X-Message-Number: 1412 Date: 05 Dec 92 04:37:13 EST From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: Re: cryonics: #1395 - #1396 Dear Mike: I personally was sorry to see you go, but never thought of your leaving as due to "instability". I suspect I speak for many others. As for volunteers, one major problem with any volunteer, and independent (almost) of personal motivations, is that volunteers receive no or very little pay for their activities and therefore remain beholden to their employers etc. for enough money to survive. A 9 to 5 job curtails most people. Ultimately, of course, cryonicists (if not Alcor itself) will solve this problem by paying professional suspension teams --- but I feel skeptical that anything short of that will solve it in the short term. As we both know, a certain PhD supporter does not participate in suspensions nor help out in any other than indirect ways... an example of the problem. At the same time Alcor staff and board might think carefully about just how to use the efforts of volunteers despite their (collective, not individual) instability. Local teams are an important idea; and if it's easy for someone to get the necessary training, it may become easier to produce the needed volunteers on shorter notice. Speaking for myself, I would be glad to become more involved in suspensions; I have asked about reactivating my old attempt to become an EMT (interrupted by a brain tumor!). I was told that would not be necessary ... correctly or not. Best and long life Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1412