Quick thoughts:

First, happiness it is a physiological phenomenon. What that means is happiness should not be seen as related to money, external goods and objects, cars homes etc. Rather, climate, sunlight, exposure to the sun, I wonder if a lot of these people who experience seasonal affected this disorder is just this bad Modern day phenomenon in which everyone is just stuck indoors, or at home all day.

The problem with working from home

Observing some of my apartment mates, and other people I witness working from home, or just the modern day office worker, the big problem in issue here is that when you work from home, people become strange.

For example, I know one of my apartment maids, spending too much time at home he becomes strangely weird, suspicious, almost like the typical scared person who lives in the suburbs.

Also, just peering into the apartments of others, they spent too much time sedentary, too much time sitting on the couch, on the laptop, long back on the couch on their phone, watching baseball and hockey and football, essentially, watching other people be active.

The panacea

My intervention and idea is very simple: perhaps everyone should just have an iPhone Pro, an iPad Pro, with some sort of 5G connection, preferably Verizon, and everyone should just work off the grid. This means people could just work in the great outdoors, at the local nature center or park, And also I think people should have the courage to do boring zoom calls while going on a hike.

I was at the Baldwin Hills overlook hike path on the top, and actually saw a girl walking her dog and practicing her lines for some sort of actress script. Very good idea.

SAD?

Essentially seasonal effectiveness disorder is a phenomenon in which one is lacking contact with the direct sun and UV rays. The strange bias in two days world is that somehow, we are all afraid of the sun, afraid of getting sunburnt, skin cancer, all these harmful UV rays etc. But I think these concerns are over warranted; certainly you spend 12 hours in the direct sun, in subsea in Africa, totally naked, that is probably not a good idea. The visual I get is the emperor in the Apple TV series foundation, in which he does his funny pilgrimage, in the desert planet, and his body totally becomes all red and toasted.

My practical thoughts; maybe it is better to live a shorter life, get skin cancer or whatever, and be happy during that duration, rather than living a long and miserable life.

Natural vs not natural?

I am still a little bit suspicious of sunblock and sunscreen. Maybe it is good when you spent all day at the beach, but for typical every day activities, maybe not a good idea. I wonder if the downside of sunblock and sunscreen is that it actually positively prevent your body from absorbing positive UV radiation from the sun.

I suppose if one is really really concerned you could just buy one of those funny hiking hats from REI, put on a facemask and totally cover up your whole body.

Skin face?

Another bias between men and women; traditionally in a lot of cultures in the world, especially Asia and Korea, whiteness is perceived as superior. Why? It was a status thing; the poor peasants had to work in the fields, while the royalty were able to stay indoors out of the sun.

In fact, many cultures around the world see the same; in India and south Asia, the elite area Indians on top, more light skinned, and seen as more more good. The darker, untouchables… were seen as bad, evil, base.

If you read the book of man who, the way that he talks about the untouchable; pretty bad. The idea is that they are only permitted to bathe in unclean waters, they could only eat with their left hand, and they are only given rotten food, onions to eat. In ancient Hindu text, and the cast system in India; they are very mercurial about it, no hard feelings.

Aryans are on top, untouchables on bottom.

Back to the sun

Being here in LA, I find that the happiest people are the “beach buns “. What is a beach bomb? Somebody who lives in Malibu, and just spend all day surfing at the beach. Even about a week or two ago, we saw a bunch of students, Undergraduates girls and guys, all at the beach, having a great and jolly time, and all eventually stripping down to their swimwear and running into the water together. It was actually a very beautiful sight.

LA people can be happier

One thing I love about LA is for the most part, the sun is up all year round. I suppose the upside of LA versus Arizona and Nevada is that while LA has a lot of sun, it never gets too hot. Apparently in Arizona and Nevada during the summer months, it is literally untenable to be out in the sun. Therefore you become the more people, staying indoors with air-conditioning.

Why were the ancient Greeks so productive and happy?

I think the ancient Greeks were so productive and happy because their climate was perfect. With a mild Mediterranean weather, it never gets too hot nor too cold. Apparently in the mountainside it could get pretty cold, but never like Minnesota.

