After walking through the overlook briefly of difference Converse models in previous posts below, let’s check out the variation regarding their details. One common question or concern over the sneakers is often about whether a pair of Converse made in Japan is better off? How is its quality compared with normal All Star that makes it worths the higher price?
Converse Made in Japan Comparison (Credit: Nakuten)
Referring to a source from the most popular online shopping website – Nakuten, in which you could find a variety of Converse models including the MIJ (Made in Japan) ones, Converse made in Japan differ from their counterparts by a few main criteria below:
Silhouette (シルエット)
The shape or silhouette of Converse Made in Japan (a.k.a. the J model) is designed for Japanese feet shape, which is relatively more wide. This feet shape is common among Asians of which their feet are normally wider compared with people from western countries. With such design, Converse made in Japan could provide a more comfortable wearing as the pressure from sides reduce.
2. Made in Japan Trademark (日本製表示)
For all Converse made in Japan, there are trademarks or logos indicating the models are made in Japan, including its insole and the All Star tag at the back. The trademark does not merely shows off its origin, difference in designs or materials used, and a higher quality compared to other Converse models, a MIJ (Made in Japan) trademark often represents the adorable and craftsmanship spirit under any Japanese manufactured items.
3. Shoe Holes (シューホール)
Converse made in Japan are equipped with special shoe holes, which are covered by silvery and polished metal that provides a MIJ model a more stunning outlook compared to its counterparts.
4. Shoe Laces (シューレース)
Shoe laces of Converse made in Japan, logically, are made of cotton made of Japan as well, which is known for its strength and long lasting quality.
5. Lining (ライン)
Another detail regarding a Converse made in Japan model is regarding its lining, including the black lining in the head cover connecting the upper rubber and the lower one. The lining is also found in most All Star models, however for Converse made in Japan, it is not difficult to observe that the lining is done with a better and clearer finishing.
6. Conclusion
To conclude briefly, Converse made in Japan is normally known for a better quality offering over other All Star models made in Indonesia and Vietnam usually. With a little higher price, the author believes that a pair of Converse made in Japan does worth the premium comparatively. However, the bottomline is that, as mentioned above, the shape and design of that aims for Asians’ feet, which is slightly wider than usual.
After the previous posts acted as a brief summary of Converse models and comparison of their view below, let’s move on to check out the side view, or the cross-sectional view of the sneakers, which are often the soul of a pair of shoes.
The side view and the design constructs how the pair of shoes present its characteristics, as the side view shows the design, lining, platform, cutting and anything that make a shoe more than just a shoe but a representation of your taste and style.
So, how do different Converse models vary in terms of their side view?
All Star (Classic Truck)
2. Chuck 70s
3. Japan Model
4. Japan Model 80s
5. All Star R
6. All Star US
Summary
Model
Commentary
Rating
All Star
Very thin, curved and clean looking
2.5/5
Chuck 70
Good platform and complexed design
4/5
Japan Model
Good platform and clean looking
3/5
Japan Model 80s
Flat platform with slightly more design than the original Japan model
After the overview of the last post below, you should have grabbed a sense that there are really plenty of versions, or actually options, of Converse sneakers that you could choose from , which vary by their design to price, and materials to their origins.
Now, let’s move on check out the details in terms of their designs and outlooks, which diverse Converse models from scratch literally. If you are a fan of Converse or now looking for a pair of Converse, you might just go through the sequential posts or even just the pictures and the comparison summary at the end of each, so you could assess which models fit your requirements and taste the best. Below let’s check out the top view.
