the "law of reversed effort," that's a nice term ([truly emoticon}), where'd you find it?

I personally found it when addicted to Alan Watts (as a student, surprisingly enough ):
http://www.manypaths.com/book13.htm

But I've only just found the term was first coined by Emile Coue "the father of auto-suggestion":
http://www.geocities.com/recutter/rel4.html

I certainly believe in the basic truth of the law; very often the more you try to do something, the more you achieve the opposite of what you intended.

it almost doesn't seem to matter which, positive or negative, future you pick
Yes. Events can take on a life of their own, and achieve such a momentum that it's difficult even varying their course a little. On the other hand (butterfly's wings and what have you), in the global village relatively small events can add up to make a huge difference.

Damn, me off into philosophy again.