Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 June 27

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

June 27

Gundam video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFh4ZeTThtM

Gundam 00 opening 4: Anyone would want to tell me why this video was flipped and is there a way to flip the video back to normal after I download it? I haven't done the latter yet but the video quality is really nice. 64.75.158.194 (talk) 00:22, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Presumably you noticed that one of the comments of the video claimed they have to flip the video or it gets removed. No idea if that's true, or why that would make the video less likely to be removed, but that's the claim. Comet Tuttle (talk) 03:39, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Copyright laws are very iffy things. I assume that flipping the video upside down lends some "creativity" to the video that lends it some legal property or another, though I am not sure what. You could turn your monitor upside down when you watch it. ^Avicenna_sis @ 07:49, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

The video is flipped left/right not up/down. Watch it in a mirror. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:03, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

While this is not legal advice and I'm not a lawyer, the chance simply flipping the video would do anything about the copyright status is close to none barring additional claims (for example if you are claiming the flipped version is better or proves that the creators are working with the devil or whatever and use a short portion to demonstrate this then you could potentially make a fair use claim). The reason why it may benefit here is I'm guessing Youtube or others have automatic copyvio detecting tools which aren't yet designed to detect such videos. As an example a few days ago I did a search for the controversial US non goal (can't remember why since I have a recording), most of the ones seemed deleted but I hit upon one which had been recorded off a TV or monitor with a camera. The quality was shit but at a random guess this probably was one of the reasons I could see it, it couldn't be automatically detected. Nil Einne (talk) 10:55, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Copyright is such a problem, isn't it? But if that is so, why are there so many videos of opening and ending scenes, and even entire episodes, of various anime shows all over Youtube? They don't seem to be affected by copyright in any way. Also, I can't watch this video on a mirror all the time (mostly because I don't have a mirror the size of my monitor). Is there some program that can flip flash videos around while playing them? 64.75.158.193 (talk) 10:46, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Youtube generally only uses the big guns for shows and music that the copyright holder is actively chasing them about. If the copyright holder does little to defend their copyright, either because they don't want to or are unaware, and nobody else reports the violation, Youtube doesn't really care. So this means that, in practice, if you look up a show that isn't currently a source of income for someone, because it isn't on air or out on DVD or whatever, chances are you'll find it. Whereas if someone is looking to release it on DVD, they will generally look it up and chase the hosted versions down. Anime is a bit weird because the Japanese model for making money from it is a bit different to the American and European models: the money isn't in selling the actual show, but in selling associated merchandise and toys. This makes it not as worthwhile chasing down pirate copies of the show itself. And short clips are usually left up, because they aren't a way for people to watch a show outside profitable streams, and can serve as viral marketing. Particularly credit sequences. 86.164.57.20 (talk) 22:20, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Article/Short Composition Wanted By Today

27 June 2010 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.198.3.7 (talk) 07:39, 27 June 2010 (UTC) I want a short article on the topic- "Importance Of Adult Education" by today in 150 words, as i have to submit it tomorrow. It should be of school standard. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.198.3.7 (talk) 07:38, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misinterpretation, but it is our policy here not to do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn. Please attempt to solve the problem or answer the question yourself first. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, feel free to tell us where you are stuck and ask for help. If you need help grasping the concept of a problem, by all means let us know. ^Avicenna_sis @ 07:46, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Search Wikipedia. There are many articles on here, and there's probably articles about Adult education. Chevymontecarlo - alt 09:09, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Adult education. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:17, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

I'll start for you.

There are plenty of people who don't study when they are young and instead transparently try and get others to do their home work for them at the last minute without even offering any payment and even though the header clearly warns them they can expect no such help. While far from a perfect solution, adult education can help teach such people to function independently and help them better their lives when they begin to realise the mistakes of their youth as they encounter their many limitations in adulthood. Clearly the benefits aren't just to the individual as the people who use adult education may becomes productive members of society instead of relying on welfare or crime to support them.

Nil Einne (talk) 10:50, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

The above is just 30 words short of the target. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:26, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Please help me find

It was an animated show about a boy and his St. Bernard dog, the dog was abused and pulled a cart, it was a dutch show, the boy at obe stage lost his ability to speak, this was due to trauma he had experiences. The boy was an orphan. This show was aired in south africa in the early 90's. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.89.16.154 (talk) 11:12, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

You might want to ask at WP:RD/E. Chevymontecarlo 16:46, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps A Dog of Flanders. Rmhermen (talk) 23:21, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

This one? Oda Mari (talk) 15:00, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Cheren

http://pokebeach.com/news/0610/black-white-character-cheren.jpg

Where does the name Cheren come from? The only things I could find were a village in Eritrea (which is now named Keren, anyway) and Cherenkov radiation, neither of which seems to fit.