First of All, for the avoidance of doubt and surely confusion as usual when anyone of us are drilling down into Converse models, please allow me to list out again the models and the terminology that we would use throughout the painful journey:
All Star (The most common Classic Chuck) entry level model)
Chuck 70 (The enhanced design, better rubber and black label model)
Japan Model (The best quality made in Japan model)
Japan Model 80s (The new model made in Japan released in 2024)
All Star R (The newly designed React model known for its insole)
All Star US (US originator model with better quality than normal All Star)
Let’s move on to check out their top view:
All Star (Classic Truck)
2. Chuck 70s
3. Japan Model
4. Japan Model 80s
5. All Star R
6. All Star US
Summary
Model
Commentary
Rating
All Star
Very elementary model with imbalanced rubber head cover
1/5
Chuck 70
Better structured and layout with enhanced rubber and wide body
3.5/5
Japan Model
Packed up and balanced looking while rounded
4/5
Japan Model 80s
Similar to the normal MIJ model while ever more rounded
4/5
All Star R
Long and round rubber head cover with wide body
2/5
All Star US
Short and round rubber head cover with tight body
3/5
In the next post, we will have look into the side view or the “cross sectional area” of the Converse models above, which literally shapes the characteristics of them:
Apple’s latest Worldwide Developers Conference keynote concluded with several significant announcements. Among the most notable was the introduction of Apple Intelligence, marking the company’s substantial move into the realm of artificial intelligence. Additionally, Apple revealed that Siri users now have the option to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into their experience, provided they choose to do so.
Finally Apple comes with AI supported – Apple Intelligence
Apple has unveiled its highly anticipated venture into artificial intelligence with Apple Intelligence. CEO Tim Cook highlighted the platform’s focus on privacy and customization, coining it as “personal intelligence” that goes beyond traditional AI.
Craig Federighi announced that the generative models powering Apple Intelligence will be accessible across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Key features include:
Context-driven notifications: Apple Intelligence can discern which notifications are pertinent to your current context.
Writing enhancements: Systemwide proofreading and stylistic enhancements will be available across both third-party and native applications.
Image generation: Leveraging your photo library, Apple Intelligence can generate new images in three artistic styles: Sketch, Illustration, and Animation.
Cross-application tasking: The AI can navigate your apps to perform tasks, such as retrieving files sent by a contact within a specified timeframe.
Focus on personal context: It can consider your entire activity suite and current screen content to assist with queries, like assessing if a rescheduled meeting will conflict with personal commitments.
Private Cloud Compute: Utilizing cloud-based models on dedicated servers with Apple Silicon, Apple Intelligence ensures the privacy and security of user data. For cloud-based requests, Apple ensures a secure, limited data transfer using cryptographic methods.
Craig Federighi emphasized Apple’s commitment to privacy with the introduction of Apple Intelligence, which he described as a suite of advanced large language and diffusion models, coupled with an on-device semantic index that operates across apps to identify and process data.
The majority of these models are designed to run on the device itself, ensuring user privacy. For models that require cloud storage, Federighi highlighted Apple’s capability to provide users with control over the data stored in the cloud and its accessibility.
Federighi’s vision is to extend the iPhone’s renowned privacy and security features into the cloud, ensuring that users’ personal information remains protected.
Note: This post is written for my personal trading record purpose only, so this should not be taken as any form of investment advice or guidance to follow. Discussion is welcome, while you must do your own research for our own risks.
Discussion
What is El Pollo Loco?
El Pollo Loco is a quick-service Mexican restaurant chain known for its delicious fire-grilled chicken. With over 475 locations across the United States, they offer a menu that includes tacos, burritos, bowls, and salads, all centered around their signature citrus-marinated chicken cooked over an open flame. If you’re craving flavorful chicken, El Pollo Loco is definitely worth a visit.
Is El Pollo Loco popular in the United State?
El Pollo Loco has gained popularity in the USA for several reasons:
Flavorful Chicken: Their signature fire-grilled chicken is marinated with citrus and cooked over an open flame, resulting in juicy, flavorful meat.
Affordability: El Pollo Loco offers tasty Mexican-inspired dishes at reasonable prices, making it accessible to a wide range of customers.
Variety: Their menu includes tacos, burritos, bowls, and salads, catering to different preferences.
Consistency: El Pollo Loco has maintained its quality and cooking methods for over 40 years, creating a loyal customer base.
Overall, it’s a go-to spot for those seeking delicious, affordable chicken meals.
Why is Mexican food liked in the United State?
Mexican cuisine’s popularity in the United States can be attributed to several factors:
Rich Flavors: Mexican food offers a vibrant blend of flavors, thanks to ingredients like avocados, corn, tomatoes, chilis, beans, and limes. These flavors resonate with diverse palates.
In summary, the rich flavors, healthy ingredients, cultural heritage, and affordability contribute to the widespread love for Mexican food in the United States.
