X-Message-Number: 17796
From: Alcor <>
Subject: This Week at Alcor
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 15:09:23 -0700 (PST)
The following can be found on our website at:
http://www.alcor.org/this_week_at_alcor.html
Week of October 15 through 21, 2001
*please note: staff member names are hyperlinked to
profiles where available
Hugh Hixon, Facilities Engineer
Friday, with Mike Perry, took an LN2 delivery. With
Jennifer and Dr. Lemler, talked with, and gave a tour
to, a possible member. Talked with a welding
fabricator about a bid for more more neuropatient
carrier pods for the Bigfoots (10 neurocans/pod).
Message answering questions about roller pumps.
Monday, seminar with Dr. Newport. Got in more
filters for the neuro tubing packs. Deal with
problems of a Russian member, as much as possible.
Letter edit. Edit Charles Platt's newsletter stories
a little.
Tuesday, staff meeting. Finish with newsletter and
return to Charles. Disassemble LR-40 cooldown lid to
have its plywood parts done in polypropylene, and to
make more lids for FutureBound. Thought up an easier
way to use the head holder ring.
Wednesday, run over to the plastics shop with the
cooldown lid motor for a fit test. Got to medical
surplus place in central Phoenix for some instruments
for FutureBound. Check over medications worksheet
for Mathew.
Thursday, get checked out on the Powerpoint system in
preparation for a presentation at Laughlin, NV. Did
an interview for some sort of independent
production. Check SOP for use of recording
thermocouple
Jessica Lemler, Administrative Associate/Webmaster
This week we had our Communications Seminar with Dr.
Bob Newport. The meeting was held outdoors, and it
was a nice break to spend a morning outside in our
wonderful Arizona weather. I certainly enjoyed not
only getting out of the office for awhile, but being
with my co-workers and learning methods to better
communicate with them. Overall, I found the meeting
to be a positive experience, and I am looking forward
to our next Communications Seminar with Dr. Newport
this coming Wednesday.
For the most part, my week has consisted of lots of
typing and correspondence. I did some more work on
the minutes and re-sent them to Board Members and
Advisors. I did take some time to look at laptop
computers, as I would very much like to have one for
taking notes during the Board Meetings. It would
save me a lot of time at the Board Meetings and
afterwards. Today I'm working on posting this page
and later this afternoon I will be going with some of
the other staff members to get my flu shot.
Also, I have again compiled some photos this week for
everyone to see. You can access them by clicking
here:
http://www.alcor.org/this_week_pictures.htm
Mathew Sullivan, Facility Operations Manager &
Patient Care Manager
Project Future Bound UK and Canada continues as
follows:
1) Product research and order, and shopping.
2) UK's pump and controller box arrived. I assembled
the equipment and mounted it to the bottom ATP plate.
3) Stopped by UPS to return an extra pump and
controller due to ordering too many. I forgot that
UK had a 115-volt pump which could be traded for a
230-volt, then transferred to Canada. Part of the
complexity of the UK Future Bound Project is that no
one here at Alcor knows exactly what
equipment the UK group has, and no information has
been forthcoming.
4) Continued to progress on eight ATP plates.
5) Finished putting together two perfusate cases.
6) Started to work on five perfusate plate frames.
In preparation for the Laughlin training class, I
reworked the meds calculation and cheat sheet.
Fifteen meds training packs were also put together
for the class.
Facility Operations-- Attended a communications
meeting at a member's home. Phone system
reprogramming. Helped the staff with some minor
computer issues.
Dr. Jerry Lemler, President, CEO
"On the road again" seems the appropriate operative
phrase for my October calendar. My thanks go out to
Tim Freeman and all the good and gracious Alcor folks
who welcomed me to the Northern California quarterly
meeting in Sunnyvale last Sunday. I guess we
gathered around 25 strong, and what a vibrant group
it was! Out comes the suitcase again, though. This
coming Sunday, Hugh Hixon and I will drive to
Laughlin, Nevada, to conduct a three day ADR training
session at the Riverside Hotel and Casino. We'll be
joined there by ADR-A team leader Joe Tennant to help
with the instruction.
Thanks also go to Dr. Robert Newport for his
stewardship in convening the first of three
Communication Seminars in Scottsdale this past week.
The second will take place (again in Scottsdale) on
Wednesday. Dr. Robert is teaching interactive
communication skills for all Alcor Central staff,
and, I would add, without any remuneration for
considerable his time and expertise.
And, just when I was on the illusionary verge of
believing things couldn't get any better, Mathew
Sullivan reminded me we're getting our flu shots
later today!
