John Sciacca

Back in elementary school, I loved reading those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. They'd begin like a normal book, but at the end of each page, you'd be faced with a decision that radically altered the story.

Years ago, a friend of mine qualified to play in the California State Amateur Golf Tournament, and he asked me to caddy for him. This was a big event, held at two difficult courses against the toughest competition in the state, so having a good caddy by his side was important.

This past winter, my wife and I spent three wonderful weeks touring Italy. Although traveling abroad always provides interesting experiences, we stumbled across some peculiarities that really showed we weren't in America anymore. For one, the cost of a cappuccino is directly related to where you drink it. Stand at the counter, and it might be $1.50.

Forget about DLP vs. LCoS or Blu-ray vs. HD DVD. The biggest battle heating up in the home-entertainment world right now is over who's going to rule the next generation of gaming. And Microsoft just launched the first strike - 100 megatons worth of silicon known as Xbox 360.