When was the last time you did something really fun with one of your parents—just the two of you?

    Parents who take their young children to music，swimming and art classes often stop arranging such activities once their kids are older and in school all day.But it doesn't have to be that way.Doing something enjoyable with your kids just might make you look at each other in a whole new way，especially if you do it through a class or an event.When parent and child become students together，it puts them on the same level，at least for a while.

“I really like parents to come to class with their kids—they start sharing things and talking about what they're doing and what they like，” said art teacher Pyper Dixon.

    However，finding something new in common is a big  choice for them，especially when kids get involved in sports and other after­school activities.But it's possible to learn a new skill or hobby together.

    That's certainly true of Lauren,11，from Silver Spring，who is in Dixon's class with her father，Dennis.“I was just going to drop her off，” Dennis said，“but Dixon persuaded me to stay.”

    Now Lauren gets to nag her father about doing his art homework.“He always leaves it to the last minute，” she said.“But then he'll turn around to do amazing drawings，”  she added.“We have different styles of drawing，so it's interesting  to talk it over with him.”

    Without the Saturday morning art class，Dennis said，he  would be reading the paper，and Lauren would be on her own in her room or on the computer.But they talk more now.“I can't think of an experience where you communicate with your kid so closely，” he said.

    My husband and I are saving thousands of dollars every year by growing our own vegetables in our backyard. We learn something new every year and this website has been made to share tips with other people that would like to grow some of their own food.

    It's true that if you are starting from fresh, it will cost a little bit of money to get started. However, once everything is set up, the cost is very small and the rewards are huge. The size of your family and how many vegetables you eat determine exactly how much money you can save every year. We do a lot of juicing, so we are saving thousands of dollars by growing some carefully selected greens.

    There is an amazing sense of accomplishment when you grow your own vegetables. Vegetables out of your vegetable garden don't get any fresher, tastier or more satisfying. The whole family can get involved in this hobby and kids will learn where food comes from and appreciate nature even more.

    Our approach to vegetable gardening is completely different from the normal one. We are doing it in the lazy way with zero digging and fertilizing(施肥). The way we grow our vegetables is to emulate natural ecosystems. No rows of carrots can be found in our garden beds. Rain forests seem to do just fine without human interference(干预) or having plants sown in rows, so we have applied the same principle to our vegetable garden and we care producing more vegetables than ever.

    By copying nature we spend little time working in the vegetable garden but get a much better crop than previous years when we followed the rules. What can I say? We're such rebels.(叛逆者）

    Over 500 dogs being delivered to a butcher house were saved by a Chinese animal protection organization.

    The incident then triggered a debate among Chinese netizens about the necessity of pouring so much money and efforts into saving dogs.

    On Friday, a truck loaded with over 500 dogs were stopped by volunteers from animal protection organization on Jingha Expressway Beijing section. Beijing Times reported these dogs were being delivered to slaughter houses in the city of Changchun, northeast Jilin Province and would be eventually served on dinner tables. After negotiations with the truck driver, pet service provider Leepet Holding Corp. and a philanthropic foundation, Shang shan Foundation purchased these dogs, each paying 50,000 yuan. Dogs were then delivered to the headquarter of China Small Animal Protection Association (CSAPA), being taken care of and waiting for adoption.

    After the "dog saving mission" was reported, Chinese net users debate over whether saving dogs is worth so much efforts and money while there are still many poor and needy people in China lacking assistance. Some net users argue the "dog saving mission" is placing overattention to animals while lots of needy people are still left unattended. A microblogger "Xiaowulaitajie" said on China's twitter like website, weibo.com, "Dogs are saved, adopted and they attracted media spotlight. We'd better spend such money and take such efforts in helping the needy people." Another microblogger, Liluping, said "We poured such huge sum of money into saving dogs. I would rather the money was spent on disaster relief."

    Some applaud volunteers' actions and show eagerness of offering their helping hands to those saved dogs.

    Still many disapprove those "saving dogs" critics, but they argue that such act nonetheless promotes social progress.

