Friday 25 September 2015

SATURDAY 26th SEPTEMBER 2015 07:30 BST

Read my book - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK
 

Also available - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK
 

WISDOM, HUMOUR, AND LOTS OF OTHER INTERESTING STUFF CAN BE FOUND ON MY PINTEREST PAGE and FACEBOOK PAGE
TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

26th September 1983
THE SOVIET NUCLEAR FALSE ALARM INCIDENT
Stanislav Petrov, a lieutenant-colonel in the Soviet Air Force, who was in charge of the Soviet early-warning system housed in a bunker near Moscow, received a computer report that a single ballistic missile was heading towards the Soviet Union. With no other sources of information, Petrov was faced with the dilemma whether or not to sound the alarm of a US pre-emptive strike or to disbelieve the computer. 

Petrov reasoned that a genuine US strike would be massive to prevent a Soviet response, and decided to ignore it. But subsequently the computer reported four additional missiles in the air. Petrov again followed his internal reasoning and ignored the reports. Petrov was absolutely right - sunlight reflecting off high-altitude clouds had given a false reading to a Soviet military defence satellite.

Had Petrov "gone by the book" and followed protocol, the result would have certainly been a nuclear holocaust. The Second Cold War (1980-1985) was at its height and the Soviet leadership under the ageing Chairman Andropov was fully expecting a US first strike, and would have responded with an all-out nuclear counterstrike. The future of mankind had been placed in the hands of a single man, and fortunately, that man was rational and reasonable.

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Shopping
Shift 2 of the Weekend Job
TV Footie

Twitter Followers = 2,018 (up 3)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
-
Unfollowers eliminated = 2
@khushi_shah, @matticulas
New Followers followed back = 2
@jessicamackk, @not__common
Spammers not followed back = 3
All untraced

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION
My smooth incident-free run at the Weekend Job came to an end, but from a most unexpected quarter - a work-colleague! The trouble with these incidents is not the external consequences, which are none, but that they "push my buttons" - my emotions overreact massively. Fortunately I have developed the techniques to manage such internal eruptions and no one actually noticed by raging internal fury. My reasoning is now able to disentangle itself from the internal storm and view the incident objectively.

It is inevitable that predators and the self-interested will occasionally enter your circle from time-to-time. It is important to respond in defence, but in a measured way. This I am now much better at doing, but it's always hard work, like restraining an angry Rottweiler. It's all about taking control of the attention and putting it in the right place, which requires considerable mental effort. 

What I have learned is entirely self-taught - no all-wise guru ever stepped-in to guide and save me! I researched the techniques myself, tailored them to my own issues and now teach them to my clients - go me! 

I do however have a belief that I have absolutely no rational basis for - that I'm not "allowed" to crumble. Even at my lowest points there has been the support there to help me through the worst and now I am a lot more robust through my own self-training. It's not my destiny to be worn down by life as it is for many others. I can find no logical reason why this could be, but after so many years of this "protection" from powers or forces I cannot perceive, I just accept it thankfully. 

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Are you responding in the right way to your circumstances?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry and cloudy until mid-afternoon - skies will then gradually clear
Wind negligible
Max Temp = 14 degC at 4pm
Min Temp = 9 degC at 8am
Sunrise at 06:59
Sunset at 18:57
Moon: 

Weathertrack: An anticyclone over Britain will bring dry settled conditions
Air Pressure: 1028 millibars and rising slightly

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
When you buy an airplane, do they ask if you want to keep the hangar?

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

8. TRIVIA
Bears are an offshoot of the canine (dog) family that became their own distinct family around 20 million years ago. Originally only the size of dogs, they have evolved to their current size only relatively recently.

9. ZEN WISDOM
Rather than seeking to better themselves, jealous people focus their energies on dragging others down. Actions rooted in jealousy will only cause suffering and will not create any value or benefit for anyone. We are only able to develop our own good qualities to the extent that we can respect what is admirable in others.

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