One day, after many days without food, the crocodile became very hungry.  As it looked around for food, it saw a deer coming to the edge of the pond for a drink. “This deer would be a good meal for me…” the crocodile said to himself. Slowly the crocodile swam closer to the deer. Suddenly it pounced but missed! The deer avoided the crocodile and ran away. Sadly the crocodile returned to the middle of the pond. As the days go by it grew hungrier and hungrier.  Then it had an idea…

Soon the hot season arrived and the water in the pond began to dry up.  The pond grew smaller.  After a while the animals need to go further into the middle of the pond just to drink.  The crocodile knew this and waited patiently.

A group of goat came to the pond for a drink. As soon as one goat put its head down to drink, the crocodile rushed forward.  It caught the goat with its huge jaws and pulled it into the pond.  The goat drowned immediately and the crocodile ate it to the heart’s content.

Sorry for not updating this blog for the last couple of weeks. I am sure you know that I was quite busy with your assignments and the upcoming mid-term.

Anyway, I just want to say that I really respect all of you for being tough when the going got tough. If you’d remember, earlier in the semester I “predicted” that some of you will come to my office with tears. Well, it really happened. What can I say…. learning wasn’t meant to be easy. It is a process to test not only your ability to understand the materials but also to discover your true self. I hope you will use this experience in the future.

I hope to tell you more stories in this blog.

James Tan

Proud graduates with proud parents

Please check out some new stuff that I have recently included in this blog. Check out :

1. Bookboon – download textbooks
2. Slideshare – get powerpoint slides for your classes
3. Planetebooks – download classic books
4. Ebookmall – more downloadable books
5. Gutenberg.org – download more ebooks

Hope you guys can use these. Also tell your friends about this blog too. Maybe this blog can help them.

Have a nice weekend….

JT

There was a kid who used to hang around a drugstore in a small town. This kid just sat there, doing nothing. Across his chest was a sign that said, ” The dumbest kid in the state…” Many passers by who came to the drugstore became naturally curious about the kid. The operator of the drugstore, sensing an opportunity to attract more people to his store, said that he will prove to everybody that the kid is really dumb.

He would hold out two coins, a dime and a quarter. He put the dime in his right hand and the quarter in his left, all in full view of the kid. Then he called out to the kid, “Hey kid,  pick the coin with the higher value. Which ever coin you pick it is yours.” The kid chose the man’s right hand with the dime. And so the kid got a dime. The kid will do this everyday;sometimes three or four times a day, especially when there are tourists.

One day, a reporter, intrigued by what he saw, stopped and spoke to the kid. He asked, “Hey kid don’t you know that a quarter is worth more than a dime?” The boy nodded, “I sure do, sir.”

“Then why did you always pick the dime?” the reporter continue.

“Well, sir, I make about thirty to forty cents a day, sometimes more. It ain’t much but I get to buy the candy bar and comic book that I like,” the boy replied. “But if I had taken the quarter…,” he  said, looking at the reporter straight in the eye, “…that would be the moment my income stops…” .

Think about it guys….

Some of the students after the finals...

Well this is the third week of the semester. Finally everything has settled down. Most of you have registered and got acquainted with your new classmates and lecturers. Classes have started full swing. This is the time to prepare yourselves for what is to come – assignments, tests, midterms and finals. Believe me, there is no time to rest once the semester has started. It is time to take control of your classes and work. Time to be serious with yourselves.

James Tan

The initial step of research project class is probably is most difficult part of any project. You will be wondering about how tough things are going to get, you will be worried if your methodology will be correct and etc. Well the fact of the matter is, all you have to do is — start. I’ve always found that if I were to start something, the rest will fall into place. If you take the first step, everything will fall in line.

Ciao peeps

Your assignment briefs will be released soon. Please use this blog as one of the tool to help you do your assignments. If you come across any sites that you think I should add to the blog please leave a comment (a web address will be advantageous). Also tell me how the web can help you.

I am still in the process of adding on more sites. Hopefully you can use them.

Have a nice weekend

It is important to choose a familar topic because the passion that you have for it will drive you to complete the research. Check out the category labelled”Writing a research paper ” below….