Well I may as well just tell you how it all went down – I have to admit the checkin process and all that was just fine and standard. Nothing out of the ordinary and we were went through all the necessary security and such and sat in our plane… ready for the greatness to begin.

First thing I have to say is that this was a prop plane, I’m not sure if they are all prop plans in their fleet – but I hate them. Regardless, the legroom didn’t seem any different than any other plane I’ve been on… maybe I’m wrong, or perhaps I don’t fly enough…. but to me it wasn’t a huge deal one way or another.

Bring on the booze! Since we were heading to NFLD around 9:30 at night, it was time to have a drink or two since I wasn’t going to be driving once I got to the rock – so we waited for them to come down the aisle .. ha, this was pretty interesting. So before the stewardess came down for service – a few people went to the bathroom which was at the front of the plane. Since the stewardess worked her way from the front of the plane to the back for beverage service, this one fella was sort of stuck – but was standing in behind her waiting for her to go past his seat so he could sit down… I didn’t catch this, but Liz told me that she turned right around and barked out at him “You’re making me uncomfortable.. could you stand at the front of the plane.”

I think I would have lost it.

Uncomfortable? How about having to piss on an airplane in a bathroom the size of a phone booth and then have everyone stare at you as you come out and everyone thinking.. “hey.. did that guy wash his hands?”.. it’s not like the plane had any sort of entertainment on it, so this guy coming out of the bathroom was definitely getting stared at.. and now the stewardess (whom was not friendly at all) told him to back the ‘f’ up, so now he stands at the front of the plane being stared at again.. embarassing! Yep.. I would have lost it.

Next problem – beer selection.. they only had two brands, both of which I never heard of before (bummer). Wine for me. Two glasses? Not a chance.. they never came around again and certainly didn’t ask if we wanted anything.

The snack(s)? Oh some pretzels or something that sucked as well. Ok, so you get my drift on this post.

The flight itself (pilot) was ok with a little more turbulence than I was used to, but since I hadn’t flew in awhile I couldn’t remember if that was normal or not… perhaps it is going over the ocean like that.

The flight back was pretty much the same – however it should be noted that the flight crew for the trip home STOLE OUR CAB!! Oh ya.. We were pissy, but since we didn’t miss our flight and weren’t really rushed.. it was all good.

So despite all of this – I won’t say Porter is all bad.. after all, you really only remember the bad parts right? To me however, they were just another Air Canada.. except my bags arrived.

The price was ok, but my favorite airline by a landslide is still WestJet.

Firstly, I love the bridge.. absolutely 100% LOVE that construction marvel.. but today as we returned home from a fantastic, fun weekend with my brother, sister and soon to be 3 year-old nephew – we decided to take the

Ferry home as it was just absolutely perfect timing. And I’m glad we did.

We were quite lucky in that we pretty much arrived in Pictou just as the Ferry was leaving – I would have to say that 2 minutes after we drove on – the doors were shut and we were on our way. We were the last ones on just barely making it for the 3pm departure.

The ride across was a smooth one and a lot of great memories came back to when the boat was the only way to on or off PEI. Remember the mad dashes and crazy driving people did to get to the boat on time? Ha.. it was a different story today with GPS and knowing pretty much exactly what time were going to get there – (those things still amaze me).

The staff were very good and as we e

njoyed some fries and an ice cream – I took a couple of iPhone photos and updated my Facebook with the free WiFi on the ride.

As someone whom was a bit tired from the weekend’s festivities it’s safe to say that I was very excited about not having to drive the extra time you save when taking the boat. (I’m starting to think that in about a month I’m going to have to check in to one of those liquor and panic drug treatment centers with the amount of boozing I’m going to do.. George St. Festival in NFLD (with Great Big Sea), and a Boston Red Sox trip the following week… yikes!!).

It cost us nothing since we were going to the Island and not leaving it.. another bonus as we saved the hour of gas as well.

Lots of benefits to the Ferry I think, I sure hope it stays around for awhile.

Thankfully for me, I was offered a free ticket to go – and I decided to take them up on the offer. I am very glad I did.

