I was surfing around Inconspicuous Consumption and suddenly recognized something I own. It’s an MP 4000 Postal Scale. Now I know the official name for my little postal scale. I’ve always loved how elegantly simple it is, and it is perfectly accurate. Hmmm, you know, Restoration Hardware should really sell these — maybe they already do. As our gadgets become more digital and electronic, items like these become more firmly ensconced under the heading of “quaint”. There must be devices that electronics will not replace, but I can think of electronic replacements for many things. Even plain old toothbrushes are being superseded by fancy gizmos. I’ll hang onto my whistling teakettle. One day maybe those will have configurable “whistles”. “Tea for Two” would be my pick.