The deadline is today at 11:59 EST and the link for the giveaway is here.

Europe – The Final Countdown

Brian from Nabee Socks made the following comment on the post Socks:

Have you ever tried compression socks for travelling? They help prevent swelling and discomfort in your feet during long flights. If your interested in a free pair, feel free to e-mail me or check out my website.

I had politely declined his offer especially that I had no plans for traveling too soon but I asked Brian whether he would like to setup a giveaway on my blog. He agreed and here it is:

3 pairs of compression socks for the readers from the U.S. and Canada.

Initially the giveaway was only for the US readers but I asked Canada to be included as well ready to say: “If there is no Canada, there will be no giveaway on my blog!”.

Enough that we pay for the same products more – see Cross-border shopping (a sort of travel) – the discrimination has to stop here .Did you know that Kindle is 89 CAD on amazon.ca and 69 USD on amazon.com and the Canadian dollar is at parity with the United States?! I bought a Kindle from a store and after a while (within 30 days) I returned it to protest against the price discrepancy.

Now a few more details about the Nabee compression socks.

Why compression socks for frequent flyers?

Being confined to your seat over a long flight can cause fluid to accumulate in your legs and feet.  This is because your calf muscles usually act as a pump to help blood circulate back to your heart.  However, when your legs are not moving, fluid begins to pool in your feet.  This can lead to swelling, pain, and even a dangerous type of blood clot called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT).  Compression socks solve this issue by placing pressure at your ankles and slowly releasing this pressure as the socks go up towards your knees.  The added pressure applied to your legs and feet promotes venous blood circulation, preventing all of the aforementioned issues.

What makes Nabee Socks better than other compression socks:

• Larger sock opening without any loss of compression – Makes putting on Nabee Socks easier

• Comfortable toe box – Non-irritating seams and loose toe box to prevent any squishing of toes

• Quality – Our manufacturer is FDA registered and has over 20 years of experience manufacturing medical grade compression garments

• Awesome designs!

The rules for the giveaway are simple:

1. Leave your first name and first letter of your surname as your name in the comment;
2. The city and state where you are when you are writing this comment.

That’s it, no liking on Facebook, tweeting, writing stories, spamming your friends so they would vote on your story, photo, video, audio, etc.

I will use random.org to choose 3 winners and I will send their e-mail addresses to Nabee Socks that will further contact them.

Deadline: April 17, 11:59 EST

And last but not least:

Coupon code:  Get 25% off your order at Nabee Socks if you use the coupon code: LAUNCH  (Expires 4/30/2013)

Disclaimer: I am not benefiting financially from this giveaway or from any sales from the site with or without this coupon.

UPDATE: I have used random.org and the following numbers came up: 94, 8 1nd 51.

Congratulations Matt from Cincinnati, Dan from Valencia, CA and Mike from Santa Barbara. I will send your e-mails to Nabee Socks.

The contest closes on April 8, 2013  and is open to all Canadian residents having reached the legal age of majority in their province or territory of residence who’s residence is within a 75 km radius of the following cities: Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

It seems you just have to fill out a simple form in order to participate.I found out about the contest from Facebook (so Facebook seems to be useful for companies – no wonder they want you to like them or be their friend or install their app – and users as well as I would have not known of this contest).

The message for me was for a Vancouver Canucks team photo (based on my address).

However, I was curios about the other teams, so in the URL http://hockey.aircanada.com/en/canucks?utm_source=aircanadacanucks&utm_medium=facebook&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hockeyteampost I replaced ‘canucks’ with ‘flames’ and I could display the message for Calgary Flames.

Twitter @curbexcitement

I posted my first ‘lessons’ here eUpgrades Go Unused and Lessons from the Giveaway

Back then I was left with 16 eUpgrades, now with more than 150 that I ‘lost’ when the program year started (on the 1st of March).

My last attempts to upgrade readers was not so successful, the upgrade cleared only for 1 reader out of 3.

I think the key for a third party upgrade to work is here (from the Air Canada rules):

“The eligibility criteria that apply to your Top Tier status will be the same for your eUpgrade nominee. For instance, if you are a Super Elite member, your eUpgrade Nominee can be upgraded from the same eligible fares and within the same applicable booking window as permitted by your Super Elite status. Note, however, for upgrade clearance from the reservation waitlist and the airport standby list, the nominee’s own Top Tier status will apply.”

