TUESDAY 4th DECEMBER 2012 06:48 GMT

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1. THIS DAY IN WORLD WAR 2 (4th December 1942)
On the Russian Front... Soviet 51st Army is forced to withdraw from Kotelnikovo.
Heavy attacks against German 6th Army in Stalingrad
Luftwaffe aircraft transport 140 tons of supplies to German 6th Army in the Stalingrad pocket. The Luftwaffe are not managing to reach even half the requirement of 300 tons of supplies per day.

In the Mediterranean... RN submarine HMS Traveller disappears, assumed sunk by a mine.

In Tunisia... German 10th Panzer Division captures Tebourba.

In Washington... More than 200 Congressmen petition Roosevelt for creation of a Jewish homeland.

In New Guinea... Lead elements of 127th Infantry Regiment of US 32nd Infantry Division reach Dobodura.

Today's Air Raids...
Northern France on military targets by RAF Fighter Command and US 8th Air Force Fighters.
North Sea Minelaying by RAF Bomber Command.
Naples, Italy by US 5th Air Force on the naval base.
Bizerte, Tunisia by US 12th Air Force

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
With no pressing tasks scheduled, I will be spending the daytime intuitively, but it will certainly include a long meditation. Mainly missus time in the evening.

 Twitter Followers = 1,586 (no change)
  Nonfollowed eliminated = 6
  Unfollowers eliminated = 0

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION
Thankfully the throbbing in my head, though still there, has dropped considerably and this morning is down to the level where I'm only aware of it if I focus on it. Sometimes ailments come and go and you never get to find out what they were, and most things pass if you are fortunate enough to recuperate in a calm loving place.

It's important to "make hay while the sun shines" - which means to develop yourself to as robust a state as possible for harder times or simply to maximise the opportunities available to you. I am all too aware of my own vulnerabilities and an unhelpful default attitude that needs to be counteracted with regular disciplines. This isn't an "overnight" feat - it takes some time to train your focus onto the right things and keep it there - a continual effort is required.

As you progress, more disciplines get incorporated. This week I have learned the importance of kindness to mental health, something I had not appreciated before. Being kind is not only good for the recipient, it is essential to the wellbeing of the giver. There is a wider principle here - that what you do to others you are doing to yourself. A balance of toughness and kindness, both to yourself and others, is the key to wellbeing.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Is there adaquate control and balance in your life?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry and cloudy before dawn.
Showers arriving at dawn will peter out by mid-morning.
Dry and cloudy with sunny intervals in the later morning.
Showers return in the afternoon and will persist until mid-evening.
Becoming steadily clearer and colder thereafter.
Wind will be moderate and north-westerly, then veer northerly overnight.
Max Temp = 5 degC
Min Temp = 1 degC
Sunrise at 08:07
Sunset at 15:48
Jetstream: South of Britain and westerly

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
Childhood is like being drunk. Everyone remembers what you did, except you!

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
Milton Jones on food

8. TRIVIA
Matresses first appeared in Europe during the Renaissance, and were originally stuffed with straw. Duck feathers were introduced as a luxury alternative in the 16th century. In 1865 the first coil-spring mattress was patented. Foam rubber first appeared in the 1950's, waterbeds in the 1960's, airbeds in the 1980's, and in the 2000's the single-sided "no turn" padded mattress.

9. THE WISDOM I'VE LEARNED FROM OTHERS
"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way of responding." - Viktor Frankl