Irrational Thoughts

A big thanks to Albert Ellis for this. Here is a list of 10 irrational thoughts that he said must be "recognized, evaluated, challenged and changed". It is sticking to these specific beliefs that cause problems in life rather than the events themselves. It is not the stimulus, like getting into a car wreck, it is the attitude and belief about the event "it's the end of the world", "this always happens to me", "this was just bad luck", "at least no-one was hurt" - that effect our emotions and behaviors and, in-turn, our thoughts. One person in the wreck may react angrily while another is simply upset. A third may take it with a smile. Have a read through the thoughts and see how many you do and really remind yourself that they are irrational thoughts.

Irrational Idea 1 - It is a dire necessity for an adult to be loved or approved by almost everyone for virtually everything he or she does.

Irrational Idea 2 - One should be thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving in all possible respects.

Irrational Idea 3 - Certain people are bad, wicked, or villainous and they should be severely blamed and punished for their sins.

Irrational Idea 4 - It is terrible, horrible, and catastrophic when things are not going the way one would like them to go.

Irrational Idea 5 - Human happiness is externally caused and people have little or no ability to control their sorrows or rid themselves of their negative feelings.

Irrational Idea 6 - If something is or may be dangerous or fearsome, one should be terribly occupied with it and upset about it.

Irrational Idea 7 - It is easier to avoid facing many life difficulties and self-responsibilities than to undertake more rewarding forms of self-discipline.

Irrational Idea 8 - The past is all-important and because something once strongly affected one’s life, it should indefinitely do so.

Irrational Idea 9 - People and things should be different from the way that they are, and it is catastrophic if perfect solutions to the grim realities of life are not immediately found.

Irrational Idea 10 - Maximum human happiness can be achieved by inertia and inaction or by passively "enjoying oneself."

I think I'm guilty of at least 3 of these which hopefully qualifies me as human in Ellis' eyes. (not that I need his approval (see number 1).

Zeg niet dat je me niet meer kent.

Thank you for the comment on my last post Ned ;-) I was thinking of the exact same thing. Here is a small tribute. I think "herinner" means "Heckfire".

P.S. You might wanna skip to around the 3 min part, Ned.

The name is Click....All Click

Being a spy has always looked so cool in the movies. You get a bunch of great gadgets, you get a cool car, and you have the chance to travel all over the world. If anyone saw the show "Spooks" (i think it showed on A&E and now BBC America as "MI5" you got to see the MI5 in a more..realistic light. It was pretty gritty, ethics were compromised and people's faces got severely fried. Literally. Whilst checking my email this week I was thus confronted with two conflicting emotions. On one day I had an email alerting me to a position at the MI5 and the next MI6. Thinking about James Bond and cool gadgets I opened the MI5...the super spy title of the position? "Administrative Assistant". Hmmm that doesn't sound too cool to me. That sounds like the kind of job where I'll get my face shoved in a deep fat fryer on the way home from work. I think I'll pass for now.

A note about my links

After adding a new blog to my link section this week (the first time I've done that in a long while!) I thought I'd offer an explanation to my choice of links. Basically it's pretty simple. The links are for me. Which I guess by default means that you can determine what sites I like to visit, read and topics I'm interested in. Such as movies and games. Imdb and Lazylaces have always been staples in my morning Internet ritual. I check lazylaces for games and imdb for movie news and review and scores. So obviously they had to make the list. I can check my blog and then link out easily. Since entering the blogging world some 5 months ago I have had to change my routine slightly. I still have time for the lazylaces and imdb (they aren't paying me to mention them, scouts honour) but have worked reading other blogs into my schedule.
So, the list of blogs on my page are a declaration of the blogs I read daily. To any blog that isn't on the list take no offence. I probably haven't read you enough yet!

(What follows are short descriptions of each site, but in this is in no way a complete description!)

The Film Geek writes movie reviews, personal insights (usually these within the reviews) funny videos, stories and much more. The insightful readers choice! (See further done on my blog for a preview of The Film Geeks latest blog posts!)

A Sour Apple Tree offers stories on things in Huntington, experienced by a local, retro wrestling memories, food, TV and anything else funny he decides to create.

