Neither rain nor snow nor the dark of night can separate Tennessee postal carrier “Mailman Mike” from his 4-and-a-half-year-old friend Carter Lawson – or keep them from their appointments.

    For the past nine months, the two have teamed up every day in the preschooler's Knoxville neighborhood for a few minutes of delivering mail together and chatting with fellow neighbors. Lawson wants to be a mail carrier when he grows up, and in an inspiring story, his mom told us how mailman Mike Crenshaw has been a role model to her son. “Anyone could just be like 'Go away, kid', but Mike has really gone out of his way to talk with Carter,” said Cassie Lawson of the United States Postal Service carrier. Little Carter even got his own uniform to match Mike's. “It's been really cute. I just couldn't believe he got a full mailman's costume,” the postal service employee said.

    “Every letter carrier has stops he looks forward to and this is the one I look forward to every day,” said Mike. “He's the end of my day, and the best part of my day. Not because it's the end, but because he's such a cute little guy.”

    The man and the little boy's connection isn't a surprise to Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “Kids respond to mailmen because letter carriers are a friendly, uniformed part of the neighborhood who bring something to their house every day, and are someone they come to recognize and trust,” Rolando said. “It's the same for the elderly, but in addition, letter carriers may be the only person they communicate with all day.”

    Take part in one of these FUN summer camps.ID Tech Camps offer weeklong courses at locations throughout the US.Our junior courses provide additional time for off-computer activities,ensuring a well-balanced day.Learn from instructors who are passionate about technology.There is a maximum of just 8 students per instructor.Just choose a course.

    Adventures in Games Design

    Ages: 7-10

    Dates: July 1-July 7

    Cost: $520

    Don't just play games!Make them!Create your own video game in this fun,exciting video game camp for kids. Design your own arcade or platform game using professional software.Take breaks to play sports outside and do other activities.

    Adventures in Programming

    Ages: 7-13

    Date: July 4-July 10

    Cost: $750

    Let your imagination run wild in this multimedia adventure.Create your own interactive stories,animated adventures and creative comics.Learn drag-and-drop programming basics with scratch (a project of the MIT Media Lab).Computer characters are at your command!Take breaks with supervised outside sports and activities.

    Adventures in Robotics

    Ages: 12-15

    Date: July 4-July 10

    Cost: $1,200

    Imagine it,build it and watch it go!Powered by the LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT Base Set and Software,our Adventures in Robotics course explores the exciting world of robots!This course will have you create cool robots on your first day.

    Introduction to Web Design & Photography

    Ages: 9-12

    Date: July 14-July 20

    Cost: $700

    Use a high-end camera and learn the building blocks of web design with Adobe Dreamweaver.Put your photos into your basic website,and then share your creation with your friends and family.The software Adobe Flash may be introduced based on a student's progress throughout the week.

Movie Making Camp

    Ages: 12-15

    Date: July 14-July 20

    Cost: $1,8000

    Are you ready to learn the basics of filming and editing?

    Shoot with professional cameras and see how much fun creative editing can be with the video editor iMovie. Take home a DVD of your final project to show your family.Please remember it takes filmmakers years to master their skills.Please have realistic project expectations.

    Keeping the kids busy over the school holidays can be discouraging and cost parents a lot. But we've found some cheap and cheerful ways to enjoy family time this Easter from free days out to fun-filled theme parks which won't cost you much. We've done the homework so you can get started on having a great time.

    Theme Parks

    Save from 10% to 25% off the price of tickets for Legoland in Windor by booking in advance online. A family of four can save up to £ 45.90 on a one-day ticket, paying £ 137.70.

    Book seven days in advance and save £ 43 off the price of a family of four ticket for Drayton Manor Theme Park. Cali 0844-472-1950 or book online and you'll pay £ 65 on the day.

    You can pick up a family of four ticket for a day at Alton Towers in Staffordshire for £ 43.80 off the day price.

