SUNDAY 6th DECEMBER 2015 10:36 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
6th December 1917
The Finnish Declaration of Independence
Finland had been an open territory with no formal government until the 13th Century when it was conquered by Swedish regent Birger Jarl (1248-1266) and thereafter became a region of Sweden. After the Finnish War of 1808-1809, The Russians drove the Swedes out of Finland and Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire.

Attempts by the Russian Czars from 1899 to limit the autonomy of the Grand Duchy and "Russify" all its provinces bred resentment and the rise of Finnish nationalism. After the Finnish General strike of 1905, part of the general Russian revolution of 1905, in an imperial concession the local government was reformed, abolishing the former Diet and replacing it with an elected parliament. However from 1908 the Russification policy resumed, as did Finnish resentment.

After the first 1917 revolution and the abdication of Grand Duke Nicholas II on 15 March 1917, the personal union between Russia and Finland was to The Finns therefore null and void. There were negotiations between the Russian Interim Government and Finnish Parliament.

The resulting proposal, approved by the Interim Government, was heavily rewritten in the Finnish Parliament and transformed into the so-called Power Act, whereby the Parliament declared itself to now hold all powers of legislation, except with respect to foreign policy and military issues, and also that it could be dissolved only by itself. At the time of the vote it was believed that the Interim Government would be quickly defeated in Russian elections. The Interim Government survived however, and disapproved of the Power Act and dissolved the Finnish Parliament.

However, after new elections in Finland on 5 November, the new Finnish Parliament declared itself to be "the possessor of supreme State power" in Finland, based on Finland's Constitution, and more precisely on Article 38 of the old Instrument of Government of 1772. This paragraph provided for the election of a new monarch in case of the extinction of the royal line. Since there was no new monarch, this was interpreted in Finland as vesting sovereignty in the estates, and so by extension the Parliament. 

Russia, dissolving into internal chaos, and then undergoing the Bolshevik Revolution later in November, was not in a position to oppose this strengthening of Finnish autonomy. On December 6 the Finnish Parliament issued the Finnish Declaration of Independence. In Russia, the Bolsheviks were heavily distracted by consolidating their grip in the Russian heartland. On December 22 the Bolsheviks formally recognized the independence of Finland.

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

Twitter Followers = 2,044 (up 4)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
-
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
-
New Followers followed back = 4
@thatJanice, @SHannesdottir, @lucjones01, @Author_Bolt 
Spammers not followed back = 0
-

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

The Weekend Job went smoothly enough, despite the shift being run by the "Useless Twosome". By "playing the system" my own experience was smooth enough, though I suspect confrontations are coming. This I'm ready for - I'm fully accepting that threats to your agenda inevitably emerge and it's necessary to oppose them.

Looking around me, I see a fundamental truth of human nature - people will endure oppression and a life of unfulfilled drudgery for a lifetime unless there is a point of crisis. I cannot claim to be any different - my progress and superconsciousness are born of crisis. I therefore cannot condemn them as inferior - I do not believe in free will. Everything is simply the inevitable consequence of the Big Bang, itself a consequence of greater events we as humans can only postulate.

Of course when you're dreaming, at the time you don't know you are - the dream is reality to you at that moment - you must awaken to see it for what it was. In the same way, people do not know they are ignorant and deluded until a crisis awakens them. Knowing this, my purpose is clear and simple - to make a difference to those open to it. My focus is on speaking to those who are listening, and on defending my agenda from threats. 

Whilst previous incarnations of this character, which is what your past is, often had most unpleasant experiences, THIS incarnation is profoundly thankful for circumstances so benevolent, and an agenda so clear, leading to a deep underlying peace of mind and the experience of "enjoying the movie" - the universe experiencing itself from a point in spacetime. With this character so ephemeral, it's important to reproduce the meme while it can, which it is doing, so the collective consciousness of the universe can grow.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Are you the "you" you really want to be?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry start
Heavy showers arrive by mid-morning but will pass by noon
Dry thereafter
A moderate westerly will peter out to a breeze by evening
Max Temp = 10 degC at 10 am
Min Temp = 5 degC at 11pm
Sunrise at 08:08
Sunset at 15:47
Moon: 

Weathertrack: A ridge of high pressure will move quickly east across the country, weakening the various weather fronts across Britain
Air Pressure: 1001 millibars and rising rapidly

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
I was in an open relationship, but nobody told me :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
QI - Lizards, Snakes and Worms

8. TRIVIA
So much energy radiates from inside the Earth that it could satisfy all human energy needs three times over.

9. ZEN WISDOM
Alone, one’s suffering only deepens. Human beings need to be with and among other human beings. Engagement with others forges our character and enriches us.

