X-Message-Number: 30139 From: Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2007 09:36:49 EST Subject: Assimilating the flav man, (our final mission) LOL In a message dated 12/15/2007 5:05:41 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, writes: "FLAV" writes I note in the CryoNet queue a fund appeal for the WTA. Yes, Rudi - off topic to cryonics. But since you brought it up, let's look at it a little more closely. In the first place, what is the money slated to be used for? A magazine, a website, and a road show. Nothing of tangible practical use to anything, including cryonics. Wouldn't the money people contribute be better sent to cryonics organizations that purport to do research? If they got more money, maybe they would get off their frozen butts and do some. Maybe. Even worse, the road show will promote Kurzweil's book that supports the development of supercomputers to a singularity where all of us will be assimilated into these nirvana machines. A quote from someone's book review: "In his latest, thrilling foray into the future, he envisions an event, the singularity, in which technological change becomes so rapid and so profound that our bodies and brains will merge with our machines." Ultimately this approach to civilization negates any need for cryonics (other than to possibly get some people there while it is in development), and means DEATH to the human race as we know it. Cryonicists who intend to preserve their brains and bodies for future reanimation, and who like them pretty much as they are currently designed, thank you, should refuse to support, yea even fight against, such things as the WTA supports. Flav (not voting for Ron Paul, either) (end Flav copying...Rudi responding below) In the vernacular acronym, WTF? Flav, whoever you are, even in the rarified air of cryonics weirdness, you are representing an extreme, unsupportable, paranoid, fear mongering position here that makes you an outlier among outliers. The values of the WTA, and humanism in general, are HIGHLY pro human, pro INDIVIDUAL, and pro cryonics. As evidenced by their websites, discussion boards, conferences, and numerous individual discussions with humanists and transhumanists. There is also the documentable fact that there is considerable overlap among cryonicists and the transhumanist communities. (I know this for a fact because I attend both conferences, and have many cryonics clients who are also WTA members. By the way, Flav, these are REAL, fully signed and funded cryonicists, many of whom are doing the heavy lifting of scientific research in cryonics. As opposed to half-butts who anonymously bark and dilitante around from the sidelines.) Have you actually READ Kurzweil's books, by the way? Or Drexler's? Or, for that matter, actually read the WTA or humanist websites you are so certain are a threat to your glorious expression of individual humanity? You had some kind of similar postings about the Singularity summit, and similar misapprehensions, paranoia, and ravings about this event. Do you ever actually participate or research or read the books you vilify, or just the blurbs? And, btw, the blurb you quoted does not remotely support your rantings about a transhumanist forced assimilation. Relax, Flav. The Borg doesn't want you. It takes all kinds of folks to make a community, and the cryonics community is arguably more diverse than most. And has it's share of people espousing non-mainstream ideas, which, I hasten to add, is not inherently a bad thing. But you, dear Flav, are WAY out there! LOL! And I will leave it to the individual reader to decide if a contribution toward the WTA is helpful and a worthwhile use of resources or not. I think it is. Bill Falloon, one of the smartest cryonicists (and humans) I know obviously thinks enough of this struggling organization to commit $25,000. And I intend to support them as well. ALONG with supporting cryonics organizations, and other charitible groups doing great work. A tiny and nascent group spreading the memes of individual choices in self-enhancement, free speech and self expression, encouraging rationality in public policy, is not a "Borg cube" who is likely to seek you out, Flav, and extend it's evil nanofiber tendrils to your juicy human flesh while intoning, "RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED! But, as always, the cryonet community thanks you for your vigilance. Warmly and Professionally Yours, Rudi PS...happy to see we disagree about Ron Paul as well. Rudi Richard Hoffman CFP CLU ChFC I am proud to support Ron Paul for President--Google Ron Paul Board Member Financial Planning Association fpafla.com Board Member Salvation Army salvationarmy.org Member Alcor Life Extension Foundation alcor.org Certified Financial Planner(TM) CFP Board of Standards Member Libertarian Party libertarianparty.org Member National Rifle Association nra.org Member World Transhumanist Association http://transhumanism.org/ World's Leading Cryonics Insurance Provider rudihoffman.com **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=30139