Monday, August 3, 2020

Peter Kennedy, in Memoriam




Peter Joseph Kennedy, longtime resident of Boca Raton, Fl, mostly recently of Weston, Fl, passed away August 3, 2020 due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease. 


Pete, as everyone called him, will always be remembered as a creative mind and inventor, but his greatest idea came in a simple way.


One day, while riding an elevator, he noticed the use of proximity detectors on the floor buttons in an elevator, and realized that could have other practical applications, especially to a hand-held device.  That thought led him to develop an idea to allow the screen to recognize finger movements, rather than just touch.  The “pinch and zoom” idea was born, patented, and has become a staple of daily life, on every phone, and every handheld device.


And this patent "Shape Detecting Input Device" has been hailed as one of the greatest inventions of our time. 


https://uwyo.libguides.com/patents/examples



Pete was born September 13, 1941 in New York, and moved to Miami, Florida as a small child.  His father was an uneducated immigrant from New Foundland, who worked as a painter.  While he was in high school, Pete taught his father how to read. His mother was a first generation American, who dropped out of school during the depression.  She worked at hotels on Miami Beach as an entertainment coordinator. Humble beginnings for Pete, indeed.


You could rightfully say that Pete was a self-made man.  He was a person who would always take things apart just to learn how they worked (much to his mother’s chagrin), and had a small electronics repair business in high school.  He attended the University of Miami, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, and went on to get a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering.  He became a licensed Professional Engineer, and held professional certifications in Human Factors and Ergonomics. 


His career started when he went to work at IBM in the mid 1960s, first starting as a clock technician at Kennedy Space Center during the Apollo program, and later moving to the burgeoning facility that IBM built in Boca Raton, Florida.  


There, he worked on projects related to printers for several years, before moving on to work with typewriters.  He worked on IBM’s Selectric Typewriter, helping refine the design of the ball that was used to revolutionize typing.  He also was involved in finding the best natural angle for the typing surface, to ensure comfort and maximize speed - and perhaps most importantly, he had a role in figuring out what the keys should “feel” like when typing.


This would serve him well.  In the early 1980s, he moved on to the PC division, and was a founding member of IBM’s Human Factors department.  His knowledge of the typewriter layout guided him in creating the first keyboards IBM produced to go with a computer.  


There’s a short story here. Pete was a proponent of switching away from the familiar “QWERTY” layout to the Dvorak style, because research showed that it could be faster and more efficient. Unfortunately, the new style wasn’t adopted, and the standard remained as the “QWERTY” style.  


The takeaway is that Pete took this type of thing in stride, as he always did. He was always the good “company man.”  You make your case and if it’s unsuccessful, you make sure that the decided outcome gets your full attention, and you do your best. 


With that in mind, he focused on making the transition from a typewriter to a personal computer easier. The new keyboard was familiar; it had a similar natural angle, layout, and a feeling like you were typing on a typewriter.  


And that became the standard keyboard that’s still in use today.  The comfortable,ergonomic keyboards came about because he worked hard to make them that way, and that has carried forward over the years. 


Overall, the human factors department ran the gamut of nearly everything IBM had in mind for PCs: software, hardware, hand held game controllers, even packaging - so computers were nestled in protection but easy to take out and assemble at home.  


He helped setup labs to conduct scientific studies, and the team figured out how to best design experiments to thoroughly test their products. All of this became a model for the industry. The human factors department was the proverbial gold standard, and the team were truly considered experts in the field. 


He worked on monitor designs, how to best use the single color monochrome screen, and helped figure out how to best leverage early color displays to avoid eye fatigue. He was behind the idea of creating a standard font that was anti-aliased (ie, easy to detect and read on the screen), and wrote and lectured extensively on the topic. 


After leaving IBM, Pete went on to work for Dell in Austin Texas, and then Compaq, in Houston Texas, bringing a wealth of Human Factors design knowledge to their growing product lines.


A few years later, he went to Sony-Ericsson in North Carolina, where he played a large role in designing the early cell phones.  He looked at the usability of the phones, and more importantly, he focused on the feeling of the keys as people were starting to text.  He also helped design an automatic means to adjust the brightness of newly introduced color screens in various lights.  


