X-Message-Number: 16410
Date: Sat, 02 Jun 2001 22:56:49 -0700
From: "E. Shaun Russell" <>
Subject: Kryos News #5
KRYOS NEWS #5
ABOUT OUR NAME
We've been referring to ourselves as Kryos here because it simple and conveys
what we are about. Kryos is the Greek root word meaning "cold" from which the
words cryogenics, cryobiology and cryonics are derived from. Our full name is
Kryos Biomedical, Inc. If you are into acronyms that would KBI for short.
Mostly those of us involved with the company call it "Kryos." However, there
are other Kryos companies out there so to avoid confusion in print we will be
using our full name or the abbreviation KBI.
MOVING IN
Progress towards outfitting the new KBI facility has been steady and very
satisfactory. The plumbing is in, the flooring is in, the walls are painted
and the casework (laboratory cabinetry) is fully installed complete with
sinks. We got really lucky on the casework.
Lab casework is incredibly expensive to buy new, and even used casework in
poor
condition sells for $60 per lineal foot for lowers and about $45/ft. for upper
cabinets. Mike Darwin had many feet of casework which was installed at
Critical Care Research (CCR) In Rancho Cucamonga. It wasn't practical to
remove this casework, so it was ultimately sold to CCR. At first we thought
finding
affordable replacement casework would be fairly easy. Unfortunately it
wasn't. Coca Cola and several other large companies decided to use used
casework in their very large scale lab buildouts instead of buying new. This
is very unusual for large companies and may be more of a statement about the
economic future in the US than even Mr. Greenspan can tell us. All the used
casework on the West Coast evaporated!
Then we got a break. Recently Quest Diagnostics bought Smith Kline Beecham
(SKB), the latter being one of the largest clinical laboratories in the US.
Quest closed one of SKB's major quality control and research facilities
generating 3,000 feet of casework. Pepsi Cola was scheduled to get all of
this, but either didn't need it all or further scaled back their project. By
this time we were well known to the West Coast's leading supplier of lab
casework and he gave us a call and a break: --if we bought the whole remainder
of the lot for an even $2,000, the casework was ours. We did and we
certainly don't
regret it. SKB bought only the best and took very good care of it. We now
have two lab rooms with beautiful, fully installed casework plus a 12
foot-long run of
casework in the shop. It looks great, it works great and one could not even
tell that
it isn't new unless we look very closely. And it is Hamilton brand which is
one
of the best.
We still have some electrical work to do and a set of double doors to
install in the Operating Room, but otherwise the infrastructure is pretty
much complete.
We are now in the process of moving in. This is a back-breaking and arduous
process and we could use any volunteer help we can get (more on that later).
We estimate we have approximately 20 tons of equipment and supplies to
relocate and organize. We've made a surprisingly large dent in that the past
few days, but we have a long way to go. Unpacking and organizing dozens upon
dozens of boxes of analytical equipment and supplies will take weeks. Still,
we are confident of meeting our operational date of mid August.
Additionally, we have nearly finalized our official business plan. As soon
as this is complete, we will be sure to notify CryoNet and distribute it to
other possible investors.
HELP WANTED!
We could *definitely* use some help with move-in and set up. We can't pay
much at this point, but we can offer
some incentives of a non-monetary nature. People who help us now will be
eligible for special contract rates and extra services that will be offered
for a limited time only to existing ACS and CryoCare members. We need a
variety of forms of "help" and have listed below what are likely to be the
main things that people here in the
Inland Empire/Los Angeles area may be able to assist with:
Moving things big and small. If you have a truck of any shape or size, that
would be a special
bonus. We can't even begin to estimate how many standard pickup-sized loads
of boxes we
have yet to move.
Labeling and organizing is a monumental task. If you can operate a P-touch or
if you can stick on labels, we can use you!
Cleaning the equipment is another major job. Much of the less delicate
equipment
has been sitting in open warehouse space and is very dusty; it needs a good
dusting off and wiping down with Windex.
Carpentry and handyman skills are incredibly in demand...we'll pay for
these in cash.
If anybody is good with telephones or LANs we can use help in this area as
well. The building is
heavily wired with LAN outlets, but we need to have the wires traced to find
out where the main trunk is. The same is true for the phone lines. The
previous occupant was a multiple office construction company and had at
least fifteen separate phone lines; needless to say, the phone board is
quite a tangle.
ITEMS NEEDED
by Mike Darwin
We need a lot of small, relatively inexpensive items that many people have
just lying around taking up space, or which they may spot at yard sales or
flea markets. We've listed a few of these items below. If you have one of
these items and want to donate it we can arrange for the contribution to be
tax deductible. We've included the purchase price for these items we can
credit you. Obviously, we will need some of these items more crucially
than others, though all are eventually essential. They are not listed in
any particular order.
* Paper Shredders, waste basket type, 2 each, Price ~:$30.00 each.