    Save £ 16 off the price for a family trip to The Making of Harry Potter by buying a family ticket (two adults and two children) online. Family of four £ 101, compared to £ 117.

    Activities

    Students looking for a cut-price trip to see the animals can save 15% off the ticket price at Bristol Zoo and pay £ 12.71 rather than the full adult price £ 14.53. Teens should show their identity as students.

    Freebies

    Let your kids discover what it's like to be an animal on the African Plain or in the ocean. Or, they can learn to love leaf beetles or become a scientist for the day at the Natural History Museum in London.

    HEARST CASTL, CA

    Hearst Castle is open for tours daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

    Tour A -- The Grand Rooms

    View the ground floor rooms of La Casa Grande where Mr. Hearst's guests met their host and were entertained during their stay. See the Assembly Room, where guests met for cocktails, the Refectory, where meals were served, the Morning Room, Billiard Theater. Your knowledgeable guide will bring this big house to life sharing stories about Mr. Hearst, his many guests, and the art collection it contains.

    Prices: Adults: $25.00; Children: $12.00.

    Tour B – The Upstairs Suites (套房)

    This tour features rooms on the upper floors of Casa Grande. Travel through guest suites on your way to the Library where Mr. Hearst housed a collection of 2,000-year-old Greek pots.

    Visit Mr. Hearst's private third floor suite including his bedroom and private study where he held business meetings. Learn about the genius of architect Julia Morgan and the way she put Mr. Hearst's art collection into the design.

    Prices: Adults: $20.00; Children: $10.00.

    Tour C – Evening Tour

    This tour allows visitors to experience the Castle at night as a visitor to the Castle in the 1930s might have. It features highlights from the experience, Upper Floors of Casa Grande, and Garden tours.

    Evening tours are offered on most Fridays and Saturdays during March – May & October – December.

    Prices: Adults: $36.00; Children: $18.00.

    Tour D – Accessible Holiday Twilight

    This tour is wheelchair accessible. Visitors who have difficulty climbing stairs, or who cannot stand or walk for extended period, may also benefit from this tour. Accessible transportation is provided from the Visitor Center to all areas of the Holiday at Hearst Castle tour. Call 866-712-2286 for additional information.

    Prices: Adults: $30.00; Children: $18.00.

    A new family moved in next door and I got to meet the mother of the family, Lydia. Lydia is Korean, and her family moved to our city so her husband could go to graduate school. We started talking, and she was apologetic about how bad her English was, but I didn't care. I knew how hard it was to learn a second language. I enjoyed chatting with Lydia as we watched our kids play.

    It was what came next that challenged me: Lydia asked if I'd be willing to help her with her English. Now, I am not a teacher. I admire teachers, and I'm grateful for teachers, and it's because I admire what they do so much that I was very very sure that I couldn't do it myself.

    But Lydia was sure that she wanted my help. I was doubtful. I wasn't sure my "help" was even worth being called by that name. But because she asked me, I said "yes." And that was the beginning of a friendship. Lydia and I spent afternoons sitting together and reading the newspaper, and as we did, she asked me questions when she had them questions about language, yes, but also questions about the new culture she found herself in. In turn, I asked my own questions, growing curious about her home country and culture. We bonded over our shared faith and our struggles as mothers of kids with special needs, When I complimented（恭维） her cooking, she began to teach me about Korean food, eventually leading to a shared trip to explore the Korean grocery stores in our city. Because of Lydia, 1 learned more about my own hometown than I ever could have learned by myself. I'm still not sure that I'm any good as a teacher. But I'm grateful I said "yes" when my neighbor asked me to help her with her English. That meant spending extra time with my neighbor, and that extra time meant she didn't remain just my neighbor. She became my friend.

     At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.

     It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of the use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when email is introduced, the printers start working overtime. "I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down," says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.  

     Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just an online email, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.

     Does all this mean environmental concerns have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. "I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling," said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity.

     The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.