John Sciacca

Having lived on both coasts, I've personally sampled from the buffet of natural disasters each has to offer. I lived through the 1989 World Series earthquake, standing in a doorway trying to decide whether to be more worried about myself or my large tube TV, which was doing the Hippy Hippy Shake on its stand.

By nature, we're attracted to cool stuff, and A/V cabinetry usually isn't that cool. When somebody says, "Check out that rack!," component storage isn't the first thing that comes to mind. But your system needs to have a place to call home. Before deciding where you're going to put your gear, here are some things to consider.

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.

Inventor, musician, scientist, politician, and philosopher, Ben Franklin was a brilliant man. His Poor Richard's Almanac is full of timeless proverbs, such as, "For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.