The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada • 14

Arts Life Contacts Arts: Nick Miliokas 565-8321 nick.miliokas leaderpost.com Life: Irene Seiberlmg 565-8238 irene.seiberlingleaderpost.com A14 DearAbby A15 Helping kids in school A15 Alzheimer's nsk A15 Leader-Post Thursday, August 15,2002 Page A 14 OPINION EDUCATION Navigating the hurdles of your first year away from home Canadian Barking Dog renamed Geek News: Canadian Barking Dog Becomes Rocks tar Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.s Rockstar Games just announced the formation of Rockstar Vancouver, renaming their latest acquisition of great Canadian game maker Barking Dog Studios Ltd. Barking Dog Studios based in Vancouver, B.C., was founded in 1998 and is the PC developer of LounterStrike Beta5 (a mod for the best-jelling CounterStrike series of games from Valve), Sierra's Homeworld: Cataclysm, and Crave and Electronic Arts Global Operations. The studio currently employs Approximately 50 developers, and is working on a yet-to- be-announced military video game to LiAMt vjLLK. J)e published under the Questions to ask a potential roommate Noise: What kind of music do you listen to? Time limits? What hours are quiet time? What about weekends? Own anything loud? Electric guitar? Table saw? Pets? Cleanliness: Do you cook often? When do you prefer to do dishes? Vacuum? Clean the bathroom? Finances: How are the bills arranged? What if one person needs to move out early? What in the house would you like to share? (Food, cleaning supplies, shower stuff?) Guests: Are you currently involved with anyone? Are they going to be overnight guests? Does your family live close by? Do they like to visit you? What about out-of-town guests staying in the apartment? Do you like to throw large parties? Are you willing to co-ordinate them in advance? How soon is the house back in order after a party, if ever? How big are you on security? Substances: Do you smoke? Inside or out? Do you consume alcohol? Get drunk much? Get sick much from it? Do you do other drugs? How often? Is there food you cant or wont have in the house? Lifestyle: What is your usual bedtime? What time do you get ready for classwork in the morning? What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Do you watch TV? How often? What shows? Where do you like to socialize in the evening? Source. University of Toronto Student Housing TORONTO (CP) If you're moving away from home for the first time for school this fall, prepare to hit a few speed bumps along the road.

But there are a few things that can be done to smooth the way as you get your own place and hit the books in the first year of university or college. Most incoming first-year students consider living with their best friends. Its not always wise. Dyveke Hinnerup, 25, has been living with roommates since she was 18. At one point she lived with her best friend an experience she would not go through again.

When you're sharing the same place you see a different side of your friend, said the fourth-year University of Toronto psychology student. It sets a different perspective. After living together awhile it became obvious to her that their living habits conflicted. Hinnerup preferred a quiet living space, while her friend often had company. Minor issues aggravated their relationship too, such as her roommates tendency to chew loudly while eating.

We were starting to get on each others nerves, Hinnerup said. Most disputes are over small matters. Its common for first-time roommates to argue over noise levels, sharing of household chores and even musical tastes, said John Conrad, a manager of residence life at the University of Toronto. Its because they dont know how to address it, Conrad said, adding that disagreements easily escalate into lingering feuds if they arent resolved early. Most roommate conflicts dont happen until the second term.

Theyll let things build and build, and come February they cant deal with it anymore. Roommates should lay some ground rules early in their relationship, he said. He estimated only 10 to 15 per cent of conflicts are serious, and most roommates learn to accept their differences or deal with them before they get out of hand. Though some matters are minor, its often how theyre addressed not the actual problem itself that causes a rift. One novel and effective way of communicating with roommates is through a message book.

While sharing a dormitory with 14 roommates, Hinnerup and the others would jot down reminders on whose turn it was for kitchen or bathroom cleanup duties. They also used it for retrieving phone messages. With so many roommates in and out at different times, she found this method of interaction efficient. There are advantages to living on campus for first-year students. University residences offer meal plans, access to laundry facilities and telephone service, not to mention proximity to lecture halls a definite bonus after a late night or sleeping in.

pus. Hinnerup, 25, has been living with roommates since she was 18. I know if I were living off campus when I was a student Id be late for a lot more classes, Conrad said. Students are also more likely to cultivate new friendships while living the dorm life, a common concern when starting university or college. Conrad said students should be willing to share living space, furniture and utensils, which is sometimes a hurdle for people whove never lived with anyone except their own family.

This is especially true given that the majority of roommates have never known each other before. Most students out of high school have always had their own bedrooms. Suddenly having to share a room with someone is a big issue for them, Conrad said. Another advantage for those living in residence is they can rely on support staff such as dons and they might have some flexibility in paying residence fees. In an apartment setting, theres only the renter and the landlord.

Access to amenities, hooking up the Internet, telephone and cable are all the renters responsibility. These errands can be distracting at a time when the primary concern should be adjusting to classes. To ease the transition, Kail Ross, vice-president of student life for the University of Alberta, encourages incoming students to check out their new digs and the surrounding area beforehand. See for yourself, Ross said. Actually going there, seeing where all the amenities are it gives you a ground- ing.

