2013-05-19T14:42:23-04:00 Ryan Doherty http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/author/index.php?author=ryan-doherty Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Ryan Doherty Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2514127 2013-01-21T16:54:21-05:00 2013-03-23T05:12:01-04:00

Ryan Doherty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-doherty/
Consider this. Call Of Duty MW3, last year's best selling game, earned $3 billion dollars in sales in it's first week. Three Billion, and in seven days no less. The biggest movie of the year (The Avengers, fyi) took almost a month to collect that amount, and at cheaper prices then $59.99 for a new game. In fact, according to a study conducted in the UK, as of 2008 the average new video game was outselling the average Hollywood movie.

It's also not just the big budget, big name games either. Indie developers, perhaps the most creative artists around these days, are seeing a massive boom in sales. Services like Steam Greenlight, and social media have made awareness of these little known gems much more open to the general public.

But raw dollars don't tell the whole story. The quality of games, from technology, to playability, to story telling, to voice acting has in so many ways far surpassed that of the constant drivel being turned out by Hollywood and TV land. I can count on one hand the number of movies that have emotionally moved me in the last ten years. I could probably write another two or three paragraphs with the games that have moved me in the last decade.

Having said all this, what makes a gamer these days? According to the figures, The average gamer these days is 25-35, middle class and employed in a good job. Would it surprise readers to know that 42% of gamers today are women? And that there are, in fact, more women between the ages of 25-35 playing games then boys under 17? See for yourself.

The general thinking of the public was that games were confined to children, with the few adults who play them being overweight shut-ins with no social or career prospects. Anyone who even remotely follows entertainment trends should know that this illusion has been shattered. In my opinion, games right now are the only form of art able to truly bridge people from all over the world and all walks of life. I personally know Teachers, Cops, Firefighters, Soldiers, Businessmen, Doctors, Managers and Engineers that all enjoy video games. Certainly you don't have to dress up in a fancy suit and go to some hard to find gallery to play games (though dressing up is widely accepted as cool, as per comic-con. ) And you don't have to be looked down by the elites of society, as those same people sneering at you for being middle class are being slaughtered by your UbEr-L33t skills on MW3.

Even Politicians, long seen as a gamers' arch enemy, play. During the last senate election in the U.S, the democratic candidate for Maine, Colleen Lachowicz was "outed" by the GOP as a World Of Warcraft player. She was in fact quite an advanced player, a level 85 rouge orc. Of course, The Republicans flipped, claiming she spent "days" committing "depraved acts of violence". They sent out screen grabs of her chats between players, including one rather amusing bit where she threatened to hunt down Grover Norquist and "Drown him in my bathtub". Certainly a LOL worthy comment, but as anyone who has played five minutes of Halo online will attest, a very tame threat compared to the more average language heard in a pvp match up.

On and on the Republican's went, going so far as to set up an entire website dedicated to exposing her double life as a Rouge Orc. As often happens in these cases, the gaming community came to her defense, and Colleen sailed to a solid victory over her republican opponent.

In a statement her own campaign office released, she pointed she often played some titanic stars of screen. Names like Vin Deisel, Jodie Foster, Mike Meyers and Robin Williams were known to join her on her quests to eliminate the brutal alliance. Even the developers were onside when Blizzard LLC (the makers of WOW) sent her a signed copy of the new expansion pack Mysts of Panderia , which she said she hopes to play when she has the time.

Indeed, the internet has served gaming well, and has brought together billions of people from all over the world and all walks of life to enjoy a shared past time. In South Korea, it's practically the national sport. Starcraft and Counter-Strike Tourneys are regularly broadcast on the national channel and millions of viewers tune in to watch the proceedings. Gamer guilds are treated with the same respect in South Korea as Hockey Teams are in Canada. It's one indication of how the future of gaming will take pop culture by the short and hairy.