FRIDAY 4th DECEMBER 2015 07:37 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
5th December 1259
The Treaty Of Paris
In 1204, Philip II of France had forced King John out of continental Normandy, enforcing his 1202 claim that the lands were forfeit. Despite the 1217 Treaty of Lambeth, hostilities continued between the successive Kings of France and England until 1259.

Under the Treaty, Henry acknowledged loss of the Dukedom of Normandy. However Philip had failed in his attempts to occupy the Norman islands in the Channel. The treaty held that "islands (if any) which the King of England should hold", he would retain "as peer of France and Duke of Aquitaine" .

Henry agreed to renounce control of Maine, Anjou and Poitou, which had been lost under the reign of King John but remained Duke of Aquitaine and was able to keep the lands of Gascony and parts of Aquitaine but only as a vassal to Louis.

In exchange, Louis withdrew his support for English rebels. He also ceded to Henry the bishoprics and cities of Limoges, Cahors and Périgueux and was to pay an annual rent for possession of Agenais.

The peace held until the reign of Edward III, who had no intention of paying homage to the Capetian kings of France to keep his lands there, so initiating the Hundred Years War.

A consequence of the Treaty of Paris was the end of French as the language of the English royal court. No longer in possession of lands across the English Channel, the French-speaking Normans interbred with the majority indigenous English and so brought about the extinction of separate Norman identity.

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Meditation
Shift 1 of the Weekend Job
TV comedy night

Twitter Followers = 2,040 (down 2)
Non-followed eliminated = 2
both untraced
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
-
New Followers followed back = 0
-
Spammers not followed back = 0
-

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

I begin the weekend with a very still mind - no bad thing when you're about to embark on the weekend job. It's most pleasant indeed to have your mind completely clear of clutter and to simply be. With great gratitude I will simply experience it. Without doubt the most comfortable place for my consciousness sat on the character's shoulder, with the character running itself and consciousness simply having an experience from the location of the character, unattached to any outcome but totally fascinated.

It's taken many years to get to this point, to be perpetually attached may take a while longer, but while it's here it's absolutely excellent. I'VE ARRIVED!! Peace of mind, independent of circumstances! Of course, that's easy when the circumstances are so benevolent. It's now important to make hay while the sun shines and consolidate this location as the permanent home of consciousness, sat on the shoulder of the character.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
What is the most content state of mind?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Rain before dawn
It will be dry cloudy and mild thereafter
A moderate south-westerly will strengthen to gale force by mid-evening and persist overnight
Max Temp = 10 degC at 10 pm
Min Temp = 7 degC at 8am
Sunrise at 08:05
Sunset at 15:48
Moon: 

Weathertrack: Britain is in a run of fast moving air between depressions to the north and the Azores anticyclone
Air Pressure: 1017 millibars and static

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
I've been arguing in sign-language and now I'm exhausted! :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
Steve Hughes on work - very funny!

8. TRIVIA
Some sharks can smell one part of blood in 100 million parts of water and can tell which direction that smell is coming from.

9. ZEN WISDOM
No matter how difficult your situation may be, you are alive now, and there is no treasure more precious than life itself.

THURSDAY 3rd DECEMBER 2015 08:55 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
4th December 1971
The Indo-Pakistan War Over Bangladesh Begins
Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to have been Operation Chengiz Khan, when Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes on 11 Indian airbases on 3 December 1971, leading to India's entry into the war of independence in East Pakistan on the side of Bangladeshi nationalist forces, and the commencement of hostilities with West Pakistan. Lasting just 13 days, it is considered to be one of the shortest wars in history.

