“Giant penguins roamed what is now Peru more than 40 million years ago, much earlier than scientists thought the flightless birds had spread to warmer climes.

Best known for their formal attire and presence in Antarctica, penguins today live in many islands in the Southern Hemisphere, some even near the equator.

But scientists thought they hadn’t reached warm areas until about 10 million years ago

Now, researchers report in this week’s online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they have found remains of two types of penguin in Peru that date to 40 million years ago. One of them was a 5-foot giant with a long sharp beak.”

read the rest of the article here 

In one of my classes this semester entitled “Conspiracy” my professor taught me a couple of valuable lessons. First off my professor was in his early 70’s, a graduate of MIT and Harvard Medical School, and quite simply the most knowledgeable person on the planet (might be a stretch). Throughout the semester he emphasized the importance of thinking clearly. Thinking clearly, he repeated ad nauseam, was not something we must do when we feel like it, but something we must force ourselves to do all of the time.

On the first day of class he handed out the syllabus and on the last page was the itinerary for our last class period.  It read: The Secret to Happiness.

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1. Will Robots Inherit the Earth?

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2. Will we comprehend supra-human emergence?

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   to schoolofthought … saved by 5 other people … on may 01

3. David Foster Wallace - Commencement Speech at Kenyon University

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   to schoolofthought … saved by 347 other people … on april 17

4. Jacques Derrida - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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   to schoolofthought … saved by 40 other people … on april 11

5. Dan Gilbert on TED Talks

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This invaluable piece of advice is via Zen Habits. Here they are, the Three Secrets to Happiness:

1. Good relationships. We have a human need to be close, to be intimate, with other human beings. Having good, supportive friendships, a strong marriage or close and loving relationships with our family members will make us much more likely to be happy. Action steps: Take time, today, to spend time with your loved ones, to tell them what they mean to you, to listen to them, and develop your relationship with them.
2. Positive thinking. I’m obviously a big proponent of positive thinking as the best way to achieve your goals, but it turns out that it can lead to happiness too. Optimism and self-esteem are some of the best indicators of people who lead happy lives. Happy people feel empowered, in control of their lives, and have a positive outlook on life. Action steps: Make positive thinking a habit. In fact, this should be one of the first habits you develop. Get into the habit of squashing all negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. Instead of “I can’t” think “I can”. It may sound corny, but it has worked for me, every time.
3. Flow. This is a popular concept on the Internet these days — the state we enter when we are completely focused on the work or task before us. We are so immersed in our task that we lose track of time. Having work and leisure that gets you in this state of flow will almost undoubtedly lead to happiness. People find greatest enjoyment not when they’re passively mindless, but when they’re absorbed in a mindful challenge. Action steps: Find work that you’re passionate about. Seriously — this is an extremely important step. Find hobbies that you’re passionate about. Turn off the TV — this is the opposite of flow — and get outside and do something that truly engages you.

This guy saw dave chapelle in a mall in San Francisco and snapped a picture. His skateboard is kind of hidden, its in his right hand. I had no idea he skateboards. Owen Wilson skateboards too, I bought a skate video and it had him talking a bunch of shit/ being hilarious and then actually pulling some pretty crazy shit. I found the video on youtube.

mp3 player.     headphones.