Burial or cremation?

[Arie de Muynck]

Hmmmmmm. Burial or cremation. Only two choices, eh?

Today you can be cremated, then have the carbon from the ashes converted
into a diamond. Nice remainder for your wife (or oldest daughter).
Not cheap though.

<http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/lifeline/LifeLine_web_newsletter_e1.pdf>

Arie

 

[Lord Garth]

Today you can be cremated, then have the carbon from the ashes converted
into a diamond. Nice remainder for your wife (or oldest daughter).
Not cheap though.

<http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/lifeline/LifeLine_web_newsletter_e1.pdf>

Arie

Gives new meaning to the term 'family jewels', doesn't it!

 

[keith]

Today you can be cremated, then have the carbon from the ashes converted
into a diamond. Nice remainder for your wife (or oldest daughter).
Not cheap though.

<http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/lifeline/LifeLine_web_newsletter_e1.pdf>

Perhaps not cheap, but not particularly expensive if you compare it to a
casket, vault, plot, headstone, and all the other ripoffs. My MIL's
funeral last year was close to $10K and the plot/vault/headstone were
already there. It's not cheap to die!

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

Today you can be cremated, then have the carbon from the ashes converted
into a diamond. Nice remainder for your wife (or oldest daughter).
Not cheap though.

<http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/lifeline/LifeLine_web_newsletter_e1.pdf>

The wife would just start trying to fatten me up in order to get a few
more carats out of the deal.

;-)

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Perhaps not cheap, but not particularly expensive if you compare it to a
casket, vault, plot, headstone, and all the other ripoffs. My MIL's
funeral last year was close to $10K and the plot/vault/headstone were
already there. It's not cheap to die!

I think the 10K should mostly pay for a party for the survivors,
hopefully to celebrate your life, have a few drinks and tell stories.
The rest of it (unless your religion specifies something) is pretty
much optional. I think it costs about $100 to get someone cremated.

The gem thing is a bit gross- properly cremated remains have no carbon
in the ash! ... so...they have to deliberately not thoroughly cremate
the remains to leave some carbon.. ugh.

From a previous post:

...according to the patent application 20040154528 August
12, 2004:

The approximate composition of human ash:
[0036] CaO 39.0%
[0037] P205 50.2%
[0038] K20 4.8%
[0039] Na203 3.8%
[0040] MgO 0.9%
[0041] SiO2 1.1%
[0042] Fe203 0.2%
[0043] ZnO 0.1%

(No carbon/sp)

[0049] The manufacture of diamonds using human remains is to be
completed using any number of known methods. The human/animal remains
prior to desiccation/heating/cremation shall be referred to as the
"remains". These methods include but are not limited to the following:
collection of carbon from a gaseous phase during the heating/cremation
process, or heating the subject at a temperature at or lower than that
necessary for cremation in order to facilitate the
collection/formation of carbon. The carbon may be collected at a later
stage of cremation or after cremation. In addition, this may be done
in a low oxygen or controlled oxygen environment. In order to collect
carbon suitable for diamond creation the remains may be heated in a
contained/controlled environment--for example a reusable or one time
use stainless steel containment vessel or other vessel or crematorium
that may have filtered collection vents or events which draw the
carbon/volatile material/gas through a filter or collection chamber
prior to final dispersion. The carbon may also be purified and/or
converted into graphite. During the diamond making process a "seed"
diamond may be used as a seed for the end diamond product. The
diamonds generated from the human carbon may be re-mixed with other
diamonds or mixtures and re-subjected to the diamond making devices or
other processes for one or more trials in order to increase the size
of the final product or enhance the final product.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Sbharris[atsign]ix.netcom.com]

Well, your brain is much the same kind of thing. Put it on the shelf

and see what the future brings.

Who says? And how do they know? If you think death is such a great
deal, you're welcome to demonstrate by shuffling off sooner.

A bunch of folks originally from your country now let themselves get
eaten by buzzards in Bombay. I'm unable to discover if they're still
allowed to do it in Iran, where some Zoroastrians still live. Is
providing energy for the wings of a vulture part of it all, too?.
Edward Abbey once thought so. But when it came to his own remains, he
wimped out.

SBH

 

[Sbharris[atsign]ix.netcom.com]

More seriously, I'd seen too many gravesites looking lonely and
uncared
for: my answer is an unmarked site, or none at all. Cremation is the
ultimate sharing: assuming a well mixed atmosphere, everyone will
breathe part of you with every breath. <<

Like everyone doesn't breathe "part of you" in every breath already.

The human body has a huge turnover in atoms. At 4% a day, the average
person at age 40 has already put 30 metric tons or so of atoms that
have been part of this body into the environment. Given these figures,
the nonsense that attends discussions of cremation vs burial (in terms
of talking about 50 kg MORE matter or so, at the end) is just silly.

