YOUR BIG BROTHER'S OLD HIGH-TOPS MIGHT BE VALUABLE

Have the holidays left you a little short on cash? Well, the answer to your money problems may be closer than you think. Like, your closet.

A company called Small Earth Inc. buys old, used basketball shoes and sells them overseas. You're probably wondering, "who'd want to buy my disgusting old shoes?" Well apparently the Japanese go crazy for vintage American sport shoes (and by "vintage" I mean worn and smelly).

But don't try to pawn off any old sneaker. Small Earth is looking for early edition Nike and Adidas basketball shoes from the mid- 1980s, primarily in men's sizes 8-10. And if you happen to have an old pair of 1985 black and gold Air Jordans -- cha-ching, baby! They're worth upwards of tens of thousands of dollars. How's that for a pair of smelly shoes? * Red dot alert. Ah, laser pointers. Tell me, who hasn't smiled after seeing that little red dot on the backside of the drum major during a pep con? Or maybe on the forehead of an unsuspecting teacher? Well, they're good for a laugh and they can even enhance a class presentation, but laser pointers can be dangerous. Experts say that "exposing the retinas to laser lights" (a.k.a., shining them in people's eyes) can cause permanent damage. This is one reason some Spokane area schools are banning the use and possession of laser pointers on campus (that, and the fact that they can be used in extremely annoying ways). But, is that gonna stop students from toting them around? Probably not. * The "crisis." Did you know that the average teenager drinks about two cans of pop everyday? That's more than 700 cans a year. So what's the big deal? Well, experts claim that by drinking so much soda we are depriving ourselves of necessary nutrients like calcium found in milk. Studies show that nine out of 10 girls ages 9- 18 are calcium deficient, and half of all teen girls don't drink milk at all. They're calling it a "calcium crisis," which I think is a bit over the top. After all, our world has bigger problems than the amount of soda teens drink. Anyway, the Got Milk? people know about this so-called "crisis." That's why they launched that milk mustache campaign. Because you and I both know that seeing a picture of the Hanson boys with milk smeared on their upper lips is gonna make me want to run out and by a gallon of 1 percent. * College 411. Sign up for a free (yep, FREE) Power Students Network College Survival Kit at www.powerstudents.com. In it you get information on how to receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Power Students Network plus informative articles and newsletters for college bound students. The kit also includes a No. 2 pencil, and a bumper sticker that says COLLEGE=POWER. (I think it's worth it just for the free pencil). Also, the Fairchild Air Force Base Officers and Spouses' Club and Fairchild Enlisted Spouses' Club (boy, that's a mouthful) is offering scholarships to Spokane-area seniors. Applicants must be a legal non- military dependent of a U.S. military member and have a minimum GPA of 3.2. Check with your counselor for details.

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