPS’s dismay).
Fear of a math hat
I work for a Journalism school, doing computer work. Our student body is largely out of high school, into college, and I would guess by and large, they’re all Bachelors of Arts majors. Which means they’ve opted to take language courses rather than math/science. Which is fine, but it tells you that these students largely aren’t math people.
For years, some of the faculty here at the school have complained about the lack of basic math skills possessed by the students, but no one really had a firm grip on those skills, or knew what to do about it. Finally, last Spring term (2011), an Electronic Media instructor decided to address this, and gave her 16 students a math test each week, with the requirement that they get all the answers right, and then would be allowed to skip all subsequent tests. Doing so was required for the class, so failure to pass any of them would result in failure to pass the class. What were these “terrible” math problems? Largely, they were percentages. One of them based on the graphic for this post. Something like: “The devil makes it through 500 of the 666 slides. What percentage of the total is that?”
Cucina Pro 1476 Classic Round Belgian Waffle Maker
A few weeks ago I went to make waffles with my trusty Cuisinart and found that after 4 years of use, the non-stick coating had finally given way to something “not non-stick”, resulting in impossible to remove waffles. So, I threw it away, and went on the search for a replacement. Everyone raved about the Villaware waffle maker, but they seemed to have stopped making them. After some more looking, I found that the Cucina Pro is actually the same machine, just new name. After sitting on it for a few days, wondering if I should order one, I hit up one of the nicer kitchen supply stores in the area, Cooks, Pots and Tabletops, and found they had the Cucina Pro 1476 for an Amazon level price. Purchased, I went home, and immediately made some waffles.
First off, it’s heavy. My Cuisinart maybe weighed 2lbs. I think the CucinaPro weighs in at 4lbs. So it takes a while to warm up (and conversely, cool down). First use, it gave off a bit of smoke as the protective coatings cooked off, and had a bit of a smell, but it went away after use. The Waffle Tone is a bit odd too, but nice. You can go do something in another room, and hear when the waffle is done. With the batter I use, I have it set to 5 (out of 6) on the doneness scale, and it produces a crispy waffle. Doneness is quite good, and the waffle overall was probably one of the best I’d had. The only odd thing being the “look” of the doneness. You could see a line where part of the waffle was lighter than another. This either has to do with how I poured the batter, or the lack of an expanding hinge in the back. Either way, this is cosmetic, and didn’t affect taste.
All and all, it’s a great waffle iron. And for only $20 more than the Cuisinart, it makes a much crispier, tastier, product.
[xrr rating=4.75/5]