Somewhere in the past couple of years, I jumped the Apple shark. A downward spiral where Steve Jobs has taken my soul and replaced it with one of those free Apple stickers you get in every Apple box.

I’m a month shy of my 40th birthday, its 4:22am back home, and I’m standing in line at the Keystone mall in Indy waiting to buy the new iPhone 4. I’ll let that sentence soak in for a minute, I know I had to.

There are over 1000 people here(there could be more as there was 1000 when I got here an hour ago). I made it inside the mall, one of the lucky ones. They stopped letting people inside the mall about 50 people back of me. So, my best guess is that I’m about number 200 in line. Not bad as I hear people lined up all through the night.

I’m not the oldest, by far, but the average age of the crowd is about 24. I committed to putting in my two hours before the store opens. My one hope now is that the activation servers don’t crash.

Once I get my new iPhone, I will share a video or two. If you got a new one too, hit me up for some FaceTime!

…Update…

Well, after about 7 hours, my old iPhone went dead, so I was unable to give any more updates.  You will see from the picture where I ended up spending 9 hours yesterday.  I did get my phone, as shown by the attached picture. 

All in all, it wasn’t that bad.  The way that I look at it, it was my Apple right of passage.  I have seen the lines in blog posts and read the stories online about rabid Apple fans lining up for days (if not weeks) before the launch of a major Apple release.  I guess that since I had never be able to do that before I felt that I hadn’t earned my Apple street cred.  I have it now, bitches.

It wasn’t without it’s highlights.  I stood behind an older couple and one of the guys that I was standing with shot this video and uploaded it to YouTube before we even knew it.  (He had a new iPhone 4 that he got the day before in the mail, he was buying another for his mother.)  She kept offering us carrots that she with her, by the end of the day, I think they had been dipped in LSD.

So I have my new iPhone 4, and after a good night sleep last night to rest my aching back from standing most of the day, I think it’s great.  The camera is amazing and it’s hella fast compared to my old iPhone.  Never mind that fact that you can probably walk up to the store today and buy one without waiting, that’s fine.  You missed the experience.

I forgot about the band.  My Yellow Rickshaw played before the mall opened.  They also had free snacks, water, and Starbucks for us.

I took a different angle on the TV show “Lost” than most. I had heard for years how great Lost was and heard online of all the discussions as to what the island was (or was not). After a couple of seasons, I ordered the season 1 disks from Blockbuster. I watched the first couple of disks, thought it was great. The next set of disks was backlogged and I eventually lost interest in getting them.

Fast-forward to 2 months ago. Knowing that the show as in it’s last season, I decided to watch the entire series to get caught up before the finale. So, starting in March and through April, about every spare moment of my time was spent watching lost. It took about 6-weeks, but I got all caught up by the end of April. That was about 115 episodes (yes, I watched season 1 again). It was only about 14 hours a week, easily done when you wake up at 5am and can watch 3 episodes before going to work.

The Good & The Bad

The Good – I didn’t have to wait a week to see what was going to happen. I could just fire up the next episode. I think it was much easier to watch it this way. It was simple to track characters, know was recently happened, and reference past events.

The Bad – I was not able to participate in the discussion from week-to-week. I know that much of the fun of Lost has come from plotting out theories, developing story lines and such. I’m sad that I didn’t get to take part in all that for the past 6 years. Much of the fun for the past 6 weeks has been talking to fellow Losties about their theories.

Another “bad” was the fact that watching lost this was is a lot to take in. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of shit going on. I had a couple of weekends that I watched a marathon amount of shows and developed a headache.

So, that, my friends is how I got to be a Lostie. I will be back later with my thoughts on the show itself.

While at a conference this past week, I received a card with the following quote on it.  Take a second to think about it.  I have not been able to get it out of my head since I got it last Thursday.  I have made a printout of it and it’s on my bathroom mirror.

Yesterday, I was flipping channels and stopped on the “Real Housewives of wherever”.  I watched about 15 seconds, thought about this quote, turned it off and fired up Netflix and watched an interesting documentary.

