LONGECITY

I wish this was an Aprils fools joke, but far from springing the news on short notice Mind had the good grace and foresight to warn us all months ago that this day would come: From today, Mind has stepped down as Executive Director of the Immortality Institute. His contract expires and he chose not to renew it at this stage. I won’t attempt to speak on his behalf, but I can speak on behalf of the board in saying that we are extremely sorry to see Mind go. In truth, we don’t know how we will cope without him.

ImmInst is a community – that is its heart and DNA and it only works, every day because many people contribute to it. Funny though, how sometimes personalities stand out to steer the motley caravan, to herd the crazy cats. In the history of ImmInnst there are two people who stand head and shoulders above all others: Bruce who started it all and now Mind, who stepped up to keep the ship afloat after it lay cast adrift and rudderless. His accomplishments during the last three years were many – others may want to enumerate, but I fear that this attempt would detract from the most important contribution that he made: he was there. He was there when the going got rough, when spammers and trolls had him in their crosshairs, when irritable members or sponsors wanted a solution to their problems – or life – by yesterday afternoon, when callous calibans were breathing down his neck about tasks and targets. He was there when most of us are not: he was there when he didn’t feel like it. He was there as the MIND of ImmInst.org.
And now he won’t be.

But all is not bleak. Mind assures us that he will be in touch, that he will help out and give advice where he can. That is the greatest relief because things may well fall apart if it were otherwise. Sneakily, we hope that via that route, we will manage to lure him back in, in the long run, after he had a rest and a breather and time to relax and recuperate. We hope that Minds entrepreneurial spirit and his generosity will conspire to bring him back into the very heart of the grass roots organisation that – thanks to him – punches so effectively above its weight. That plan will only succeed however, if we are all very nice to him for a change.

So ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding and give it up for ImmInst' past and future steward: Justin, the Mind, Loew.

Is this an April fools joke or is it actually true?

*Applause*

Sadly, this is no joke. Mind has been an invaluable resource to me. I consider him, without hyperbole, a hero. With my sadness, there is hope that many feet will move to fill his shoes, and even take ImmInst down fabulous new paths.

Thanks for everything, Mind.

I won’t attempt to speak on his behalf, but I can speak on behalf of the board in saying that we are extremely sorry to see Mind go. In truth, we don’t know how we will cope without him.

I second this.

THANKS MIND for your tireless commitment to this institute for so many years!!!

Thank you Justin. It was good to meet you at SENS4 and in Belgium. Thank you for all your effort and for putting up with all of us!

Yes, not a joke sadly. We love that Mind will have more time or the wonderful Sunday Evening Updates

Justin, your work in building up ImmInst, holding it up, and knowing when to tell others to put up or shut up--is priceless.

You are an excellent representative for extreme life extension and I hope to see you continue to do more over the years

ImmInst will always be a second home for you

The more posts I read here, the more I've seen him being a tireless moderator/administrator/thinker/etc. of this wonderfully crazy place. I wish him the best!

Thank you for everything Mind!!!

Over the years I've seen imminst greatly progress all thanks to Mind's efforts. Few here have shown the dedication he has to the cause and I for one am extremely grateful for all his hard work.

Thanks Mind. Im reminded of pioneers like Lewis and Clark. If they hadnt forged on ahead at that time then who knows how long, or if the caravans of others would have followed them. They had to make a lot of sacrifices. They were gone from their regular lives for what, 3 years? Its probably been about the same for Mind, being here almost 365 days a year for the last few years. Causes needed leaders like you, that they cant do with out.

Who's replacing him?

Thanks Mind, you've done a terrific job!

Who's replacing him?

Nobody, the board will temporally take over his duties but things will change when the new constitution gets approved.

Thanks for all the well-wishes. It is nice to be appreciated. I am happy to have helped out. Looking back I am amazed at how many years in a row I have been involved with Bjklein.com and Imminst. Does anyone remember when Bjklein.com got start, maybe 2000 or 2001?

