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It is important for you to first consider that many cultures with primitive religious or cultural development both now and in the past have concluded a similar assumption; in that their world and the objects in the sky are all sentient beings controlling some aspect of their lives. The Mother Earth and a particular celestial Father (Sun, Moon, Jupiter, etc. ) of one type or another, are some of the oldest and most often repeated primitive ideas regarding creation that humans have conceived to explain their surroundings and by simple extrapolations their existence. We have a built in bias towards these Ideas. Just look at the most recent iteration of the sentient Mother Earth, we now have a sciency sounding version called Gaia hypothesis; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis “ Lovelock named the idea after Gaia, the primordial goddess who personified the Earth in Greek mythology” Thanks to evolution, we are prewired to almost a default condition to seek out other “like minded” beings. Even going to the point of wanting and projecting human like attributes onto any natural object or phenomena that we can imagine has self-determinate behaviors. The first step in any investigation is to understand and check our own internal bias, in this case though, it is built into our species to such a degree we will likely always have it as the default setting when humans lack the access to accurate scientific knowledge.

I hope you will find someone with a rock saw to open it up for you. I've seen a few hammer and chisel attempts that were regrettable with what would have been a display of spectacular crystals being smashed to bits. I've also used my wet tile saw on some smaller examples with acceptable results.

The one defining characteristic of this Flat Earth group of individuals is that they are made up, most certainly, almost entirely of the male half of the population. And that being said, explains much of the observed results;

Merry Christmas to all, I was going to post something here in the lounge and saw this thread, I hope you don't mined me putting it here instead. Does anyone else have a certain day that comes around every year that makes you wish you could do it over again? That one day a year that makes you feel regret that you didn’t do something to help someone you didn’t know, something that may have completely changed their life going forward. Well, my “do over day” was Christmas Eve 1993. We were working a half day installing an electric sign at a store in a small shopping center in a rather suburban area of town. It had a chain grocery store with a wing of maybe five small businesses off to one side. I was working outside of one of those small stores when a young gal of about 19 or 20 years of age walked up to a pay phone just a few steps away from where I was working. Anyone who saw her would have said she was very nice looking, or attractive or whatever appropriate adjective you would want use to describe her. You could also tell within a few moments of her talking on the phone that she was a very nice person. I only had to hear her speak a few words, maybe fourteen of them and watch how she responded to the person on the other end to know how caring she was to people. She was, for the lack of a better word, a sweet person, easy to know and care about. When she walked up to the phone she had a small backpack like college kids would carry and a shopping bag with what was obviously some individually wrapped presents inside. In her other hand was a pie of some sort, not in a box or anything, just a pie balanced in the palm of her hand. She set the bag with presents down and retrieved some change out of her tan leather coat pocket for the phone, all the while still keeping the pie level and secure. Her clothes were all very new, and for her age, very in style. Her hair was cut in a very short boy’s style. In fact all of her clothes were obviously from the young men’s section of a high end store. Her style was very common back then, and still is even today, here in Portland, Oregon Hi mom, . . . . . . It’s me, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .But, . . . . . . But, . . . Can I just come home on Christmas . . . . . . . . . .Ok, . . . . . Goodbye. She put the receiver away and used the palm of the same hand to wipe her left cheek and then her right eye. She looked over and saw my concern and gave me the bravest sad smile she could muster up. I didn’t know what to do or say. She gathered her now unwanted gifts, turned and walked off in the same direction she had come from. After a few minutes I started thinking of all the things I should have said and done. Taken the receiver and told her mom about the sweet young person on that end of the phone that still loves her mom. Tell her how she will dread the thought of this moment someday when she sees how wrong she was. I should have made sure she had some place to go that cold evening to come. Would she have taken my invitation to stay in my home and spend the holiday with my wife and three young children? I will never know the answer to these questions. I only hope she is now surrounded by the ones she loves and who love her in return, and that her life is now full of happiness.

Just an observation looking back some 40 years ago when I was a teen and such things seemed important, all it took was one socially respected observer to proclaim any cosmetically challenged person as being a "Hot guy" or a "Foxy chick" and that persons image to those in the vicinity was miraculously changed.

These folks in Thorp, Wisconsin are getting a great deal of attention but I haven't had a chance to try some of it. https://www.mariekegouda.com/ And this is an interesting profile about these transplanted Dutch family cheese makers and how they began their award winning enterprise. https://www.viroquafood.coop/viroqua-food-coop-blog/bid/207372/p6-profile-holland-s-family-cheese-maker-of-marieke-s-gouda There is also a growing interest in my home state of Oregon regarding artisan cheese making that is similar to the craft brewing phenomena that has its roots here in Oregon and Washington states also, and then spread across the U.S. in these last 3 decades. And just because this is a science site here is a research paper on the subject; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030214002963 And this is a few of those Oregon Artisan makers; https://oregoncheeseguild.org/cheesemakers/ I'm not an expert in any way but I am partial to the Tillamook sharp cheddar, I'm sure I've consumed my own weight several times of that one. https://www.tillamook.com/creamery.html#general ; They say on their site "submit a request and we’ll get to work on coming to you."

And that is your clue as to what this should look like.

The additional 2 cylinders would make a considerable improvement in responsiveness, a cylinder under combustion is not only working to move the vehicle but must also help move the other pistons through their combustion cycle also. Have you ever heard the throttle response of a Ferrari V12 Goosebumps! Diesel engines produce much higher mechanical forces on their components like connecting rods, crankshafts, and their associated bearings and even the main bearing housings machined into the engine block. Each cylinder requires valves and camshaft lobes to operate them. By reducing the number of cylinders you reduce the number of associated components and design elements that could eventually fail, thus increasing the engines reliability through reducing its complexity. Your engine is a wonderful example of engineering. You should appreciate it for its thoughtful design, it will likely last many more years than older designs if properly maintained. I drive a diesel crane truck at work that is almost 20 years old and it has been a wonderful engine. When they first told me of the brand of engine it was equipped with when they first ordered the truck, I was rather concerned due to my familiarity with the earlier models some 30 years earlier (1970's). But the engineering had progressed so far by then that my earlier concerns were no longer relevant. It's even likely these newer engine blocks have alloys unavailable when your Toyota was built.

Well, years ago some manufactures started with one type of motor (gasoline for example) and then due to consumer demand went looking for a diesel engine that would fit into the existing model with as few additional modifications to the vehicle as possible. While others at the time of the vehicle's development had designed their chassis' so that either type would be offered without needing to compromise on the engine or performance for the sake of cost and convenience during manufacturing. Your Toyota was built with a very large engine compartment, big enough for a gasoline V8 that made installing that strait 6 diesel very easy. The manufactures are now trying more than ever to increase the vehicle's fuel mileage and a 4 cylinder engine weighs considerably less than a 6 or 8 cyl., while its smaller engine compartment allows a shorter chassis which itself weighs less. They also want the customer to have as much usable space in the cabin as possible but will work to avoid extending the vehicle's front end design to accommodate it, in the past those longer engines on smaller chassis' were usually extended into the cab by reworking the bulkhead/firewall that in turn reduced the front passenger's floor space. Your Isuzu being a turbocharged engine takes more time to spool up to where its power band is, you are probably also experiencing what is called turbo lag. Your older Toyota is probably not supercharged and has the lower torque range and quicker pickup that the two additional cylinders provide. In the end, your Isuzu is considerably more efficient than that old Toyota and that is what most consumers are after when all things are considered together.

Going to the dentist once a year is not just about healthy teeth. They are trained Medical Doctors that can detect medical problems early enough that it could save your life. In 2010 my wife was at a dentist that had been treating her for almost 30 years, he noticed that after checking her neck and throat area that he thought her lymph glands felt abnormal and she should get them checked out by our family practitioner. Well, the FP didn't see anything out of the ordinary at first but over the next several months my wife persisted and was her own advocate about it and after adding together several other strange health issues/symptoms it lead back to proper testing that resulted in the diagnoses of her thyroid cancer. That early detection by her dentist gave her a head start towards beating it. As it was, her initial outlook was in the 90% range but within a year and four extensive surgeries and followup radiation her outlook was quite the opposite and we braced for what we thought would be just marginal life extending treatments like more destructive radiation therapies until they or the cancer killed her. Her doctor at the medical university hospital where she was treated published a paper in a medical journal about her case, the doctor said they had never seen a particular case as unusual as hers. She told my wife that she was now in the medical history books. The post operative testing showed she had a small amount of thyroid in her blood and that it could only mean that the follow up radiation that should have destroyed all cancerous and none cancerous thyroid cells had failed. The prognoses was that each 6 month test would show an increase in thyroid, that the cancerous thyroid cells that were now distributed somewhere in her body would continue to grow and spread. Well, the thyroid level at the next test showed no increase, the doctors were stumped. It should show an increase, somewhere there are cells making thyroid and they should be growing and making more thyroid. The next six month test showed the same small level as was detected at the initial post radiation test that brought about the grim diagnoses in the first place. So here we are in 2019, and still, the same level was detected in her test a few month ago. She apparently has a small amount of none cancerous thyroid cells somewhere. That, to the amazement of the doctors, has survived what no thyroid cell should be able to survive. What had made all of us cautious was that this type of cancer is very slow in spreading so although we were apprehensive at first about all this we have grown more confident over time that she will not have any more problems. As her doctor said; "She's in the medical history books". So, seeing how difficult her situation turned out to be, it leaves us with little doubt that her dentist gave her just enough of a head start that it saved her life.

I've found British documentaries on YouTube and I don't think I'll ever get through them all. It's wonderful! There is one series called "Battle Stations" that I'm going through right now, in the past months I've watched docs on Geology and its early founders, Ships, Planes, Airships, WW I and II Tanks and Tank Battles, Great English machines, ect. It is nice to be able to watch what you want when you want to. To all the Brits here thanks for all the great historical content that your citizens obviously care so much about. A real historical treasure chest to share with the world.

Unfortunately for your argument the Japanese didn't agree with your assessment; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_Neutrality_Pact "After the Fall of France and the subsequent expansion of the Axis Powers, the Soviet Union wished to mend its diplomatic relations in the Far East in order to safeguard its eastern border and concentrate on the European theatre of war. On the other hand, Japan, bogged down in a seemingly interminable war with China and with diplomatic relations with the United States rapidly deteriorating, sought an accommodation with the Soviet Union that would improve its international standing and secure the northern frontier of Manchukuo against possible Soviet invasion." Additionally, the Japanese had no other agenda outside of displacing U.S. and European colonialism and the domination of Asia Pacific with their own. This is about accessing resources to feed a war machine with raw materials and fertile land to grow food to feed a growing Japanese population that will soon begin to occupy and administer these latest acquisitions to their empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_Indies_campaign "The East Indies was one of Japan's primary targets if and when it went to war because the colony possessed abundant valuable resources, the most important of which were its rubber plantations and oil fields;[12][13] the colony was the fourth-largest exporter of oil in the world, behind the U.S., Iran, and Romania" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_the_Dutch_East_Indies "Following its military campaign in China, Japan turned its attention to Southeast Asia, advocating to other Asians a 'Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere', which they described as a type of trade zone under Japanese leadership. The Japanese had gradually spread their influence through Asia in the first half of the 20th century and during the 1920s and 1930s had established business links in the Indies. These ranged from small town barbers, photographic studios and salesmen, to large department stores and firms such as Suzuki and Mitsubishi becoming involved in the sugar trade." Bombing and attacking Soviet cities on the Pacific would have had little no strategic value to the Japanese strategies outlined above. They were running on the edge of a sword, so to speak, and they knew it. Inciting the Soviets would have only decreased their chances of success. I wish you would make some citations supporting your argument.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_border_conflicts "The Soviet–Japanese border conflicts (also known as the Soviet-Japanese Border War) was a series of battles and skirmishes between the forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Empire of Japan, as well as their respective client states of Mongolia and Manchukuo. Lasting from 1932 to 1939, most of the conflicts were small border skirmishes until May 1939, with the notable exception of the Battle of Lake Khasan. The border conflicts were resolved in a series of engagements at Khalkin-Gol, where the Soviets and Mongolians inflicted a decisive defeat on the Japanese. This resulted in the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact." The Japanese had by December 7, 1941 a vast empire to administer and defend against U.S. interests in the Pacific, such as the Philippines, and the British and French interests in various S.E. Asian and Western Pacific territories, and specifically, The Dutch East Indies; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_Indies_Campaign, in what was a direct tactical goal as Japan turned its attention from possible soviet mineral wealth to S.E. Asia. it was inevitable that they would confront or be confronted in those competing colonial interests. A repeat of Khalkin-Gol defeat could have resulted in a full advance of the Soviets into much of Japanese held territories. Much of Japan's expansion was in direct response to the U.S. oil embargo that was levied for invading Manchuria and China. They were after raw materials that were essential for industry and military expansion that were not available in Japan, oil, rubber, metals like iron, copper, chromium and a variety of other strategic chemical elements that such an endeavor required. Invading Soviet territories would have unlikely provided such returns for their efforts considering they would be dealing with a industrialized opponent on their homeland through adverse winter theaters of operations. Something the Germans should have considered heavily BTW. They knew they were to be spread thin by such a vast stake in S.E. Asian and island territories at that time of initiating Peal Harbor it would have only further strained their efforts. Seeing how it turned out, I would say had they done so it might have ended the Pacific theater long before the German surrender.