I have thought about my daily routine and have started to look for ways that I can replace useless activities with something better.  Things that feed my mind and soul.  I’ve already replaced the talk radio stations with books on tape.  Read this through and give it some thought for your daily life.  You may just find some opportunity for change.

“This is the beginning of a new day.  God has given me this day to use as I will.  I can waste it or use it for good.  What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that I have traded for it. I want it to be a gain and not a loss; good, not evil.  Success, not failure in order that I shall not regret the price I have paid for it.”

I had the privilege of giving the Martin Luther King presentation at Rotary today.  I was all inspired and thought I would share with everyone.

Martin Luther King & the Rotary 4-Way Test

Click here to access the printout that I handed out. The printout contains a couple of different things.  First, is my favorite line from one of Dr. King’s speeches.  Secondly, the full text of his most famous speech, “I have a Dream”.  I would encourage everyone to re-read this speech today on this, Martin Luther King’s National Day of Service.

Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. King said, “The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others.”

“Service to others.”  Those words should echo louder for Rotarians than anyone else.  Our motto, “Service above Self” places in front of us the belief that we are here to serve the greater good.  We are here to put helping others ahead of our own self gain.  Today, January 18, 2010 we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King’s National Day of Service.  Making this, “NOT A DAY OFF, BUT A DAY ON.”

Every Monday we recite the 4-way test:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Reading that again, I believe that test could have been written by Dr. King himself.

Is it The Truth? – “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’

The phrase was quoted by Dr. King in his famous I Have a Dream speech, as the “creed” of the United States.

Is it FAIR to all concerned? – He spent a lifetime trying to get to the root of fairness on equal rights.  That All men are created equal.  Not just white men.  Fairness and equality is what Dr. King ultimately gave his life for.

Will it build GOODWILL & BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? – (from his Noble Peace Prize Acceptance speech) – “I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. “And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.” I still believe that We Shall overcome!”  From “I have A Dream – I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?  Was there any doubt that what Dr. King preached would be beneficial to all mankind?  Harmony, peace, love, & equality.

In his final speech before his death, this is what Dr. King had to say about what is beneficial to all concerned through his words of peace: ”And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”  He saw what was beneficial to all.  That speech was delivered on April 3rd.

As we spend today celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, let us remember that the same ideals that unite us in Rotary fellowship, were principles that Dr. King spent a life time fighting for.  Ultimately giving his life for on April 4, 1968.

1.    Is it the TRUTH?
2.    Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3.    Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4.    Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Remember, make today a day on, not a day off.  Thank you.

Past-President,
Keith Souza

While cleaning out some old papers this morning, I found a copy of this article by Rick Reilly. Since everyone is busy today putting their new year’s resolutions into place, I thought this article would put it all in perspective.

Here’s a link to it from SI.

Funny You Should Ask

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Tuesday April 13, 1999 10:13 AM

So we were lying on our backs on the grass in the park next to our hamburger wrappers, my 14-year-old son and I, watching the clouds loiter overhead, when he asked me, “Dad, why are we here?”

And this is what I said.

“I’ve thought a lot about it, son, and I don’t think it’s all that complicated. I think maybe we’re here just to teach a kid how to bunt, turn two and eat sunflower seeds without using his hands.

“We’re here to pound the steering wheel and scream as we listen to the game on the radio, 20 minutes after we pulled into the garage. We’re here to look all over, give up and then find the ball in the hole.

“We’re here to watch, at least once, as the pocket collapses around John Elway, and it’s fourth-and-never. Or as the count goes to 3 and 1 on Mark McGwire with bases loaded, and the pitcher begins wishing he’d gone on to med school. Or as a little hole you couldn’t get a skateboard through suddenly opens in front of Jeff Gordon with a lap to go.

“We’re here to wear our favorite sweat-soaked Boston Red Sox cap, torn Slippery Rock sweatshirt and the Converses we lettered in, on a Saturday morning with nowhere we have to go and no one special we have to be.

“We’re here to rake on a jack-high nothin’ hand and have nobody know it but us. Or get in at least one really good brawl, get a nice shiner and end up throwing an arm around the guy who gave it to us.