And again, as all the signs are showing, video games have no where to go but up in the world of pop culture. Big name actors like Gary Oldman, Timothy Olyphant and the aforementioned Vin Diesel have all signed on to do games in the last few years, and as the well in film dries up, their peers are not far behind. TV networks are increasingly giving ad-space to big name titles. And social media, the maker or breaker of achievement in this decade, is owned by new video game news.

So at the end of it all, I hope you get a grasp of what it's like to be a gamer in 2013. Your fellow players are stars of screen, US senators, the people you work with and for in the neighborhood, public servants and people just like you and me. You are no longer a geek, nerd or Poindexter. You are an affluent, critical consumer of the latest and greatest in technology and pop culture. You are a man, a woman, a child. You're 17 in your mom's basement, or you're 37 in your in own home. And anytime you want, you have billions of new friends and enemies waiting for you all around the world, just a few mouse clicks and button presses away.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2240222 2012-12-11T16:31:41-05:00 2013-02-10T05:12:02-05:00

Ryan Doherty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-doherty/
About a five-minute walk from my house is an old gas station that has served the community since the late 1980s -- Domo Gas, rocking the slogan of "we jump to the pump, for you".

Drivers of Western Canada will recognize Domo as one of the last bastions of Full Service gas stations. Some people are amazed, shocked even, that they don't have to leave their cars, or even pump their own gas.

Yes sir, we do it all. Pump your gas, bring your smokes right to your door, check your fluids, and this one time, me and the long haired kid actually helped to pick the lock off a guy's trunk so he could get his gear out.

The pay is kinda lousy (when isn't it, really?) but I enjoy the work, and we have a good crew manning the M.V store.

Sadly, as in any retail establishment, for every funny regular or flirty girl, we seem to attract about fifty idiots and angry people to barrage us with verbal abuse, stupid questions, sheer laziness, or potentially a violation of a federal law.

And thus, for the viewing pleasure of the general public, I present the 10 Most Annoying and Strange Customers of The Gas Pumper:



1. The Price Fixer: This can be any man, woman, child or dog driving a vehicle. It seems, despite the fact there are fewer places cheaper for gas in the city, the price can always be lower for these guys. Monday and Tuesday is the "cheap day", where we carry four cents off the posted price. And yet even with this discount, The Price Fixer will suggest, kindly or not, that the price can be lower. Typical tactics of The Price Fixer will include:

- Pointing out that 'X' station at 'X' location is cheaper. Then why come here?

- A sob story about being broke all the time and not being able to afford a fill-up on his 2012 Chevy Silverado with more accessories then a barbie doll.

- A long winded and pointless argument about the evils of the oil industry in Alberta, despite the fact he/she is now a purchaser of this evil substance.

- A semi-attractive woman attempting to flirt her way to a discount.

My suggestion is that The Price Fixer drive on down the road to the cheaper places, and pump their own gas.

2. The Forgetful Minor: In seven months of working, I've heard every excuse there is for a 17-year-old to buy smokes. "You did it once", "My dog ran away", "They are for my mom", "Just this one time", "A pimp don't need ID" etc. etc.

My favorite however was one young gentleman who attempted to pull a fast one on the boss and I with this brilliant line, "Dude, uhh... I'm like, late for work, and I forgot my wallet at home. Can you just sell me the smokes and I'll show you the ID later?"

For the record to all you youngins out there, selling cigarettes to a minor incurs the following penalty: A $5,000 fine to yourself. a $10,000 fine to the store, an instant termination of employment, and a blacklisting from ever working around cigarettes and booze ever again. So don't forget your wallet!!!

3. The Time Lord/Lady: To these people, time is never an issue. Forget that I have fifty cars backed up waiting behind you while you find that perfect parking spot. Forget that I have better things to do then wait 15 to 20 minutes for you to make up your mind on diet or regular Pepsi. Forget I only make $11.25 an hour to watch you waste half a day at the Ghetto Gas Station while you wait for your friends to arrive.

The Time Lord/Lady exists merely to make your day longer, by wasting your time with a pointless story about their adventures, debating the merits of buying a cheaper brand of smokes, looking for that one bottle of pop that will never expire, or simply staring into space while waiting in line.