Many of his designs were revolutionary and industry-leading, as they were described in marketing materials at the time, and they often became the de facto standard used in the industry.


While there, he also came up with an idea to allow for the Amber Alerts to be pushed directly to your phone, and patented it.  You can thank Pete when you get an alert about a missing child on your phone. 


He was nearly ready to retire, and spend more time with his grandkids, when Apple Computers reached out, and offered him a job.  An industry analyst said of the move (paraphrasing) “If they are hiring Pete Kennedy, with his pedigree, then they must be coming out with something remarkable.” And they did, as Pete was working on the iPod, and later, the original iPhone.  It was absolutely a team effort to make these products, but Pete had many of the ideas that make them tick.  


He once told his grandkids about the pinch and zoom:  “Although I was the one that came up with the concepts,  nothing can be done alone.  I thought it was my professional duty to include other people that helped me to develop the final patent.   You will therefore see their names listed on the patent.  Note, there is a list of several inventors on each of these.”  That’s who he was.  He never sought glory, rather he was contributing to the greater good. Humility was a primary calling card. 


He had a gift of sorts, to just see a need and look to fill it. Often, ideas would just come through everyday life. One day, while sitting at his desk, he realized that many features of the mouse interacting with the monitor could be replaced by a simple touch on a dial or the glass display of a hand-held device; scrolling and clicking an entry on the screen could all be replicated with your finger, and that became a “dashboard” for the iPod, and carried into the iPhone.


https://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/07/apple-wins-patents-for-dashboard-future-ipad-feature.html


And it was during his time at Apple that he patented the proximity detector that’s leveraged in pinch and zoom. 


He finally (unofficially) retired in 2005, and moved back to Florida.  But, he still had a desire to create and share his ideas - so he continued to consult, invent, and create for the next decade.


He has over 20 patents in his name (some on his own, some with a company he was working for), nearly another 20 that are still in review, countless professional publications, and a variety of ideas and inventions to his name. He was still producing ideas and working on patents until the disease took away his ability to be creative.  Several of his later patents may still turn into something amazing one day; only time will tell.


He was always a big proponent for education, and enjoyed sharing what he knew with any/every one. At one point in the 1980s, the physics teacher at his sons high school abruptly quit; Pete stepped in and taught the class for a few weeks while the school looked for a permanent replacement. 


He loved to volunteer at his grandchildrens’ grade schools, and was named senior volunteer of the year in 2009 for Broward County, Florida.

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/21400887/download-pdf-file-of-the-2009-community-involvment-get-involved


And there was a nice writeup in the paper in Darien, CT sometime after that.

https://patch.com/connecticut/darien/inventor-peter-kennedy-inspires-dhs-students


On the personal side, he had a dry sense of humor, and told the same (tired, dad) jokes repeatedly.  But he always had a smile on his face and was always friendly and pleasant to everyone.


With his happy demeanor and the white beard, he decided to start playing Santa one holiday season. He enjoyed taking on the persona and interacting with people, and kept it up for many years. 


Throughout his life, you could often find him puttering in the garage doing something creative: sometimes he’d work with electronics, sometimes he’d garden, sometimes he’d be welding, sometimes he’d be trying something new. He was always a voracious reader, subscribed to several science journals, and watched more educational shows than anyone can remember. Shows like NOVA on PBS were must-see tv. 


He loved trains, rode a tandem bicycle with his wife (even though he learned to ride as an adult), and for a few years got really interested in magic. He did a little consulting, and started a couple of small companies with friends along the way, so he could do more than sitting behind a desk. 


He always took an active interest in whatever things his boys were into. He wasn’t a particularly big sports fan or a music lover, but he’d head out to a ball game or concert, just to be close to them. 


And finally, something must be said about his eating habits. He was always noshing on something; he seemed to always be hungry. He liked to joke (or maybe it wasn’t a joke?) that during college he read a book ‘365 ways to prepare ground beef’ because he kept it simple. He ate a banana every morning, and that was one thing about him that is a truly lasting memory.  He enjoyed cafeteria-style food more than most people do, which was kind of a quirky, amusing thing about him.  As a working man, he had a few go-to places for lunch; diner-types, where he would order the same thing almost every day. Usually it was a turkey sandwich, but at one point, he had tuna on wheat every day for nearly a year.  As he said, If its working, why change?