If you think about it, all of the barbarian races from the past, the goths, visigoths etc — there are barbarism comes from the fact that they had to deal with such cruel weather. Also think about the Germans, the dramatic tribe; if you have ever spent a winter in Berlin, you will know how miserable it is. That is why the rent is so cheap.

How to live happy in LA

I think Peter Thiel moved down to LA, and actually one of my great gratitude and life was moving to LA, getting into UCLA as an undergraduate. Why?

First, students are just way happier. I still remember when I was maybe a freshman or a sophomore, walking around and down Bruun walk, in the middle of December, and you see all these girls and booty shorts and tank tops and spaghetti strap tank tops.

As a guy, this is great! And also, typically when the sun is out, people are happy and in a good mood.

Why are college students so happy?

My theory on why college students are so happy is that for the most part, most undergraduates don’t own cars, and their lifestyle is 100% pedestrian. Being in university is like a pseudo Utopia; you meet new friends, you hang out, you feel unhurried and unrushed, and you are also not yet corrupted by the external world, no concerns about making money and paying rent, etc.

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HOW TO BECOME HAPPIER

Simple — mostly via negativa:

Quit reddit– I actually wonder if reddit is worse for you than porn. Funny thought — don’t quit porn, quit reddit instead.
Quit alcohol and weed: just drink black coffee — EK 100% fine robusta. Also another pro tip — don’t drink arabica, just drink 100% robusta. Why? Less sugar content and sugar molecules and sweetness flavors — robusta also has more caffeine!
For coffee — only drink it first thing in the morning — a lot; allow yourself unlimited coffee first thing waking up in the morning. But for the rest of the day… strict abstinence.
Don’t go to the club, the mall, the strip club whatever. Just go on a (free) hike and start your own home gym instead! Titan fitness independent squat rack— I love it. Also rogue fitness 400 pound sandbag. Texas power squat bar.
Visit the local museum — LACMA, THE GETTY, GETTY VILLA IN MALBU ETC. The Getty in LA is free!
Read the classics — Plutarch, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Diogenes, Epictetus, Heraclitus, the philosophers who came before Socrates.

Happy exercises and activities

Buy vibram 5 finger shoes, just black. I like the EL-X model. Just make this your everyday shoe. Wear it to the gym, to work, grocery store, go hiking whatever. Theory — there is more intelligence in your (bare) feet than your hands?
Intermittent fasting: no breakfast no lunch, only one insanely massive dinner a night. I prefer 100% carnivore diet — aim for 5 pounds of beef/lamb a night. Costco Kirkland boneless lamb leg roast only $5.50 USD a pound, the new Costco wagyu American ground beef also very good– only $5USD a pound.
Get a Costco membership: buy all your meat, clothes there.
Stop using Google (free service)– also stop using Gmail. Register your own email (like eric@erickim.com) and no more Gmail. Use the Apple Mail client on your phone or laptop. Better yet,,, uninstall email from your phone. Remember once upon a time it was seen as insanely strange to have work email on your personal private phone?
Get paid premium ChatGPT — only $20 a month– I get at least $10,000 USD a month of metaphorical value from it every month!

Finances

Stop buying USD DOLLARS, buy Bitcoin instead. Coinbase.com is easy or the Cash app– owned by Square and Jack Dorsey. Block.xyz as parent company.
For clothes buy lululemon we made too much clothes — maximum quality, minimal price. Men’s shorts. Also this new ten thousand brand seems cool. Surplus sale.
Quit going to the gym, go on hikes or just workout at home instead.
Watch the movie FIGHT CLUB— Tyler Durden — “I don’t have a car!”

Thinking

When in doubt, delay. Obvious decisions are obvious and should habe ZERO ounces of hesitation! For example with life, lifestyle things, finding a place to live and home — or investing speculations etc — you should have .00000 hesitations before doing something.
Quit social media, medium, reddit whatever — publish all your comments, reviews etc to your own personal blog!