But even if you cant, Ross says the most important tip is to ask dons and your roommates questions. "Dont assume anything. Talk about anything that can pertain to your living there, he said. Theyre in the same boat as you. Rockstar brand, and Svill soon begin development on a jecond original i ideo game title for Rockstar.

Meanwhile, Take-Two's development studio located in Oakville, Ont formerly known as Rockstar Canada, will be renamed Rockstar Toronto, effective immediately. Rockstar Toronto is responsible for Jhe development of the PlayStation2 Versions of Rockstars Oni and Max Payne intellectual properties. Rockstar Toronto is currently developing The Warriors, a game based Paramount Pictures classic 1979 gritty gang drama of the same name. Beauty, eh? GameCube: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem From: Nintendo (www.nintendo.ca) ESRB Rating: Mature I Innovative within the survivalhorror fenre and a rock-solid game experience, Iternal Darkness: Sanitys Requiem ipatters some blood on the GameCube library of fluffy family friendliness. Beyond the triple dose of gauche gothicism in the title Nintendo really Jvent out of its way to make sure nobody tonfused this title with yet another chortling-fathead game Eternal Darkness is as deep and disturbing as they come, matching and surpassing the recent respectable revamp of Resident Evil on the Cube as the 'premier interactive heeby-jeeby inducer.

Perpetually creepy, Eternal Darkness lets you play as 13 different characters over 2,000 years, battling zombies and inonsters and yadda yadda yadda Im a Jurvivalhorror game. But it saves itself from formulaic fiogwash with a very clever twist: Every Jnonster you see chips away at your sanity; go too far without defeating enemies and the hallucination kicks in walls bleed, your limbs fall off and you might even see an apparition or three. I If youre into the dark gauche goth, this is the game for you. Better still, Eternal Darkness transcends its genre kith superb design and an excellent fontrol scheme, making it undeniably inviting for (Mature) game players of any fctripe. The Verdict Great Rental.

Excellent Purchase. 0 PlayStation2: Metal of Honor: Frontline From: EA Games (www.ea.com) ESRB Rating: Teen I Until now, the majority of war themed eonsole games never succeeded in portraying much more than war is fceck. EA busts the boundaries of previous limitations, harnesses every ounce of 0omph in the PS2, and delivers an authentic sense of war is hell with Metal of Honor Frontline. A visually rich, emotionally charged gnd aurally immersive setting complements some of the most frantically elaborate gameplay yet seen pn a videogame console. Played as a First Person Shooter CFPS) and told as an epic stoiy based on peal Second World War events and armaments, Metal of Honor: Frontline has 19 levels sectioned across six major (nissions.

This in not just a Cashing in on Private Ryan craze, EAs developers worked closely with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the Smithsonian Institution and military Consultant Capt Dale Dye to make this the most authentic Second World War console game experience and it fchows. The Verdict: Excellent Rental. Great Purchase. Dear Mary Ida, Hot dogs are made by grinding up pork andor beef trimmings into a thick meat paste called hot dog batter. Then sugar, spices, colors and preservatives are added, and it's squirted into paper tubes.

Next, they're cooked in wood smoke. Then the paper is peeled off and voila! Hot dogs! Oh, the skins are exactly the same thing as the insides -smoked meat paste with sugar, spices and chemicals. Yum. jo Jax Place WMN EflWT S2S7ES? Multi-talented movie star Jane Mansfield was Miss Hot Dog Ambassador of 1 950. Even though people love making jokes about hot dogs and seem to love the idea of hating them, we eat lots.

Add up the cities below to get an idea of how much smoked, spiced meat paste people eat in the top 10 cities every year. 1 P1A yA A yTA Fh WtAT TA A HpW A Q. 1 I 1 1. Los Angeies, CA 2. New York, NY 3.

Chicago, IL 4. San Antonio, TX 5. Philadelphia, PA 6. DallasFort Worth, TX 7. BaltimoreWashington, DC 8.

BirminghamMontgomery, AL 9. MiamiFt. Lauderdale, FL 10. Houston, TX 36,591,904 pounds 33,276,920 pounds 20,480,084 pounds 20,238,994 pounds 17,146,968 pounds 16,700,872 pounds 15,200,602 pounds 14,081,678 pounds 13,258,720 pounds 11,511,176 pounds 1. LA Dodgers' Stadium 1.

5 million 2. Cleveland Indians Jacob's Field 1 .1 million 3. Texas Rangers Ball Park at Arlington 990,000 4. Anaheim Angels Edison Field 980,000 5. Boston Red Sox Fenway Park 872,500 6.

Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards 750,000 7. Chicago White Sox Comiskey Park 560,000 8. SF Giants Pacific Bell Ballpark 552,700 9. KC Royals Kauffman Stadium 500,000 10. Milwaukee Brewers Miller Park 400,000 (2001 sales) 'J eeA s6op oq uoiqiq 02 inoqs epbubq pus sn seies ieioj.

punod jad s6op 1014 01 inoqe aie sjacn ieaui 1 See more of Shaun's Geek News and game reviews atrww GamesArcadia com eiow spunod8t6'Z8'96l uoqsanb ipeui ieaui 01 jesu ujoii "I.