Chumdinger

I had a great time in San Diego relaxing, hangin’ with friends, and surfing. If this is what it’s gonna be like traveling and exploring with JetBlue’s All-You-Can-Jet-Pass, then I can’t wait.

Here are some pics from surfing in Del Mar. The waves got better towards the end but it was  a great time nonetheless.

Something happened to Matt Knisely while he was at the Chiropractor.

It started innocent enough. He tweeted this photo with the caption “At the Chiro”:

Let me back up a little. Matt is a talented creative person and multi Emmy award-winner. We’ve gotten to hang out at various gatherings and he’s got a great sense of humor. You should see when he and Nathan Davis (@mediapeople) hang out together.

So when Matt posted the photo, @mediapeople tweeted “@mattknisely is it cool if I photoshop this pic? ”

I responded with “@mediapeople @mattknisely there should be a contest ”

@mediapeople said “@chumdinger @mattknisely its official the Yearly Matt Knisely Dr. Examination Photoshop Contest.”

Then @mediapeople posted the first one: “@mattknisely‘s Toxic Prostate Exam Photoshop Contest. http://twitpic.com/2gi6cp (@benjordan @tpaulding @tehshawn @chumdinger)”

I said “@mediapeople @MattKnisely @benjordan @tpaulding @tehshawn – It needs its own hashtag – #TPEPC”

And then it started taking on a life of its own. Though out today, folks have been posting photos, tagging them with the hashtag #TPEPC. Here are some good ones below. There’s still time to add yours!

Matt, we all love you bro.

—

“For the geeks” by @mediapeople

“Chinese Massage” by @chumdinger

“LOTR” by @benjordan

“Mac” by @chuckscoggins

“Clash of the #TPEPC” by @mattknisely himself

“Return of the #TPEPC” by @mattknisely

“Inception” by @chuckscoggins

“Monroe” by @chumdinger

“Scream” by @dotcomlarry

“BP” by @tpaulding and @chuckscoggins

There are plenty more. Just search for #TPEPC on Twitter.

Tuesday morning, I got a tweet from JetBlue saying they’ve brought back their All You Can Jet Pass for 2010. What?!? 30 days? Unlimited travel? For $699 or $499? For real? Last year, the pass sold out in 2 days. Where do I sign up?

It didn’t take long for me to decide on purchasing this. About 10 minutes actually from my “I’m thinking about it” tweet to my “I just bought it!” tweet. With all the places they fly to in the U.S., Central America, and Caribbean, I was sold. 61 cities in all and 650 flights every day. It didn’t hurt that I have an open schedule from the job transition. Great timing JetBlue!

The funny thing was that I was considering doing a cross country roadtrip. I even planned the route on Google maps, all 9000 miles of it (photo). But that would have been 300 gallons of gas, about a grand in cash. With the AYCJ pass, it’ll be cheaper, faster, and more comfortable. I mean, with leather seats, plenty of legroom, and DirecTV, how could I say no? And I wouldn’t have to spend all that time driving!

Now to decide where to go. On the list so far is Vegas, Austin, Denver, Chicago, NYC, Boston, San Jose (California and Costa Rica) and hopefully several spots in the Caribbean. It’ll be a great opportunity to connect with old friends spread out in various places, and make new ones.

There’s even online community developing from this. Search the hashtag #AYCJ on Twitter and visit the AYCJ Facebook page. There’s already a lot of chatter going on from folks looking for travel ideas to people using this to raise awareness for various issues. These online connections are sure to transition to in-persons meetings since everyone taking part will be flying. It’s another example of social media used to it’s potential.

If you thinking of doing this too, there are some restrictions. It’s pretty manageable if you plan ahead. The pass is valid September 7 though October 6, 2010. Flights have to be booked 3 days before departure. No fee for changing or canceling your flight outside the 3 day window. Within 3 days and it’s $50. No show? It’s a $100 fee. That’s obviously to keep folks from taking more than they can eat from the buffet.

Taxes and fees are included on domestic flights. Taxes and fees not included on international flights. Passes are non-transferable and non-refundable (makes sense to me).

Again, it’s manageable if you just plan ahead. It’s a lot of travel for a little dough. And there are no restrictions on seats. If there’s one available, you can book it.

I think this is one of the best marketing and promotion ideas done by a major airline. JetBlue has the seats open anyway since its low season for flying (they would have most likely have gone unsold). JetBlue get loads of free publicity from the press. And positive word of mouth and loyal customers from all the folks taking advantage of the deal. It’s a win-win-win!

So lets go flying. I want to explore the country. Who’s in with me? Time to me to start planning the travel itinerary.

We’re starting to have the band play out at the end of service cause it encouraging folks to stick around and have fellowship with each other. How many tunes can you pick out? Listen for U2, Journey, and a couple more.

Foundry is keeping me busy. Check out more at http://facebook.com/foundryLA