Destination Unknown (feel free to read my blog entry about the return of this!) is about..well anything that RedZeppelin chooses. Sometimes he comments on news stories, games, books and other times it's his observations, pictures and maybe even something about Geocaching. Please ask him about this. Especially if you own a GPS. Well written and writes about the subjects I wish I had of commented on, and the way I wish I would have written!

Blog! The Musical! Is Spike Nesmith's collection of weekly(ish) podcasts. Here his dulcet, Scottish tones describe his views on the weeks new events. Not for the week of humour ;-)

And the newest addition is "This is not my blog" by JediJawa. Here Jedi discusses his views on personal events, news stories and just opens up! Well worth taking the time to read through each post and learn from another's perspective. This blog has the guts to just print what the mind is saying.

Here comes the rain

Well it looks like Fall has fallen today almost as if a big switch was flicked in a weather room somewhere. I, for one, am welcoming the change in weather. It's a little cooler today (still t-shirt weather though) which means walking more than 20 feet is actually bearable, you no longer have to squint all day long, and it will hopefully help some of the dusty patches of grass I've seen around campus and in t'valley spring back to life. I'll be really glad when there is enough rain to fill up the Hurricane Reservoir. If anyone has driven by it in the last couple of months you might think it was a mud flat. It's not the most relaxing sight to see every morning and acts as a pretty strong reminder of the effects of global warming. Perhaps they should keep it that way and put up a big sign "Look what global warming did" or "Global warming is in your reservoir stealing your water". At first it was kinda interesting, the water level was slowly decreasing and I was looking forward to seeing what was at the bottom of the reservoir. Bicycles, money, car parts, dead bodies. Turns out there was just a whole lot of mud. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the rain and the leaves changing and opening my arms to Falls weather. At least until I step into a two foot deep puddle. The first step is always a duzey (sp).

Something from Erickson

At the moment I am currently (and slowly) reading a book called "Phoenix" about Milton Erickson. It transcribes some of Erickson's personal philosophies, techniques and methods and there are some great personal stories in there, as well as a sum up by the author of what Erickson was trying to illustrate. So far, so good. I decided to attempt one of the techniques, and Erickson actually applied this to a smoker. Although, I don't smoke I did find myself drinking way too much soda at home so at the moment I'm paying for each can. Yes, in terms of the amount of sugar and calories but also quite literally I pay 50c every time I have a soda. I have to say it's going pretty well so far. I've cut down a lot, I'm drinking more water, and I've got a nice little pot of change going. Fighting off those sweet tooth urges later in the evening has been the worse but I'm not breaking into soda machines just yet. It is a great book for anyone really serious about self change so go buy a copy.

My Spidey-Sense is Tingling

When I was a young boy the only "Superhero" I wanted to be was Batman. He was all the rage. I had watched the movies and had the action figures, the sticker albums and the movie posters. Superman was cool too but he was old-news and before my time. I only saw glimpses of him on the tv on old re-runs of the movies but I was seeing Batman on the big screen, a 9ft wide square jaw, a cool Batmobile and crazy villains you wanted to "boo" loudly at. Spiderman was just a cartoon character who despite kicking butt and being able to climb stuff was never any one's first choice on the playground. If only I could return to those childhood days now and tell my younger self how cool Spiderman really is. While I'm wishing for things I may as well wish that I could be like Spiderman...a waste if my time, you say? Well now that reality is here! That's right, a spidey suit could be made and we all could be climbing the walls in no time. I bet Walmart would be the ideal investor. No more pesky wasted spaces up there by the ceiling, just grab a spidey suit and head on up there. I'll start writing to them now.

James McFadden

Like a true England Supporter, of course I support all teams from the UK in their Euro qualifiers :-D (especially any playing France) and so without further ado here is a vid of James McFadden's goal against France (no relation to this man). What a beauty. Note the calmness of the impartial commentator and the music which I believe to be Scotland's new Anthem ;-)

