I work in a Houston area public library and I've been toying lately with an idea for a new adult program that would be somewhat similar to speed dating but for adults in the community to find new friends. It seems to me that once people leave a school setting it can be very difficult to meet new people (outside of the internet) who share similar interests with you and befriend them. I can even recall seeing reddit posts of people asking others how to make friends once they leave school.

So I was curious to know if any of you would like there to be a semi-regular event that would allow you to fill out a basic "likes and hobbies" sheet and then to meet either one on or in small groups based on shared interests to talk a bit and see if you vibe with anyone? Then, if you find anyone you think you might like to hang with, you can exchange online contact info with one another.

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The Northwest Branch of the Harris County Public Libraries is having its semi-annual book fair tomorrow from 10am-4pm. Almost everything will be priced at $1/each and they'll have everything from picture books to YA to adult fiction and nonfiction, DVDs and CDs, and rare and special edition books and vinyl.

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It's a fun way to spend some time out of the house and great to know that every single penny spent actually stays at the library to help fund their programs and make other improvements. They only have three of these sales a year and the money earned makes up the majority of their programming budget for the year, so please feel free to share this information if you don't think it's your thing.

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It's also a great opportunity to pick up a library card if you don't already have one! Harris County Public Library has both a physical and digital catalog with books, comics/manga, DVD/Blu-Ray, and magazines. It's free to get a library card and it never expires so there's no reason not to have one (especially since libraries across the country are facing budget cuts)!

I don't trust the TMC's approximations as they keep insisting that "more beds can always be built!" and describes things in terms of "phases" rather than capacity. I don't feel like I am getting any actually relevant information using their interpretations of the numbers.

We can build all the beds we want but once we run out of staff, that's it. That's capacity. There won't be a way to bring in any significant number of nursing volunteers from elsewhere because the majority of nurses are already needed right where they are.

I need to know how close we're getting to max capacity, and how fast or slow this is happening to make decisions about when I should stop going inside grocery stores, when the risk is too high to keep visiting my parents, how much earlier I should try and refill my prescriptions, at what point should I consider my cleaning supplies (and toilet paper because people don't know how to act) to be running "low", and on and on.

These can be used if you are a new voter, if you've had a change of name or address, if you need a replacement card, or if any other major information related to voting needs to be updated. You can pick one up, fill it out, seal it, and stick it in any mailbox.

I moved in June (Houston to Spring) and updated my mailing address. Earlier this week I received n application to update the address on my voter registration card. Well, the return envelope I'm supposed to send it back in was completely sealed inside. I don't want my application "tossed out" or "invalidated" due to "tampering". I tried steaming it open for half an hour but this does not work like in the movies.

Now what? Can I take my application to a post office? Do I get my driver's license renewed/updated? Do I send it back in a regular envelope?

I have to vote this election. It takes my vote, my brother's vote, and my sister-in-law's vote to make 1 vote for Biden because my vote and my brother's vote go to canceling out my two Republican parents' votes.

Did anyone else see this? There's no website or company name and it seems incredibly fishy to me, but a newspaper advertiser is bound to be safer than the internet... right?

Has anyone else seen this half-page ad in Friday's issue of the Houston Chronicle on B6? Has anyone called the number? Would love real input before taking the risk myself.