Today is a very important day for PC owners. Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 10. If you already have Windows 11, you don’t need to worry, but if you don’t, you should upgrade to Windows 11 or get a new computer. Without support, your Windows 10 computer could get a virus and die. It could also send bad viruses to all your friends in your address book. A friend of mine had a Windows 10 PC and needed to get a new computer, but she didn’t have much money. She went to several used computer stores and found a cheap machine. Now she can keep using the Internet without worrying. I just hope that her used computer is good and doesn’t break down!   (123 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

I went to the supermarket in my neighborhood yesterday. After paying at the cashier, the remaining balance of my prepaid card was 1111 yen. On the way back home from the store, I saw a car with the license plate number 1111. Then, when I got home, I looked at my phone, and the time said 11:11 a.m. I remember somebody talking about “angel numbers.” When you see the same numbers again and again, you will be lucky. The angel will bring you something special. Just then, I got a message from a friend saying that she came to see an event around here. I thought, “This is it!” I thought she was going to bring me something lucky, fun, and special. But she just told me that she had passed near my place.  (134 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

It has been a very good week for Japanese scientists who work in the Kansai region of Japan. On Monday, Sakaguchi Shimon of Osaka University won the Nobel Prize in Medicine along with two American scientists. Then, yesterday, Kitaguchi Susumu of Kyoto University won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi. All these scientists worked hard for many years, and now the world is learning about their successes. Kitaguchi, Robson, and Yaghi developed a new kind of material. It is so small that you can only see it with a powerful microscope. Scientists and engineers hope to use this material to collect water from desert air and to capture CO2.   (116 weeks) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

I heard about the first Nobel Prize of 2025 on the Monday night 6 o’clock news. The winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine are Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi discovered special T-cells in the blood. Then Brunkow and Ramsdell made other important discoveries. Together, their research is helping scientists to develop new treatments and new medicines to fight diseases like diabetes, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. After the Nobel committee contacted Sakaguchi, he went to Osaka University to talk to the press. Brunkow was difficult to contact, but they did find her. They couldn’t contact Ramsdell however. He was hiking in the mountains and enjoying life offline.   (111 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

We have had some rain in Nagoya recently, and it hasn’t been so hot. In this kind of weather, weeds grow very quickly. I had to cut some weeds at the center where I work last week. After working outside for an hour, I went back into the center. Another staff member looked at me and said, “Oh no!” There were seeds all over my pants and on my shoes. They are called “beggar’s lice,” and they stick to your clothes. They come from a plant called “nusubitohagi” in Japanese. I just smiled and said, “No problem!” However, when I tried to take them off my clothes, I said, “Oh no!” These seeds don’t come off easily. It took me 10 minutes to finish one leg, another 10 minutes to finish the other leg, and finally 10 minutes to finish my shoes.   (142 words) You can send me a comment or your own

Jane Goodall passed away last week at the age of 91. She was a pioneer in the study of chimpanzees. She went to Tanzania in her early twenties and started living with wild chimpanzees. She changed the way scientists looked at animals and humans. Scientists used to think that only humans could use tools. Goodall discovered that chimpanzees used tools to get food. Scientists thought that only humans had complex emotions. Goodall discovered that chimpanzees showed love and played together. They had friends and enemies. Mothers had close bonds with their babies. Chimpanzees even went to war and killed other chimpanzees. Goodall showed us that chimpanzees are almost human.   (109 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com