The Answer

Rejoice, the FIFA World Cup has returned.  I am lifelong soccer fan and longingly look forward to each World Cup.

Yesterday, I led a World Cup 101 discussion here.  We discussed the rules of soccer, especially the very difficult to grasp offsides rule, yellow and red cards, direct vs. indirect kicks, and much more.

I also briefly touched on each and every team playing in the tournament.   I also discussed  some of the players to keep an eye on such as Wayne Rooney, Kaka, Lionel Messi, Arjen Robben, and Cristano Ronaldo.

The games will be live online at ESPN3.com (which isn’t working for me at the moment for some reason) and Univision.

The slides from the class are here. I love the World Cup and I hope you will too.

Every so often we get questions at the Reference Desk regarding forms for Section 8 housing vouchers, or other public housing programs typically offered by the Chicago Housing Authority. Rather than perpetually offering the forms to the public, the CHA instead has occasional open registration periods, where families can register for a waiting list. The last registration period happened in 1999.

Waiting list registration will re-open on June 14th, and run through July 9th.

There are some things you’ll need to know if you wish to sign up. Registration will be exclusively online, at chawaitlist.org. In addition to the Internet stations at the Library, there will also be 100 registration sites throughout the city.There will be no paper forms.

To qualify for public housing, Chicago residents must be 18 or older and make less than 80 percent of the median income. This currently stands at $60,000 for a family of four. Residents must also go to school, volunteer, or work up to 20 hours a week.

Once the registration period ends on July 9th, an outside party will generate 40,000 names to be placed in CHA housing units.

For more information, please see the CHA’s Frequently Asked Questions page. You can also find out more by calling 311 or 866-7THECHA.

Hopefully you’ve received your Census form in the mail by now. This brief questionnaire will help the federal government learn more about the American populace, and in turn develop new programs and essential services across the nation.

If you haven’t received a form, we have forms available at the Library in the Community Services office. In addition to English, we have copies in the following languages:

• Chinese (中文)
• Korean (한국어)
• Russian (Русский)
• Spanish (español)

If you need assistance filling out your form, or have any questions, representatives from the Census Bureau will be here during selected times now through April 19th.

• Sunday: 1-5pm
• Monday: 9am – 12pm
• Wednesday: 5pm – 9pm
• Friday: 5pm – 9pm

For more information on the 2010 Census, please check out SkokieNet and the official Census website.

[cross-posted from The Soapbox]

There has been a lot of information in the news lately about mechanical defects in a large number of Toyota vehicles. The stories have provided a lot of detail about the people affected by the recall, and the potential effect on Toyota’s business, but many have neglected to mention which vehicles are actually affected.

For that, you’ll need to go to the source of the recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They have listed detailed instructions for contacting your auto dealer and how to determine if your vehicle is affected.

But most importantly, the NHTSA also has a number of suggestions regarding what you should do if your vehicle malfunctions. The full set of instructions is posted on their website.

Hit the jump for the full list of affected vehicles.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Housing Authority of Cook County is opening another window for its public housing wait list.

These forms are for elderly and disabled developments around Chicagoland, including Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Evanston, Niles, Skokie, and Wheeling. There are also a few family sites in the south suburbs.

We only have a limited supply of these forms, so we are restricting them to 2 per individual. You are free to photocopy the forms, or download them from the HACC website.

These are not Section 8 forms, rather applications for the public housing wait list. For more information, please refer to the HACC website or call 312-663-5447.

Frances Roehm, the SkokieNet Librarian, writes in to let us know about the new eligibility window for Medicare Part D, the government’s prescription drug program for seniors.

From November 15th to December 31st, seniors can sign up for the program or change their provider. On Monday, December 7th, we’ll have 3 social workers at the library to help people with the paperwork. They’ll be here from 9:30 AM to 3 PM, and people can sign up for half-hour appointments.

The signup sheet is available on the second floor reference desk. If you’d like to sign up a spouse along with yourself, you’ll need to sign up for two separate slots.

Seniors also must bring the following items:

• Medicare card
• Medicare Part D card
• A list of their current prescriptions and dosage (e.g., 30mg, 3x daily)

Navigating the sea of paperwork can be tricky, and slots are likely to fill up quickly. Come see us at the reference desk and make your appointment early!

Gale is providing free access to Global Issues in Context and medical-related ebooks from the Gale Virtual Reference Library to make reliable H1N1 virus information available.  The complete page is here.

With identity theft a constant risk, it’s important to make sure all documents containing personal information are properly disposed of. For the most part, that means you’ve got to take care of any identifying bits of data.

This Saturday, October 17th, First Bank & Trust is holding a Shredding Day. Bring your personal documents (up to 25 pounds worth) and watch as they turn it into unidentifiable confetti. The bank is located at 8407 Skokie Blvd, and will run from 11 AM to 1 PM. Keep your identity safe!

(image credit: Will Luo via Flickr. Yes, I realize that the event’s during the day, and not Saturday night. But Elton John wouldn’t return my calls, let alone hear my request that he change the title of the song.)

Tonight, the President is set to address a joint session of Congress regarding his plan to reform the country’s health care. No matter which side of the political spectrum you fall on, this is an issue that affects everyone. But the politics can really get in the way of understanding. Partisan sniping, selective omission of information, and outright bickering just adds more noise to an already complicated issue.

Leave it to Dan Roan to bring things back around.

Roan, author of The Back of the Napkin, has created a simple-to-understand set of slides that really cuts to the heart of the health care debate, and does so without falling into any of the normal partisan pitfalls. Click on the picture above to check out the slideshow.

What do you think? Did the slideshow help your understanding of the debate?

Not surprisingly, there appear to be many different ways you can track Hurricane Bill. Mashable.com has a nice list of resources, including websites, Twitter accounts, and mobile apps.

If you’re interested in learning more about hurricanes, try Kerry Emanuel’s Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes or Bob Sheets’ Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth.

Of course, if you’re really serious about learning all you can about hurricanes, you’re going to want to take a look at the Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones.