X-Message-Number: 19933
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 10:43:19
From: "York W. &/or Lois G. Porter" <>
Subject: WHACKO

Wednesday, August 28, 2002
10:40 a.m. CDT

Hi Everyone!

Since I occasionally have submitted a "Notes from the Net" column to *The
Immortalist*, I normally refrain from sending anything to Cryonet as I
think it is somewhat uncouth for me to be editing for presentation to
others something that I am submitting to. But, in this case, I felt it
necessary to make an exception.
	The term "whacko" or "waco" or "wacko" was clearly meant "tongue in cheek"
at the First Annual Cryosummit and, I think, much amusement was had by
everyone (or most everyone), at least through Saturday night, bandying the
term about. We joked about a "bunch of whackos", whether one was a "true
whacko" and, at Robert Ettinger's house, David Pascal and I discussed and
laughed about whether we should rename the  professional standards group
"Deanimation Organizations of America" (DOA). By late in the set of
meetings even I had grown tired of the term "whacko" and  before I left to
go to the Cryonics Institute's facility on Sunday morning I thought up the
phrase
International Association of Cryonics Organizations which Dr. Robert
Newport had independently arrived at (great minds think alike Dr. Newport!!
:o)) and which he mentioned without any prior discussion between us in a very
nice presentation on Sunday morning and which I think sounds appropriately
professional and which follows up on Rudi Hoffman's quite correct
observation that the term "whacko" is over the top to say the least. While
"whacko" was meant as a parody of those folks in the public arena that want
to ignore the the fact that cryonics is one of the most rational and clear
headed things you can do in life and would rather engage in personal
attacks instead, nevertheless, cryonics is difficult enough to sell to the
public as it is and we need to take as many steps as possible to be as
professional as we reasonably can be in it's presentation and I feel
confident that under Dr. Newport's guidance that the various organizations
involved will develop standards that work towards that goal. Those that
know me are aware of and (at least occasionally) appreciate my sense of
humor but everyone has my apologies for what I meant as a clearly joking
remark possibly being taken seriously by some folks.

Thanks!!

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