Good morning!

Here's your Saturday 7 roundup!

🚶‍➡️ Who did it first:

New analysis confirms what researchers have long suspected: our earliest known hominin ancestor, S. tchadensis, walked upright 7 million years ago. (r)

The evidence is in the bones. 

S. tchadensis displays distinctive skeletal markers of bipedalism, including a femoral feature found only in hominins.

Here's why it matters: When African forests thinned and fruit became scarce, walking upright became an evolutionary advantage. It allowed early humans to cover greater distances, eventually freeing their hands for tools which unlocked access to a revolutionary food source...one that didn't grow on trees.

Bipedalism wasn't just a new way to move. 

It was the first step to The Human Diet (Chapter 1).

🥩 Who's winning:

After a decade dominated by plant-based ideals, sustainability guilt, and meat alternatives, the cultural tide flipped in 2025.

In an article titled Everything Is Steakhouse Now, the author notes that vegan spots have closed, meat substitutes have lost momentum, and beef has returned.

Her explanation? That steak offers people a temporary feeling of dominance in an unstable world.

Or maybe people are simply rediscovering the foundation of The Human Diet. (Chapter 2) 

It appears even the government is catching on.

This is the new 2025-2030 USDA Dietary food pyramid:

If followed, this will threaten cavities reign as the most common disease in the world.

- Meat at the top

- Health Fats (Meat, Dairy, Eggs)
- Sugary fruits and grains demoted

Wow.
 

😴 What you can't avoid:

Sleep isn’t a luxury. Every animal with a brain sleeps, even though doing so is dangerous and leaves them vulnerable to predators. 

There's a whole secret world of animal sleep:

• Penguins caring for chicks take thousands of 4-second “microsleeps” per day, adding up to a full night’s rest.
• Frigatebirds sleep with half their brain at a time while flying for weeks, keeping one eye open to stay aloft.
• Elephant seals sleep during deep ocean dives, entering slow-wave and REM sleep while drifting below predator zones.

The takeaway: 

Sleep adapts to ecological pressure. Nature finds ways to preserve it even in the most difficult conditions. Sleep isn’t optional, it’s foundational.

P.S.

If you preordered SnoreBuds to improve your sleep, it will be sent out at the end of the month or early February (of course there was a material delay). I'll send the tracking information your way, once it's headed out the door. Thanks again for the order!

💡 How to debog:

There are 3 reasons you get bogged down. 

1. Lack of Clarity
2. Lack of Strategy
3. Lack of Action

Once you can name the bog, you can break free from it.

Most people stay stuck because they mislabel the problem, use the wrong mental model, or wait for permission that never comes.

The new year is a great time to debog. 

🧠 What quote I've been thinking about:

"When life gets tough, some of us feel that we’ve lost the game and life has won. But life isn’t trying to defeat you. Life isn’t even a participant—the game is yours."

– Mo Gawdat, on the game of life

📊 What was the story of the year:

Most people will remember 2025 as the year of AI stocks.

But the real story was the collapse in the value of money and the global shift toward harder money, like gold.

US stocks were up 18% in dollars but measured in gold, they were down 28% (gold ripped 65% in USD terms).

Because money weakened, almost everything rose in dollar terms...except bitcoin. Which seems very odd.

Like gold, bitcoin is scarce and outside the system. Unlike gold, it’s digital, verifiable, and fixed in supply. 

Here are 4 reasons why bitcoin didn't perform.

And here's why Citi analysts see it posting a new all-time highs in 2026.

🎥 What are you going to watch:

The most anticipated movies of 2026.

As always, it's an honor getting to spend some time with you. 

Hope you have a great weekend!

Kevin

P.S.

What do you think is the best decade of life...

Dr. Kevin Stock
Meat Health

SnoreBuds
 

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