Also, is Cheren male or female? Pokébeach outright says that Cheren is female, but when I looked at their forums, it seems that people can't decide. --75.25.103.109 (talk) 11:18, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Subsidies and discrimination

In some countries, many actually, there are laws against discrimination based on age. However, in the same countries, you also get subsidies or tax breaks, for hiring young people. Crazy, isn't it?--Quest09 (talk) 12:50, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't understand what question you are asking. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 13:17, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, it is crazy. As crazy as many other regulations. Mr.K. (talk) 13:27, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

No, it is rational. The reasons that employers are reluctant to employ very young or very old workers are different. Politicians may use laws and/or financial incentives to improve either case. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:23, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

In more details: Laws against discrimination exist to correct a social imbalance between two groups of people. Such laws come in two types: laws that prevent a type of action (sort of "negative" laws) and laws that require a type of action ("positive" laws, like affirmative action). The first is to prevent present or future discrimination, the second is to correct the social/political/economic imbalances created by past discrimination. These are not, as some conservative-minded people will have you believe, incompatable ideas. One might say "if we can't discriminate by age at all, then we can't give benefits to people based on age". The other point of view is "if people of certain ages have been denied access to avenues of power, then removing those barriers doesn't magically give them access. We also need to temporarily provide easier routes to power until such time as there is no statistical difference between people based on age". The same is true for any discrimination based on any other trait. --Jayron32 22:39, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

In regard to affirmative action and such, one former manager of mine said, "There's no law requiring you to hire an idiot." In short, regardless of race, they still have to be able to do the job. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:44, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

That is the standard argument for affirmative action, but it doesn't make sense to take affirmative action in favour of young people. They can't have been discriminated against in the past since they've only just entered the world of work. --Tango (talk) 22:43, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

That sounds more like a European situation, where oldsters have tended to be favored, hanging onto their jobs, theoretically keeping younger ones out of the market. In America, it's the opposite situation, i.e. they want to dump oldies and hire younger and "more innovative" (and particularly cheaper) labor. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:48, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

@Tango. I think they can. A class of people may have been discriminated against, albeit they had different faces. Kittybrewster ☎ 22:51, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

They would have to demonstrate that companies tend to favor older workers when it comes to hiring practices. Seems like that would be hard to do. Certainly in the U.S., companies are much more interested in hiring them younger. But maybe it's the opposite in Europe? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:54, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

You can't take affirmative action in favour of different people that now occupy a previously discriminated against class. That's just creates an inequality in the opposite direction, it doesn't remove inequality. --Tango (talk) 23:07, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

If that's the case, then it doesn't need affirmative action (which is a short term intervention to correct an inequality that has resulted from past discrimination), it needs enforcement of anti-discrimination legislation. --Tango (talk) 23:07, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

[1] may provide some clues as to some of the issues and why governments tend to feel high youth unemployement is a problem. Bear in mind that quite a few European countries may have high minimum wages and/or many union agreements preventing very low wages being offered to youth so any direct financial benefit may be small. Also when we refer to youth here people usually think about 25 or so and under. I'm a bit surprised if American companies really prefer a fairly or completely inexperienced 22 year old to an experienced 35 year old with okay references/employement history if their wages are similar but I don't know how things are in the US.

In any case, while there may be some age discrimination component I suspect other factors also play a big role so enforcing anti-discrimination legislation won't be that effective. In NZ there's a related thing were companies may reject someone for 'no NZ experience' many feel that these claims are often just as much an excuse for discriminating against Asian immigrants but there's of course nothing illegal about rejecting someone for no NZ experience, I don't know whether you can reject someone if the experience is say in India but accept someone with experience in the UK but it may be possible if you can argue that the job market in the UK is far closer to what you expect. And of course proving discrimination is difficult anyway, it's commonly claimed that companies in Europe as well as here in NZ and also I think Australia that companies will discriminate against people with a non European sounding name and there have even been some tests where identical CVs we sent in but with a different name which seemed to show this in action.

