For those who are interested, you may do an interesting extra credit project over the holidays.  It's simple:  acquire a book that has something to do with computers or computing.  Read it.  Write a report on it.  Your report should be at least 2 pages double-spaced, and should include both a summary and a critique of the book.  Your critique should include some references outside the book (I should think you would find them on the Internet....).

As for what book.  Well, you can choose whatever you want.  Even science fiction (you could report on the predictive accuracy of HAL in 2001:  A Space Odyssey, for example).  Or any of the vast number of books on the Internet, on the ethics of computing, on applications of computing (such as to medecine, or to law, or to the media), on sociology of computing (this can get very interesting), or even on computer games.  Anything to do with computers will do.  But the book must be a legitimate book, and you must read it (not skim it), and the report must be well-written.

Easy, fun, and for credit.

For extra credit, you may also create something, such as a poem, a short story, an essay, or even (gasp) a website or a computer program. Whatever you create, of course, should have some computing theme, and not just in passing, but should demonstrate your mastery of computing. Writing a short story which does so, by the way, is a superb intellectual challenge.  Writing a Dr. Seuss-like poem is somewhat less intellectually taxing, but quite fun and still challenging.  I'm sure some of you are up to it, and would enjoy the task very much.  In any case, to earn credit, your work must not be something you slapped together in 10 minutes or so.  It must show careful thought and attention to detail.  Of course, you should also have fun with it.

Have a most jolly holiday.