X-Message-Number: 31288 Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:31:33 -0700 From: "Regina Pancake" <> Subject: Re: CryoNet #31284 - #31286 References: <> ------=_Part_53808_7817758.1229887893473 Content-Disposition: inline > > Message #31286 > Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:59:04 -0800 > From: Gary Kline <> > Subject: Re: CryoNet #31281 - #31283 > References: <> > > > > I have a practical question:: Let's say that my wife and I retire to > somewhere near Alcor. Is there any kind of community _there_ who would > volunteer to do the initial prep, ice me up and ship my to Michigan? > > Another point in my article suggests that it would be a win if at least > there were a few/several places (globally) that might serve to help each > of us when we exit this life temporarily. If not, our exit will be not > eternal, or timeless, but infinite. > > A last note is to add my dime's worth about cryonicists being considered > as 'nut cases'; that has not been my experience. Rather, people have had > very skeptical reactions. Something like, "Hey is _that_ works, I've > got a bridge to sell you... ." Occasionally less charitable: "Why can > you just accept things and death like we all have to?" It may be that > the folk I have mentioned my plan to are above average intellect or not > biased to any extreme. But I've never made a big deal or tried to keep > it hush-hush either. My reply has been: "I think it's worth a try." > > Again: any "community" around Alcor? > > thanks, > > gary kline > > To answer your question Gary, YES there is a growing community of > cryonicists out here in Phoenix. Since I moved out here back on May 11th of 2007, I was a little taken aback that there was all but none at the time. But like most deserts you have to dig a little to see the life that is there right in front of you. At this time, I run the local Phoenix Cryonics Meetup.com group where we get together once a month always on the third Friday. Its grown from 3 people when it started, to a core group of 15 + any newbies that are passing through or interested. I encourage people that are planning on visiting from out of town, to adjust their timing to allow them to attend if they can. When I give tours at Alcor, I pass out fliers that I made up for anyone that wants to attend. Usually for people that are locals. I'm getting on average around 3 to 5 new faces per month and many repeats. We hold the meetings for the Phoenix Cryonics meet up group at a house that I live in that has been graciously provided by a British Alcor member, who purchased the house to live in when he swings through America. Along with me, are graduate students that live here in this house, that are working for the Methuselah Foundation <http://www.methuselahfoundation.org/>. They rotate through usually staying for 3 months and then they return to school or what have you. We are now on our third shift of these very inspiring twenty somethings. And when we have the Cryo meet ups, cryonicists love to meet and talk with them. Chana De Wolf had originally started the Meetup.com group and she handed the torch on to me when she and Aschwin moved to Oregon. The Cryonics Meet up group is not just for Alcor members though. Alcor does not sponser it. I pay for the website fees. It is open to any cryonics members anywhere. And I am personally fostering open cooperation with all. If we were to have CI members attend, and they lived in the area, all they'd have to do is set up with people in our community to make arrangements that would help in their cryopreservations. As in all cryonics, its in the prep work that makes or breaks it. No one is going to help though, if you don't open your mouth and ask. You have to be responsible for your own arrangements on who will be your advocate when you go down. Logisitically, Alcor is not going to be at your side if you go down unexpectedly. So everyone needs to have descussed this ahead of time with whom ever you live with and is within arms reach of you. And we go over that every so often with the group. I'm always looking for good ideas. Recently, I have made a connection with a member of the Methuselah team in Tempe, who is very interested in media. So I have shoved a video camera in her hands and we are now interviewing people who want to give testamonials at the meetings, as to why they are a cryonicist and we will be up loading them to You Tube in the future. Since that has just started, I have no particular deadline for when they'll be up quite yet. But suffis it to say, sometime in the near future. These testamonials may help play a role in people's cryopreservations in the future. Alcor, and I know other orgs have run into the ongoing issues of family sometimes proclaiming that the individual didn't want to be cryopreserved. Having the ability to just walk over to any terminal that is linked to the web and pull up the persons testamonial of why they wanted it etc. etc. would have a powerful affect. And shut down arguements before they can gain traction. I suggest to anyone reading this, that if you are a cryonicist, that you think about doing the same. If you are an "out of the closet" type cryonicists of course. Those that are private about their arrangements still need to take some of this into concideration. I am now also working with Richard Leis from Tuscon, another Alcor member and Transhumanist, like myself, with a Transhumanist once a month gathering that we have every first Sunday of the month, which we hold at the Alcor facility in the conference room. I give tours of Alcor afterward for any new people that came for the transhumanism and stay for the cryonics. Each of these is a potluck and is very fun. We show videos and we are now setting up speakers to come and give talks. I have found that most people at these gatherings I have, have not seen the amount of material that is on You tube these days, regarding Transhumanism or cryonics. So I just set up a screen and project from my laptop a few gems that I find during the rest of the month. and then I encourage people to look up on their own, search terms I'll put on the white board that we have in the conference room. It has been very good for networking for Alcor also. I've found within the cryonics group for example, a talent pool to draw on, for farming out small jobs that we need accomplished at the Alcor facility. All of this is good for pulling people together and just giving the set and setting that encourages inspiration, collaboration and community. Since the cryonics group started, we've had several members now that are in the process of moving to Scottsdale or the greater Phoenix area because of this. For example, two very outgoing and charismatic members from Quebec, that were profiled in the last Alcor Cryonics Magazine are making arrangements to move here permanently. Stephane and Magdalee. I know of at least 3 others that are doing the same. We are starting to outgrow our current meeting places. So I am looking for bigger venues. Also, I announce at these gatherings any group outting that everyone may want to go on. Currently I have planned that there will be a caravan to the BIL Conference in Long Beach coming up the first week in February. And two I haven't really announced yet, but we will be doing. First the traveling exhibit of the props and stage sets etc. from Star Trek that are now at the Science Center. That's a must for me at least. I know we'll have a nice crowd for that. and then in spring we're talking about a group trip to go check out Arcosanti <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcosanti> that is 65 miles north of Phoenix. The planned "futuristic" community that has been in existents since I think the 70's. So, yeah, we got some community going on. Come visit! www.meetup.com (search Cryonics Phoenix and you'll find us) http://hplusclub.com/ (on left go to "Chapters" and you'll see) Regina Pancake > > > -- > Gary Kline http://www.thought.org Public Service Unix > http://jottings.thought.org http://transfinite.thought.org > The 2.17a release of Jottings: http://jottings.thought.org/index.php > > Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=31286 > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > End of CryoNet Digest > ********************* > > ------=_Part_53808_7817758.1229887893473 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=31288