My unassuming sidekick: the Canon SD630. It goes with me almost everywhere, lying in wait without a case or cover as it gets bashed by keys, coins, and other odd metal instruments that I plunge into my bag. There’s also a nasty fissure down the glass viewing screen — from when the camera strap slipped off my wrist during a desert hike and the camera hit rock bottom, literally. It’s a three year old brick of beat up amateur technology, but it gives me more opportunity for reflection and introspection than anything else ever has.