Saw the thread on the Thermapen digital meat thermometer and posted that there's at least one much cheaper version that does all the same things, but apparently nobody was interested. Maybe some people just prefer paying $80-$90 to than $20 or less.
If you're interested,
www.chefscatalog.com offers a couple of versions of the Taylor Waterproof Digital Thermometer for under $15-$20. My wife's been writing a sausage cookbook for the past year+, and uses one all the time with no problems. Works just as well on steaks, roasts, etc. as sausage.
