Damm Interesting
 

I couldn't find the old thread with the post from the former Cellar member. But this is a great post from his website:

The Total Perspective Vortex

Most people think of the "mentally disordered" as a delusional lot, holding bizarre and irrational ideas about themselves and the world around them. Isn’t a mental disorder, after all, an impairment or a distortion in thought or perception? This is what we tend to think, and for most of modern psychology's history, the experts have agreed; realistic perceptions have been considered essential to good mental health. More recently, however, research has arisen that challenges this common-sense notion.

In 1988, psychologists Shelly Taylor and Jonathon Brown published an article making the somewhat disturbing claim that positive self-deception is a normal and beneficial part of most people’s everyday outlook. They suggested that average people hold cognitive biases in three key areas: a) viewing themselves in unrealistically positive terms; b) believing they have more control over their environment than they actually do; and c) holding views about the future that are more positive than the evidence can justify. The typical person, it seems, depends on these happy delusions for the self-esteem needed to function through a normal day. It’s when the fantasies start to unravel that problems arise.

continues:

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=864#more-864

Seems like a thorough and fancy way of saying, the pessimist is more often correct, but the optimist is more often happy and successful.

Elwood P. Dowd: Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.

Elwood is right, being obviously smart makes people envious and you a target.
Being pleasant puts people at ease.










then you can steal their wallet.

That's a fantastic picture.

It's too bad HIMEOBS doesn't exist. That looks like a sweet ride.

irritating.. thats #10

In a series of about 400.

That would be from Hot pastrami's site. Right??