I had a ticket for the PM taping of the show, and since I really wasn’t in any big panic or rush to get down there – I left the office at 11am to stand in line as requested at 11:30AM. When I got there, the lineup was unbelievable.. I’ve drawn up a little map of where I was in the line when I got there.

Yeah, great map eh? You have to give it to Islanders eh? We don’t crowd the front and all pile in at the same time – nope, we’ll go pretty much single file, one behind the other, until we are almost backed up to the bridge! Actually it was quite nice and the line up moved very quickly once the gates were opened, I must say that they did a great job of organizing this event – it was well run for sure. This doesn’t surprise me however, we’re getting a lot of practice now! Just take a look at some of the major events we’ve had around here in the last little while!

So once we were in, there was a number of sound checks – I got in a bit late so I decided for a bit that I was going to sit in the last row, then decided I’d enjoy it more if I just stood up at the back. I was also by myself so I just did what I wanted.

I was very interested in how they setup the lighting and all the stage and everything. They were quite elevated so I was able to see them no problem from my vantage point. Long story short, I have the shows being taped at home – and I can’t wait to watch them, but to the point of this article.. I have to say this.

Tourism PEI – this was by far the best idea for tourism you could have ever done!

I have a lot of online friends and I was on Twitter a lot to keep me entertained while I was in the lineup.. did you know that Prince Edward Island was the #3 searched term today for a period of time? Google had it ranked as ‘Volcanic’.

I would have to say that you could not hope for a better outcome to these shows. I have no idea what Tourism PEI or any other parties involved paid to get them here, but the feedback and exposure that this has and will bring to the Island is nothing short of phenomenal. One of my friends Carol O’Hanley whom is in the real estate business here in PEI has already told me that she’s received an email from someone whom wants to move to the Island already!

I will also say that I was impressed with both Regis and Kelly’s attitude and graciousness while here on in PEI. Kelly Rippa seems to me to be one of the nicest, down to earth, best personality type of people that I’ve seen. It’s no wonder the two of them are so popular and make the great shows that they do, they have such a great banter between the two of them. Regis is Regis.. there is only one of them, he’s loud, opinionated, and hilarious.. I find it so funny that he’s trying all this seafood (which he hates) as I can definitely relate but he’s being very good about it.

The two of them are exposing Prince Edward Island for what it actually is. One hell of a place to visit, but an even better place to live. I can truly say that I am very proud and feel fortunate to be living in PEI – and today just reminded me of how lucky I am to be doing so.

1. The first and most important reason that I decided to blog is to help people around PEI. There are a number of great bloggers out there such as Peter Rukavina for example, and he’s a great blogger however usually just posts about his day to day occurrences and things of that nature. Very entertaining, but for the most part not very helpful. I wanted to help people, I take great joy in getting messages saying “Thanks to you I got this item for this price and it saved me a bundle.. thanks!”.. I get them all the time. That’s one reason why I blog, there are a number of others.

2. To put into writing something that’s going on which I have an opinion on.. such as the downtown residents post that I made yesterday. I feel the need to voice my opinion sometimes  a lot of times and I like to start lively discussions on topics that are on peoples minds. Especially when it comes to local issues and things that are in the news.

3. To help me remember! This is a reason that people likely won’t understand as well as the prior two, but I have a really bad short-term memory and forget things all the time. When I write them down (and use my trusty Google Calendar) – I find that I remember better. Hey, anything helps right?

4. This isn’t a big reason, but I also make a bit of money. Not a lot, but occasionally you’ll see links to different sites around in my posts (some of which you have to ask yourself .. “why did he just write that?”, well.. it’s due to advertising that I’m putting out there and getting paid to do so.. it helps cover the costs of webhosting, etc.

5. To engage in feedback and conversations from others. I’d say this is another big reason for me.. if I’m wondering about something or am looking for information on a topic – I’ll blog about it and a lot of the times a reader will respond with a great idea! This just happened with regards to my UPS post and now I’m going to likely save some money the next time something gets sent UPS.

