SUNDAY 17th NOVEMBER 06:54 GMT

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

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1. THIS DAY IN WORLD WAR 2 (17th November 1943)
On the Russian Front...
11th Army and 49th Army of Soviet Byelorussian Front attack German 9th Army and encircle Gomel whilst Soviet 13th Army captures Ovruch 
XLVIII Panzer Korps of German 4th Panzer Army recaptures Zhitomir from Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front

In the Pacific...
Japanese aircraft attack an American reinforcement convoy off Bougainville Island, sinking US vessel McKean. Nevertheless, the remainder of the 21st Marine regiment is landed. Meanwhile neighbouring Buka island is heavily attacked by American aircraft and the surrounding waters mined.

USN submarine Capelin departs Darwin and vanishes, cause unknown.

In New Guinea...
Australian 26th Infantry Brigade attacks toward Sattelberg 

In Indochina...
Pro-Japanese Subhas Chandra Bose visits Saigon en route to China to consult with other pro-Japanese regional leaders.

Today's Air Raids...
Ludwigshafen and military targets in Germany by RAF Bomber Command
Northern France Fighter patrols by RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force
Athens, Greece by US 15th Air Force     
Kalamaki, Greece by US 12th Air Force
Tarawa Atoll, Maloelap Atoll and Mille Atoll by US 7th Air Force
Denpassar, Bali by US 5th Air Force
Surabaya, Java by US 5th Air Force

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
The Milk Run
Quality Missus Time
Off to Birmingham with Son

Twitter Followers = 1,694 (up 1)
Nonfollowed eliminated = 0
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
New followers = 1
@SportGamble

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION
The 2nd shift of the Weekend Job has been plagued by low moods of late, and today was a particularly low one, although mood lifted very gradually until by the end of the evening I was fine. I don't really have an explanation for everything that goes on in my mind, only the techniques to manage it. A combination of any number of small things can trigger unwanted reactions in the subconscious, and it's very difficult to anticipate every scenario. 

I do however know where to go back to once sanity kicks back in - the disciplines of grounding and purpose. Clearly my focus still has development to do - if it was mega-strong, I would be so intent on purpose that emotional scars would never be triggered. I also suspect that keeping well-hydrated is an important contributing factor to wellbeing, mental as well as physical.

In my case, tight mind-management is absolutely crucial to prevent the very dark spirals of thought I'm capable of. With others counting on me and their wellbeing bound-up with mine, there's plenty of incentive to keep a firm grip on the character I play.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
What are the things that "set you off"?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Foggy start, then dry and cloudy throughout, with a negligible wind
Max Temp = 8 degC
Min Temp = 7 degC
Sunrise at 07:37
Sunset at 16:06

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
If you see someone drunk on Hadrian's Wall, he's a borderline alcoholic : D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
QI: How to eat spaghetti

8. TRIVIA
In Tunisia, images of fish are often used to protect against evil. New buildings often have fish bones or tails embedded in them as they are built, and cars have brightly colored plastic or cloth fish attached to them to provide protection to the people inside.

9. ZEN WISDOM
No matter how wonderful our dreams, how noble our ideals, or how high our hopes, ultimately we need courage to make them a reality. Without action, it’s as if they never existed.