* Large, good quality paper cutter: one which can cut both legal size and
standard paper and which is heavy duty and capable of cutting laminated
materials. Price: ~70.00.
* Standard multispeed Kitchen Blender. Price $30.00
* Heavy Duty Rubber garden hose 25' and 10' long (1-each), Price $35-40.00.
* Rubbermaid Trash cans with roller base and dome top with spring door
closure (2 each), Price $70.00 each.
* Two standard Rubbermaid tall trash cans, square, with swing-top covers,
Price: $65.00 for both.
* Large clothes dresser or clothing storage cabinet: for use in the sleeping
quarters. Price: $35.00
* Laminator, for custom lab signs, instruction sheets, wallet cards, and
warning signs for equipment. Price: ~$45.00
* Heavy-duty Stapler capable of stapling 30 to 40 sheets of paper, Price
~$28.00
* High quality labeller. Price: ~$50 - $60
* Benchtop vise for the shop, Price $25.00
* Shop Vacuums in good condition: we need two of these. Price $60.00 each.
* Bandsaw, Chinese Central Tool are acceptable (hey, even Communists have to
learn about Capitalism somehow). Price $300.
* Soldering Station, Price $75.00
*Grinding/Polishing wheels for work bench, Price $45.00.
* Heat Gun, good quality, necessary for shrink wrap tubing and many other
applications. I've run through two cheap ones in less than a year. I've been
told to pay the extra ten dollars and get a good one, Price $35.00
* Chemical Cabinets, 2 each. Price $1,100.00 for both.
* Hammer Drill, Porter Cable or other Pro-grade, needed for drilling into the
concrete walls to attach shelving, brackets, cabinets, etc.and so on Price:
$185.00
* Tool Lockers, 2 each. I'll try to pick these up at UCSD Surplus Property.
Any two good sturdy metal cabinets (like office cabinets) will do. 20 years
experience has taught me that failure to have these results in massive loss
of tools. Price $75.00
* Mops, janitorial grade, 3 each, $40.00 each (includes extra heads and pH
neutral floor cleaner, stripper, sealer and wax).
* All plastic mop buckets and wringers, janitorial grade, 1-each Price
$35.00. used in the warehouse area as it is a bit battle scarred. The
warehouse gets gunk from the vehicles, dirt from the outside, etc.
* I have a fair assortment of tools (about $3,000. worth) but we can always
use more. Hammers, screwdrivers, box wrenches and the like are always needed.
We also badly need a circular saw (Price ~50.00). I have a good Makita
Cordless drill and hammer drill, but we could use a couple of good quality
plug-in drills as well.
*Air Compressor within reason the bigger the better. Price ~$300.00
* Shop Vacuums (2 each) in good condition. We need one clean machine
preferably only slightly used and one solid working vacuum for the shop.
* Copying machine, recent vintage in good working order. If we can get the
model number and running time or copy counter number we can determine if it
is still a machine with useful service life.
* Badly needed will be power strips, computer APUs (back-up power units),
extension cords (industrial: the orange or black three prong in 10, 25 and 50
foot lengths).
* Computers (Pentium 166 or later). Rack mountable machines or
standard 16" panel rack monitor holders are also much in need.
* Miscellaneous office hardware and supplies: tape dispensers, desk
organizers, paperclip holders (magnetic), copy and laser printer paper,
staple removers, glue sticks, white out, and so on.
* Desperately needed are at least three working lap top computers. They don't
have to be recent models. Even 386 machines are valuable for slave data
acquisition from some analytical equipment. The later-vintage the laptop the
better. A high-end fully loaded laptop of minimal weight and maximal capacity
will be an item we'll need down the line (circa 3 months).
For those of you in California or nearby keep your eyes out for FLAKE-type
ice machines in your local Recycler, Penny Saver, or Classified Section of
your newspaper. Help us look for these on E-bay as well. Scotsman is the
preferred brand and we need a minimum 300 pound capacity machine (i.e.: makes
and stores 300 pounds in 24-hours). If you find a good ice-receiving bin (the
kind where the machine sits on top) let us know! These cost about $500 used.
For those of you who regularly go to garage sales, please buy any good
quality, all-plastic Coleman ice chests (no beat up stuff). I had about 10
of these I
picked up at yard sales and they almost all were lost when I left my last job.
For information about KBI, or to ask about contributing items please
contact the facility at:
909-484-0788 or contact E. Shaun at Feel free to
call anytime, as we have a voice mail service hooked up.
Additionally, we have a temporary website (very minor) set up at
http://www.kryosbiomedical.com . This will be expanded upon in the near
future once we begin our operational phase of business. Once we do this,
we will have an open house to which all of you are welcome.
Sincerely,
Mike Darwin, CEO and Director, Kryos Biomedical Inc.
&
E. Shaun Russell, COO and Director, Kryos Biomedical Inc.
End of Kryos News
________________________________________________
E. Shaun Russell COO and Director,
Kryos Biomedical Inc.
http://www.kryosbiomedical.com
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