Ok. so I'm on a bit of an uploading spree and decided to upload a video of my two favorite dogs, Gunny (bulldog) and Pearl (pug), taking a midday nap in San Diego, California.

Best. Dogs. Ever.

Today, I joined the user content created video world and uploaded a few videos that I shot with my Treo 650 to YouTube.

This is USC's own Reggie Bush running his 40 yard dash at USC's Pro Day last year.



Yes, this Reggie Bush.



This second video is of USC's LenDale White working out for NFL scouts on the bench press. LenDale was injured that day and was limited in the different drills he could perform for scouts.



But you put them together, and you get this!



Oh nostalgia...

ABC.com to go HD

This summer, ABC is going to start streaming its most popular shows - Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and Ugly Betty - in high definition online. I remember when I first started watching TV shows online. The first series that I watched in its entirety was Commander in Chief - the show where Geena Davis is the President of the United States. Filled with advertisements, yet totally worth watching (I still remember the advertisements for Apocalypto that were so insanely loud that they ruined the drama of whatever show I was watching, this signaled a new beginning to me of how people were going to watch TV in the future.

Now we have something like Joost, still in beta, but making waves throughout the industry. I probably watched about 8 episodes of MTV's Laguna Beach via Joost on a wireless connection that couldn't have been pulling more than 150 KB/s (thanks to you bastards who jump on our wireless connection and put in weird addresses on MapQuest...don't think we don't see those), in a higher resolution and better quality than I would have gotten through a non-HD feed via my overpriced, monopoly cable company provider Time Warner!

Television is on its way to becoming this on demand-only world and networks are realizing that more and more viewers are like me and have their computer monitor and television in the same unit, allowing them to broadcast in HD and have it be totally worthwhile to the consumer.

Kristin Cavalleri presented in Joost near-HD? Best. Bandwidth. Ever.

Blogging for Publicity

CBS recently invited some prominent bloggers to the set of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" to generate some buzz for its TV show.

One day, I'd love to get to that point, but I have to get more focused!

On a side note, I'll be going to the American Idol Finale next week and will hopefully have some great pics from the afterparty!

So I'm trying out a new service called "The Newsroom," which allows me to legally embed clips from CBS news and other websites onto my site for people to stream and view. Hopefully, it's pretty cool and I'm giving it a trial run on the site this week with some different stories that I think sound interesting.

We'll take the service for its maiden voyage with the recently controversial Katie Couric's Notebook on 2008 Presidential candidate Barack Obama. What I find interesting about the whole Couric-gate is that a member of the CBS News staff basically plagiarized another writer's piece for Katie Couric's notebook segment on the CBS Evening News, something that will get you expelled from college, and apparently, fired from your job. Even though I clearly have no concept of how busy Couric's life is, it was a little disappointing to me that this happened and that Couric allegedly had no knowledge of it going on. I have always wanted to trust newscasters and believe that they were involved with the writing of the news, but when you don't even create original thoughts for your own "notebook," it makes me feel as if our biggest mainstream television anchors today are merely personalities, rather than journalists who create their own stories and provide their own opinions.

As CBS struggles in the evening news rankings (ranking third behind ABC's Charles Gibson and NBC's Brian Williams) and hopes to gain and hold onto viewers with a more news focused broadcast, this scandal did nothing to help CBS and justify its signing of the top draft pick signing in the history of the evening news. CBS's drop in ratings, which are even lower than when the quintessential grandpa (but very charming) Bob Schieffer was the interim anchor, must be tough for the network to swallow, but I cannot even imagine anyone at CBS News that would be willing to admit defeat, nor admit a mistake after the fanfare that accompanied Couric when joined CBS. I was and am a huge Katie Couric fan, but until they can figure out an identity for her and the program, the network evening news industry, which I hear has a median viewer age of 60, will continue to scrutinize her signing. Right now, Couric's stint with CBS can be comparable to Randy Moss' run in Oakland. A lot of hype, but not a lot of results. Let's hope that both Couric and Moss can turn it on in this second leg of their careers.

Joost is sweet.

Created by the guys who made Skype, Joost is a program and online community that allows you to use your computer and an internet connection in what is truly a near marriage of TV and Internet. You watch programs on demand that look just as good as they would on your TV over broadcast airwaves (except for if your monitor is hooked into your computer via an old school VGA cable, like mine).

