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I shouldn't have to explain a mass shooting to my 4-year-old daughter.

Dealing with potty training, lack of sleep, and toddler tantrums are pretty much routine line items on my fatherhood resume.


This is what the back seat of my car often looks like. GIF from Allstate.

You know what's becoming a routine line item for Americans? Dealing with the incessant amount of gun violence in our communities.

For those of you keeping score at home, we've endured 355 mass shootings (defined as four or more victims, including the shooter) in the United States in under 340 days of this calendar year. That's more than one mass shooting a day.

Take a moment to think about how crazy that is. When you're finished, chances are you'll be extremely angry.

I was angry after the shooting in San Bernardino, California, too. Aside from the obvious reasons, I live in Los Angeles, so this hits close to home.

The scene during the San Bernardino shooting. Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images News.

As much as I despise gun violence and feel horrible for the victims, I never actually thought it would touch the lives of me or my loved ones. Until it did.

Hours after the news broke about the San Bernardino shooting, I was notified by the principal of my daughter's preschool that there was a gun threat via phone directed at a nearby elementary school.

Because of the proximity and recent gun-related events, my daughter and her preschool classmates were put on lockdown as the police department investigated the incident. Not long afterward, the "all clear" was given and everything went back to normal.

Well, the "new normal," anyway.

Mass shootings in America in 2015. Photo vis PBS NewsHour, used with permission.

At that moment, I knew that no one in America was immune to this. Looking at this map of the mass shootings in America this year makes that painfully clear.

What do we tell our kids when something like this happens?

Do we tell them nothing? Do we avoid movie theaters and playgrounds? Do we pull our children out of class and homeschool them instead? Do we sit around and pray for the problem to be solved?

The answers are complicated and nuanced, but the one thing we should all agree on is doing whatever we can to keep our kids safe from harm. And that's exactly what I pledged to my children. I didn't provide any explanation of the terrorist attacks (and that's exactly what they are). My message is that no matter what bad stuff is out there, I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure their safety.

Gun control is a great place to begin. As a society, we need to face facts and deal with some real talk.

We need to ask why it's way too easy to buy guns. We need to ask if it's necessary to own military-grade weaponry. We need to ask gun supporters what they're truly afraid of by implementing common-sense gun regulations.

No parent should experience the horror of learning that their kid's school is on lockdown due to a gun threat.

And most importantly, no family should have to bury a child due to gun violence. Parenting is hard enough without constantly worrying that somebody with bad intentions may open fire on our kids after we drop them off at school.

A Colorado family mourns after the deadly movie theater shootings in 2012. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images News.

The time it took from the moment I received the notification of the lockdown at my daughter's school to actually hugging her seemed like an eternity. Afterward, my main thought was, "I don't want this to happen ever again."

The reality is this can happen to any of us unless America steps up and makes some big changes.

Let's make it happen.

A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Joy

5-star Scottish resort offers whimsical afternoon tea experience with 'naughty sheep'

Cameron House's Woolly Wellness retreat includes tea in the garden with adorably rude guests.

Cameron House/Naughty Sheep

Cameron House's Woolly Wellness retreat includes a unique sheep encounter.

Remember when "goat yoga" was all the rage? And then "cow cuddling" and "turkey cuddling" made everyone's bucket lists?

Now we can add "nuzzling with naughty sheep" to the mix, but with a fancy Scottish twist.

Less than an hour from Glasgow, Scotland, the Cameron House resort sits on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, looking as if it were plucked straight out of a fairy tale. Sprawling green grounds, gorgeous lake views and a four-story castled mansion greet guests as their "home away from home" (only better), and a perusal of the reviews show guests raving about the 5-star resort's elegance, beauty and exceptional service.

I mean, just look at this place:

drone view of cameron house grounds and lakeCameron House sit on Lake Lochmond in Scotland.Cameron House


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Innovation

A student accidentally created a rechargeable battery that could last 400 years

"This thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going." ⚡️⚡️

There's an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There's no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

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@caitlin.the.realtor/TikTok, used with permission

Wait, so 90's fashion is in, but 90's hair is out?

Every era has its own version of what’s attractive. And very rarely does that aesthetic hold power with the following generation. In fact, it often becomes the opposite of cool.

Just think of Elvis. He might have been a universal sex symbol for a time, but it also wasn’t long before his pompadour became passé. Same goes for Paul Newman’s rugged manliness, David Cassidy’s babyface, Tom Selleck’s mustache. Indeed, for everything a season.

Which brings us to the 90s. The age of beach blonde surfer boys (real surfing skills not required, but a plus). Of flannel, lots of flannel, and super chiseled bodies. Let’s not forget this was the dawning of the term “metrosexual,” and also the time period that brought us that Calvin Klein ad with Mark Wahlburg.

How exactly would these guys measure up with the Gen Z kids today?

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A Eurasian crow.

A family from Denmark has created a touching video montage documenting their unique friendship with a wild Eurasian crow. This crow, affectionately named Russell, has become an honorary member of their household, forming special bonds with each family member, including the pets.

However, the crow's relationship with their son, 2-year-old Otto, is truly extraordinary. “They could spend hours just playing,” Otto’s mother, Laerke Luna, says in a video shared by The Dodo. "When Otto is outside, he will never leave Otto’s side.”

Russell, the free-spirited crow, ventures away from the family's home from time to time, but never for too long. He always comes back and announces his return by tapping on the door, swooping in to lounge on the sofa, or awaiting Otto's return from school atop their roof.

“When we are inside, he will sit inside the window because he wants Otto to go outside with him,” Laerke said.

The family’s relationship with Russell didn’t come out of nowhere. When Russell was a young bird, he had health problems so the family took him and nursed the bird back to health. Eventually, they witnessed his first attempts to fly.

Recently, Russell became friends with another family member, their second child, Hedwig. Although he does get a little annoyed with the bird’s frequent attempts to nab his pacifier.

Even though it’s rare for humans to strike up such a close bond with a crow, according to research, it’s not that surprising. Audubon says that crows are “some of the smartest animals in the world” with an intelligence “on par with chimpanzees.” They are also very social and family-oriented, so no wonder Russell loves Otto and his family.

Crow Named Russell Waits For His Favorite Kid To Get Home From School | The Dodo


Learning

Why you shouldn't throw your dishwasher pod into the bottom of your dishwasher

Dishwashers actually use the dirty water to know how to wash your dishes.

Photos by cottonbro studio and PhotoMIX Ltd. via Canva

Why your detergent shouldn't go in the bottom of the dishwasher

There always seem to be something going on with the pods and powders you're supposed to use in the dishwasher to clean your dishes. Either the pods don't dissolve completely or the powder gets all goopy and hard, never really fully dispensing into the dishwasher.

The inconsistency in product dispensing can leave you wondering if the dishes are even getting cleaned, causing some to toss the detergent pod into the bottom of the dishwasher. It would seem that placing the detergent at the bottom would allow for it to actually reach your dirty dishes. But Melissa Pateras, a domestic expert, explains that doing it that way isn't doing what you think it's doing.

Pateras actually breaks down exactly how dishwashers work to clean your dishes while explaining why putting the detergent on the bottom is ineffective.

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