While there are long waiting lists of people who urgently need new organs, there are not enough people who have registered as donors. On average, a patient who needs a donated organ has to wait for four years before he or she gets it. Within that waiting time, other severe patients may have died. This serious problem brings up the question if all citizens should be automatically registered as donors. But in October last year, a proposal of this nature was rejected by the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

A few Dutch students do not think the automatic donor registration system should be rejected. Tobias Fikkert has registered as a donor. He finds it can help people’s lives. He says, “It is a good thing that more people should donate their organs. People should think about this. They should be automatically registered as donors.” He finds there is no need for him to be afraid of being a donor. “I won’t need my organs when I am dead.”

Tom Elfrink thinks the automatic donor registration system should have been approved by the Dutch parliament. “It is a good solution. I would be a donor, too, but now I am not as I am not eighteen years old yet.” He supports his relatives if they want to be donors. Organ donation is a matter of life or death for a lot of people. “Signing up as a donor is something you should do.”

Tahee (she did not state her surname) finds that it is necessary to be a donor. It is a social matter that can help people. She says, “It is better to be clear about it if you do not want to be a donor.” She will advise her friends and relatives to register, though. She jokingly says, “I will push them.”

Related news: http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/local_news/Dutch-MPs-reject-automatic-organ-donation_46601.html

This article was published on Sax Magazine, February 2009

http://www.sax.nu/Portals/5/docs/sax06_febr09_web.pdf

But not every Dutch Saxion student shares those interests: Below three students tell about their hobbies and what they do besides studying. Perhaps you have the same interests.

Ron Krukkert studies Art and Technology. Therefore, it is no wonder that he likes to spend his free time behind his computer as well. Sometimes he designs or draws, using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. It is his hobby. But when he has free time besides his school assignments, he likes to go out. Ron says, “Sometimes I watch live festivals and live bands.” But, does he play in a band? “No, I can’t play any instrument,” is his reply.

Rafael Oettel, Ron’s classmate also likes drawing to practice his skill in art. Sometimes in his free time, he prefers to go skateboarding. He can play the guitar well and he has friends to practice together or to have jam sessions with. But they do not form a band. “It is just for fun,” he says.

Playing musical instrument seems to be a boy’s interest. What about a girl? When Sax meets Stefanie a bit later, she says that she spends her free time on doing exercises or sports, such as swimming and skating. Besides, she likes dancing and watching movies.

published on Sax Magazine, February 2009

http://www.sax.nu/Portals/5/docs/sax06_febr09_web.pdf

The museum
Located in Het Roozendaal, Enschede, TwentseWelle tells the story of Twente. The museum combines the cultural and natural history in a package. It tells the history of people, animals, science and technology, and climate from pre-historical ages until modern days. It has various collections such as photographs, fossils, artefacts, machines, dioramas, movies, and prototypes of the future. Since the opening of the Roombeek area in 2008, TwentseWelle have offered a new museum concept. It implements the term ‘learning by doing and playing’ for children, as simulation videos and games let them experience what they never did at school.

No English
Despite the variety of its collection, the museum lacks information in English. Its booklets and brochures for the visitors are only written in Dutch and German. The explanations, instructions and subtitles of the dioramas and movies are, too. However, visitor hosts/hostesses can be reached in the ‘Grote Verhaal’, after the main entrance. They will answer any question clearly and practically. Overall, TwentseWelle makes Enschede an ‘art and cultural’ city in the Netherlands. A fair mark would be 7 out of 10. Check the website for more information about special events and reservation.

This article was published on Sax Magazine, January 2009
http://www.sax.nu/Portals/5/docs/saxweb.pdf

Street party
Welcoming the new year in Curaçao is always a crowded affair. Milly-Ann Barhorst, International Business and Management Studies (IBMS) student: “It’s not as cold as in the Netherlands, so everything we do then, we do outside.” Some people go to church and others party together in the streets, playing music. Their gathering is unique: no matter if they are family or not, they visit neighbours by going from door to door and celebrate together.

At the city centre, many people come and watch the fireworks. “There’s a lot more than in Holland but you can only light it from 10 to 2 o’clock midnight.” During New Year’s Eve, they eat Dutch oliebollen.

Not on 1 January
Not following the Gregorian calendar for the common new year, there are countries in which it does not start on 1 January. “We don’t celebrate it then. It’s just normal life”, says Maryam Sabouri, IBMS student from Iran. They do have holidays in January, due to university exams. Their new year is actually the first day of spring and there is no correlation with any religious calendar. During the New Year celebrations, they usually have a party or family gathering where traditional food is provided. Iranian Shaghayegh Mohajer, or rather Sherry, tells: “In the evening, we eat a kind of fish and coconut rice. The day after, we eat noodle soup.”