“We’re here to shoot a six-point elk and finally get the f-stop right, or to tie the perfect fly, make the perfect cast, catch absolutely nothing and still call it a perfect morning.

“We’re here to nail a yield sign with an apple core from half a block away. We’re here to make our dog bite on the same lame fake throw for the gazillionth time. We’re here to win the stuffed bear or go broke trying.

“I don’t think the meaning of life is gnashing our bicuspids over what comes after death but tasting all the tiny moments that come before it. We’re here to be the coach when Wendell, the one whose glasses always fog up, finally makes the only perfect backdoor pass all season. We’re here to be there when our kid has three goals and an assist. And especially when he doesn’t.

“We’re here to see the Great One setting up behind the net, tying some poor goaltender’s neck into a Windsor knot. We’re here to watch the Rocket peer in for the sign, two out, bases loaded, bottom of the career. We’re here to witness Tiger’s lining up the 22-foot double breaker to win and not need his autograph afterward to prove it.

“We’re here to be able to do a one-and-a-half for our grandkids. Or to stand at the top of our favorite double-black on a double-blue morning and overhear those five wonderful words: ‘Highway’s closed. Too much snow.’ We’re here to get the Frisbee to do things that would have caused medieval clergymen to burn us at the stake.

“We’re here to sprint the last 100 yards and soak our shirts and be so tired we have to sit down to pee.

“I don’t think we’re here to make SportsCenter. The really good stuff never does. Like leaving Wrigley at 4:15 on a perfect summer afternoon and walking straight into Murphy’s with half of section 503. Or finding ourselves with a free afternoon, a little red 327 fuel-injected 1962 Corvette convertible and an unopened map of Vermont’s backroads.

“We’re here to get the triple-Dagwood sandwich made, the perfectly frosted malted-beverage mug filled and the football kicked off at the very second your sister begins tying up the phone until Tuesday.

“None of us are going to find ourselves on our deathbeds saying, ‘Dang, I wish I’d spent more time on the Hibbings account.’ We’re going to say, ‘That scar? I got that scar stealing a home run from Consolidated Plumbers!’

“See, grown-ups spend so much time doggedly slaving toward the better car, the perfect house, the big day that will finally make them happy when happy just walked by wearing a bicycle helmet two sizes too big for him. We’re not here to find a way to heaven. The way is heaven. Does that answer your question, son?”

And he said, “Not really, Dad.”

And I said, “No?”

And he said, “No, what I meant is, why are we here when Mom said to pick her up 40 minutes ago?

Issue date: April 12, 1999

Every now and then, I find a useful site on the internet that I feel is worth sharing. Alice.com is one of those sites. I read about Alice from a blog post.

Alice.com is a shopping site. It’s in beta, so that means there may still be some bugs (although I have seen sites in beta for several years). They sell household goods that you use everyday. If you are like the Souza’s, you buy the same brand of trash bags, razor blades, napkins, etc. every time you go to the store. Alice lets you take those items, put them on a virtual shelf then when it’s time to get some more, you drag and drop it to the shopping cart. They ship it out and POOF you have your stuff delivered to the front door via UPS.  Like that little smile you get when the box has an amazon logo on it, your Alice box is black and blue. “Gather around kids, the dish soap just arrived!!”

Coupons
If you like our family, you know coupons are great. Also, if you are like us, you never use them because of the pain-in-the-ass they are to organize and remember to take to the store. Alice solves that by applying your coupons for you. They tell you what items have coupons and if you buy that item, they take the coupon off. Hello, I love idiot proof!

Shipping
All orders from Alice.com include free shipping. How cool is that? I put my first order in yesterday to give this service a try. I got an email a few hours later that my stuff had shipped. Last night I clicked the UPS tracking link and smiled when I saw the origination scan: Indianapolis, IN. The warehouse for Alice is in Indy (I’m sure they have others). That means that any order I put in will be delivered the next day as we are only 90 miles away from Indianapolis. God bless Danville, IL!!! Sure as shooting, the UPS lady was here this morning with my razor blades and trash bags.