During the course of the war, Indian and Pakistani forces clashed on the eastern and western fronts. The war effectively came to an end after the Eastern Command of the Pakistani Armed Forces signed the Instrument of Surrender, on 16 December 1971 in Dhaka, marking the liberation of the new nation of Bangladesh. East Pakistan had officially seceded from Pakistan on 26 March 1971. Between 90,000 and 93,000 members of the Pakistan Armed Forces including paramilitary personnel were taken as Prisoners of War by the Indian Army. It is estimated that between 300,000 and 3,000,000 civilians were killed in Bangladesh. As a result of the conflict, a further eight to ten million people fled the country at the time to seek refuge in neighbouring India.

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Cats to the vets
Business promotional work
Meditation
Me Time
Quality Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 2,042 (no change)
Non-followed eliminated = 1
@DeadDaisiesINFO
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
-
New Followers followed back = 0
-
Spammers not followed back = 1
@i_calculon

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

Intending to hit the sack around 22:10 last night, I got into a conversation with Son and next thing I knew it was 23:15 - this happens quite often! Yet again I find myself astonished and bemused at how differently my relationship with Son and Daughter have turned out - very close on one hand, very dead on the other. One considers me his best friend, the other sees me as scum, although much of that is insecurity and fear deflected onto a "hate figure". 

This situation is a microcosm of my experience of life - being in the exact centre of every spectrum - love and hate, big and small, good and evil, love and hate, strong and weak, you name it - and I see all these scales vanishing into infinity in opposite directions. It's kinda awesome! There is no way to see it all at once, because my senses are so confined to the micropoint at the centre of it all. 

There has to be a letting go, an acceptance that you can't even see, let alone control it all. Instead, it's better to be entirely focused on that micropoint and make all your difference there, whilst gazing out in awe at the wondrous infinity beyond.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Do you really understand what's going on?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Damp, drizzly and foggy in the morning
Rain arrives in the afternoon, becoming heavy at times
Rain moves away in the late evening and it will be dry and clear overnight
A moderate south-easterly will pick up and swing southerly then westerly over the day
Max Temp = 11 degC at 2pm
Min Temp = 5 degC at midnight
Sunrise at 08:04
Sunset 15:49
Moon: 

Weathertrack: A weather front static over central Britain will finally be blown away to the east by cold air overnight

Air Pressure: 1017 millibars and falling sharply

6. TODAY'S ONELINER

The only thing I learnt  in the meeting I went to yesterday was that the room had 37 ceiling tiles and 14 fluorescent bulbs. :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

The Graham Norton Show - Awful Family Photos

8. TRIVIA

A dolphin’s body has adapted to avoid the bends (the formation of nitrogen bubbles in blood and tissue as a diver returns to the surface of the water) by completely collapsing its ribcage, forcing the air under pressure out of its lungs and into the windpipe and the complex air chambers that lie below the blowhole. With the lungs completely empty, no nitrogen dissolves in the blood as it does with divers, so no bubbles can form as the dolphin rises to the surface.

9. ZEN WISDOM

The ungrateful feel that it is below them to show any kind of appreciation. They are under the delusion that showing gratitude to others diminishes their own worth. But it is this sense of appreciation that elevates, enriches and expands the human spirit. A lack of gratitude is actually a sign of arrogance.

WEDNESDAY 2nd DECEMBER 2015 07:17 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
2nd December 1823
The Monroe Doctrine is issued
The Monroe Doctrine was a U.S. foreign policy regarding domination of the American continent in 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention. At the same time, the doctrine noted that the United States would neither interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries. The Doctrine was issued in 1823 at a time when nearly all Latin American colonies of Spain and Portugal had achieved or were at the point of gaining independence from the Portuguese and Spanish Empires. The United States, working in agreement with Great Britain, wanted to guarantee that no European power would move in.

President James Monroe first stated the doctrine during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress. The term "Monroe Doctrine" itself was coined in 1850. By the end of the nineteenth century, Monroe's declaration was seen as a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States and one of its longest-standing tenets. It would be invoked by many U.S. statesmen and several U.S. presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and many others.

