MY 51st BIRTHDAY - TUESDAY 26th NOVEMBER 2013 08:43 GMT

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1. THIS DAY IN WORLD WAR 2 (26th November 1943)
On the Russian Front...
Soviet 11th Army and 48th Army push German 9th Army out of Gomel

In Germany...
Hitler and Goering inspect test flights of the Me262 jet fighter and V-1 flying bomb. Hitler orders that the jet be converted for use as a bomber

In the English Channel...
British vessel Morar is sunk by a mine laid by Kriegsmarine S-Boats

In Italy...
RN cruiser Orion and three destroyers bombard German positions north of the Garigliano River

In the Mediterranean...
British vessel Rohna is sunk by the Luftwaffe off Bougie with loss of more than 1100 personnel 

In Egypt...
Allied Cairo Conference with Churchill, Roosevelt, and Chiang Kai-shek concludes, and speeches are prepared, then Roosevelt and Churchill depart for the Tehran Conference.

In the Pacific...
Japanese vessel Nikkai Maru is sunk by USN submarine Ray
Japanese vessel Shini Maru is sunk by USN submarine Tinosa

Elements of US 6th Marine Regiment continue searching for Japanese stragglers on outlying parts of Tarawa Atoll
Other elements of US 6th Marine Regiment make an unopposed landing on Abemama Atoll 
IJN submarine I-39 is sunk by USN destroyer Boyd off the Gilbert Islands

Japanese vessels Ogurasan Maru and Tainan Maru are sunk by USN submarine Bowfin in the South China Sea

IJN auxiliary minesweeper Genchi Maru sunk by US 14th Air Force aircraft off Canton

In China...
Changte Operation: Japanese 11th Army continue attacking Changte against strong resistance by 57th Infantry Division of Chinese 74th Army

Today's Air Raids...
Bremen, Germany by US 8th Air Force
Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany by RAF Bomber Command
Cambrai, Roye, and Audinghen, France by US 9th Air Force 
Northern France Fighter patrols by RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force
North Sea minelaying by RAF Bomber Command
Ancona and the German front line by US 12th Air Force
Rimini and military targets by US 15th Air Force
Naples, Italy by the Luftwaffe      
Bonis Airfield and Buka Island Airfield by US 13th Air Force
Sio, Alexishafen, Madang, and military targets, New Guinea by US 5th Air Force
Gasmata, New Britain by US 5th Air Force
Kiangling, Honghai Bay, and Changte-Tehshan area, China by US 14th Air Force
Rangoon, Burma by the RAF

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Son Time
Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 1,700 (up 2)
Nonfollowed eliminated = 0
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
New followers = 2
@RealityProsDC @lisajspearman

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION - 51st BIRTHDAY SPECIAL
The old adage that life begins at 40 is untrue in my case. My 40's, like my 30's were absolutely bloody awful. Raising young children would have been hard enough, but when your wife is psychotic as well it's rather unpleasant. Add being forced to take redundancy, a subsequent turbulent career in teaching, my own parents dysfunctional relationship with myself and each other and then seeing Daughter transformed by puberty from a delight to a narcissistic parasitic monster and you get 20 years of unhappiness.

It wasn't exactly beer and skittles before that. The first 20 with dysfunctional parents obsessed with f*cking bricks and mortar and the dirt outside was in the main joyless. This leaves my twenties which was a patchy kinda decade, plenty of happy times marred by Missus inability to hold down secretarial jobs for which she was not suited, and a lot of crying over failed exams as she tried to get a better career.

Over the course of being 50 I suddenly burst into the light. For me, life began at 50. Now life is in the main a joy, home a little bubble of paradise. Deep within, at the heart of myself, there is peace. There are five contributing factors to this joy. Firstly, financial good fortune, that cleared all our debts and enabled me to do what I wanted. Secondly, the absolute devoted, besotted unequivocal total love of Missus. No one could be more loved than I am by this woman - and I like that! Third, my personal development as a human being, understanding myself and the Universe in ways I could not have imagined in my youth. Fourth, the flowering of my relationship with Son, a true mini-me, me in another universe, a kindred spirit and soul-mate.

Finally, harnessing my inherent anger to my advantage, and getting seriously stroppy! I have ruthlessly purged from my life relationships that made me unhappy, which were unfortunately all blood-relatives. I do not hate my daughter, mother, father or sister, but they're all neurotic nobs who bring me no joy whatsoever, only grief. I consequently no longer want to have anything to do with any of them. This stroppiness extends to anyone else who threatens to bring unhappiness into my life - they are all aggressively repulsed! 

All this adds up to being truly in control of my life for the first time, knowing clearly what I want and going for it. I am very clear about my purpose - to use my gifts and experience to make a difference to those open to my wisdom. 

A final observation is that everything that constitutes the story of my life is inevitable, a script written by the Big Bang - it's all simply Physics in action. My choices are not true choices at all, simply forces causing effects. In fact Gary Blonder is only just a particular set of occurrences and experiences. Gary Blonder is in fact no more than an aspect of your consciousness. This is not depressing! On the contrary, it's fascinating! For what you call "your" consciousness is in fact all and everything there is! The only thing truly "real" is the awareness itself, creating an amazing dream-like experience, the ultimate movie that you call "life".

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
This life experience you are having is very short and could end at any moment - what do you want to do with it?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry and cloudy throughout, feeling slightly warmer than recently
A moderate north-westerly will blow throughout
Max Temp = 7 degC
Min Temp = 1 degC
Sunrise at 07:53
Sunset at 15:55

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
First ever inflatable ATM bursts when user enters his PIN : D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
Mock The Week - Lines You Wouldn't Hear in a Sci-Fi Movie - some fabulous gags!

8. TRIVIA
In 1998, a theory emerged that the MMR vaccine caused autism. Specifically, the theory argued that the vaccine lingered in the gut, causing gastrointestinal problems which led to autism. This very small study was discredited and debunked. In fact, while the rate of MMR vaccinations has remained constant, the rate of autism diagnoses has continued to soar. Unknown factors about modern life may be the cause, or it's simply that the symptoms are being better recognized.

Despite the overwhelming general evidence to the contrary, some parents remain convinced that the MMR vaccine caused their child's autism.

9. ZEN WISDOM
The worst mistake you can make is to give up on yourself and stop challenging yourself for fear of failure. Keep moving forward with a firm eye on the future, telling yourself, “I’ll start from today!” “I’ll start afresh from now, from this very moment!”