Let us have a look at South East Asia: Vietnam has its traditional new year, too, a bit later in January. Doan Huu Ha Vinh, Electrical Engineering student, says that the New Year starts on a different date every year. “Normally you get ready for the holiday one week before the New Year. And the New Year’s celebrations commonly last for three days, often spent on visiting your friends and relatives.”

Sherry and Maryam have studied in the Netherlands for some years. They will celebrate with friends here. So will Vinh “with people who like to go out.”

published on Sax Magazine, December 2008

http://www.sax.nu/Portals/5/docs/saxdecember2008.pdf

Muslims
Most people in Iran are Muslims. But Kianoosh Mousavi has liked Christmas since she was a child, “I think it’s so nice and cosy.” Mousavi continues: “We have Christians in Iran because Armenians are Christians and they have lived in our country for about 300 years. Everybody knows Christmas in Iran and many of my friends would like to have it as a  festival.”

Mousavi will not forget to call her friends to wish them a merry Christmas. But, not every Muslim does that: “After all it depends on the person. If a family is really religious and strict Muslim, they may not have Christian friends or they don’t even think about Christmas.”

Sari Ritzkya Deviyani from Indonesia, also a Muslim, has relatives who live in the Netherlands. “My mother, my grandpa, my brother and sister are Christians. So they celebrate it like a big party.” She usually visits her grandmother’s house. After having dinner, they talk and chat until late.

Hindu
For Putu Ayu Anggraeni – a Hindu from Indonesia – Christmas is an ordinary day but there is a holiday to respect Christians. In her family, there are people of different religions. “So usually, we go to our relatives that are Christians to celebrate by having dinner at their house and congratulate them. They prepare some meals for us.”

published on Sax Magazine December 2008

http://www.sax.nu/Portals/5/docs/saxdecember2008.pdf

Error loading BASIC of document file:///C:?Documents%20and%20Settings\baiu\Applications%20Data\OpenOffice.org\3\user\basic\Standard\script.xlb:
General Error.
General input/output error.

When I clicked OK, I could still use it without any problem. But, It was not so comfortable for me. Thus, I uninstalled it and re-installed it again. Still, it had the same error message.

If you have the same error message, here is what you should do:

1. read the error message carefully. Look where the problem is. In this case it’s in directory: C:\Documents and Settings\[your username]\Application Data\OpenOffice.org\3\user\basic\Standard
2. check the directory above. OOo tries to load script.xlb when you execute to open it. Thus, if there is no such file, OOo will return with an error message.
3. Since I still have C:\Documents and Settings\baiu\Application Data\OpenOffice.org2\user\basic\Standard directory of OOo version 2, I only need to copy-paste the files (3 files in my cases) included script.xlb to the directory in point 1.
4. close your OOo application and open it again. See that the logo and loading graphics of OOo v. 3 appears during the launching.

Exercise 3

Objective of this exercise: Learning to resolve a complex system into basic system using Bode Plot.

• Exercise 3.2. Click the next link to look at the Bode plot. bode32.pdf.

To find the transfer function, divide the whole system into three small systems. As a result, we know that it is a second order system. Click the next link to see the M-files for Matlab. exercise32.pdf

There are 9 tasks the student should do. The tasks number 7 is skipped.

Click the next link to read the practical guide. ptost.pdf

The next link is my final report. ptostreport.pdf

• Show LED

I made a program to turn the LED0 and LED1 on. These code has comments for C language.

ShowLed.doc

• Analog-to-Digital (A/D) Converter

This program converts the analog value of the potentiometer (RA0/AN0) into binary value and shows by the LEDs. See chapter 10 of the datasheet.

ADConverter.doc

Assignment 1:

• voltage amplification = student’s birth date
• collector current (Ic) = I used 3 mA
• input resistance (Rin) = student’s decimal birth month * 1k.
• supply voltage = 20 Volt
• should be a common-emitter circuit with emitter-DC-biasing
• high-pass cut-off frequency is 50 Hz
• no bypass capacitor
• type of transistor I used = BC547B

Assignment 2:

• use circuit from assignment 1
• create a bandpass filter with low-pass cut-off frequency at 15kHz by extending the circuit without coil nor opamp.
• keep the high-pass cut-off frequency at 50 Hz
• total circuit should be loaded with 100 Ohms without a dramatic collapse

Assignment 3:

• improve the circuit to reach a total amplification exactly your birth date!

To see my final circuit and report, click here.