Is El Pollo Loco a listed company?
El Pollo Loco is a publicly traded company. It is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol LOCO.
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. faces several challenges in its operations:
Labor Inflation: Like many restaurant chains, El Pollo Loco grapples with rising labor costs. As minimum wages increase and competition for workers intensifies, managing payroll expenses becomes crucial. Balancing employee compensation with profitability is a delicate dance.
Restructuring Costs: The company has incurred expenses related to restructuring efforts. These costs can arise from changes in organizational structure, streamlining operations, or adapting to market shifts. While necessary for long-term viability, they impact short-term financials.
Competition: The quick-service restaurant industry is fiercely competitive. El Pollo Loco competes with other fast-food chains, local eateries, and even grocery stores offering prepared meals. Staying relevant and differentiating themselves in this crowded space is a constant challenge.
Supply Chain Disruptions: Global supply chain disruptions affect the availability and cost of ingredients. Whether due to transportation issues, weather events, or geopolitical factors, these disruptions can impact El Pollo Loco’s ability to maintain consistent menu offerings.
Consumer Preferences and Trends: Consumer tastes evolve, and health-conscious choices are on the rise. El Pollo Loco must adapt its menu to cater to changing preferences while retaining its signature flame-grilled chicken offerings.
Real Estate Costs: Securing prime locations for new restaurants can be expensive. Balancing the benefits of visibility and foot traffic with the associated costs is crucial for expansion.
Despite these challenges, El Pollo Loco continues to innovate, expand, and serve its loyal customers.
As discussed in an other (testing) article earlier, Oklo Inc. is a company based in Santa Clara, California, that is working on advanced fission power plants. Their goal is to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy using next-generation fast reactor technology based on their development and deployment SMRs.
Oklo wrote in their X (Twitter) page: “This week, the @WhiteHouse issued a fact sheet detailing recent actions taken to support the growth of both existing and new nuclear energy. Oklo is proud of our long-standing and many partnerships with the @GovNuclear including fabricating fuel and having a site use permit for our first plant, and on fuel recycling.”
What is the Fact Sheet by the White House about?
Nuclear power has long been a significant contributor to clean energy in the United States, accounting for 19% of total energy production last year. The industry provides jobs for nearly 60,000 workers and supports hundreds of thousands more.
As the U.S. energy system undergoes transformative changes, the Biden-Harris Administration aims to achieve a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035 while ensuring affordable, reliable power for consumers.
Alongside wind and solar, new nuclear reactor designs are gaining attention for their ability to produce clean energy. The Administration’s efforts include reducing reliance on Russian uranium, extending the service lives of existing reactors, and promoting new deployments. Decarbonizing the power system remains a critical challenge, requiring expertise and innovation .
Based on the discussion in the previous article, Buddhism is often regarded as either a religion or a cultural tradition. Recently, there has been more scientific research on Buddhism, especially from psychological and neuroscientific perspectives.
Practices like yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and how Buddhist teachings could help improve our well-being have come into the spotlight amid the surging need and growing awareness in society in mental health areas like stress management and reduction.
Challenges of Scientific Research on Buddhism
In an article titled “The Science of the Mind and the Science of the Brain” in the “Lion’s Roar” magazine, His Holiness the Dalai Lama discussed the challenges in studying and researching Buddhism scientifically.
Modern science and research relies on objective methodologies of observation and experiment, while Buddhism deals with the subjectivity of human mind, consciousness and reality. Thus, it is complex and difficult to bridge these two approaches. In other words, by modern science, we are by far no able to logicize and formulize Buddhism, a study of mind and consciousness, like classical Physics formulas to explain causal effects in our experiential world.
Stages ofDevelopment in Buddhism – Psychology, Philosophy, Yoga
Three Stages of Buddhism Development
From the Buddha Shakyamuni’s enlightenment commonly agreed in around 500 BCE, there had been many changes and stages of development in the content and way of teachings by the Buddha,
Let’s explore more about the 3 stages of Buddha’s teaching i.e. the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma in the next article.
Note: This post is written for my personal trading record purpose only, so this should not be taken as any form of investment advice or guidance to follow. Discussion is welcome, while you must do your own research for our own risks.