So it does not matter your status in the end but your nominee’s status.

And I think the day of travel matters. The upgrade cleared for an international flight on a Wednesday (less of a competition) and they did not clear for flights on a Friday (lots of competition for the upgrades).

Twitter @curbexcitement

And the Air Canada eUpgrades go to (the initial post is here Air Canada eUpgrades give away):

AugieVancouver

“I have checked with Air Canada and my flight is upgradable. My departure flight is on Jan 18 from Houston to Toronto to Vancouver. It is a one-way flight with no return date. I will need 20 eUpgrades which is 10 for each segment.”

and

Boris

“I have checked with Air Canada and my flight is upgradable. The departure flight is on Jan 30 2013 from Vancouver (YVR) to Calgary (YYC) to Frankfurt (FRA). I would appreciate 17 eUpgrades. Thank you in advance and looking forward hearing back from you soon.”

Edward W I might have eUpgrades for you as well, not so sure yet.

“I have checked with Air Canada and my flight is upgradable. The departure flight is on Jan 26 2013 from San Francisco (SFO) to Vancouver (YVR) to Beijing (PEK). I will need 17 eUpgrades. I will not need eUpgrades for the return flight in Feb, as it’s already booked in executive first. Thank you very much!”

Usually when I see a contest on Facebook I pass especially if I have to write stories. However, we are talking here about 750 round-trip tickets, so the chances are good.

https://www.facebook.com/aircanada/app_318740734900406

So, let’s participate this time, I’ll write a (very) short story and be done with it.

Suggestion for Air Canada: best stories (as chosen by the Air Canada employees, not by the friends of the contestants) to be published in an anniversary book.

Anyway, why do they ask for the phone number? They say to contact the winners. But no, don’t contact them, make them visit the Facebook page and have them contact you in 3 days let’s say. At least they can do this, otherwise it means they are not really interested so why waste time with them. Organize another draw and allocate the remaining spots and so on.

The link for the contest is here

Europe – The Final Countdown

I will use RANDOM.ORG to choose the winner.

Did you know that RANDOM.ORG is a true random number service that generates randomness via atmospheric noise?

The post has 13 comments (around 4 PM PST). The site random.org is down now! I will try later.

The post has 15 comments now (9 PM PST). However, last 3 comments are after the deadline so they will not be taken into consideration.

Comment #11 is from Wei.

Wei, I will contact you.

The story of the book is here  

 How to participate in the contest

1. Read at least 2 stories from here

2. Write in the comments the titles of the stories you read and where you were when you read them. I’ll trust you, if you said you read the stories it means you read them .

3. The flight has to before January 15, 2013 and it must be upgradable (I think all international flights can be upgraded).

4. You must leave your first name as it appears on the Aeroplan card.

5. The deadline is 11 November 11:11 AM PST and the winner will be selected at random and receive 17 Air Canada eUpgrades (it could be even more in the end).

P.S. If you are an Aeroplan member (or you could become one for free) you could still take part in the Fun in Florida contest.

“You could win a trip to sunny Florida at the legendary Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach.” You only need to like them on Facebook and be an Aeroplan member (if you are not you could become one for free).

Initially when I received the e-mail I thought that was another of the Facebook contests that I was going to pass. No, I did not want to write stories, or post photos, or tweet, or convince 3 or 5 of my friends to do this or that or say why I want to go to the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach (no idea what it is, a hotel I suppose).

However, I was curious what they were asking for and I clicked on ‘Enter’. I only had to ‘like’ them. Yes, I can do this! And of course I had to enter the name, email and Aeroplan number (if you are not member, you could become one and participate in the contest too). It was simple and quick, all contests should be like this.

Link for the contest Fun in Florida (100,000 Aeroplan points and a six-night stay at the Eden Roc Renaissane Hotel in Miami Beach)

It is getting very exciting, fewer than 15 minutes to go.

Europe – The Final Countdown

Did you know that RANDOM.ORG is a true random number service that generates randomness via atmospheric noise?

The contest is officially closed. The last comment was at 11:04 PM #155.

And now I press ‘Generate’

17 is the winner

Sorry ‘sam’, you did not comply with the rules: “You must leave your legal given name and first letter of your surname as your name in the comment”

Now the second draw

73 is the winner

Congratulations Nancy!

First alternative winner

Second alternative winner

It is 12:40 am MT. Good Night!