Notes towards a new definition of tragedy

[desperance]

When I moved to the US, of course I brought my fancy electronic baker's scale with me. It is exact to the scruple, and who knew if I could find a replacement anywhere in this land of volumetric measures? I even carried it over in my luggage, because the shipping was going to take months and how would I bake, how would I live in the meantime without my scale? I packed it securely in my checked baggage, and of course the TSA thought it was a bomb and took extra-special care of it, bless them.

It may be five years old now. There may be days I haven't used it - but not many.

It has two switches, on/tare and off. They are those little dimpled membraneous switches, which I've never really liked - and the membranes over both have split in recent months. It hasn't mattered, until now.

Today, I couldn't turn it off. The off switch seems to have failed completely. Which doesn't matter much, as it has an automatic cut-out after ten minutes of neglect; but I take it to be a dire warning. If the on/tare switch fails similarly, then my whole beautiful ridiculously-expensive scale will become a useless brick, for want of a tupenny switch.

And what shall poor Chazzie do then, poor thing? Are these things repairable? Or is there a splendid substitute, an electronic scale that measures in grams that everyone would recommend...?

Comments

[movingfinger]

Since this one costs $55 and measures in one-gram increments, I would just buy it, if my current scale (two buttons, like yours) stopped working.

[desperance]

Ooh, thank you! That is exactly the kind of rec I was looking for; this would suit me perfectly, if needed. And I like dealing with King Arthur. (Tho' quite where they get off calling themselves King Arthur defeats me rather.)