Prices
I will be honest, I was a little skeptical when it came to prices. If you are buying online and receive free shipping, it’s got to cost more, right? Much to my surprise, the prices are the same as our local stores. Now, does that mean some items are more? I’m sure they are. But from what I saw, their prices are right in line.

Refer-A-Friend Program
So, you like Alice and you sign up. You have a good experience, like me, and you tell a pal or two. Give them a link from you and you get $10 when they place their first order and 3% of what they spend for the next year. So, with my $60 order yesterday, someone could have made $11.80 off me. So, if you are going to sign up, click the link below and let me get some kickback off you buying toilet paper.

Cool little extras
Budget – There are also some nifty budget screens that allow you to see where your money is going. You can see by month, 3 month, this year what you have spent in what areas.
Shop by room - click on bathroom and pick out the items you need for that room.
Product planner - this allows you to set the frequency to be reminded to order something. You don’t automatically get shipped it and charged, they just give you a “heads-up” that you usually order this every x weeks. (Auto ship is coming soon according to the website.)
Profile/Friends – in true social networking form, they have a community. So, you can share with your friends that Dawn is a better detergent than Palmolive. Comes complete with chat room and all.
Twitter – Alice is on Twitter at: @alice

Bottom Line
You are gonna need toilet paper, you are gonna need razors, all things being equal, I would rather answer the door than go to Wal-Mart to pick these items up. Give them a look-see, if you like it sign up and help pay for my dishwasher soap.

How many times in life have you wished there were two of you? I think that usually people wish this when they have two events to go to, or they are so busy that they can’t get everything done. I was chatting with a friend of mine earlier today and this subject came up. My wish for two of me is an offshoot of being too busy. However, I have clearly defined roles for the two Keiths.

Keith #1
This Keith’s job is to run Souza Financial Group. I love my career, clients and what I do. If I didn’t, I would have let the other Keith take over long ago. Being able to wake up everyday and go to a job that you truly love doing and feel rewarded for doing it, is the best feeling in the world. So, the first Keith gets up, goes to SFG, meets with clients, and does it with a smile.

Keith #2
This one is the “creative” one. This Keith’s job is to write, to create iPhone applications, build killer websites, become a great drummer, did I mention write? One of my biggest frustrations is that I don’t write more. Writing is one of my favorite things to do, but I don’t make more time to do it.

Since the dual-Keith idea is a dream, I will have to change some priorities and move some of the creative side into the forefront. Right now the “business” Keith is about 80% of my life. With a little effort, I am going to work on getting that more balanced. Check back soon…..

WolframAlpha was launched this week. It’s been touted as the possible Google killer. While that is yet to be seen, it is pretty cool. I see it as Google for math geeks, but then again I have only tried it out for about 1/2 hour.

If you type in your birthday, you get all kinds of info about the date. I am officially 38 years 9 months and 29 days old. Or for the more math-happy 2026 weeks, 14182 days or 38.83 years ago. I was born on the 199th day of the 29th week.

Half my life is over

According to WolframAlpha, the life expectancy for a 38 year-old male is 77.54 years. Divided by 2, you get 38.77. Wait a minute. Didn’t I say that I was 38.83 years old? That means that this week marks the halfway point of my life. (In fact, if I do the math, it was yesterday) Wow, that’s depressing. Or is it?

I don’t want to dwell on this for too long. However, we all know that I will.I guess the real question is: What will I do with the remaining 14182 days? Enough for now, this post is about WolframAlpha.

Other Cool Wolfram Stuff

Did you know that my son is 6″ taller than the average 7 year old?
I finally know how much wood could a woodchuck chuck?
If you are vain (and who has not “Googled” themselves?) you get your name rank. (Before you ask, Smith is number 1)
You can compare stocks.
Want all the information about weather you can handle?
And of course, how far is it from Danville to Cleveland?

Wolfram is still in alpha, meaning that it was just launched and there are plenty of bugs. Gotta run, my life is 1/2 over and I got a bunch of crap to do!!!