Discussion
The Nasdaq and the broader market turned bearish and sold off even after lower-than-expected PCE data was released. Sometimes, it’s more luck than skill to identify an inverted movement following better-than-expected data.
In another scenario, the Nasdaq and QQQ initially moved upward after the data release but quickly reversed course. The market experienced a sell-off, and QQQ dropped by around 2%. In such cases, it’s prudent to secure profits before waiting for the market to stabilize based on the 620-chart or any signs of finding its footing.
Based on the daily chart, QQQ experienced a breakdown below both the 10-day moving average (10MA) yesterday and the 20-day moving average (20MA) today. This decline was accompanied by higher trading volume, signaling significant selling pressure on market leaders.
Turning our attention to the 620-chart or 5-minute timeframe, we observe a robust upside bar in QQQ precisely at 12:20 AM HKT (GMT+8). Recognizing this bullish signal, I promptly closed my SQQQ position, considering the profit already gained and the potential for a swift reversion that could erode those gains. Let’s delve into the risk dynamics:
Our original risk tolerance level set for SQQQ’s 3x leveraged position was approximately 1%.
Remarkably, a movement of up to 2% in QQQ corresponds to a substantial 6% movement in SQQQ due to its leverage factor—approximately six times our expected risk exposure.
Guided by the “Perfection of Generosity” or “Perfection of Non-greed” under Six Perfections or Six Pāramitās, seizing this moment as a stop gain opportunity aligns with prudent risk management.
Note: This post is written for my personal trading record purpose only, so this should not be taken as any form of investment advice or guidance to follow. Discussion is welcome, while you must do your own research for our own risks.
Discussion
The Nasdaq and market turns very bearish and sells off even after a lower than expected PCE data is released. This is sometimes more luck than skill that you find an inverted movement after finding a better than expected data.
The Nasdaq and QQQ turns upside after the data was release while it literally U turns after a few bars. The market sells off and QQQ drops up to around 2%. In this case, I think this is good to lock down the profit before the market find its feet based on the 620-chart or the market shows some side of finding its foot.
Based on the daily chart, QQQ broke down into the 10MA yesterday and 20MA today with higher volume as the market leaders are being sold off hardly.
Based on the 620-chart or 5-minute below, QQQ shows a relatively strong upside bar in 12:20AM in HKT GMT+8, at which I closed the SQQQ position considering the profit and a possible reversion which would likely trim down the gain quickly. Since our original risk tolerance level or exposure if set a around 1% in SQQQ’s 3x leveraged position, a up to 2% movement in QQQ is equivalent a 6% movement in SQQQ,, which is around 6 times gain over my expected risk exposure. Based on the Perfection of Generosity, or Perfection of Non-greed, this should be a good stop gain opportunity.
Note: This post is written for my personal trading record purpose only, so this should not be taken as any form of investment advice or guidance to follow. Discussion is welcome, while you must do your own research for our own risks.
Discussion
The market has been rebounding strongly and extending for more than a month. However, underneath the strong movement in Nasdaq index driven mainly by the recent uptrend of NVDA, other names including the DJI has topped and dropping sharping from 20th May. The S&P 500 is also getting down to the 20MA with near average volume after topping and moving sideway from 15th May.
On 30th May, in the big names of Nasdaq, MSFT is breaking the 20MA with some strong volume expected by the trading day. Other names are moving sideway with NVDA being strong and consolidating around the recent historical.
The entry into SQQQ is a speculative play against the QQQ to capture if there is any sell-off or stronger consolidation around the recently high. Meanwhile, it is observed that the interest rate level increases as the 10Y yield TNX touching 4.638 before coming back slightly after the GPD deflator release.
As this is a speculative play for local top, we would try to keep the stop-loss tight to limit the risk exposure. As we have entered the short using the leveraged -3x SQQQ, we would derive the appropriate stop-loss using the 10MA of QQQ, which is less than 0.3% above the current price when writing. Therefore, we try to limit the loss by 1% of our entry position.
Meanwhile, the tight stop-loss in MP Materials Corp. is confirmed to be a sensible and effective one as MP breaks down into the 50MA line in high volume in the next day.