The intent and impact of the Monroe Doctrine persisted with only minor variations for more than a century. Its alleged objective was to free the newly independent colonies of Latin America from European intervention and avoid situations which could make the New World a battleground for the Old World powers, so that the United States could exert its own influence undisturbed. The doctrine asserted that the New World and the Old World were to remain distinctly separate spheres of influence, for they were composed of entirely separate and independent nations.

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Shopping
Housework
Meditation
Me Time
Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 2,042 (up 3)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
-
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
-
New Followers followed back = 2
@igornaming, @igleask
Spammers not followed back = 1
@HpFe3Gsg_Fauzi

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

I have gone two days without meditation and have that "raw" feeling as a consequence. Though this is not good and I will redress this deficit today, it did serve a useful purpose - I realized that this is how most people feel all the time! Of course they don't recognize it as a deficiency - it's just feeling normal to them. It's like you don't notice the whirring of a fan until it's switched off. 

There is complete willful ignorance in my culture of the need for mind-maintenance - things you have to DO in order to maintain your mental health. Because I've done it for years, I can feel the difference very quickly when I neglect it. I now know the difference, which is a very good incentive to keep up with it.

I am no believer in "good old days", "golden ages" or Shangri-La's - there's never been a society or a time when the whole of the population lived orderly and healthy lives. This is because of the Laws of Physics - the balance of forces. There is always positive and negative coexisting - the alternative is nothingness! However, individuals can create Shangri-La for themselves if they choose to shed their willful ignorance and research how to achieve as I did. 

It takes discipline to achieve a healthy mind and discipline to keep it, and those that do become someone new - a better person.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Do you believe you can have MORE?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry, mild and clear start
Showers arrive mid-morning, light and scattered at first
By mid-afternoon, showers will merge into continuous light rain
Rain turns heavy mid-evening and will persist thereafter
A moderate to strong south-westerly will ease and swing north-easterly by late evening
Moon: 

Weathertrack: A cold front arriving from the west will become static over central Britain by this evening

Air Pressure: 1015 millibars and rising slightly

6. TODAY'S ONELINER

How did the inventor of the clock know what time it was? :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

Dave Pegg - The Superfast Train

8. TRIVIA

Love is not necessarily a guarantee that a marriage will last. Other factors include a couple’s age (a husband who is 9 or more years older than his wife or who marries before the age of 24 is more likely to divorce), those who are in their 2nd or 3rd marriage, those who had a child before marriage, and finances. Not pertinent to success of marriage are the number of children or their ages, the wife’s employment status, & the number of years a wife has been employed.

9. ZEN WISDOM

The courage to meet and talk with people is absolutely crucial. Choosing dialogue is itself the triumph of peace and of humanity.

  

TUESDAY 1st DECEMBER 2015 08:36 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
1st December 1955
Rosa Parks is arrested for failing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger
After working all day, Parks boarded A bus around 6 p.m., Thursday, December 1, 1955, in  Montgomery Alabama. She paid her fare and sat in an empty seat in the first row of back seats reserved for blacks in the "colored" section. Near the middle of the bus, her row was directly behind the ten seats reserved for white passengers.As the bus traveled along its regular route, all of the white-only seats in the bus filled up. The bus reached the third stop in front of the Empire Theater, and several white passengers boarded.

Driver James F. Blake noted that two or three white passengers were standing, as the front of the bus had filled to capacity. He moved the "colored" section sign behind Parks and demanded that four black people give up their seats in the middle section so that the white passengers could sit. By Parks' account, Blake said, "Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." Three of them complied. Parks said, "The driver wanted us to stand up, the four of us. We didn't move at the beginning, but he says, 'Let me have these seats.' And the other three people moved, but I didn't." The black man sitting next to her gave up his seat.

Parks moved, but toward the window seat; she did not get up to move to the redesignated colored section. Blake said, "Why don't you stand up?" Parks responded, "I don't think I should have to stand up." Blake called the police to arrest Parks. When recalling the incident for Eyes on the Prize, a 1987 public television series on the Civil Rights Movement, Parks said, "When he saw me still sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up, and I said, 'No, I'm not.' And he said, 'Well, if you don't stand up, I'm going to have to call the police and have you arrested.' I said, 'You may do that.'"