If you have some time on your hands, you should definitely check it out. It's invite only, but you should be able to find one on eBay for $.99 no problem. I cannot say that I am not watching episodes of Laguna Beach via Joost and falling more and more in love with Lauren Conrad with every passing "like" filled (i.e. "omg, like that was like so not like cool, y'know? Like he should like totally know better") episode. A full season of something I wanted to see anyways and just for $.99!

Eventually, TV will transform into some form of something similar to Joost. I feel like me using it now will slow down the inevitable of me getting old and having no idea what people think is cool.

Welcome to life after graduation.

No homework. No long term projects. No more waking up with text books and journal articles on my face and highlighter all over my bed.

I woke up today and cruised Facebook for a bit and started to come to grips with the reality that I am no longer a student. Finally, a year late, I'm officially done with school and a part of the "real world." While I have been working full-time for the past two years or so, I've been a student for the entire time as well. And now finally, I'm home on a weekend and just don't have anything school-related that is pressing to do. Undergrad was such a whirlwind of just being busy and grad school wasn't that much easier because I was working a lot more, but now I'm just a regular guy who works and comes home everyday.

I can't say that I have a ton of reading to do, nor papers to write. I don't have to rush back to campus for group meetings. And yes, my car is stolen, but suddenly it doesn't matter that my USC parking pass got stolen as well. And even though this is what I've wanted since the day the 2006-2007 school year started, there are definitely things that I'll miss about my disgruntled existence in grad school. It was so much fun to make class fun and to meet fun people to joke around with during class. I can't say that I didn't love being incredibly nonchalant in all of my classes, but yet still finding "academic success" through my grades. Inevitably, as the past year and even past few months have shown, you lose people along the way. You lose people in undergrad and there's no doubt that I'll be losing people from grad as well. Sometimes it's people you expect, sometimes it's the people you least expect.

I shed no tears, had no overwhelming sense of pride or joy as I walked across the stage two times to claim both my faux degrees (real degrees come in 4-6 weeks). It was just another motion to go through in life for me, which is perhaps sad and a little too mature for a day when people are supposed to be jumping for joy or out getting wasted before and after the ceremony. My joy came from just seeing people come out to celebrate with me after my graduation. From family, to my San Diego family, to friends who came in from other cities, states, and people who took time off work that normally really shouldn't, that was what mattered to me.

A part of me is really sad that I didn't graduate last year with my Freshman class. I missed not having that feeling of togetherness and celebration with tons of people that I knew on Friday, as the number of people that I knew from grad school was a fraction of the people I knew graduating in 2006 (not that the relationships I formed during graduate school aren't valuable, because they are, but there's something about the bond of having classes with people for four years that changes things). It would have meant more, despite the fact that I would have just had to do it again the year after. I wish I had walked with my class, but clearly that's an impossibility at this point.

To everyone who came out, thank you so much. I appreciate your presents and all the unexpected gifts! Many of you will technically be a part owner of my next car, as that's where all my money is going to lately.

So overall, graduated, but not changed.

This weekend was great. Busy, but great. Today, I'm cleansing my room of academia and doing some reading for fun, something I've been looking forward to doing since forever. Saw Blades of Glory last night, which definitely had its moments (I got distracted by Jenna Fischer for too much of the movie).

Distracting in a good way.

What am I going to do with all this newfound freedom? Hopefully I'll at least be able to start with a clean room.

Results of American Idol Insider Blog Limerick Top 10

Check out #2 and #5! I didn't win, but I got a shout out.

Heading out to Orange County to have dinner with my favorite little sister in the world today! It's going to take me about 2 hours to get there in traffic, but I'm sure it will be totally worth it.

American Idol Insider Blog - Limerick Edition

One of my posts on the blog started a flurry of posts over at the official American Idol Insider Blog courtesy of official Idol blogger MarnieSl. Check it out! Some of them are pretty funny!

For some context as to how big Idol has become, despite people saying that its popularity is dwindling check out this article on Idol's website hits compared to other television-based Internet sites. Could it actually be the most important show in television history?

Might be a stretch, but some think so.

With the potential of a new car comes the potential need for a new job.

I may have finished school today and have now completed my Bachelor's and Master's degrees, but that doesn't mean that I won't end up back to my roots - food service.

Tonight, I applied for weekend positions at AMC as a Box Office Cashier and Apple as a retail store cashier. With my student loans and other life expenses, unfortunately, there is just no way I would be able to survive on what I'm making at my current job while making payments on a new car. So for now, Master's Degree and all, I'm probably heading back to retail, cashiering, or even food to try and make some extra cash on Friday nights and Saturday mornings apart from my 50 hour week at work.

