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energy-efficient are important. But in typical American fashion, by far the highest priority was having a reliable set of wheels.
• The poll, paid for by a grant to the AP-NORC Center from the Joyce Foundation, shows that energy, especially in a weak economy, is prominently on people's minds -- and may explain why it's being talked about in the presidential campaign. Nearly 8 in 10 called energy deeply important to them, trumping concerns about the federal deficit and the environment. The only issues that polled as higher concerns were the economy, education and health care. Almost three-quarters said gasoline prices were important to them personally, although those prices have abated since the poll was taken.
• There are limits, though, on what people are willing to sacrifice for a more energy-efficient life.
• Nearly 9 in 10 people said they had taken some action in the last year to save energy, with those making less money and on a tighter budget saying it was more important to make their homes more efficient or save money on energy. The idea of changing transportation habits rated as among the most difficult energy-saving actions for people to take.
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• LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If there's one place where Ray Bradbury's legacy is tangibly omnipresent, it's the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
• While he denounced video games as "a waste of time for men with nothing else to do," it's impossible not to glimpse at the flashing flatscreens, ubiquitous cameras and people wearing extraterrestrial costumes inside the Los Angeles Convention Center this week and not be reminded of Bradbury's high-tech foreshadowing and otherworldly visions, detailed in literary classics like "Fahrenheit 451," ''Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "The Martian Chronicles."
• "I definitely read his books when I was a kid," said Peter Molyneux, creator of the role-playing "Fable" series and studio head at developer 22 Cans. "I think with those worlds that he created, he inspired all of us. There are games and scenes in this very hall which have probably been influenced by him -- both consciously and unconsciously."
• Bradbury, who died Tuesday night at age 91, foretold of much of the technology powering the gaming industry's annual trade show and inspired many of the games'

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