A perhaps key issue is that I suspect from the governments POV they believe they are improving opportunities for all by helping companies to grow, people who can make important contibutions in the future including start businesses of their own get off their feet, better directing the work force (e.g. those with experience etc to go to jobs more fitting their skills rather then taking up jobs which less experience people could do if the company weren't so relucant to hire them) etc etc rather then damaging the prospects of older workers (by which I mean people in say 35-55 range) by offering incentives for hiring youth. Growing the pie as politicians like to say. Note whether these actually work is besides my point which isn't to argue in favour or against such policies. There are other alternatives (e.g. the UK appearently has incentives to hire the long term unemployed whatever the age).

Nil Einne (talk) 09:54, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

If there are benefits paid to the employer as an incentive to selectively hire young people, while at the same time there are laws against selectively hiring young people, that would indeed seem to be crazy, and to be incitement to commit a crime. I suppose there are no such benefits in countries with the anti-ageism law... or are there? 213.122.14.1 (talk) 10:11, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Dragoon Mountains of Arizona

Where did the Dragoon Mountains get their name? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zilchll (talk • contribs) 14:01, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

The Wikipedia article on the Dragoon Mountains does not say, but there is likely some connection to the Dragoons, a type of early-modern military unit that was a hybrid of an infantry and a cavalry unit. --Jayron32 14:06, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

It's pretty interesting, actually. This explains which dragoons the mountains are named after. I keep stumbling over Kit Carson references, and this is another. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 20:01, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Any tree?

I'm asking this question to the natives of New York: Can you see a tree there? --Extra 999 (Contact ^me + _contribs) 15:37, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

You don't need to be in New York (I assume you mean New York City) to see the trees there. Go to Google Maps and use the Satellite view. You can see many trees. Also, see Central Park. --- Medical geneticist (talk) 15:45, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Just look at the article on New York City. There are trees in the very first picture on the page. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:14, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. However, I thought I knew, but now I know that rose trees never grow, in New York City. --M@rēino 16:03, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Ginko biloba

I've emailed the NYC Parks Dept with no response -- I've noticed that many institutions of higher learning in NYC possess Ginko biloba trees on the street by the main entrance (Pace University, Columbia University (Morningside), Fashion Institute of Technology, Yeshiva University. Could anyone comment on this finding? I've seen Ginkos around Manhattan as well (3rd Ave) but I wonder if they were planted in clusters for some education-related significance. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 17:05, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

They are very interesting from a taxonomic point of view, though I suppose you already know that. A school might like to have one just because they're so interesting. (I've been to several other colleges that seem to have a token Ginko in prominent locations.) Staecker (talk) 22:36, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

[OR] When I lived in Cambridge I got to know trees around the city, and on the Downing Site there was a building with a ginkgo trained in espalier, all round the windows. I was just looking for it on Google street view, but I've been the length of Tennis Court Road and I can't find it. --ColinFine (talk) 20:43, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

• Several cities cultivate Ginkgo trees because they are extremely hardy under city conditions. I suspect it's hardiness, and not a symbolic association with education, that explains their prevalence. (Unfortunately, the best source that I can find right now glosses over the advantages and focuses on their main drawback -- their rancid seed pods.[2])--M@rēino 16:11, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, the seed pods do smell like dog crap; however, I understand that the nuts inside of them are quite tasty. My favorite collection of them is (or at least was) near the music buildings at UC Berkeley.--jpgordon^{::==( o )} 20:09, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

pie-baking

When I was a youth in the 40's, my mother used to bake pies called "TOO-chays" (don't know how it was spelled), a custard-like pie (no upper crust), usually with red or black rasberries or cherries, depending on season. She had a recipe, but of course it's lost. Would anyone recognize that pie-type, and even better, would anyone have a recipe? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rjofrochester (talk • contribs) 20:07, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, the only pie I can think of which is pronounced like that is Tourtière, which in Quebec French or New England French (a dialect I grew up hearing) is pronounced something like "TOOCH-ee-aye". However a Tourtière is usually a meat pie, not a fruit pie. It is not inconceivable that the term is applied to other types of pies which arrived via other cultures. What is the background or cultural context of the Pie or your mother who made it? --Jayron32 22:28, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Custard tart

An open-topped pie is properly called a "tart"...perhaps in this case a "custard tart". Custard tarts topped with fruit are a reasonably common thing - and as you can see from the photo at right, they can be topped with seasonal berries. SteveBaker (talk) 02:03, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

What country/region was your mother from? Falconus^{p t c} 04:47, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

I do note that in Maine, Tourtière is pronounced "Too-chay", according to http://masticate.tumblr.com/post/295634206/you-say-tourtiere-i-say-toochay. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 20:06, 30 June 2010 (UTC)