Next time, bring your TARDIS so I can send you back to Gallifrey.

4. The Real Boss: Anyone who has ever worked in any retail industry has encountered this spawn of Satan. The one customer who seems to know everything there is to know about working at a gas station.

Two approaches are taken by The Real Boss. The first is to pull his best Jim Hughson and provide play-by-play on your every move, "Twist the cap to the left", "No use the other hand to pull the trigger" "Why cant you give me the debit receipt first, then the till receipt."

This tactic is annoying though rarely harmful. The second tactic is far more dangerous, to both you and The Real Boss' mental state. A seemingly minor offence is bottled up until the end of the transaction.

When the time is right, The Real Boss explodes into a furious critique of your performance. "You spilled a drop of gas on my car?! You stupid $%^&%&# idiot! You know, at my job if I mess up on the smallest thing, I get my ass sent to the EI line. The whole @!#@!$@ lot of you should be fired. I mean you stand here, smoke, listen to that devil's music, and you $%$$% up like this all the time. If I was in charge you'd all be...."

You get the general idea. Beware angering The Real Boss.

5. The Not So Pretty Girl: This name should be fairly self explanatory. This girl thinks she looks like Anne Hathaway, when in reality she's closer to Kim Kardashian sans make up. Sadly, she thinks she is in fact Anne Hathaway, and attempts to use her non-existent charm to bribe her way to cheaper smokes or gas.

Sorry hunny, but my mirror in the back disagrees with you.

6. The Change Hound: These disgraces to society, these generally not nice people, are the bane of my existence. Consider this, dear reader. It's 2 a.m. I'm in the middle of taking tank reads, while sorting a Pepsi Order and counting the "dash" (food) items. The Change Hound rolls up, in his fancy leathers and nice cars, then buys two packs of smokes, with nickles and dimes!!!!

So not only do i have to stop doing my more important tasks, but I now have to spend 20 minutes counting the pound and a half of change you just handed me. Seriously, I hate you.

7. Car Physics Specialist: For the record, not all women have this problem, but quite literally every incidence of this problem is from a woman.

It seems now that universities in Canada offer a course in "car spatial physics". At this course, they seem to teach some pretty radical concepts: The gas tank on the car is near the hood latch, parking a mile away from the pumps is feasible, and going backwards is actually going forwards, thus traffic issues are not, in fact, issues.

Tell ya what guys, save the money from car spatial physics and spend it on driver's ed.

8. The A&E Biographer: As though an invisible camera crew follows them every where they go, The A&E biographer feels the need to document every aspect of their annoyingly banal lives.

And of course, once the documenting has been complete, the story must be shared right? And of course, where does the A&E Biographer come to share these stories? M.V of course.

Sometimes, I don't mind hearing an interesting or crazy story. But your entire life story? No.

9. Drunks: Once in a while, I have to work the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift. During this time, about 90% of my business comes from drunks. Drunks come in two varieties. The Friendly Buddy out for a few drinks, not really bothering anyone, and then there is Drunky The Ass Clown. Drunky will either be really angry that I can't break a $100 bill for him, be really angry that the liquor store is closed, or just be angry that his wife left him or something.

Drunks range from entertaining, to depressing, to violent, to coma patients lying on my pad. Point here is that you should probably be at home if you want to drink.

10. Honkers: I can clearly see your car there. I can see you want gas. I can see you coming in. Do you see that I'm helping another car? Or that the clearly posted sign indicates I'm in the washroom?

Do you really feel the need to announce your presence by pretending it's the red mile and giving on your horn like it's the end of world?

And that is the ten most annoying and strange customers of the gas pumper. Thanks for reading!!!!!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1997930 2012-10-29T15:14:08-04:00 2012-12-29T05:12:02-05:00

Ryan Doherty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-doherty/
You drive down the same old highway, looking at the same old signs and the same old stores. Suddenly, a rocket slams into the highway, shattering your normalcy with a sobering dose of reality.

