X-Message-Number: 4712
Date: 03 Aug 95 03:57:58 EDT
From: Mike Darwin <>
Subject: CRYONICS: sarcastic humor

I have had great difficulty downloading any e-mail for the last 48 hours.  
What I have gotten was garbled.  In particular I got the *middle* of a 
letter from someone taking me to task for denigrating all cryonicists and 
(possibly?) demonizing someone (demonizing was the last word in the 
communication and it was obviously an incomplete sentence).  When I tried 
rebuilding my cabinet index no such post came up.  The address which 
accompanied the post was   The post appeared sincere 
and, if the person who sent it (plus anyone elsewho's tried to e-mail me in 
the last 48 hours) would send it again, I'll respond privately.  

A word of warning: CompuServe Information Manager goes non linear when 
there are too many messages left in the in-basket.  Since the damn thing 
refuses to file long messages (like longer Cryonet posts) they stack up in 
my in basket unril I'm done with them, then I delete them.  Since I got 
nearly 100 messages today it apparently was too much for WINCIM's tiny mind 
to handle.

Until I get the problem cleared up at work I'll have to download from my 
machine at home.

As to the point about my attacking all cryonicists.  Please, for God's sake 
don't make the terrible mistake of thinking that I in any way restrict my 
feelings of deep contempt  and sarcasm only to cryonicists. I try to see 
that everyone gets their fair share.  In fact, I don't even save it for ALL 
cryonicists.  

My post of the top ten "solutions" to the stability qeuestion posed by 
Eugene Leitel was intended as black humor. Mean, pointed black humor, but 
humor nonetheless. I thought this was pretty obvious. Was it nasty?  Was it 
an outrage to the holy icon of cryonics and all the struggling souls who 
deal with the day-to-day frustrations of trying to make cryonics work?  
Hmmm, probably.  But then I warned everybody awhile back: Mike Darwin's 
turning over a new leaf: NO MORE MISTER NICE GUY!

Why did I do such a terrible thing?  Oh, I guess 'cause I read too much 
H.L. Mencken and Dorothy Parker while in High School.  In fact, it is a 
sorry state of affairs IMH but irrelevant opinion that there *are no 
Menckens or Parkers around anymore in this country.*  The only thing sadder 
is that I'm willing to bet that a solid majority of the people on this list 
have no idea who Mencken and Parker were and/or have never read thir work.

Take it from me, Mencken would have had a GREAT time with cryonics. 
(Personal to Steve Bridge: you don't count: librarians and people who knew 
Linda had no choice in the matter.)

Why else did I do it?  A lot of reasons.  Most aren't worth putting down 
here.The others, well, take your pick:

1) I was only able to steal candy from three toddlers and thus was in a 
foul mood that day.
2) I temporarily lost my mind when I read the words "uploading", 
"reassuring sweep of history" and "nanotechnology" all used in the same 
sentence.
3) My prescription for Thorazine ran out.
4) I find myself deeply frustrated by what IS a fundamental lack of support 
for what I arrogantly think is the correct path, and the grossly 
inappropriate focus to a lot of cryonics activity.
5) Scratch number 4 above, I just took another 500 mg of Thorazine and all 
the little voices that keep screaming "you and all your friends will soon 
be dead, you and all your friends will soon be dead (and your little dog 
Toto too (actually his name is Cannibal)) have stopped for awhile.
6) I reacted in a frenzy when I realized that the sentence referred to in 
number 2 above actually gave me a momentary feeling of comfort!
7) While in the desert recently (fasting) I looked up, saw the Milky Way 
and said to myself, "dear God, the Universe IS a wonderful place." My 
reaction to this, quite understandably, was to take some Haldol (Thorazine 
cubed) which promptly returned me to sanity, but not until before I'd 
clicked the mouse on SEND-RECEIVE ALL MAIL.

So I didn't make to it ten this time.  It's been a long day.

Why did I REALLY do it?

8) Maybe it will make people think a little. At least got their attention.

See, I'm an optimist after all.

Mike Darwin


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