Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Skola's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, July 9th, 2009
6:31 pm	BOINCing, or, my futher adventures in bureaucracy. For the last few weeks, I have been on the phone and fax several times a day with either our case manager in the IRS or the state of New Jersey, trying to get SPARC its tax exempt status. In the process, I realized I'd forgotten to post about a good deed that I'd like all of you to join me in. For those of you not aware, there is a lovely program called BOINC (http://boinc.berkeley.edu/) that uses your spare CPU cycles and your screensaver to help do big things. For those of you old enough to remember those halcyon days shortly after Al Gore, blessings be upon him, created the internet, you saw it in its early form, when it was used as SETI, which helped us search for alien intelligence. Now we can use it for things like helping cure forms of cancer, finding new drugs, etc. I personally am connected to the World Community Grid (http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/) in order to try to do good things. I ask all of you to consider downloading BOINC, and, if you can find it in your hearts, connect to the World Community Grid, which seems to be doing a lot of good work. If you don't feel comfortable creating a new account there, I will temporarily lend you my account information long enough to connect you to them. If you do feel comfortable joining, and wish to go a step beyond being an individual user, I have set up a team page for SPARC, which I invite you to join. Most people I know use their computers fairly often (and hey, if you're reading this, chances are you're on a computer right now). You can easily set the program to use a very minimal amount of CPU cycles if you're worried about it slowing down your computer at all, but every little bit helps. Even if you don't do it, thank you for at least taking the time to read this. ~Gil ETA: If you've signed up already, http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/team/viewTeamInfo.do?teamId=72SGXRKKNV1 is the link to the team, and if you haven't, and are curious, http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/reg/viewRegister.do?teamID=72SGXRKKNV1 will let you sign up and automatically enter you into the team. Current Mood: determined (5 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
12:23 am	Happy anniversary, or, thank you. Four years ago today, I was woken up early in the morning by my elder sister who told me that finally, after months of waiting, of being hooked up to an Left Ventricular Assist Device that left me wired to a wall most of the day, and generally unable to be out of bed for more than a few minutes at a time, a heart had come in for me. My immediate family came to see me off, and I was taken downstairs in the elevator for surgery... ...to find out that the heart was no good. After promptly informing the doctor that I considered him to be a horrible tease, I spent the day rather depressed, and in the evening, my stepfather woke me up and asked if I wanted to try again. This time it took. Since then, my life has improved dramatically. There are many people I've met for whom my life has been made better by knowing them. There are people who I became closer to either during that time or after for whom my life has been made better. There are those who I lost touch with, either due to my words and actions or theirs. To all of them, I offer my apologies. Maybe if I were a better person, maybe if I'd said or done something different, maybe if I'd exercised a bit more restraint, maybe we would still talk. I miss you. Today, however, is a day I will spend trying to be happy and upbeat and celebratory. I have accomplished a lot since my transplant, and hope to accomplish much more. I hope you all have a safe, happy, and wonderful fourth of July, and wonderful lives. ~Gil Current Mood: loved Current Music: Wolfsheim - Once in a Lifetime (35 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
10:30 pm	Book moving party! Hey all, Those of you in the Philly area this Saturday should join me for a ( Book Moving Party! ) Current Mood: excited (6 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
7:22 pm	Baby issues solved! From an e-mail to my dad: "Shalom, I'm dealing with my final project at school these days an am lacking a buckle which is used only in the babybjurn carriers, I tried to contact the babybjurn company but it's impossible to send me only the buckles so I started to look for some used carriers, the problem is that in Israel they cost more then double the price in the us. Is it possible for you if I'll buy some carriers through e-bay and send them to you in Phili, so you will bring them here when you'll come? If so, when is the last day for me to do the delivery issues? Toda, Yael" All is solved. (15 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
