Ross Smith

Hipparchus was a Greek astronomer and mathematician whose work surfaced last week, as we recognized the Autumnal Equinox.

Twice a year, the hours of daylight and the hours of darkness are equal across the land. On the day of the fall equinox, the sun crosses the equator, providing the earth with 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. This event initiates the changes that result in winter for the northern hemisphere and summer in the south. After the fall equinox, the northern hemisphere of the earth begins to tilt ever so slightly away from the sun, slowly decreasing the amount of sunshine received until the winter solstice, after which the days begin to lengthen again.

The moonshot, Take the Work out of Work talks about blurring the boundary between vocation and avocation. Our goal is to create an environment that supports Douglas MacGregor's Theory Y where work is voluntary and more like play. So, let's congratulate the recent M-Prize finalists and take a look at how many of them are doing the work that supports this moonshot!

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management. Taylor was a mechanical engineer who, according to Peter Drucker, “was the first man in recorded history who deemed work deserving of systematic observation and study.” Taylor holds forty-two patents, including several for golf and tennis related inventions.

Summer has arrived in the northern hemisphere (even in Seattle!). Children across the globe are enjoying time away from their studies. After a long year in the classroom, the anticipation and excitement around the first day of summer vacation runs high - and then quickly turns to boredom. That first day of vacation, so highly anticipated for months, almost immediately dissolves into tedium.