But it's a great example of how our common sense tends to go South when
talking about death.

SBH

 

[Pooh Bear]

Get stuffed like Jeremy Bentham
http://www.frankieroberto.com/weblog/189.xhtml

I recall him well. I went to UCL. After a bit you get used to walking by
the glass box with him inside. In the Main Hall IIRC.


Graham

 

[[email protected]]

Who says? And how do they know? If you think death is such a great
deal, you're welcome to demonstrate by shuffling off sooner.

A bunch of folks originally from your country now let themselves get
eaten by buzzards in Bombay. I'm unable to discover if they're still
allowed to do it in Iran, where some Zoroastrians still live. Is
providing energy for the wings of a vulture part of it all, too?.

I read somewhere, somewhen that this is done to prevent spreading
disease. I never verified this snippet.

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

 

[Rich The Newsgropup Wacko]

.

The approximate composition of human ash:
[0036] CaO 39.0%
[0037] P205 50.2%
[0038] K20 4.8%
[0039] Na203 3.8%
[0040] MgO 0.9%
[0041] SiO2 1.1%
[0042] Fe203 0.2%
[0043] ZnO 0.1%

(No carbon/sp)

So, other than the carbon and water, we're made of Maalox, sand,
rust, and fungus cream.

Cool!

 

[Rich The Newsgropup Wacko]

The wife would just start trying to fatten me up in order to get a few
more carats out of the deal.

;-)

And nobody ever talks about the gold that's rendered out of the corpse's
teeth.
--
Cheers!
Rich
------
Two golfers were being held up as the twosome of women in front of them
whiffed shots, hunted for lost balls and stood over putts for what seemed
like hours. "I'll ask if we can play through," Bill said as he strode
toward the women. Twenty yards from the green, however, he turned on his
heel and went back to where his companion was waiting. "Can't do it," he
explained, sheepishly. "One of them's my wife and the other's my
mistress!" "I'll ask," said Jim. He started off, only to turn and come
back before reaching the green. "What's wrong?" Bill asked. "Small world,
isn't it?"

 

[Maleki]

Who says? And how do they know? If you think death is such a great
deal, you're welcome to demonstrate by shuffling off sooner.

Do you think that if a person like me could keep living,
eventually _one_ jingo would be left on earth to live? Even
a jingo should get his chance. Who knows what else is in
there that he carries.

A bunch of folks originally from your country now let themselves get
eaten by buzzards in Bombay. I'm unable to discover if they're still
allowed to do it in Iran,

They do it illegally.

where some Zoroastrians still live. Is
providing energy for the wings of a vulture part of it all, too?.

It's a lesser matter of giving it to worms or to vultures,
and a much greater matter of giving back what's owed, in
return for having eaten other life forms for a few decades.
It is stupidity and selfishness to cremate the body. Very
ugly; and you cannot, morally, keep living, while other life
forms you consume keep dying. Plus we got here on the shear
fact that we kept dying so the next one could have what we
had.

Edward Abbey once thought so. But when it came to his own remains, he
wimped out.

SBH

--

"Here is the question: Do the unknown circumstances we
face cause us to re-evaluate the call? Of course
not."

- Arthur Blessitt

 

[keith]

I think the 10K should mostly pay for a party for the survivors,

Wrong. There are laws that must be obeyed. There are those who control
the process.

hopefully to celebrate your life, have a few drinks and tell stories.

Stories, perhaps. The only thing to drink was a mix of hydrogen-hydroxide
in two physical states.

The rest of it (unless your religion specifies something) is pretty much
optional.

You don't know what you're talking about. Laws dictate what must be done
with the dead. Those who have a vested interest...

I think it costs about $100 to get someone cremated.

Not here, and not there. I don't know where you live, but it cost me more
than that to have my dog cremated (another requirement).

The gem thing is a bit gross- properly cremated remains have no carbon
in the ash! ... so...they have to deliberately not thoroughly cremate
the remains to leave some carbon.. ugh.

Whatever. I think it's a better alternative than taking up space in the
ground. And not much more expensive than what we paid for a box.

[0049] The manufacture of diamonds using human remains is to be
completed using any number of known methods. The human/animal remains
prior to desiccation/heating/cremation shall be referred to as the
"remains". These methods include but are not limited to the following:
collection of carbon from a gaseous phase during the heating/cremation
process, or heating the subject at a temperature at or lower than that
necessary for cremation in order to facilitate the collection/formation
of carbon. The carbon may be collected at a later stage of cremation or
after cremation. In addition, this may be done in a low oxygen or
controlled oxygen environment. In order to collect carbon suitable for
diamond creation the remains may be heated in a contained/controlled
environment--for example a reusable or one time use stainless steel
containment vessel or other vessel or crematorium that may have filtered
collection vents or events which draw the carbon/volatile material/gas
through a filter or collection chamber prior to final dispersion. The
carbon may also be purified and/or converted into graphite. During the
diamond making process a "seed" diamond may be used as a seed for the
end diamond product. The diamonds generated from the human carbon may be
re-mixed with other diamonds or mixtures and re-subjected to the diamond
making devices or other processes for one or more trials in order to
increase the size of the final product or enhance the final product.