Other places I'm thinking of applying? Nordstrom, In-n-Out, McDonald's, Pacific Sunwear, and yes, even Tito's Tacos. I would love to work on my Spanish working there! I think they want people who work more hours, but I'd love to give it a shot!

Such is life, right? More like, such is life when your car gets stolen. If I end up at the McDonald's Drive-Thru, don't give me a hard time.

Diet Coke and Mentos Video on YouTube


I hadn't seen this until today, but now I know what I'm doing this weekend.

Yesterday afternoon, I took a Scion xA out for a test drive around the mean streets of Culver City. I told the salesperson (Rommel) that I was not looking to buy that day because before I can make any moves, I have to make sure I get a check from insurance! He was totally cool with it and really lived up to the upfront pricing, no haggling service that Scion advertises. We drove around and talked about his job, differences he's had working at Toyota versus Scion, and things of that nature. Luckily, because of my experience working with CarsDirect, I can talk the talk pretty well when it comes to speaking with people from the autos industry.

Completely fell in love with the car! If I get a decent enough check from insurance, I'll definitely be looking to pick one up. $14,600 brand new with a Pioneer sound system and iPod connection! What's funny is that a brand new 2006 is actually cheaper than a used 2004 that I saw on the lot (likely had more features that I don't really need). The car was really comfortable to drive, loved the seats and its semi-sluggish acceleration. Big fan of the size and just overall feel of the car (and it has 4 doors! Cool!

I found this on Google Image Search. Heading was "Ugliest vehicle CURRENTLY available?"

And soon, it could be mine! At this point, I'm just hoping my car doesn't return so I can pick up one of these little aliens.

Going to test drive a MINI later today just for fun as well. I know I'm going to love it. I just know I won't be able to afford it.

On another note, I'll be taking my last test of my academic "career" tomorrow!

I am realizing that there is a small chance that my car might be recovered and not declared a total loss. This thought frightens me.

If your car was stolen, only to be found later missing about 50% of its parts, would you want to keep it?

Right now, I'm thinking about a Scion Xa. Seems like less people would steal that.

Would love a Honda Fit, but don't think I could afford it. Arlene tells me the VW Rabbit is for girls and that's definitely not me...despite what the variety of skin care products in my bathroom would say.

I love the Hondas (it's in my blood, as an Asian), but I don't know if I could handle another one getting stolen.

I'm realizing that I'm about to experience my first week without being in school or having pending school in about 19 years and I will be driving a rental waiting for my car to be reported as a total loss.

It's really depressing.

Two months ago, I started saving for a "new car down payment" in my ING Direct savings account. I have $175.69 so far. Who knew I would have to use it so soon?

On a positive note, I just set up my bench press in my room last night (for which I was saving for almost a year). It's pretty much the only thing keeping me sane today. It was really hard to set up with a socket wrench, but I'm happy I did it. The walls not being broken and the doors not being slammed to the point where I cause visible damage are likely also grateful.

So I just walked down to my local Enterprise Rent-a-Car (choosing not to have them pick me up like they say in the commercial because I thought it would be more expensive for some reason) and picked up a sweet 2006 Kia Spectra to drive while my car is being violated and in "stolen" purgatory.

Ladies, ladies, please try and keep your hands off me in my super effeminate Baby Blue 2006 Spectra! Please try and contain yourselves, I know it's hard!

Why did I choose the Baby Blue Spectra out of the wide variety of cars at the rental car location? The Chevy Cobalt didn't have power locks or windows (first choice). The Hyundai Elantra didn't have a CD player (second choice). The Ford Focus didn't have keys (third choice, keys were lost, which I could foresee being a problem for the location down the road). Leading me to the beautiful, body damaged and significantly scraped up, Kia Spectra. It has a CD player. It has a weird smell. And it's all mine for at least 15 days. I couldn't see myself forking out $40/month extra even with insurance just to drive a Dodge Avenger (not hating if you drive that car).

I used to make ridiculous turns in my Civic because I knew the dimensions so well. For the next 15-30 days, I will be driving like an old lady. What's worse is that I'm Asian. This is going to be a mess... maybe I should have got that extra insurance...

Viva La (and yes, it's feminine) Spectra!

Since I don't have a car anymore and am stranded, I figure this is as good a time as any to post something happy - my website hits since I've launched! :)

Dec 2006: 109 (most of them were me making sure the site worked)
Jan 2007: 360
Feb 2007: 283
Mar 2007: 484
Apr 2007: 1,065

So other than February, where I didn't post nearly as much as I should have, DaveChung.com is alive and well! Hopefully everyone can come along for the ride in May and beyond! No doubt this month will start out with my graduation, then we can all experience the joys of me trying to get a car after my car is finally declared a loss.