If you live in Israel, this is your daily reality. This year alone, there were over 500 rocket attacks and counting. And this was not "warfare" or attacks targeted against the Israeli military. Schools, Hospitals, Roads, Temples and Movie Theaters are all targets. It's terrorism, in the classic sense of the word.

On October 17th, a rocket slammed into a kindergarten in a small town. Luckily, there was no one in the school at the time. But imagine for a moment this was a school in Sarnia, or Taber, or Abbottsford. Imagine your child was at the school. Imagine getting the call, saying the poor child was a victim.

Five hundred attacks is a huge number. If 500 rockets were fired at Vancouver, or Toronto, what would the news be like? Front Page no doubt. An endless parade of experts, commentators, exposes, media packages. Tel Aviv, a city of almost half a million people, is the subject of dozens of these attacks.

And yet the silence of the media in this war is staggering. I actually had to look up Israeli News sources for the information here. Not a peep is heard from the western news. Why is that?

A big part has to do with the inherent bias of the left wing media. The anti Semitic and anti Zionist crowds love to paint Israel as the villain in the decades-old conflict. It matters not that rockets fired by terrorists kill innocent Israeli children, but when a Palestinian child is run over while trying to blow up a tank, all hell breaks loose. It seems, in the media's eyes, Israel can't defend its people from their enemies, but the enemies may valiantly struggle against the evil Zionists.

And history gives us another reason for silence. The Troubles in Northern Ireland scarred two generations of families. People in that conflict were killed weekly, but besides the occasional spectacular scene of violence, it was rare to see a headline outside of Ireland. The world allowed the killings to become routine, and not worthy of attention.

Is violence ever routine? If you ran the risk of being killed each time you stepped outside the family home, would you call that routine?

For the Israeli people, it has. That nation has been at war, almost since its inception. And even while no conventional wars are fought, there is always the ever present specter of terrorists ready to strike. And yet, to their credit, the Israeli people don't cower in fear. They live their daily lives, on guard, but not in fear. They have placed their trust in the government and the military to protect them. There can be no argument that the IDF is one of, if not the most skilled and capable military forces in the world. Using the skills they have acquired over 40 years of almost unceasing warfare, they have protected the Israeli people from being totally destroyed by people hell bent on seeing that conclusion. The Israeli government remains steadfast in confronting any potential adversaries, and they realize that not even a single mistake can be made.

I remember 9/11. There was a worldwide feeling of coming together to support the healing of a terrible tragedy. Everyone came to help out the Americans as they suffered through to fight back against the enemy.

Where is the coming together for Israel? Is it because we hate them? Is it because we don't care because it happens all the time? Is it because we just don't understand what living under a rocket must be like?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1998198 2012-10-21T17:22:36-04:00 2012-12-21T05:12:01-05:00

Ryan Doherty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-doherty/
Over the last several weeks, the largest beef recall in Canadian history has been underway thanks to a company called XL Foods. According the the data released by Health Canada, the Brooks, Alta. plant of XL Foods was responsible for sending out thousands of pounds of beef contaminated by the E.Coli bacterium. To date, dozens of people in Canada and the U.S have been made sick from eating the beef provided by XL to retailers like Wal-Mart, Loblaws, a few Sobey's locations, and several restaurants and catering companies in both countries. But before we dive into that issue, lets talk some science first.

E. Coli, or Pathogenic Escherichia coli is a common bacteria found in most warm blooded animals, including humans. Most strains of the bacteria are completely harmless, and are actually beneficial in the digestive system. It's a few strands of this bacteria that causes food poisoning and sickness.

Now as a bacteria, E.Coli is not airborne. It's also not a "virus" that "infects" people, as commonly passed off by the media. Its passed on through consumption of contaminated materials, like water or beef. Now how, in a food processing plant like XL Foods, does beef get contaminated? Unsanitary conditions. Trim, blood and entrails all touching and cross contaminating in an area with little quality control. Which brings us to the next issue, XL Foods and the company practices.

