We’ve all had it: the sickening feeling that comes as you realize

We’ve all had it: the sickening feeling that comes as you realize that instead of zipping across I-90 in minutes, your impulsive highway choice means you get to sit through another half-hour of Dori Monson on the 520 bridge. TRAFFICGAUGE, from the new eponymous Seattle startup, changes all that. A simple, palm-sized device, lighter than a pack of cards, it permanently displays all the major highways between Tukwila and Edmonds. Then it wirelessly updates the map as often as every four minutes with graphic congestion information (blinking lines are bad) and warns you of game-day traffic with a baseball, football, or basketball icon. This is no complex PDA; the only control is a backlight switch, yet it runs for up to six months on two AA batteries. Sure, the device is $50, there’s a $5 monthly charge, the reports don’t include anything south of Southcenter, and the radio offers traffic info for free . . . but you usually tune in to KIRO just after a traffic report airs, right?Frank Catalano www.trafficgauge.com.info@seattleweekly.com