As always, thanks to everyone who checks in! It means a lot to me!

Goodbye car! You had a wonderful life, but now you are stolen.

At some point last night/this morning, my car was stolen. I'm pretty bummed about it. Not having a car in California is definitely a huge downer. I'm sure my car was taken for a joyride out and about town for a bit before it has now likely been chopped up into thousands of pieces and spread out around the globe. I hope that whoever stole my car enjoyed it as much as I did. If they didn't turn off the CD player, they were jamming out to my new Ne-Yo CD. Chances are they're using that same CD right now to seduce women while the rest of my car is chopped up so some Asian can plop my 1.8L motor with about 40k on the ticker into his 1981 Civic hatchback or CRX so that he can be 2Fast2Furious.

I used to hate Honda Civics, but I learned to love mine! It always started (except for when the battery cable came off every now and then). He always made it back and forth wherever I needed to be and I took care of him to thank him for that. I always had spare light bulbs, windshield wipers, and even had wheel locks on the car so that his shoes wouldn't be taken! The stock CD player gave me many a great day jamming out in the car and I always kept the interior clean (sometimes messy, but clean). And while he did emit a fart smell through the vents after I hit the wiper fluid button, that was pretty much the only downside!

Many a trip to visit my grandma and trips to San Diego were done with that car and it is sad that I will likely never see him again. I would leave him for months on end when I went on trips for the summer happily garaged in Fullerton. Everytime I came back, he was still happy to see me and greeted me with a joyous starting on his 1.8L underperforming engine. If I do see him ever again, I'm sure that it will likely have a swear word spray painted on him, along with urine and poop stains all over the seats, in which case, I'd rather not see it again.

It's funny how just when things seem to be going well (for me: new job, double graduating, finally not poor), things seem to blow up in peoples' faces. I wonder if it's really "the story of my life," or if this is just how it appears every time something unexpectedly bad happens because all of us say it! Now I'm going to be strapped with car payments for the next few years all because someone decided that they wanted to steal my car. Sweet!

Apart from the car itself, which totally blows, I lost a lot of other good stuff!
- GPS (Only used it 4 times!)
- Sharper Image Air Purifier
- Tons of new, packaged car parts that were excited to be used
- Stuffed lobster
- Bowzer beanbag
- About 100 burned CDs
- Bluetooth headset
- Two pairs of glasses + sunglasses

And I'm sure a whole lot more. I don't even want to think about what other good stuff was in there.

Goodbye car, you'll be missed and your clean exterior and interior will likely be replaced by an absolute beater.

RIP 2000 Honda Civic EX (2004 - 2007 with me). May your chopped up body parts cause every other car that uses them to experience spontaneous combustion on the freeway.

Google is now the world's most valuable brand

When I was interviewing for a few different positions with Google, I couldn't have been more excited. When I flew up to Mountain View, California to endure a five hour interview with various members of their recruiting team, it was an overall great experience. I was so set on working in the sports industry when I started college, but ended up turning down a full-time position with the USC Football team. While all this Googleviewing was going on, I also had the opportunity to drop out of grad school to pursue a position with the Atlanta Braves. However, Google seemed like it was as cool, if not cooler than all of them.

Why? I don't know. Maybe it was the way peoples' eyes lit up when I said "I'm interviewing with Google." Maybe it was the fact that everyone knows what Google is, was, and is en route to becoming. People say that every great empire eventually falls, but I just think it's amazing that they've become an empire over the course of what, a decade? People say it can't last, but when you're attracting and maintaining top talent because "everyone wants to work for Google," you have a great shot, even when the world is against you and your "do no evil" ways. It's really incredible to see! And they have free Naked Juice in their coolers! (I drank four while I was there...didn't get the job, but at least I got some good free drinks)

Now, I'm here. About ten days away from graduation, after about ten serious considerations of dropping out of grad school (under the guise of a 3.8 GPA), and I'm happy to be here. Google or no Google.

My favorite song of the moment: Ne-Yo's Because of You

Ne-Yo's new CD drops today! May 1st, 2007. Even though I won't have time to listen to it until Wednesday, I'm as excited about it as I have been about any CD that's come out lately (but yet, I still manage to buy so many...)

These are the states that I've been to and eaten a meal/slept for a leisurely night in. This does not include just driving through en route to somewhere else.


create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide

The bottom and the middle could use some work.