It was a pleasure working with everyone, and I am not going away completely, I just won't be around 7 days a week anymore. Some of the things I will help out with are:

1. The content management team - try to get some steady contributions from new volunteers.
2. Make sure the Stop Aging Now arrangement gets off the ground and running smoothly.
3. Make sure the Community Supplement gets off the ground and running smoothly.
4. I was planning on a once-a-month Sunday Evening Update (with podcasts - some of which are done and just waiting to be listed), if the board considers this a worthwhile media presence for Imminst.
5. The Board has not officially decided, but I will stay on as one of the spokespeople for Imminst if needed.
6. A couple other things I have already forgotten about.
7. jeez this list is getting long!
8. Answers questions, and offer advice or guidance for leadership.
9. Help with navigation/moderation if needed.

I will still be around the forums because the Imminst forums are the most active and interesting on the net. Why go anywhere else?

Imminst has many good volunteers and leaders. I can really tell how much you care by the time you spend here. It is thankless work most of the time, but I firmly believe that our interaction, grass-roots initiatives, and activism will pay great rewards for human society. Keep up the good work.

A special thanks to Caliban. Although he does not post much in the forums, he has put in a lot of work behind the scenes and takes care of many management/legal issues for the Institute. He has also helped push along new and interesting initiatives. He is an active participant in leadership meetings. He has been a key person in the evolution of Imminst and doesn't get as much thanks as he should.

So sad to see you go Mind. Thanks for everything.

Thanks.

Looking back I am amazed at how many years in a row I have been involved with Bjklein.com and Imminst. Does anyone remember when Bjklein.com got start, maybe 2000 or 2001?

I do!

Thanks for all of the work Justin.

Thank You

I'm glad I got to meet you when you came out for UABBA in LA. Thanks for all the hard work you've put in (at least 10x what you were paid for IMO).

I'm a bit shocked to hear, but thank you for your great work for Imminst, Mind and I hope you'll be around.

Mind, thanks for everything you have done for Imminst
I hope that you will stay on the forums

So ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding and give it up for ImmInst' past and future steward: Justin, the Mind, Loew.

[standing and clapping louder] ... I hope we can make this a standing ovation, friends. ;-)

Thank you, Justin!

Mind you were great and you are great. During the time I was here you not only animated things at best with zero fault, you became the most trusted poster and the one who conveys the most balanced impression of this organization. You developped a knowledge about pretty much all subjects. I think that without you imminst would have much less members.

Yet, despite such extraordinary (transhuman? ) devotion+skills it seems that this organization hardly further increased the already increasing media attention and research for life extension and related causes. I wonder if this is because of the non mainstreamness, or because a website-based association is insufficient to operate for this task, or other reasons.

Anyway, not sure why you are leaving but, all the best. I hope you keep coming here, and/or to more similar organizations.
Edited by AgeVivo, 02 April 2010 - 10:53 PM.

Thanks Mind! I hope whatever you do with all this free time you're going to have now will be as engaging as your time spent here. Good luck!

My sincere thanks Mind.

Thanks Mind for all your work here.

Thanks Mind for the all the valuable work of running the largest internet forum about life extension, hope you'll still be around here a lot!

Live long and prosper!
Edited by pres, 09 April 2010 - 06:58 PM.

I'm a bit shocked to hear, but thank you for your great work for Imminst, Mind and I hope you'll be around.

I also feel same way. Mind is one among the few core visionaries and is one who inspires me to visit imminst.org again and again. Sunday video update is a pioneering job deserving continuity. Isn't it true that imminst.org has just started drawing attention of the world towards a great goal and that a lot more is yet to be done? Though I hurry up and say thanks, I without guilt take liberty to pronounce that once born, one should live healthily forever and once inside imminst.org, one should be with it happily forever. Mind, I remain reasonless to except you ever from this humble statement.

Thanks Mind!

Anthony