Those are some of the reasons, but I guess I just like to do it.. it’s nice to know people enjoy reading the posts and get a kick out of other things. I originally had a lot of stock market information and investing information and I’ll still likely post some of that as time goes on, why not eh? It’s my blog.. I can do what I want

Thanks for reading.

Len

When we moved to the Island back in 1991, my Mom did get a family doctor in town (I’m not going to start naming names or anything) – and I’m sure there is some sort of record there for me, but certainly nothing recent.

I should also know that I am lucky enough to have the best nurse that’s ever been created in my mother. So if I’ve ever been sick, needed something, had to go to the emergency room – my Mom has always been there as my #1 consultant on all things health. This, I find is an absolute privilege which I must admit I take for granted.

Lately however, I’ve decided that I need a doctor to consult, the sad part is that I have no idea how to go about getting one. I’m sure there are waiting lists and all that fun stuff – or is there? Again, I have no idea!!

Little things that I’d like to get checked up like an allergy test (which I’ve never had done). Every Summer on the golf course I get a serious case of the itches and if I’m wearing shorts and head into the rough (this happens more than one may realize), I come out with itchy red spots on my legs – hay fever maybe? Who can say for sure if I don’t get a bloody test!

I think I also need some sort of eczema treatment on my hands but again – finding out would be nice.

In fact, after watching “Super Size Me” and noticing what they were able to tell him about his blood results (like cholesterol levels, etc), I think that’s something that I would like to have done as well!

Ok – so if you have ANY SUGGESTIONS or anything, please let me know. I’d love to have this dealt with sooner than later…

Oh, I should also mention that I feel that I’m absolutely find and get lots of exercise with no problems related to health at all (other than maybe I don’t remember much after a long night of drinking.. but you know how that goes..)

I’ve written before about how bad Islanders are at driving.. and generally it’s when I’m on my way home for lunch every day. I’ve decided that once I get a little mini-HD camera, I’m going to mount it to my dash every day and just record my daily commute home. I swear to you there isn’t a day go by that someone doesn’t do something stupid.

Ok, back to my tip for the day.. and it’s not the first time I’ve heard about this tip either, but I seem to go back to my old ways for some reason which I will try to avoid in the future.

My car has horrible blind spots, or at least I think it does. Let me ask you.. how do you line up your rear view mirrors? Obviously the one in the middle of the windshield is going to be facing straight back (and not checking to see if your adult acne treatment is working while you’re driving) – but your two door mirrors, are you like me and adjust them so that you can see a little bit of my own car, and the rest is ‘hope for the best’?

Well, what Car and Driver suggests is that you take that you move those mirrors outside their ‘normal’ range and put them just outside the range of your rear view mirror. This will basically extend the range that you can see, and in most cases, eliminate your blind side.

Here is the article from Car & Driver:

For the past few years, various carmakers have been offering blind-spot detection systems for their cars’ side mirrors. Often complex, these systems employ cameras or radar to scan the adjoining lanes for vehicles that may have disappeared from view.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper in 1995 suggesting how outside mirrors could be adjusted to eliminate blind spots. The paper advocates adjusting the mirrors so far outward that the viewing angle of the side mirrors just overlaps that of the cabin’s rearview mirror. This can be disorienting for drivers used to seeing the flanks of their own car in the side mirrors. But when correctly positioned, the mirrors negate a car’s blind spots. This obviates the need to glance over your shoulder to safely change lanes as well as the need for an expensive blind-spot warning system.

The only problem is getting used to the SAE-recommended mirror positions. The cabin’s rearview mirror is used to keep an eye on what is coming up from behind, while the outside mirrors reflect the area outside the view of the inside rearview mirror.

Those who have switched to the SAE’s approach swear by it, however, some drivers can’t adjust to not using the outside mirrors to see directly behind the car and miss being able to see their own car in the side mirrors. To them we say, “Have fun filling out those accident reports.”

Anyone want a Guardian?