I am rarely shocked. Here’s why: I work in the stock market, my best friend is Mark, I am an Indians fan (remember the ’97 World Series?), I served on the Danville City Council, and I am Russ Souza’s son. So needless to say, my shock meter is seldom activated. However, it was triggered tonight.

One of my clients stopped in the office and brought her daughter with. I used to work with the daughter at the bank. She told the story of when her mom had first met with me. Her mom asked what she knew about me. She told her that when I was looking for my first car out of college I researched the hell out of it. That is what she remembered about me 16 years ago. I guess that I’m grateful THAT is what she remembers about me. The thinking was that if I was that rigorous then, I would surely take investing with the same great detailed care.

I thought it was funny, so I shared it with my wife. When I told her that I was surprised she remembers me as a “research” guy that would put so much effort into buying a car. Jen started laughing, “Yea, BIG shock there.” I said, “What? I have never put that much effort into car buying.” “Are you kidding me?”, was her reply. “You put hours into every car you have ever bought?” That was when I should have just shut up. I started to plead my case, only to have every point shot down. We came up with the phrase for me: calculated spontaneity.

The thing that ticks me off is that she’s dead on. I AM that guy. That was my shock. I thought I knew myself, guess not. Then tonight I’m sitting here on the sun-porch listening to the Tribe game and reflecting on things. I research almost everything I do to the point of nausea. I never realized that until tonight. Wow, almost 39 years old and I’m still learning about myself. I almost want to go to a dealership tomorrow and trade cars just to show Jen up. If only I hadn’t done so much research on this car….damn, there I go again.

Priorities, sometimes they get screwed up, sometimes they’re in perfect alignment. I have always been a fairly level-headed person (no comments from the peanut gallery). What I mean is that I have always tried to think about the consequences of my actions. Putting into perspective the “bigger picture”. It’s helped me make better choices.

When I was 19-years-old, I went off to SIU. I joined a fraternity, I blew off class, I enjoyed the bar age in Carbondale being 18. Bottom line: I took in all the college experience. After one semester, I was on told that if my grades didn’t improve, I would be booted from the School of Business (SOB). I came back in the spring and picked up where I had left off; Thursday Night Club at the Tap, the weekend begins on Tuesday, FAC (Friday afternoon club), etc, etc, etc. At the end of the year, I got my grades, along with a letter from the SOB telling me that I was officially in the category of “Undeclared Major”, as I had been kicked out of their group. Then I got the letter from SIU that said, “If my grades did not improve in the next semester, I would be asked to leave campus.” Wow, kicked out of my major and put on academic probation, I’m making good choices now.

I will never forget getting that letter. I showed it to my dad and in typical Russ-fashion. He said, “Son, there is no shame in coming back and working at the bank. If you want to be a teller all your life, that is your choice. If you want more than that, you have some work to do.” That’s my dad. No, red-faced, “What the hell is this letter?” No sobbing. Just tell it like it is. The choice I made right there and then is that I didn’t want to be a teller all my life (no offense to career tellers, you are the most important people at any bank).

I went back to school, watched “Where there’s a will, there’s an A.”, got a job on campus, pleaded with the dean to let me back into the SOB (she did), studied, and made the Dean’s list every semester after that. My dad put it in perspective for me with one conversation. I’m forever grateful that my parents always helped me put things in perspective. In a small part, I think that’s what my blog has become. I am amazed at how many of my friends read this and tell me they get something out of it. I’m thankful to all of you.I was approached by three different people last night that told me they enjoy what I write. That tells me to keep writing (no surprise I’m posting the morning after those kind words).

Life gets crazy sometimes. We all have careers, kids, kids activities, houses to maintain, bills to pay. But don’t be afraid to take a step back, and think about things and make some big picture choices for your betterment, down the road. Be it a diet, quitting smoking, ending a bad relationship, or moving forward on a good one (as afraid as you might be). It won’t always work out as planned, and guess what? That’s ok. But you at least gave it a fighting chance by thinking it through and moving forward on what’s important for you.