Quoits

Apparently Quoits is an Roman/old English traditional lawn game. You throw a heavy metal ring onto a poll/pin. Seems pretty straight forward and is much like the game horseshoes. I was watching a couple of people play this old past time today and it made me think about "Entertainment" and whether or not people were and could be still interested in playing such old fashioned games. I believe that generally people DO want to move and play games like this. There is something about weighing up the physics, balance, strength, energy needed, momentum and skill that comes from playing physically involving games that you can't really describe. You seem to be able to gain more satisfaction of accomplishing something compared to what you can do with a controller, a game system and a couple of flexible thumbs. I also think that people can enjoy these old fashioned games because it's the basic premise that is appealing in its simplicity. As computer games become more complicated and involved the next generation could grow up demanding more complex games and become bored at the prospect of throwing a metal ring at a pin. Who wants to be outside throwing a heavy piece of metal when you could be comfy at home throwing a virtual hoop? I sure hope this won't be the case but if it is...more Quoits for me!

The Worst E-commerce in the world!

In response to Chris James' eloquent post about suddenlink witness another man's reaction to Suddenlink....

West Virginia fog

The weather in West Virginia has been an eye opener for me. I thought I had experienced it all. Rain, Sun, wind, snow..the usual. This morning driving along I-64 we suddenly saw a cloud that looked like thick smoke, it was kinda dark and just on one side of the road in a small patch. Ms. AllClick and I stared longer and harder at it...and then realised there was another patch of it on the right of the road. It was an incredibly localised patch of fog. It was kinda spooky, like that movie about the fog...can't remember the name right now. The further we drove the more patches we would see, in tight clumps, along the interstate. As we gazed back towards an opening area near Barboursville the fog had swamped over the trees in front of the sun creating a fantastic silhouette that has really brightened my day this morning. I wish I had of had a camera with me. You'll just have to get out there this morning and see it for yourselves.

3:10 to Yuma

I'm not much of a Western fan. Mainly due to the fact that I have seen very little and haven't really felt any need to see them. This may all change from now on after watching the excellent "3:10 to Yuma". I had a feeling it was going to be good when it had received 8.8 on imdb (always a good sign) but also because Christian Bale and Russell Crowe were in the movie. I don't mind Crowe's movies. He's had a couple of flops recently but "Yuma" showed some of his better acting abilities and was a much better fit. Bale is quickly becoming one of the best actors of this generation of movie stars. He is certainly versatile, (just look at The Machinist, American Psycho, Batman Begins, and The Prestige) and has an incredible talent to not only put on an American accent, but change that accent to suit the region/state he is supposed to be from. Both of these stars put in an excellent performance (dare I say, Oscar worthy?) which is helped due to a really effective and original storyline (although this IS a remake) played out in the Old West. This is a must for Western fans, Bale and Crowe fans and just anyone who wants to see one of the best films of the year so far. It made me jump, it made me laugh, I was on the edge of my seat literally for the last 30 minutes so be prepared for it all.

IndestructoTank!

Sometimes it just goes to show that a simple game with a simple premise can be fun and addictive. This is a side-scrolling game. You control a tank. It's indestructible. Their are choppers out to get you. The aim? Launch yourself from the explosions and bounce into those choppers wracking up bonuses and gaining experience. Brilliant. Well worth messing around with on a coffee break and relieving some stress. Enjoy!

Jellybattle

This is a very original and interesting concept for a battle game. You play as a Jelly Baby/man on a grid with 3 other Jellymen. You get to choose a square to jump to in order to try and collect either a weapon, shield or health. These bonuses are on the grid but the whole grid moves down a square each "round". So, you must plan your move early so that you jump to the square the bonus is about to be on...phew! Sounds complicated, but it's easy to pick up once you start playing. I believe you can play it online with real people, but you can also play against the computer. Very addictive, fun game if you have 15 mins to spare...and like Jelly Babies.

Heist

Heist is one of those games that looks pretty cool, has a nice story and premise..but ultimately struggles due to the gameplay. You have to control it using the WSAD keys (which always confuses me when I need to do something in a hurry) and so I walked into a few lasers simply because I pressed down instead of going right. You'll see what I mean when you play it. The puzzles are pretty challenging though and there are mini-games thrown in as well. If you can get over the controls then u'll probably enjoy this snazzy game.