Jennifer Chapman, Membership Administrator
Along with my fellow co-workers, I began this week by
attending a Communication Seminar hosted by Dr.
Robert Newport, who discussed how we can improve our
interactions with one another. While he emphasized
that the first step to achieving this is to honestly
evaluate our feelings, he also suggested that it is
beneficial to view these reactions to one another as
data, rather than to define ourselves by the emotions
that are upon us at any given moment. Instead, we
should consider taking time to draw rational
conclusions based upon the present data and initiate
efforts to resolve these emotional disturbances, both
by communicating honestly with ourselves and with
others.
Although, we all agree that it is important for us
to perform our work to the best of our ability, Dr.
Newport explained that the effectiveness of our
communication skills does influence our overall
productivity. He also emphasized that, although it
is necessary to resolve disturbances, it is perhaps
more necessary to express appreciation for one
another when all operations are functioning
smoothly. In recognition of this, I would like to
express my utmost regard for all Alcor supporters,
which includes employees, volunteers, consultants,
officers, advisors, directors, members, applicants,
and subscribers. We all deserve recognition for our
involvement with this exceptional organization.
On Wednesday, I accompanied Dr. Lemler and Joe
Hovey to the office of a local attorney to discuss
various issues. Of primary interest to me was the
discussion of Alcor’s Last Will and Testament
and
Authorization for Anatomical Donation, where the
content of this document was considered. We inquired
about the relationship between Alcor’s Last
Will and
that of a personal will, whereby the assets of the
estate are distributed. The attorney approved of
Alcor’s description of our document as a will
on the
basis that it attempts to grant value to the
remains. He explained that ordinarily an individual
cannot determine the disposition of their own remains
because they are not considered an asset of the
deceased. Under these circumstances, even if an
individual requests cremation or burial, the
surviving family members can typically override this
request with minimal resistance.
Further, a discussion was initiated in response to
concerns recently expressed that a member might
execute an “estate” will which revokes
all previously
executed wills and thereby unintentionally invalidate
the anatomical donation. The attorney advised us
that this would be an unlikely occurrence because the
full title of the document would have to be
referenced (Last Will and Testament and Authorization
for Anatomical Donation) to substantiate revocation
of the donation. He also suggested that Alcor revise
our document to specifically state this, if such
wording is not already present. The attorney has
agreed to further review Alcor’s current and
past
documentation.
Mike Perry, PhD., Patient Care Assistant
This week, at the request of management, I prepared
some electronic picture images of Alcor activities
and emailed them to the Timeship project. (In some
cases the images could be sent out "as is" but in
others some processing was needed.) I completed a
first draft of a "For the Record" column dealing with
Alcor events 25 and 10 years ago; this should appear
in the fourth quarter of the magazine, now titled
*Alcor Reaching for Tomorrow*. On Thursday I was
interviewed, along with some other staff members, by
Sergio Myers of a company called 7ponies, based in
Los Angeles. I understand that the resulting
documentary, when completed, will be offered to the
media, though 7ponies itself is not into public
broadcasting. For me much of the interest centered on
the Patient Care Bay, where I am doing daily checks,
and where the bigfoot dewars, standing tall and
proud, are quite photogenic and willing to have their
pictures made. I should mention Aido my cat, too,
who, I explained, had a busy schedule, what with
eating, sleeping, getting petted and the like, but
might pose for a few shots (and he did).
Joe Hovey, Accounting Manager
Monday: Spent half the day on a communications
seminar conducted by Dr. Bob Newport at an offsite
location. Went well. Worked on some correspondence
that had fallen behind with some members on some
accounting matters.
Tuesday: Worked on the budget through the third
quarter of the year. Hope to have it ready by Friday.
Wednesday: Attended with Jerry Lemler and Jennifer
Chapman an extensive conference with Ron Carmichael
on a string of matters with legal implications for
Alcor. Very productive meeting.
Thursday: Follow up to the conference yesterday with
Carmichael. Wrote a few items to some Directors and
to Jerry about the matters we discussed. More e-mail
correspondence on Alcor contracts and
Receivables/Payables between Alcor and Cells4Life.
Went to bank to make deposit and entered latest
receivables data into accounting system.
Friday: Submitted payroll data for last two weeks.
More correspondence on large receivable from
emergency medical firm. Meeting this afternoon with
programmer who is revamping our database system. Hope
to finish 3rd quarter budget figures today.
Paula Lemler, Volunteer
This week I wrote checks for bills, and posted
entries into the data base for deposits.
Additionally I helped with logistics concerning the
upcoming training session in Laughlin, NV.
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