11:29 am	Further Updates on the Mysterious Magical Baby Supplies So it appears that all credit cards, bank statements, etc, are untouched. The thick plottens.... Current Mood: amused (Make a Skolarly Observation)
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
11:36 pm	Unrelated to any mysteriously appearing baby supplies... ...do any SIG folks remember what classes I taught or TAed? P.S. That is my favorite subject line for an update. Current Mood: amused (2 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
7:53 pm	My father needs some help, or, mischief abounds So my father posted the following on his facebook, and I am reposting it, noting only that I would appreciate any help solving this mystery: OK, I need help. no crack remarks please. I am trying to solve a mystery. serious help will be appreciated. Last Thursday, two packages reached my office (3815 walnut). One was sent from Hamden CT and the other from Lincoln NE. Each contained a product called “baby Bjorn.” It is a sling/gear that mothers/fathers tie onto themselves and carry their baby. My children are all too old and big for it. I asked my family in Israel and in Canada and they all stated that they did not send it. Interestingly, none of the packages contained the name of the seller. Although the one from Nebraska was sent by a Brian Fink who lives in Wildrye Ave (there was a receipt of something he bought in the box). But, I could not locate him. I called eBay and they told me that as my account was not charged they cannot provide me with information on any of the transaction. Today came a third package with the same product and again no sender, no seller, and not even a city of origin. I am baffled and in need of serious ideas. Please keep the jokes for later. Thanks Ram Any thoughts? Current Mood: confused (27 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
9:33 am	In Illinois until June 6 (1 Observation | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
9:30 am	Gone to Toronto, brb. (1 Observation | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Friday, April 17th, 2009
1:16 pm	Union Stuff So in a sign of how strange the world has become, I am the Business Manager Elect of the Temple University Graduate Student Association, which is a chapter of The American Federation of Teachers. I have mixed feelings about this. While I support unions in general, as I see them as a good way to protect people who would be otherwise taken advantage of, I have also seen what happens when unions go overboard, which is part of why I don't do events at the PA Convention Center anymore. However, TUGSA has been good to grad students at Temple. Because of TUGSA, the baseline salary of graduate students is currently above the poverty level, and we have health insurance, which for me is important. However, our negotiations come after that of AFSCME and TAUP (Temple Association of University Professionals) which includes professors and library staff. Both AFSCME and TAUP have been working without contracts for months now, and TUGSA will be in negotiations in the fall. Here is where my problem begins. ( Cut for those of you who don't care ) HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART!!!! This Monday, April 20th, there will be a rally for TAUP at Alter Hall at 3:15-4:30 PM. If you think that our professors deserve to be treated well (regardless of how you feel about the rest of the employees), or if you just think that Temple should behave better, or if you just like to see huge gatherings, or if you just enjoy some chaos, please come. To paraphrase a professor of mine, you don't need to be a political scientist to know that the administration will be counting heads and bodies. I don't want to step into negotiations in the fall knowing that Temple still hasn't closed with two unions that are bigger and more cohesive, because that will not end well for anyone. For more information, go to http://www.taup.org and http://www.dc47afscme.org/local_1723/default.htm Thank you for reading, and please, repost or come to the rally. ~Gil x-posted to Facebook, Dreamwidth, Livejournal, Myspace, and Twitter Current Mood: determined (5 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
1:28 pm	Just a note I am now on dreamwidth. Same account name as always. Will probably start crossposting things soon and then decided where to take most of my stuff. Assuming I ever update regularly again. Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: WRTI (2 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Friday, April 10th, 2009
10:08 pm	Statistics help? Or, how I managed to break the software my mom has used for 20 years I think I broke my statistics software ( cut for those of you who don't know Stata or don't care ) WTF? Current Mood: confused (2 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