In the industry, I can personally tell you that XL Foods has a bad reputation for having cheap and, depending on who you talk to, sub-par-at-best products. And yet it's because of its cheap and fast nature that XL cases are a common sight in fridges and coolers across Canada. XL is responsible for almost 25% of Canada's beef exports, and as a result they have to pump out 2000 to 5000 heads of cattle a day to keep up with demand. For comparison, Centennial Meats, widely regarded as one of the best beef products you can buy, pumps about half of that number from their plants.

There is a lot of work that goes into turning Bessie into tonight's dinner. First the cow has to be slaughtered, then cut, then trimmed, then made into the different cuts of meat, trimmed again, portioned, packed, dated and shipped. The whole process of one cow takes about 5 hours combined with all the work stations. Now imagine you have to do 2000 cows in a day, and you've got eight hours to do it. Chances are, you're gonna have to skimp a bit on cleaning.

Add to the fact you hire a largely immigrant workforce with no training and no English to communicate safety standards to, locking the plant down after 8 hours with no time for clean up, and a management group that cares more about dollars than regulations, and you have this XL Foods mess.

All of this wouldn't have happened though, if not one for one simple fact. Until the recall, XL Foods was not federally inspected.

No, that's not a typo. In Canada, inspection by federal agents is VOLUNTARY. Most good chefs and stores will not buy products that don't have a fed sticker on it, but it's not a requirement. The fact is, to bring a plant up to code is quite expensive. So companies like XL, who depend on quantity and not quality, skirt the standards and pump out sub par and contaminated meat, thus ruining it for the rest of us, and doing massive damage economically to the town of Brooks, who over night went to 50% unemployment.

This has to change. Even as a conservative I agree with the voices calling for tighter regulation. The "voluntary" inspections have to end. In it's place, mandatory inspections, heavy fines, unified safety standards and a properly trained workforce.

Speaking of the workforce more generally, an effort at all levels of government should be made to limit the number of workers in any food processing plant that are not reasonably fluent in English or French, our official languages. If I cant relay proper instructions to you in my language, how can I expect you to follow the rules of the plant? It' s unsafe, it wastes time, and it causes problems like this.

As for the rest of you, if you're concerned for your health while eating beef, here's some advice from Chef Victor Doherty . First, make sure you thoroughly wash your hands with soap and warm water before touching beef. Ensure you scrub down your prep and cooking areas with the same kind of soap and water solution. When you cook your beef, whether by broil or frying or barbeque, ensure that the beef is cooked to at least medium well, with an internal temperature of at least 210c to kill off any bacteria. Also, if you don't intend to use ground beef within 24 hours of buying it, freeze it or throw it out, or it will go bad, 48 hours for steaks.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1960128 2012-10-11T23:41:47-04:00 2012-12-11T05:12:01-05:00

Ryan Doherty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-doherty/ not even a month away from her 16th birthday .

She was a typical girl of her age. She took pictures with her friends out on various adventures. She had a Facebook Account, A Twitter account, and membership with some web-cam chat sites. It turns out she had joined the cam sites to try and meet new folks, something we've all done in one way or another.

In many ways, she wasn't much different from me when I was 15. I remember sitting on the websites in the attempt to branch out from my social awkwardness. I had the good fortune to meet some good people, and many of them are counted among my closest friends. Amanda, for a while, enjoyed that same fortune. Until the tormenters arrived.

Throughout Junior High, I was picked on relentlessly. Being overweight, listing to heavy metal and alternative rock, having an interest in military history and Star Trek and not playing hockey were my offenses to the general public of the school. The sentence? Taunting, cursing, shoves in gym class and a couple of fights.

