Teddy Roosevelt is credited with coining the phrase “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Most people know this to be true. I remember one Christmas my parents got me a GameBoy Pocket, with one game cartridge. It was exactly what I wanted. I played it all morning, and I was so excited about it I later brought it to my cousin’s house to show them. But when I got there I saw my cousin’s gift: a GameBoy Color, with four game cartridges. And suddenly, my little black-and-white console didn’t seem so...

Every year there’s something different. Actually, it’s more like every six months there is something different. We see new gadgets, new smartphones, new televisions, new video games, new products galore. And each one claims to be better than the last, so you better get one!

The song sung at midnight on New Year’s Eve is one we all “know.” Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish folk song from the 18th century. It begins by asking a rhetorical question: is it right for old times to be forgotten?