What the hell is the deal with my weight scales?

I swear I've bought at least 5 weight scales over the past 3 years. This is getting to be a cruel joke. I think I've bought 3 from Amazon and 2 from WalMart. Several weeks back an apartment neighbor's water pipe burst which flooded my kitchen and bathroom--and my apartment hallway, for some odd reason, which is on the other side of the apartment. Which is where I had put my digital scale. Large story short, I believe that the water must have shorted out the scale.

And did you ever notice that these scales all use different batteries? Of the last three, one ran on lithium, the second on 9 volts and the third AAA's.

So after the flooding I went down to WalMart and found a Health-o-Meter model which cost about $18. It came with a Sunbeam 9-volt battery. It worked fairly well until yesterday when the scale suddenly went dark with me still on the scale. I figured maybe it was a battery issue; I went to WalMart to buy a new 9-volt battery bundle. I got one reading on one of the batteries but then it went dark. Another battery got the initiation sequence during weight calibration and then it went dark. The third battery did nothing. I made sure the 9 volts were securely fastened. Either the battery pack was dead or I have a scale issue.

I'm raising an issue with manufacturer support which sent me a troubleshooting script which presupposes your batteries are working.

So I just went to WalMart and purchased a moderately more expensive competitor model. This one works--for now.

I'm in a middle of yet another range-bound plateau. I did dip to a new diet low, about 6 pounds below where I am now, which is where I restarted my diet over the holidays. So for all practical purposes I'm even for the year, but to be honest, I'm very disappointed that I've underperformed my goal of a consistent l/1.5 lb/week pace. I'm not sure why, but it could be new meds I started taking a few weeks back are affecting things. The good news is that I'm back on my thyroid medication (the thyroid, of course, is very important in metabolic rate). They put me on a lower dosage after confirming bad numbers; they want to check on my thyroid bloodwork after my second month back on. But I probably need to step up my exercise regimen.