When Parks refused to give up her seat, a police officer arrested her. As the officer took her away, she recalled that she asked, "Why do you push us around?" She remembered him saying, "I don't know, but the law's the law, and you're under arrest." She later said, "I only knew that, as I was being arrested, that it was the very last time that I would ever ride in humiliation of this kind..."

Parks was charged with a violation of Chapter 6, Section 11 segregation law of the Montgomery City code, although technically she had not taken a white-only seat; she had been in a colored section. Edgar Nixon, president of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP and leader of the Pullman Porters Union, and her friend Clifford Durr bailed Parks out of jail the next evening.

The next day, Parks was tried on charges of disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. The trial lasted 30 minutes. After being found guilty and fined $10, plus $4 in court costs, Parks appealed her conviction and formally challenged the legality of racial segregation. 

The incident sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, from December 1, to December 20, 1956, when a federal ruling, Browder v. Gayle, took effect, and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional. It was a major event the the history of the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the USA

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Set up Christmas tree and other Christmas prep
Housework
Meditation
Me Time
Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 2,039 (down 5)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
@DawnMGrant, @PopularSoftTech, @LS1print +1 untraced
Unfollowers eliminated = 1
@George_Campbell 
New Followers followed back = 0
-
Spammers not followed back = 0
-

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

In the Blonder house, we don't do surprises for Christmas. Son doesn't like them, and he and Missus are useless at them. We therefore all declare what we want, then I arrange procuring them all. This does at least guarantee that everyone gets what they want. Missus invariably gets a new M&S jumper and trousers, Son gets a fine single malt, and as a combined birthday/Christmas present I am getting a mini tablet, an Amazon Fire HD6. 

This is mainly a business investment, allowing me to keep up with technology without having to invest in a new laptop, which would be three times as expensive, and a smartphone, which would involve increased running cost.

My ageing Acer Aspire running on Windows Vista already has a long-dead screen, so is connected to its own dedicated mini-television, but otherwise, apart from missing the ESC key (the pad underneath still works by finger-touch) it works as sweet as a nut. I keep all its essential utility software updated and don't burden it with video games, and for high-CPU demanding activities, it's sat on a laptop cooler so the parts don't bake from overheating.

The mobile phone meanwhile is a Nokia Classic - tough as old boots and extremely reliable with at least 48 hours battery life. Last week I managed to get rainwater in the USB port. This sabotaged the USB connection port and shortened the battery life to 8 hours, but it still kept going, and after drying out, worked as normal again! Unbelievable! Fitted with a 16GB memory chip and so plenty of memory, and with some good earphones, it doubles up as an excellent mp3 player. I have no wish to exchange it for a more expensive-to-run and much more fragile smartphone with only 8 hours battery life.

My new tablet will plug the gap between these two devices, doing everything a smartphone does except for phone calls & texts, but without the running costs. Its main purpose will be social media and YouTube on the move.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Do you have the Attitude of Gratitude? 

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Wet start with heavy rain
The rain will move away by late morning and it will be overcast and damp thereafter
An initial light south-easterly will swing to a moderate south-westerly by mid-morning
Max Temp = 12 degC at noon
Min Temp = 3 degC at 7am
Sunrise at 08:01
Sunset at 15:50
Moon: 

Weathertrack: A warm sector of air will extend over Britain, bringing moist mild weather

Air Pressure: 1017 millibars and static

6. TODAY'S ONELINER

I hate long distance relationships. That's why I moved the fridge into my bedroom. :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

Comparing Seinfeld with Mitchell & Webb

8. TRIVIA

In 1974, a Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda  came out of the jungle of the Pacific island of Lubang. He had been hiding there for 29 years, unaware that his country had surrendered.

9. ZEN WISDOM

Our voice resonates with life. Because this is so, it can touch the lives of others. The caring and compassion imbued in your voice finds passage to the listener’s soul, striking his or her heart and causing it to sing out. The human voice summons something profound from deep within, and can even compel a person into action.