Let the games begin

Time for some more Point and Click games to use up all your free time! First game on my list is Papa Pizza. It's basically a Sim-esque Pizza Parlour game. You take the orders and cook up the pie for the customer. Seems simple, except you have to place the topping they want onto the pizza in the place and amount they want it, then put it in the oven for the time they require and THEN cut it how they like it. How fussy is that?? You get more and more customers as you progress through each level (if you're good) and the orders get more complicated. I've played this game for a while now and have only revealed about half the customers and the end doesn't seem to be in sight so be prepared for a long commitment on this one!

Kevin!!

Early morning TV...who could live without it? Well...probably me. I turned my TV on this morning, however, and Home Alone 3 was on. Imdb gives this movie 3.4 stars. Out of ten that's not so good. So I flicked onto CNN..."Britney's big comeback a complete flop" the announcer says as more urgent news scrolls along the bottom "a McDonald's burger chef may have criminal charges bought against them as a police officer who ate there said that the overly salty burger made him sick"...hmm those seem like news worthy stories. I flick over to The Today Show instead. Ah, the lovable Al Roker, he'll have something smart to say "...the fastest Chihuahua..." *click* I wonder if that kid is still Home Alone?

Find Jimmy!

Ok, i'm long overdue posting a point and click game but I really haven't played that many online recently! Here it is, it's called Find Jimmy. A fun, waldo-esque game where you have to find Jimmy's head as it appears in the picture. Made me smirk nearly everytime I found it. Enjoy!

WVU vs Marshall

Well everybody is talking about it so I thought i'd better show my support for The Herd. Go Herd!!! I hope they win this weekend, but I just hope everyone has a good experience. I can almost taste that lemonade now....

Live from Abbey Road

I was flicking through the channels last night and came across the "Sundance" Channel. I stopped when I saw the words "Abbey Road" in the title of the show and clicked "info" to see what it was. It was the kind of show I could easily watch all day long. Live performance from bands playing alternate versions of their songs in a recording studio with all their mistakes and nuances left in, and none of that over produced sound...well not much of it. I was doubly joyed to find it was a live performance from The Killers, Gnarls Barkley and The Feeling. I'm not much of a Gnarls Barkley fan but thought I had a 2 in 3 chance of hearing one of the other bands...but guess what? It was Gnarls Barkley up first. I didn't much care for the songs he played..but I'm glad kept watching and got to listen to The Killers as they played a couple of awesome versions of their own songs and Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits. Here is a clip of the show as they play "Sam's Town" from their latest album of the same name.

Resilience

Human beings are tough. I'm not talking about Bruce Willis in Die Hard here (well, maybe in part) but I'm talking real-life tough. Firstly, our bodies are pretty darn amazing. The Merchant of Venice reads "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" whilst being true I think it could also read "If you prick us, do we not heal?". I'm talking physiologically, but also psychologically here. If you cut your finger on a knife, the body will rush into defence mode sending white blood cells to the wound and start damage control as it builds a scab to prevent infection and fights any existing infection in the wound, and then the skin begins to heal. Click here for an explanation that I didn't make up. The mind does the same thing. Once it has been damaged, it begins to heal but it is also a slow process. For example, if you have suffered a loss you feel the intense pain, sadness, anger, and grief but with time you start to feel better and overcome the loss (whilst not forgetting it, or downplaying it's significance). If you are feeling depressed, give it time and you WILL feel better. By all means, go seek someone to talk to and discuss your problems with but have faith in yourself and have hope and know that you will improve.

Thank you NEW Cingular

I guess when a big company take over another fairly big company things can go two ways. Things will get a lot better, or things will get a lot worse, plus all of the existing problems remain. Since AT&T took over my Cingular service I really hadn't seen much difference. Same calling plan, same price, some expiry of my minutes. Today, however, they crapped on me by increasing the text rate to .15c per message sent and received. I was shocked when I was told I would be paying ANY amount of money to receive a text. "What do you mean?" I said "I pay when someone else texts me, which is completely out of my control, and THEY have already paid to send the message, and I don't even get a choice NOT to receive the text??". Crazyness. When I wasn't charged to receive texts I'd feel no guilt about sending them, and hence sent twice as much so I don't really see much logic in this. Just another way for them to squeeze 5c out of me when I need to let Ms. AllClick know I'm running late. Maybe I'll call AT&T and ask them to screen my texts. I'll tell them I got a text that I didn't want and so would like a refund. I think I better read their small print.