X-Message-Number: 18211 Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 16:20:19 -0700 From: Jessica Lemler <> Subject: This Week at Alcor! The following can also be viewed on our website at <http://www.alcor.org/>http://www.alcor.org Week of December 17 through 23, 2001 Hugh Hixon, Facilities Engineer Friday, continue operations review. Saturday, see *Vanilla Sky*. You have to have a quick eye, or go through it almost frame by frame, but there's one of our patient pods that we rented to them in a scene. No, they did not consult us, or at least one obvious inaccuracy would have been caught in the script. Monday, go over text for *Alcor Forum* for Charles Platt. Reroute some wires from an old wake-the-dead alarm system for use with the new monitoring system. Long chat with one of our technical members on thermoelectric cooling. Tuesday, more work on the alarm system. Carry on an e-mail back-and-forth on some possibilities for perfusion and cooldown monitoring. Tour with visitors. Make schematic for field cryoprotection perfusion circuit. Swapped monitors. Wednesday, telecon meeting with Alcor attorney on various subjects. Consider obvious flaw in valving logic of perfusion circuit. Do a little catalog work for a rotary switch. Mount tubing pumps for circuit. Thursday, come up with a workable perfusion circuit. More catalog work. Lay out parts of perfusion circuit on carrier breadboard. Mathew Sullivan, Facility Operations Manager Cryotransport: We finished our protocol review on Friday; this is the same review that was mentioned on the previous report. I followed up on this review by looking for our videotapes from previous suspensions, and repacked our transport kits that were opened during the review. Facility Operations: I researched and submitted information on an Automated External Defibrillator for Alcor, which we might be purchasing soon. I spent some time organizing my office, mainly paperwork and computer files. I took the ambulance out for some exercise, and then stopped by for an emissions test. After I installed a new operating system on Joe's computer, I had to re-network a few computers so we could print to his printer. I also installed Norton's SystemWorks 2002 on his computer. I shopped for and ordered various supplies and stocked them. I compiled and submitted my receipts for reimbursement. Mike Perry, PhD., Patient Care Assistant This week I worked on copying pictures for relatives of a patient. I also helped with finalizing a new service upgrade for our website. We can now edit the website from FrontPage, and I made a few changes (see "photo tour"). More should follow. One evening I also had a learning experience relating to security matters, while doing the nightly check. You can "lock" a door by throwing the dead bolt--only it isn't really locked! That is, you do it prematurely, when the door is not fully closed, so it ends up locked open rather than shut. This evidently is what happened when I opened a door briefly to check on some outside sounds, then locked it back--or thought I did. (The door is spring loaded, which kept it closed enough that the problem was not visually apparent, and also contributed to the "feel" of having successfully locked it.) Fortunately the unlocked door was discovered within minutes by someone else, and I will now be sure to test any door in similar circumstances by pushing on it afterward to make sure the lock is really engaged. Well, I'm a Ph.D. and I spend a lot of my time worrying over locked and unlocked doors, or so it may seem from the above, and, adding insult to injury, not always getting it right. No, that's not how I spend most of my time. And here it may be worth mentioning that I am involved in some spare time (unpaid) projects that could have a bearing on cryonics. One is mathematical, an attempt to create a better algorithm for computerized tomography from x-ray images (in this case using conebeam rather than fanbeam geometry). If this succeeds then, among other things, it could give us a better assessment of how well we are perfusing our patients Dr. Jerry Lemler, President, CEO Well, I'm going to fly against the prevailing wind in stating my take on the new Tom Cruise movie, Vanilla Sky. While perhaps the story line falls short of Cruise's last (and in my opinion) best ever effort, Eyes Wide Shut, I enjoyed the new one nonetheless. Sure, the cryonics spin could have been more flattering, but it's been a heck of a lot worse over the years than this portrayal. And, did you notice the uncanny resemblance between the Life Extension staff in the film and our very own Alcor crew? Charles Platt informs me that the second edition of The Alcor Forum will be mailed out in the next few days. Naturally, I've seen it, and trust me, (even if you don't agree with my movie review), it's worth the wait. On a related matter, we received 6,500 pounds (over 9,000 copies) of Alcor Life Extension Foundation: An Introduction today in Scottsdale. Ripon Printers assures me they sent a copy to all Alcor members on Tuesday, the 18th, so the new membership book should soon arrive as well. We're also in the process of revitalizing our information packets. We're planning a fresher, glossier, more