But for all the pain I had to deal with, I at least knew who my bullies were. Amanda never had that privilage. Whilst on the site, Amanda attracted the attention of a few men. In this haunting video she reveals that one of the "men" contacted her on Facebook, threatening to spread some risque pictures of her, unless she put on a "show" for him. The tormenter had somehow learned Amanda's address, school and the name's of her parents. Fearing for her safety and social standing, she complied. Her pictures were sent out anyway, leading to a visit from the police, a move to another school, and Amanda into her first taste of drugs and alcohol.

I understand her pain. In Grade 8, I was pressured by my tormentors into asking out a crush I had. Not knowing she was in on the joke, I did. She then embarrassed in front of the whole class by not only rejecting me, but going out of her way to point out what a sad, pathetic loser I was and suggesting that her "boys" would put the boots to me for daring to speak to her. With a black eye and a split lip, I had my first mickey of Rum that day. I was 15.

Eventually, I got picked on and beat up so badly it led me to my first suicide attempt a year later. Fortunately, with help from my parents and the fantastic people at Hospice Calgary, and 6 years, I'm proud to say I beat my depression, and I move on with pride.

Amanda will never have that chance. The bullying never stopped for her. She couldn't get help. She couldn't be saved. The threats never stopped for Amanda. The teasing, the torment, the isolation. It proved to be too much for her. And where I chose Vodka and Advil, she chose Paxil and Bleach.

And now, a mother's daughter is dead, because soulless, perverted bastards took advantage of a teen girl looking for friends. She wasn't asking for it. She never did anything wrong. Amanda, like me, was just looking to connect with new people. We never asked to be subjected to torture for wanting friends. We didn't want to be alone. But the cruelness of fate and society decided that we were to be subjected to pain for being different.


Three lessons must be learned:
1) Parents have got to keep a better eye on what their children are doing online. Don't spy, but inquire. Ask what your kids are doing online, and encourage them to be open if they have any issues.

2) Bullying has to stop. It is a travesty in this day and age that children like Amanda, like me, are allowed to be picked on and tormented. Everyone, the parents, the teachers, the police, society, and kids have to get together and say "enough is enough". We all want to be treated with respect, so why can't we just do it?

3) When the man that did this to her is found, and he will be, he should be put to death for stealing Amanda's life. Exploiting a child is the worst crime anyone can commit. It's not just hurting another person, its stealing the innocence of the defenseless. The sick people who do these things do not deserve to breathe the air of this free country.

I wonder what Amanda would be like if things had been different for her. If she had gotten the help she desperately needed, would she still feel bad?

Would she have a been a doctor, or a teacher? Would she have written a book about her life, or talked about her experience with kids? Would she have gone into politics to change the laws to stop people like her from being bullied? Would she have become Officer Todd, helping to put the men like her tormenter behind bars for the rest of her days?

I suppose now, we'll never know. And in every sense of the phrase, It's all a senseless tragedy.

(If you or someone you love is in distress, please visit http://kidshelpphone.ca/ or call 1-800-668-6868 24/7)]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1924671 2012-09-28T21:34:46-04:00 2012-11-28T05:12:01-05:00

Ryan Doherty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-doherty/
First on the docket was this little number . Now in the perfect world, an all gay school, or one that allows the "free expression of homosexuality" would be awesome, a big step forward as they say. But here's the problem with it. It is, for all intents and purposes, segregation. Removing a visible minority from the public high schools, and placing them in their very own school. Sounds good, but isn't that what they did in Little Rock, AK circa the late 50's. If I recall history class, there were riots and national guard deployments over that. And also note the idea of having an "inclusive society" generally implies having everyone working together, not in their own little sectors.

And of course, this isn't the first time our buddies at the TDSB have decided they know the best way to raise your children and create the perfect society. We all remember the brilliant idea to have Afrocentric Schools in Toronto. The idea was savaged. It stank of the Little Rock style of segregation, not counting the problems associated with Afro-Canadian Gangs in high schools.

