As our own peonies are a long, long way from blooming and my wife is incredibly impatient - she went and bought a few from the shop. They don't last too long cut, but these ones started off a midrange pink, turned peach and now are almost a white, as they are coming to the end of their cut-short life in a vase. They are still pretty though, so until the petals are falling, they can keep on evolving.

The Happiest Country in the World!Finland plummets in Unicef child wellbeing rankingThe latest study highlights significant declines in several key indicators, including youth suicide rates, childhood obesity, and academic performance.

Some people are just losers.I might be one of those people.It is hard to tell from inside the frame.Regardless, there is not much I can do about it perhaps and it might just be the way I was born. There are different kinds of losers though, as some are losers because they act like idiots, and some are because they are unlucky in life. I am a bit of both, but skewing toward the unlucky.

When I was young, the advice was to "save 10% of income". though even with that simple rule, most people (including me) failed to do so. And then, most people didn't realise (including me until later) that it was meant to be 10% of gross salary, before taxes. And back then, savings came with a better rate than today - so saving money in a bank now is useless and loses value against inflation.

One of the things that is great on Hive, is how much data there is on an account. One of the things that sucks, is that it isn't very accessible for most people, and is quite laboursome to get. So just like in real life, perceptions, habits, observations and rules of thumbs get used, rather than using all the data available. And also, just like in real life, everyone is an individual and no matter the behaviour, everyone thinks that they have a good reason to be an exception to the rule.

Are you ever envious over what another has? Last night at dinner, most people ordered what apparently they always order for a starter when at this restaurant, a lobster soup. However, I ordered a beef tartar dish and when the woman sitting opposite me found out, she said she might have "portion envy", as no matter how many times she visits this place, she checks the menu, tosses up between the tartar and the shrimp - but always gets the shrimp.