Camp Fire Boys and Girls wants to help build better communication between children and adults.
The organization is celebrating Absolutely Incredible Kid Day on March 15 by urging all adults to write letters of love, appreciation and encouragement to children.
Adults can write to their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, a child down the street or even a youngster they don't know.
For more information or to become involved, call (888) 254-3329.
Asthmatic athletes
to be honored
The "Will to Win" Asthma Athlete Scholarship Program is seeking applications. Sponsor Schering/Key will grant $35,000 in scholarships to 10 high school seniors who have "excelled in athletics in spite of the challenge of asthma."
Scholarship applications may be obtained by calling the "Will to Win" hotline at (800) 558-7305. The deadline for entries is April 30.
Hair for children
Locks of Love makes hairpieces for low-income children who have permanent hair loss from medical treatments or conditions.
These hairpieces are custom-made hair prostheses that can be worn even while swimming or in the shower. The organization needs hair donations of 10-inch lengths or more.
To find out how to donate hair as well as how to properly cut and send it, visit the group's Web site, www.locksoflove.org, or call (888) 896-1588.
Quaking at the controls
It's a rare sight: A hit PC game makes the jump to console systems successfully, and in this case, nearly flawlessly.
In some areas, specifically online play, Dreamcast's version -- "Quake III Arena" by Sega -- is much easier to set up and get straight to blasting your online buddies than the PC version.
Here's the story: It seems that some mystical Arena Masters have dragged the world's best fighters into one ring to watch them tear each other apart, each fighter with the ultimate goal of being crowned champion. Sound like fun? It is. Before you can win, though, you must learn how to stay alive.
There are a number of different modes of play, including Free For All, in which you try to kill everyone who isn't you, and Capture The Flag, which is a great warmup for the big dance.
If fighting computer bots doesn't do it for you, plug in your Dreamcast via SegaNet and choose from hundreds of online arenas, fighting against other online players.
The keyboard peripheral is a must for complete mobility in this game.
Smooth, beautifully rendered graphics include a painstaking attention to the details of each character's uniform and weapons, and the backgrounds accomplish the goal of looking good without being distracting.
Gameplay is superfast, almost dizzying, forcing a hopeful arena champion to hone their battle skills quickly if there's any dream of living for more than a few seconds.
Grade: B+
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