So 50's style segregation. That's strike one. How about advocating some of the most perverted things I've ever seen for strike two? Also this week, the main site for the board was caught posting a link to a site with sex tips for kids . Am I the only one who seems to have a problem with a website that tells Tweens to give'er on using carrots for pleasure? I mean sure, you can hear the usual voices "it's nothing the kids aren't already doing". But am I also the only one disturbed by the fact that the kids can barely read or write (Toronto area test scores ) but do know the best way to use a carrot in the bedroom and how to clean heroin needles?

Now kinky sex and heroin shooting? That's fine. Playing road hockey with a hardball? Clearly not fine. This little doozy popped up last year. An orange hockey ball to the face hurts, sure. I've had a few hurled my way. But I'm nearly positive most parents would prefer their children doing their best Tie Domi impression to "pleasuring" themselves with carrots and cleaning heroin needles. But, with risk of lawsuits and bad images, I guess sports can be called a bad influence.

So what has the Toronto District School Board taught us today? That Gay and Black students need to be segregated, Tweens should explore themselves in the veggie section at Loblaws, Road Hockey is bad, and with the way the economy is, cleaning heroin needles may be the only future career they have, if you factor in the test scores.

Feel the hatred yet?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1905227 2012-09-21T21:57:45-04:00 2012-11-21T05:12:01-05:00

Ryan Doherty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-doherty/
We hear from both sides. We hear from the commentators, the pundits, the "experts", and the fans who suffer the most from this needless squabble.

But what do we hear from the people who work behind the rink? You see, I'm gainfully employed by the Calgary Flames, who, to their credit, are fighting this round of the lockout. Specifically, I wash dishes for the all the fine diners lucky (and rich) enough to enjoy the fine foods served up at the 'Dome.

From September to May, you can earn a good $10,000 a year from just working the NHL games (Counting NHL, WHL, Concerts and various Catering functions, i pulled in just under $20k). For unskilled labour to support myself through my education, that's not a bad figure at all. And there's some pride to be had from the job, even as a washer of dishes. People ask me all the time, "What do you do for work, Ryan?" When I tell them I work at the 'Dome, you can almost see a glimmer of envy in their eyes.

There's also the ever present question "Well do you ever meet anyone famous?" Oh yes. Rock stars, hockey players, UFC fighters, pro wrestlers and all assorted groups of people who make far more money then I ever will. I've had the pleasure of shaking Ken King's hand, ate lunch with David Moss, and even Prime Minister Harper said "Hello," after I greeted him. The real famous people though are the people I work with everyday, the people who make it all happen for the stars and politicians. Ed the Usher, a veteran of the navy, Old Mike the noble security guard, His boss (and future star of Comedy Central) Rodney, The young kids from concessions, Some 1400-1500 people in all, who are as friendly and familiar as my own family. And not just Canadian hockey fans either. My own crew has 9 people, speaking 8 different languages.

Now our grumbles aside about lousy pay, suspect management, and our dissatisfaction with our team's absolutely dismal hockey playing ability, we all enjoy what we do, and we enjoy the prestige of our position.

But this lockout hurts everyone. Hours are cut, wages are lost, people quit and tempers flair. And for what? So a bunch of millionaires who work half as much as we do (and make 30x as much) can sit and complain that the "league" treats them unfairly. Somehow, the hockey team's woes have become our woes, and now we suffer the loss of income and joy of our work, while they play golf in the Bahamas. Well I'm sorry Mr. Millionaire, but your troubles don't pay my rent and tuition.

To be fair though, this can't all be blamed on the players. You think the owners care? Not when those fat checks keep coming. You'd think as a business owner, you might want to try hard to make sure your workers have, you know, work.

But I suppose that the sound of a $30M bank draft drowns out the cries of a dishwasher trying to make ends meet. And so, I do wish the best for the Calgary Flames & ownership on their trips to warm islands and $100 dollar plated dinners. I hope when it comes time for that plate to get washed, you remember how badly you screwed the dishwashers, security guards, ushers, concessions kids and cleaners back home. And all because you want an extra $20M to play Hockey next year.

Thanks Guys.

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