Koichi Wakata had dreamed of becoming an astronaut ever since he was 5 years old. Twenty-seven years later, he was able to make his dream into reality.

He has been in space three times already on the International Space Station. The station goes around 400 kilometers above the earth. He mentioned that those pictures that we see on the television and on the internet are different in real life. When they are in space, they can see the oceans, clouds, and mountains clearly.

In 2013, he was the commander of ISS. He worked with astronauts from America, Russia, and Latvia. They had to work and live together in a very crowded space. As a commander, his task was to make sure that they live peacefully. So, he made a rule requiring all crew to eat together. This way, they feel relaxed by talking with each other.

Wakata said that going to space might be challenging and dangerous, still, he does it for the humanity.

Hydroponics is a method wherein a plant can grow without the need for soil. The modern hydroponics was developed through different experiments on plant’s composition. Many people are not familiar with this method, but in fact, this method has been used for thousands of years now.

The first known hydroponics is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar built the gardens to please his wife. The garden used a water system that supplied a steady river that contained oxygen and minerals.

The Aztecs of Central America did not have a good relationship with their neighbors. They were not allowed to have access to any arable lands. Because of that, they had to build floating bamboo structures to do soilless planting which they called the chinampas. Chinampas were loaded up with soil from the bottom of the lake. This soil contained minerals and are organic. They used these minerals and compounds to provide support to the plants. The chinampas did not only support vegetables and flowers, but it was also able to sustain trees. Countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador had also used a similar system to chinampas.

The chinampas were also used to form floating islands. It was considered a success as it was able to support a village with almost 20,000 people who were working hard to improve their way of life.

Habu Yoshiharu, one of the best professional shogi players in history, is truly the “King of the Board.” He first played shogi when he was in his first year of elementary school. He lost the games at first but eventually improved after a month. When he was in 2nd year, he joined a children’s shogi tournament. Although he did not win, he enjoyed it and wanted to improve more. He was very interested in shogi because each piece has a different move. The game shows cause and effect, so it is the player’s own responsibility either to win or lose.

When in game, he is not always confident when making a move. Instead, he trusts his hand and intuition in making good choices. He believes that a decision should be made in every move. When he makes a move, he thinks that it is probably the right move to make. Good decision-making and planning are important because the competitor’s moves cannot be predicted.

His greatest talent is his perseverance. When asked what he would be doing if he was not playing shogi professionally, he said that he never thought of taking another job. That is how interested he is in playing shogi.

The number of wildfires that had been recorded over the past years has been increasing. Wildfire has been threatening the lives and health of many people most especially in the United States. Meanwhile, forest burning is also a way to save them. This has a positive effect on the ecosystem. In fact, this has been used for thousands of years as a tool to stimulate plant growth and as a source of ground nutrients. Although forest burning might not look good at first, Dr. Huffman, landscape director of the Nature Conservancy, ensures that this will lead to a better result.

The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico has been teaching domestic firefighters and forest experts from different countries like Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Spain on how to set forests on fire. Most of these firefighters and experts have experienced seeing their country suffer from a massive wildfire. During the training, their goal was to learn new skills that they could use to improve the land management plans in the world. The training program focuses on discussing the prescribed burning methods, fire management, and forest conservation practice. They started this program in the year 2008 to solve the shortage of qualified burners. This program has resulted in the treatment of more than 65,000 acres in the United States.

Heart disease has been one of the most common causes of death. In 2008, it caused almost 25% of death in the U.S. Within one year of a heart attack, 18% of men and 23% of women are likely to die. While 15-27% of men and 22-32% of women who survived a heart attack will die within 5 years. More and more American women die of heart attacks each year. It is because they are less likely to seek medical treatments after experiencing a heart attack. Also, women are unlikely to become subjects in heart-related research studies which focuses on men.

There are several causes of heart diseases in the U.S. First is being overweight. The number of people who are overweight has been increasing because of unhealthy eating habits. Overweight leads to another health problem which is high cholesterol. It is usually caused by consuming too much fatty food. People who experience high blood pressure and has diabetes are also at risk because these conditions stop the proper blood flow in the heart which leads to a heart attack. Unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, poor stress-management, and not getting enough exercise greatly increases the chance of people to have heart diseases in the U.S.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle lessens the development of heart diseases. By exercising regularly and maintaining a balanced diet, a healthy weight can be achieved which lessens the risk of heart attacks. In addition to that, not smoking, less drinking, and managing stress effectively can help maintain a healthy heart. By following the advice, overall health can be achieved and reduce the chances of having heart diseases.

Nowadays, customers share their experiences through social media. They may or may not share positive customer experiences which may lead to the improvement or failure of a business. Failure to provide a positive customer experience results in more complaints. In a research study, only 1 out of 25 customers who had bad customer experiences will give direct complaints. Some just decide to discontinue their transactions. However, those whose complaints were attended immediately often remain as loyal customers.

On a positive note, a complaint is a good way to know the problems in a business. By being aware of the problems, businesses can improve their processes and prevent future complaints. When a customer makes a complaint, it should be verified first before solving it. Checking the history, pattern, and records of the complaints are important for complaint analysis. For example, payment complaints can be used to improve the payment process of a business. By knowing the cause of the complaint through the feedback, a solution for the payment problem can be worked on. To handle complaints effectively, business owners should take time to listen and understand their customers first. Second, admitting mistakes, apologizing, and a promise to solve the problem should also be done. Next, find an immediate solution to avoid repeating mistakes. After that, a follow-up is necessary to check their satisfaction on the solution and to show that their feedback is important. Lastly, working beyond the customers’ expectation plays a big role in maintaining the customers’ loyalty by leaving a positive mark on the customers’ impression about the business.

In conclusion, effective handling of complaints can help businesses produce more loyal customers and have a better customer service quality.