Members Lucky Posted August 2, 2011 Members Posted August 2, 2011 Robert C. W. Ettinger, a Proponent of Life After (Deep-Frozen) Death, Is Dead at 92. Ettinger, a science fiction writer and physics instructor whose idea of freezing the dead for future reanimation repelled most scientists, inspired Woody Allen and Mike Myers to some of their best work and persuaded at least 105 game humans to pay $28,000 each to have their bodies preserved in liquid nitrogen at his Cryonics Institute in suburban Detroit, died on July 23 at his home in Clinton Township, Mich. He was 92. Now the good scientist is himself frozen at 371 degrees minus Fahrenheit and awaits the resurrection of his body at a time in the future when scientists have learned how to cure the respiratory failure that took his life. While alive, Ettinger speculated that returnees to life in the future may need to be equipped with wings and body armor made of hair. "In the last months of his life, Mr. Ettinger and his son arranged for procedures that would have to be done in the first few hours after he died, to maximize the benefits of cryonic freezing. They notified the funeral home where he would be embalmed with a kind of medical antifreeze to protect tissue from damage. They arranged for 24-hour nursing care, mainly so they would know the exact moment to begin the procedures. At one point, his son said, Mr. Ettinger allowed himself to think past the technicalities of the freezing to what his life might be like if he were ever unfrozen. Since the war, with one leg shorter than the other, he had not been one for sports. “So when I come back,” he told his son, “I’d like to try skiing.” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/30/us/30ettinger.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries Quote
Members RA1 Posted August 2, 2011 Members Posted August 2, 2011 How many sites like this are there? (Perhaps I should have spelled that sight. ) I know about the one in AZ with Ted Williams and I am sure there are some in CA but I didn't know there was one in MI. The older I get the less sure I want to be here years from now, even if in perfect health. Some things will surely be different and not necessarily for the better. However, just seeing what is going on would be interesting. If I ever thought I wanted to be immortal in the earthly sense, I would have had children. Which, as almost everyone knows, is also not necessarily a "perfect" solution but at least known to be attainable. Best regards, RA1 Quote
Guest gcursor Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 In the future... *Two guys enter Cryogenics Institute* Guy 1: okay and THIS is the inside of the Cryogenics Institute..you'll see that there are some very nice ceilings, spacious interior Guy 2: Yes..yes..this is a very nice property. How much are they asking? Guy 1: 82 thousand dollars. The owner has fallen on hard times..unemployed..you know Guy 2: Yes..that's sad. What are all these bodies doing in here? Guy 1: Oh..those can be thrown out. Again the owner is on hard times and needs to sell pretty quickly Guy 2: I see. Does the lab equipment come with the sale? Guy 1: Yep..everything is sold as is Guy 2: What did they use this place for? Guy 1: Cryogenics...freezing people until the future Guy 2: wow. seriously? who does that? Guy 1: well they pay quite a lot of money to have this done so they can wake up in the future Guy 2: yea (chuckles) you know I can think of some reasons I would want to do that. get away from my wife Guy 1: (laughs) yea..or an ex that won't leave you alone Guy 2: Or what about if you owe a lot of taxes...nope..sorry...42 million dollars in taxes...I'm getting frozen ....see you later Guy 1: So what do you think? Guy 2: Tell you what..tell the owner to knock it down to 70 thousand dollars and we got ourselves a deal Guy 1: Shouldn't be a problem. He needs the money very bad *end scene* Quote
Guest CharliePS Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 I think eternal life would be the most dreadful fate possible. Imagine the boredom! The certainty of death is what gives life meaning. Quote
Members Lucky Posted August 3, 2011 Author Members Posted August 3, 2011 So life becomes even more meaningful the moments at which death approaches? By then, you are kind of limited in what you can do... Quote
Guest CharliePS Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 So life becomes even more meaningful the moments at which death approaches? By then, you are kind of limited in what you can do... Like any commodity, life gets part of its value from its limited quantity. Many people become more aware of the value of life when they can see the end of their supply, particularly if they have not achieved their lifetime goals. But if life is endless, there is no pressure. What is the point of a bucket list, if the bucket can be bottomless? On the other hand, what is the point of endless life, if there is no way to achieve the unfulfilled goals? I feel lucky to have achieved most of my goals, and I don't need eternity to finish the rest. I'd rather die before I reach the permanent frustration stage. Quote
Members Lucky Posted August 3, 2011 Author Members Posted August 3, 2011 "I'd rather die before I reach the permanent frustration stage." When is that? Quote
Guest gcursor Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 When you start worrying about how many seats you are away from the bathroom during an airplane flight instead of how many guys you can fuck in the bathroom "I'd rather die before I reach the permanent frustration stage." When is that? Quote