professional-looking cover, with up-to-date reprints to go along with the new book and membership application. Paula and I are looking forward to attending Trudy and Dave Pizer's open house party tomorrow (Saturday). We've never been to the Pizer home, and, in fact, we've yet to meet Trudy. I hope everyone has a great Christmas. We'll be spending the holiday with our kids. Russell is in from Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, and then he'll be on his way to Army Ranger School, and out of any contact for 60 or more days. Joe Hovey, Accounting Manager Not much to report this week. More computer problems which Mathew Sullivan and James Sikes (volunteer) are helping me with. Amazing how dependent everyone has become on these devices. Much of the week was taken up with finishing moving into my new living quarters. I don t ever want to move again. At work, many meetings on one subject or another. A lot of time spent on the phone or responding to e-mail, putting out fires or answering questions. Finished balancing bank statements. Preparing for preparation of November financial statements next week. Also working on changes required for dues increases and major billing cycle in January. Lots of year end stuff. Validating data entry done for tax reports to go out next month for all donors and dues payers. More of the same scheduled for next week. Jessica Lemler, Administrative Associate/Webmaster First and foremost, I must put in my two cents' worth regarding Vanilla Sky. After viewing the film with other staff members this past weekend, I must say I have been thinking a great deal about the movie. I'm sure the producers would be pleased. I was quite impressed with the film. I did find it somewhat difficult to follow at times, and while I do agree the cryonics element could have been presented in perhaps a bit more positive light, I do not feel it was presented negatively. I believe I enjoyed the film because it prompted me, already a cryonicist, to ask myself even more "what if" questions than I have already asked myself. I wonder, too, if the film has impacted non-cryonicists in such a manner. I am anxious to view the movie again to see if I can pick up on some of the elements I might have missed. In addition to battling with my own psyche over the issues presented in Vanilla Sky, I have been busy this week with staff meetings regarding the membership and information packets, my usual correspondence, and articles for the upcoming magazine. I was also thrilled to see, in published form, Alcor Life Extension Foundation: An Introduction. Lisa Lock has done a magnificent job with the publication of this book, and I was nearly brought to tears at the idea that eighteen months of work is now completed. No longer will Dr. Lemler be bringing chapters of the manual to me to type or revise! It's finally complete! Jennifer Chapman, Membership Administrator MEMBERS When approving changes to an insurance policy owned by Alcor, Alcor must determine whether the requested change will render the policy deficient. Also, Alcor must honor the terms of the Life Insurance Buy-Back Agreement by requiring each member to provide written consent of these changes. Insurance forms that require both the signature of the insured member and the owner are considered acceptable written confirmation of the requested change. However, if the insurance provider does not require authorization from the insured member, the member must provide Alcor with a signed authorization letter referencing the appropriate policy number. APPLICANTS There are many details to consider when assisting applicants with establishing an insurance policy. First, Alcor must have a complete copy of the policy, although the insurance agent typically sends the original policy to the applicant, with duplicate copies available from the insurance company for a small fee. In many cases, the beneficiary and ownership rights must be changed, which is achieved by signing and submitting the appropriate transfer forms. Also, before granting final approval of the funding, written confirmation of various policy details is obtained from the insurance company to ensure that Alcor s records are compatible with that of the provider. Alcor previously coordinated with various representatives of Colonial Trust Company and an attorney at Gallagher & Kennedy to develop a template trust that our clients can use to fund their suspension. If no changes were made to the template and the trust documents were properly executed, Alcor can approve the membership upon receiving confirmation from Colonial Trust Company that the trust has been appropriately funded. PROJECTS: UPDATED INFORMATION PACKAGE Alcor Life Extension Foundation: An Introduction by Jerry B Lemler, M.D. was released this week and is certain to be the highlight of our updated information package. I would like to extend my appreciation to Dr. Lemler, Jessica Lemler, and Lisa Lock for all of their efforts in this regard. You are all deserving of recognition for the many lives you are likely to save as a result of this excellent publication, the content and appearance of which are truly admirable. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=18211