I bought a portable GPS the other day – the Garmin 260W. It ranks up there with LASIK surgery as one of the best decisions I ever made.

Prior to owning a GPS, I would think through a trip, print out dozens of Google Maps with directions, and read the printouts in the car while driving to my destination.  Now, instead of relying on potentially inaccurate or hard-to-interpret Google Maps, I can just type the address in Garmin and let it call out directions.

Best of all, if I go slightly off-track, Garmin starts directing me back towards my destination.  One wrong turn results in a slight detour, rather than a disastrous series of U-turns and three-points.  It also calculates the arrival time, giving me a clear (and pretty accurate) sense of when I’m going to arrive.

The 260W seems to be the best model. The more recent models have MP3 players and FM traffic updates, but why would I want a MP3 player in my GPS when I have an iPod?

The best thing about the Garmin is that anywhere I am (well, in North America) I know where I am and where I’m going.   There’s a certain peace of mind to never feeling lost while driving again.

Blessed Miguel Pro – his photos, originally uploaded by Jobriga.

This image is quickly becoming my most popular Flickr photo – 114 views as of this writing. It is wonderful to think that Flickr can, in some small way, help show more people the story of this saint’s martyrdom.

The Lone Star appears throughout the state capitol in Austin, Texas. On the wooden seats, the gates, and the monuments dotting the landscape. It appears at the pinnacle of the dome in the center of the building, and is reflected in the floor at bottom. It’s a subtle reminder of the Lone Star state, without having the Texan flag waving throughout the building.

Here are a few photos of stars I noticed (click on any to view larger, Flickr version).

While reading The Liturgy of the Hours during Lent, I came across the following reading:

While all the runners in the stadium take part in the race, the award goes to one man.  In that case, run so as to win!

Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things.  They do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we a crown that is imperishable.

I do not run like a man who loses sight of the finish line.  I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.

What I do is discipline my own body and master it, for fear that after having preached to others I myself should be rejected.

I recall being incredibly moved when I read this passage; I read it at a time when I felt I had “lost sight of the finish line.”  For me, shadowboxing is sleeping in on the weekend instead of getting up early, taking too many coffee breaks, surfing the net instead of coding sites.  It’s the tendency to coast when I could be pushing further – running “so as to win.”

And now when I come across challenges, and have the choice to sidestep it or push myself, I think of this passage – so that “I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.”

Shown below: the “Katrina Tryptych” found in Mi Casa on South College Street in Austin, TX.

All panels are painted over silkscreens of the headlines from the tragedy.

Left panel: the weather pattern.

Center panel: Creole woman holding lilies, against the backdrop of a ruined New Orleans.

Right panel: New Orleans jazz funeral, with water flowing out of the frame and uniting all the panels.

The painted triptych was created by Channe Felton; posters are available though I can’t find ordering info online. If you find yourself on South College Street, swing in and take a look at this interesting shop.