I love google street view..unfortunately I’m trying to figure out what time they drove by my house cuz I only see my roommates car in the driveway and not mine or Liz’s! Oh well,  looks like it was REALLY nice out that day, so it’s good to see all the flowers and everything in full bloom Have I mentioned that I miss summer a lot??

Home Sweet Home

Happy Tuesday people.. say a little prayer for my pup this morning whom is going through Surgery #2 in less than a month to repair his other knee.

]]> http://www.lencurrie.com/2010/02/new-google-street-view-for-pei-time-waster-to-the-extreme/feed/ http://www.lencurrie.com/2010/01/wondering-what-to-do-now-that-cells-are-banned-while-driving/ http://www.lencurrie.com/2010/01/wondering-what-to-do-now-that-cells-are-banned-while-driving/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:18:10 +0000 lencurrie http://www.lencurrie.com/?p=2205 Is everyone in a big panic yet?? Especially all of you teenage girls who can’t go 4 feet without texting or checking your phone for some important message that you’ll forget about in 2 seconds? Ha.. ok.. a bit of a rant there.. I apologize to all you teenage girls who can’t go 4 feet without texting or checking your phone for some important message that you’ll forget about in 2 seconds.

Seriously though, this is a GREAT new law that they’re putting in – but does anyone realize how difficult it is to enforce? It’d be next to impossible I think, but then I don’t know what kind of training or anything like that goes into it. So I’ll do what I hope everyone does.. either not use the cell phone in the car, or find a way to do it hands free!

Which brings me to the point of this blog post. I’ve been using hands-free in my car for quite some time, but it isn’t done via Bluetooth nor do I have a fancy ear piece.

What I do, and it works great – is use my AUX port for my audio, and simply use the speaker-phone mode on my blackberry when I’m talking. This way, I get to hear them just like bluetooth – right through my speakers in my car – and they get to hear my fine from the speaker-phone.

This will also work if you had a tape deck in your car and had one of those old tape deck to headphone jack adapters which I used to use to hook up my mp3 player to the old ‘beater’ I drove the last two winters.

So that’s what I do – but I would highly, highly recommend using Bluetooth. It really is a great little technology and you can usually pick up a nice adapter for under $50 on sale somewhere.

The other item which is also banned is programming your GPS while you’re driving. Am I the only one whom thinks this goes without saying?? Don’t they realize how long it would take to punch in some destination while you’re driving along the highway or city streets of a strange city? Holy Dangerous!! Although I did just see on Buy.com’s site that they have a Garmin nüvi 255W Automobile Navigator on sale and it features text-to-speech technology and has some pretty good reviews.

I really get a kick out of the people who live in Charlottetown, generally do no travelling at all, and use a GPS system in their car.. HA HA HA.. getting lost in the big city of Charlottetown are ya?

But yesterday my 2nd favorite browser (behind Google’s Chrome) released their latest update – Firefox 3.6 – which ads some new features and enhancements to an otherwise really awesome browser.

On their download page – seen by likely millions of people – is the wiki page for Prince Edward Island for ALL to see while they download it! How great is that?? But why PEI?

Well, turns out that the great little web development company in Charlottetown called ‘Silverorange‘ has Mozilla as one of their clients and they decided to put it on their page… very, very, cool.

Congrats to Silverorange on all their successes, and now for sharing it with the rest of PEI.

Check out this story from CBC PEI:

Man gets DUI charge with hamburger

A Charlottetown man went through a local fast food drive-thru to buy a hamburger, and also ended up with a drunk driving charge.

The incident happened around 11 p.m. Tuesday at a drive-thru on University Avenue. He picked up his order and staff immediately called police to report they suspected he had been drinking.

The 21-year-old was arrested soon after and charged with impaired driving.

“It is quite a regular occurrence with drive-thrus,” said Charlottetown police Sgt. Tom Clow.

“The drive-thrus are very helpful in giving us a call if they think somebody is impaired, or if they are actually drinking or have open liquor in the vehicle they’ll also give us a call, and we greatly appreciate that.”

Clow said the case should serve as a warning to people who are considering drinking and driving.