TUESDAY 17th DECEMBER 2013 07:13 GMT

AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE DOWNLOAD, DOCUMENT DOWNLOAD AND AUDIOBOOK - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

FOR MORE BITE-SIZED WISDOM, CHECK OUT MY TUMBLR PAGE

FOR PERSONAL ISSUES, OR TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, WHY NOT CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. THIS DAY IN WORLD WAR 2 (17th December 1943)
On the Russian Front...
German XLVIII Panzer Korps continue attacking in the Meleni sector 

In Italy...
British 8th Army attack around Orsogna
US 5th Army advance beyond San Pietro and Monte la Posta. Outflanked, the German troops in San Pietro withdraw northward

In the Atlantic...
British vessel Kingswood is sunk by U-515

In the Pacific...
Heavy dogfighting between American and Japanese fighters sent to attack the American bridgehead at Arawe on New Britain 

Today's Air Raids...
Northern France Fighter patrols by RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force
Anzio, Nettuno and military targets in Italy by US 12th Air Force
Bougainville Island military targets by US 12th Air Force
Sio and military targets in New Guinea by US 5th Air Force
Cape Gloucester, New Britain by US 5th Air Force
Rabaul, New Britain fighter patrols by USN AND RNZAF Allied fighters
Teinkayu, Burma by RAF aircraft

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Ironing
Son Time
Meditation
MissusTime
Bookwriting/Me Time

Twitter Followers = 1,702 (down 2)
Nonfollowed eliminated = 2
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
New followers = 0

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION
Another side to my character is obsession. Fortunately in my case it is in the less serious area of stuff rather than people. For many years it was on CD's and albums. Where I could get away with it I would spend the whole day downloading stuff. I unsurprisingly accrued literally thousands of CD's, many of which I ultimately threw out. 

These days it is for Tumblr pics and video clips (downloading and editing) of all types. Though it is less severe than in previous decades, it is still an issue. It is mainly a furtive occupation that surfaces only when I encounter a technical problem or get broken off unexpectedly, in which case I get grumpy. 

It is not at the level of addiction as I can put it down to attend to tasks, but it is a significant time-consuming distraction. My therapist self-treatment is not to stop doing it as I believe in enjoying life, but rationing the time allocated, re-grounding and refocusing on my priorities. 

It helps a lot that I have loved ones counting on me. This is a strong incentive to manage myself! As with all my issues, there is no cure, just ongoing daily disciplines to keep it contained. 

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Are there any aspects of your life that need to be brought under better control?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Clear skies before dawn
Dry and sunny all day, though cloudier in the afternoon
Dry and mainly clear in the evening and overnight
Wind mainly negligible, picking up to light southerly in the evening
Max Temp = 4 degC
Min Temp = 2 degC
Sunrise at 08:20
Sunset at 15:46

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
When new band "Voices In Your Head" arrived onstage, the crowd went mad : D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
Mock The Week (Too Hot For TV) Rugby and Royal Commentators

8. TRIVIA
The probability of a woman giving birth to a baby girl instead of a baby boy increases significantly the nearer the mother lives to the equator. While the cause of this gender selection is unknown, scientists believe the constant sunlight hours and abundant food supply in tropical regions may favor female births.

9. ZEN WISDOM
By offering a hand to someone who is also suffering, we ourselves regain the will to live.