SUNDAY 3rd JANUARY 2015 09:54 GMT

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
3rd January 2009
The birth Of Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a payment system invented by Satoshi Nakamoto who published the invention in 2008 and activated it as open-source software in on 3rd January 2009. The system is peer-to-peer; users can transact directly without an intermediary. Transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger called the block chain. The ledger uses bitcoin as its unit of account. The system works without a central repository or single administrator, which has led the U.S. Treasury to categorize bitcoin as a "decentralized virtual currency". Bitcoin is often called the first "cryptocurrency", although prior systems existed. Bitcoin is the largest of its kind in terms of total market value.

Bitcoins are created as a reward for payment processing work in which users offer their computing power to verify and record payments into a public ledger. This activity is called mining and miners are rewarded with transaction fees and newly created bitcoins. Besides being obtained by mining, bitcoins can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. Users can send and receive bitcoins for an optional transaction fee.

Bitcoin as a form of payment for products and services has grown, and merchants have an incentive to accept it because fees are lower than the 2–3% typically imposed by credit card processors. Unlike credit cards, any fees are paid by the purchaser, not the vendor. The European Banking Authority and other sources have warned that bitcoin users are not protected by refund rights.

Bitcoin has become infamous for being the unit of currency for the selling of illegal drugs, weapons and other materials on the Dark Web. 

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
The Milk Run
Ironing
Lunch
Meditation
Session prep
Me Time
Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 2,065 (up 1)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
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Unfollowers eliminated = 0
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New Followers followed back = 1
@danielthrelfall 
Spammers not followed back =0
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3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

The single Weekend Job shift went smoothly and I won't be back there until three weeks time, but this is time off, not a holiday! I have stuff to do, much varied in nature, both business and domestic, though no doubt there will be some leisure slotted in along the way!

The main point is not what all these tasks actually are, but the fact that I am FOCUSED. Though it's not something that I'll get any kind of direct external recognition for (though I may get recognition for the consequential results) it is a major achievement, the product of a lifetime of learning. It is now the default state - the next goal is to make it the ONLY state. I still lose focus when fatigued, but I can regain it quickly when negative emotion is triggered. 

A major factor in this achievement is the Discipline of Acceptance - the mental recognition that your character is not "owed" anything by the greater universe. Your circumstances are not "unfair" - they are the inevitable consequence of Physics - time and energy spent resenting them is a complete waste.

Once you are no longer distracted by resentment of circumstances that are not your preference, a vast quantity of energy is released to fulfil your goals and purposes. Whenever resentment enters my consciousness, my programmed response is WELL - IT IS - IT'S PHYSICS! My consciousness can then return to focus - on what I'm creating NOW.

All this sounds simple enough, but a whole raft of disciplines are required to make the mind able to respond in this way - this is what has taken all this time to learn and practice.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Have you got your attention on something helpful?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD

 Moon

Weathertrack: A depression extending over Britain is moving very slowly eastward
Air Pressure: 996 millibars

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
I've learned that it's rude to ask the person in the adjacent toilet where he got his shoes from :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
Women In The Shower

8. TRIVIA
More people die of heart disease than all forms of cancer combined

9. ZEN WISDOM
Illness is not something to feel ashamed of. It is not a sign of misfortune or defeat. Suffering can be the fuel of wisdom, opening the way to happiness. Through illness, human beings can gain insight into the meaning of life, understand its value and dignity, and strive to lead more fulfilling lives.