X-Message-Number: 728 Date: 12 Apr 92 21:04:56 EDT From: Michael <> Subject: The I.A.C.O. Dear Edgar, Thanks to you and ACS/TT for giving I.A.C.O. a chance. Hopefully, Alcor and CI will come along also. I've written the Chamberlains asking about FOCS. I presume that is the discouraging experience you are referring to. Whatever the problems FOCS had can be corrected because we will be needing a strong self regulating body soon or we will be regulated by strangers. I'm safe in saying NO ONE wants that. This is my letter to the Chamberlains: April 10,1992 Dear Fred & Linda, It's wonderful to meet one's heroes face to face. You are even more exciting and upbeat in real life than I was told. Boy, I wish I could rub you off on the rest of the gang. I was beginning to think it was the Liquid Nitrogen fumes that made everyone so depressed. You are proof that it should make one giddy. I have had the toughest time figuring out why people, who think they are going to live "forever", are so blue. Anyway, I'm writing today to get a handle on the status of FOCS, if there is a status. It looks to me that the inevitable splintering of cryonics is about to start. It might be a good time to "revive" the suspended FOCS, as there will be a greater need for industry self regulation as time goes on. I've worked in government regulated industries and we don't want any. A strong offense would be our best defense. We are one TV expose away from a major crisis and there are more expose shows now, all needing gobs of sensational material for ratings now, than ever before. We will all have to hang together or we will hang separately, to coin a phrase. If you have any thoughts on this, as the goodwill ambassadors to the industry, please let me know how I can help. I'm here in the media capital of our known universe and I'd like to help present a positive image to any interested party. My facile understanding was that common industry standards couldn't be agreed upon for FOCS. Something about Alcor not wanting to lower it's standards to a common level? I'm not worried about Darwin's new group for standards, I'm concerned that this can become a "garage" industry with a little bad luck, and one garage will reflect on us all. I know none of this is new to you or you wouldn't havestarted FOCS. I just thought it might be a good time to relook at FOCS. If you ever outlined a possible industry standard procedural manual or list of tenets everyone should sign off on to be a FOCS member, I'd love to see it. If the press jumps on Avi for example, or John Doe for freezing his mother in law in his rage, a few decades before her time, industry standards would be helpful and perhaps crucial in damage control. It might help keep the "reflection" to a minimum to be able to point out how someone wasn't a member or deviated from industry accepted procedure, without the knowledge and approval of the other member groups. Hope to hear from you soon. And thank you for being who you are. Much love, Michael Paulle Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=728