    A microblogger named "broken bridge" said, saving dogs does not run counter to taking care of people. Such enthusiasm in public affairs will help raise social awareness in helping the needy.

    I think people and animals are created equal. Attention should be paid to people as well as animals.

    In my memory, winters always used to be really unpleasant. You had to dress like a bear just to keep warm when you went outside. You were often cold, wet and no more than one step away from the thin ice on the lake. If you worked over time and went home in the dark, you would arrive home to an ice-cold house. And that would mean turning on the heating and waiting.

    Fortunately, things don't have to be so challenging any more. Technology, engineering and design have developed, giving us new solutions to old problems. It means dealing with winter needn't be like skating on thin ice.

    With a smart thermostat(恒温器), our homes can be toasty when we need them to be. Many models go with smartphone APPs that allow you to regulate temperature from a distance, so we can warm up the house before we arrive home. According to techradar.com, a large technology news and reviews website, Tado's model has a voice control function, while the Nest “learns” your habits and heats the house for you.

    Clothes have been given an upgrade, too. Electronic heated jackets and trousers heat up when you turn them on. What better way to keep warm in the dead of winter? At the touch of a button, or through an APP on our phones, the clothes produce heat from materials placed inside. Many models offer three levels of heating which stay warm for over 12 hours.

    Finally, there is the headgear(头部装备) - Hats that have speakers which are included in the cloth using Bluetooth technology, so we can listen to our favourite music or, in some cases, have a phone call using the in-built microphone. All while keeping the head warm and avoiding coldness.

    For many, the thought of winter used to be enough to make their blood run cold. But using technology, life needn't freeze up. There's no reason why winter can't be really, really cool.

Pet and animal-related apps are creating cybersecurity risks to their owners, new research has shown. While being able to keep track of your cat and dog may be an attractive benefit to many pet owners as it can provide peace of mind, allowing a third party to track your movements may be much less attractive.

Computer scientists at Newcastle University and Royal Holloway, University of London have exposed multiple security and privacy issues by evaluating 40 popular Android apps for pets. The results show that several of these apps are putting their users at risk by exposing their login or location details.

Password vulnerability(漏洞) was one of the areas exposed by the team. They identified three applications that had the user's login details visible in plain text within non-secure HTTP traffic. This means that anyone is able to observe the internet traffic of someone using one of these apps and will be able to find out their login information. In addition to login information, two of the apps also showed user details, such as their location that may enable someone to gain access to their devices and risk a cyber-attack.

Another area of concern identified in the study was the use of trackers. All but four of the applications were found to feature some form of tracking software. A tracker gathers information on the person using the application, on how they use it, or on the smartphone being used.

Scott Harper is a PhD student at Newcastle University's School of Computing and the lead author of the study. He said, "Pet tech such as smart collars and GPS trackers for your cat or dog, is a rapidly growing industry and it brings with it new security, privacy, and safety risks to the pet owners. We would urge anyone using these apps to take the time to ensure they are using a unique password, check the settings and ensure that they consider how much data they are sharing or willing to share."

Going to concerts and live performances is a lot of fun. As a teen, you'll want to prepare for the event far in advance in order to ensure that your concert experience is enjoyable.

Check to make sure that the concert venue(场所) is for all ages.

Some venues, particularly those that serve alcohol, will only allow entry for guests who are over 21 years old. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you buy a ticket and get turned away at the door, you likely will not get your money back.

Ask your parents for permission.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Have a conversation with your parents to figure out how you will travel to and from the concert, and talk about ground rules for staying safe at the event.

Find a friend to go with.

For your safety, it's best not to attend concerts alone. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you're having trouble finding company, consider posting on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to see if other people in your social network are interested.

Buy tickets.

If the concert is for a popular band, figure out exactly when the tickets go on sale. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Ticketmaster. com sells tickets for bigger shows, but if you're going to a smaller show, look online at the venue's website for information on how to buy tickets.

Research venue policies and regulations.

Find the venue's web page to get a sense of what to expect, and to avoid any problem on the day of the concert. You should know how early the doors will open. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}