5:13 pm	An obituary I don't remember when I first saw him, but sometime during my freshman year at Lehigh, I became aware of a guy who went out to the same nights as I did. He always used to stay in the same general area at Evolution. I remember seeing him and thinking to myself "wow, this guy looks scary, I shouldn't mess with him." Eventually, through a bunch of mutual acquaintances, I got to meet Jimi in person, and discovered a genuinely nice guy. He had a patience for drama and silliness that I envied, and in many ways he became one of those people you just automatically assumed would be around forever. I knew over the past few months that he'd been battling illness, and on Sunday I was informed that he'd been taken off life support. Today I was informed that he'd passed away. I hope that wherever he is now, he is in less pain. RIP Jimi Black Current Mood: sad Current Music: Concrete Blonde - Tomorrow Wendy (5 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
1:16 pm	Packing stuff up at the apartment, could use help (917) 817 1608 to reach Becky (1 Observation | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
1:22 pm	Vanishing for V-Day, bbl. Current Mood: excited
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
3:07 pm	The bestest 25 questions name-game first letter list happy fun time meme ever! Yay! [Stolen from facebook] Forget all those other silly, time-wasting, meaningless memes that your friends have annoyed you with. This super-meme takes all those other memes, slaps them around, poses them in degrading Abu-Ghraib style photos, and extracts all of their best parts while leaving the rest to fester in a pool of their own rot and filth. This super-meme is the only quiz-name-list fun time meme you will ever need again for the rest of your natural life. It will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about your friends, and tell them EVERYTHING they need to know about you. For this meme to work properly, you have to copy and paste this note onto your page and then tag absolutely all of your friends in it, especially the people you don't really know, your co-workers, distant relatives, and people that you know only because they are dating someone that you know. If anyone you know doesn't re-post this meme, feel free to remind them with a Wall post, a Message, or both. Ready for super happy fun? ( Here we go! ) I look forward to your answers. Current Mood: amused (16 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Monday, February 9th, 2009
10:50 pm	Tech Help? Hey all, At my current undisclosed location, I'm having an interesting technical issue on my laptop. I can connect to either the secured wireless network of this place, or hop on a neighbor's unsecured linksys. The connection here is much stronger than the linksys. However, when I am connected here, on a Sony Vaio running Windows Vista, I can only access google sites (google.com, gmail.com, news.google.com, etc) but no other sites. If I access via the linksys, I can get to any network I choose. Other computers on this wireless network have not encountered this problem. The router is provided by Comcast. Any thoughts? Current Mood: confused (12 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Friday, February 6th, 2009
2:25 pm	http://www.twitter.com/GilCnaan For those of you who care Current Mood: tired (1 Observation | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Friday, January 30th, 2009
1:14 am	General Life Update, or, Moving Time! So for those of you who don't know, as of a few weeks ago, Becky and I were driven away from our apartment by the infestation of mice that have been plaguing us since we got back from Israel over the summer (about six months now). Our landlord has admitted that they are unable to do anything, so we will be vacating our apartment by March 1st. We've been looking into acquiring a new place, and nearly had a place. 1010 Arch St, across the street from the Troc, but it fell through, so we'll be looking at new places on Saturday. I am hoping to have us moved by March 1st, and once I know what's going on, I will probably be hitting up every friend in the greater Philly area to help us pack up and get out, probably paying with food. In the meantime, Becky and I have intermittent phone and internet access, so if you're not hearing back from us, don't freak out, we're just in an undisclosed location somewhere. In other news, am looking for people to help my friends find jobs in Philly. Friend 1: Is looking to be a Hebrew tutor, is looking to start ASAP Friend 2: Is getting her MLS and looking for library jobs basically starting in May Friends 3+4: Anything that can move them down here and help them get a basic place to live, possibly with friend 1, is good. Both have bachelors degrees and can identify themselves if they so wish. Now I am going back to the undisclosed location. Current Mood: crazy (3 Observations | Make a Skolarly Observation)
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
5:32 pm	Does anyone know how to remove the ringbacks from a Nokia 2610? Current Mood: annoyed (1 Observation | Make a Skolarly Observation)