Interesting. I wonder if the Boston group of diamond-makers is going
there. IIRC the "yellows" are from the Miami (Moscow) group.

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Wrong. There are laws that must be obeyed. There are those who control
the process.

How much does compliance actually cost? A thousand dollars? Two? I
doubt it's in conflict with my statement. They (funeral homes) can't
force you to use their insanely overpriced coffins anymore in the US..
you can buy one from Costco for $999 if you want. But most of us still
do.

Stories, perhaps. The only thing to drink was a mix of hydrogen-hydroxide
in two physical states.

We've tended to have a catered reception elsewhere afterward. Not
exactly a wake, but not so sad either.

You don't know what you're talking about. Laws dictate what must be done
with the dead. Those who have a vested interest...

The laws took some of the control away from the funeral homes,
although some still take try to take advantage. It's a vulnerable time
and difficult for those making the decisions. I do think the ritual is
very important, for intangible but very, very real reasons. But the
last couple of holy dudes I paid at such gatherings only got a couple
hundred bucks donation, a negligible percentage of the total.

I think it costs about $100 to get someone cremated.

Not here, and not there. I don't know where you live, but it cost me more
than that to have my dog cremated (another requirement).

http://www.ipcmclean.org/Our_Minist..._Funeral_Homes___/2__Cremation_explained.html

"Many memorial societies offer members cremation services provided by
licensed mortuaries at costs considerably less than the national
average. Families who care for their own dead can use crematories
directly at charges from $75 to $200."

That's the *real* cost from the establishment that does the work. I've
designed controls used in crematoriums, BTW. Animal and human. Of
course the funeral home might jack that up.. like their markup on a
$400 casket to $4000.

Whatever. I think it's a better alternative than taking up space in the
ground. And not much more expensive than what we paid for a box.

As a reasonable alternative, I understand you can make a decent
pottery glaze from normal ashes. Makes more sense to be a key bowl
than sit around in an urn (or a molded black plastic box, which is how
they come from the subcontractor).



Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

And nobody ever talks about the gold that's rendered out of the corpse's
teeth.

I sleep with my mouth open. She pried that out years ago.

 

[Ian]

And nobody ever talks about the gold that's rendered out of the corpse's
teeth.

The EU RoHS legislation is having an unexpected effect on
cremations in the UK.
It turns out that the mercury amalgam commonly used in dental
fillings will require very expensive filtering to be added to crematoriums
chimneys to prevent the release of mercury into the atmosphere.

Regards
Ian

 

[Richard Herring]

The EU RoHS legislation is having an unexpected effect on
cremations in the UK.
It turns out that the mercury amalgam commonly used in dental
fillings will require very expensive filtering to be added to crematoriums
chimneys to prevent the release of mercury into the atmosphere.

Ssssh! You'll wake K**th W*lsh!

 

[Rich Grise]

How much does compliance actually cost? A thousand dollars? Two? I
doubt it's in conflict with my statement. They (funeral homes) can't
force you to use their insanely overpriced coffins anymore in the US..
you can buy one from Costco for $999 if you want. But most of us still
do.

We cremated both my Mom and my Dad, and IIRC it was about $800.00 each,
but they took care of everything - and that included a side-by-side
urn, which was the first time I'd ever heard of such a thing. The urn
is buried at Ft. Snelling, which was "free", since Dad was a vet.

My Dad used to say, "Do NOT give me a funeral. If a bunch of people
want to gather around and tell each other how wonderful I am, let them
do it while I'm still alive and can be there to appreciate it."

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Keith Williams]

We cremated both my Mom and my Dad, and IIRC it was about $800.00 each,
but they took care of everything - and that included a side-by-side
urn, which was the first time I'd ever heard of such a thing. The urn
is buried at Ft. Snelling, which was "free", since Dad was a vet.

There _was_ a crematorium here that had the audacity to charge $1500
(IIRC), but it was shut down by the state funeral directors because it
didn't "meet standards". The average funeral here goes for $5K. The
$10K for the MIL was in IL and was considered low there. The cemetery
even tried to double-charge for the vault (a requirement). Even so,
they charged $750 for a hole in ground that had been paid for 25 years
years earlier.

My Dad used to say, "Do NOT give me a funeral. If a bunch of people
want to gather around and tell each other how wonderful I am, let them
do it while I'm still alive and can be there to appreciate it."

He's right, by then it's too late. However, the funeral isn't for him.

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

I think 'Throwback' is the best.

Read it today. A very funny book, especially impressive considering
that it's 25+ years old.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany