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Certainly Australia's landscape is unique. Uluru is of such beauty... I know you like docos, as you say. I remember Australia's first Four Billion Years. One of the geographical features that most impressed me was the McDonnell Ranges. Because this mountain system formed so early, erosion has eaten away even the highest mountains. At some point it looks like the skeleton of a gigantic beast. It's one of the most strangely wonderful geological features I've ever seen.

Depend on the "something", my relationship with the person or persons I might tell it to and the affect of that truth on their knowing it or not knowing it. I'm not always in position to judge the truth value of a datum that's come my way; nor am I confident of judging accurately the general good. Sometimes people are upset when told something they really need to know (Dad, I'm gay.) and later come to terms with far more easily than if they had been kept in the dark. Sometimes, OTOH, potentially upsetting knowledge is better withheld. (The grandfather you idolized thought you were a twit.) Some things that one might inadvertently discover are not in one's province to divulge. (Your big sister is really your mother.) Sometimes they already know and being told that others know, too, only makes it more painful. Sometimes they suspect and are seeking the truth in their way, in their own time. Sometimes telling a secret arms the other person against diasappointment; at other times, blurting merely spoils a surprise I'm not married to Truth, a truth or the truth: I have some respect for each of them, but no special reverence. Communication has a purpose involving one or more other sentient being(s): to educate, inform, warn, negotiate, solicit, assess, correct, convince, beguile, rebuke, control; to elicit information from them, to compare their views with mine, to collaborate on a project or form a plan, to share an experience or emotion, to entertain or amuse them, or simply to hold their attention. This means that I don't have to tell everybody everything I know; don't have to tell anyone everything I know - just the bits that serve a particular purpose at a given time. As for opinions, I have so many, on so many subjects, attempting to share them all might well place me in jeopardy. That's not entirely facetious: in today's social climate, you never can anticipate how disgreement will be expressed.

Moreover, if one really wanted to understand something, one should rely at least on peer-reviewed publications. The one OP has a paper (pre-print) as a background, but the main argument against vaccines (which does not appear in the paper) is on a random forum. The other argument presented here is someone's blog. At the same time there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of peer-reviewed articles looking at effects and issues with the vaccine, which is a rather unprecedented number given the time frame. So given the fact that the lit quality might be low, it should make one skeptical if the loud voices are all on social media, blogs etc. rather than somewhere which is not reviewed by at least some folks. In fact there are some papers out there discussing potential risks, but the data has pretty much laid that to rest. This is why now folks need to conjure some nebulous future issues (as we currently have very little) and disseminate them on social media. This post here so far has already posted more than two less than trustworthy sources under the potential guise of asking questions. This is, unfortunately is how misinformation spreads and kills folks.

I believe you're stupid and ugly. Share that with the neighbor, y/n? So, point is, no need to overshare opinions of a subjective nature, which offer nothing constructive. Broadly speaking, however, human relationships thrive on trust, and lying can destroy trust. If the ugly neighbor has been tossing cigarette butts on your driveway, then it's worth saying you don't like it. This establishes an honest relationship where you aren't holding secret resentment and you are defining real boundaries. Another way to look at harsher truths, and if they should be shared, is to consider if they describe something fixable and if that fix would be of mutual benefit and not impose a terrible burden on the person. And there's also diplomacy. I. e. delivering honest comments in a form that somewhat softens their abrasive exterior.

I don't see any simple, cheap, low-tech object that orients light from a variable direction without moving itself. If really nothing moves nor changes, my strong intuition tells that efficient funnelling and concentration to a fixed direction goes against the second law of thermodynamics. Provided the application is not cooking in the Andes, some high-tech is more or less conceivable. A fixed lens or mirror can alternate black and reflective or transmitting zones (aka gratings, zoned lens etc). You can adapt these zones without "movement" by using liquid crystals. They wear in sunlight, so maybe my old patent is better, if it survives the number of cycles: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0564012A1/en A laser accepts pumping light from variable direction, and sunlight does pump Yag lasers, but the pumping light must be concentrated. A set of lenses might do the trick. Have a limited set of useful directions, build one setup for each?

One thing that brings us together and unites us is staying on-topic

"Seriously, Would You Share Some?" © Krisztina Scheeff/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020 Scheeff took the photo in Scotland. A leopard seal got into a lagoon just before low tide," Nachoum wrote. "The seal was hiding, waiting to ambush young penguins as they got closer. When a penguin got close enough, the seal moved extremely fast and caught the penguin by its feet, dragging it to the open water. I was following parallel to the action. The seal released the penguin twice and the terrified penguin succeeded in escaping, but the seal continued chasing after it, and on the third attempt, drowned the penguin and devoured it." The many colours of Uluru....

I got a major award today (plaque, not a sexy leg-lamp) for my "staunch defense of USNO's interests" in a project I'm working on

INow, Your out of context quotes seem not to address my actual points or examples. I could suggest reading my post again, bearing in mind that I'm trying to describe how actual sports fans approach issues of fair competition, but I can't tell if you're really open to that. As regards "I reject your premise that allowing transgendered females to compete in sports as female is unfair. " this was not my premise. Indeed, prior posts of mine pointed out that some sports are finesse-based to where body mass, fast-twitch muscle and aerobic capacity don't much matter. Some sports are about endurance, where size may even be a slight detriment. But one can't simply duck the issues in sports where those physiological factors do matter, and paste smiley-faced stickers of acceptance without looking at evidence. I am probably somewhere to the left of Bernie Sanders on some issues, and it may turn out trans females can play fairly in almost all sports, but that doesn't mean I can join in any cancellation of real questions and concerns people have about the physical disparity issues. My offered scenario may prove to be a bogeyman, but it's the right of anyone, especially people with daughters in sports, to voice their concerns without being belittled or vilified. Asking questions is where good science comes from, and I always have to put science before politics. Always.

When my mother was near the end of her life she emotionally suffered whenever any of her kids or grandkids experienced any setbacks. We instituted a policy, at my urging, that we lie like crazy to my mom. David got into graduate school. Mary's debt was forgiven. I got that promotion. I've never been happier about a decision to lie in my life. For the most part I believe that people should be told the truth, but I'm sure there are dozens of exceptions depending on the circumstances.