I might also point out that he passed away just after finishing a big breakfast, so we know he left us with a full belly - which really which made his family smile. 


There’s another funny food-related story about him that’s worth sharing. He had various food allergies, and he left it to his wife to help keep track of it all. When they’d go out to eat, he would ask “Audrey can I eat this?” On a cruise some years ago, this became a joke that the ships comedian picked up on and used in his act, to uproarious laughter - especially from some relatives. 


He is survived by his wife, Audrey, his two sons David and Michael, their wives, and 6 grandchildren - with whom he loved spending time.  


Although he annoyed his teenage sons with his endless questions, he taught them how to think critically and to solve problems.  They both became engineers as well, mostly due to his influence on them. 


In his time with his grandchildren, he passed along the idea of rationality and application of the scientific method to problem solving. His influence on them can be seen there, too. The oldest of them are budding scientists, too. 


His love of life, and what he did for a living, was inspiring to anyone who met him.  He will be sorely missed.


He always reminded people to do their best.  And he always encouraged thoughtfulness, and sharing what you know.  I’m quite sure he would ask anyone who reads this to embody this ideal: share your knowledge with others, be a teacher, a mentor, and encourage others.


A final note: The family would like to ask that in his honor, you consider a donation to one of the many organizations working on Alzheimer’s research.  Surely, we will find a cure so that other great minds don’t fade off in the same way. 


One option is the Alzheimer’s association which is doing great work to find a cure.  As they say “the first survivor is out there.”

https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=32112&32112.donation

 

But there are other other options too, or you might simply join a walk to raise awareness, and help raise money for research. These are a couple of the other good ones out there:

https://alzfdn.org/support-us/donate/

https://philanthropy.mayoclinic.org/page.aspx

https://curealz.org/giving/

https://www.alzinfo.org






Sunday, July 26, 2020

A reminder from lil marco


The reality is, without our Senate majority you can expect Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to go full throttle with their radical socialist agenda. We'll get a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and skyrocketing taxes on you to pay for it. This isn't the American way and we know this isn't what you stand for. 

This was an a fundraising email. It reminds us of exactly why Democrats should take back the senate. Finally we could take action on things that actually matter. 

And as for his "taxes will skyrocket" ummm, that's hyperbole. Our medical cost today is about equal to what Medicare-for-all would cost over the course of a decade. 

So this is absolutely what we stand for. 

Don't listen to the noise. Vote them out and let's lead the world as a nation that takes care of its people and is progressive!

Friday, July 24, 2020

That cognitive assessment

It seems odd that trump is so fixated on the test he took...3 years ago!

As far as anyone can tell it's the "standard" test used to evaluate cognitive decline. It's administered to people with various cognitive disorders, people who experienced head injuries, and for early evaluations of dementia, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's.

It is not "30 questions" but it typically scores 30 points. Doctors don't say you did great, or the best, it's just a tool for evaluation. And they don't give "extra" points (like giving a seal a fish) because that's not how it works.

The questions don't get harder, it's consistent in its design.

It's not administered at random or to everyone. It's only administered when there's some cause for concern. Perhaps trump took it as part of his medical evaluation when he ascended to the office; it does seem peculiar there hasn't been follow up that we know of.

And why do I know anything about this? Because my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago, and during the initial evaluation, he took several variations on the test. It's more or less the same, it's just that the words the ask you to remember and the pictures they ask you about do change.

But what gets missed along the way is that there are no context clues. When trump gave an interview where he listed off some words, and then repeated them, he was picking objects he saw.

The words they give you - like Apple, table, horse - have nothing in common and wouldn't be seen in medical facilities.

But they do also quiz you on things like the date, where you are, and so on.

In my dads case, he had enough awareness to use clues around him to answer most of those questions. And then it got harder.

As for the test itself, it was interesting to watch his mind slip away. He had good days where he could do more of the test, some days he got some answers, other days it was different answers.

I believe he had an awareness of what was happening to him, though he couldn't say anything about it. Early on, he said he felt great and tried hard to stay sharp. When he'd take the test he'd talk about how well he did. IMHO I think he was afraid of what was happening and trying to tell himself that he was okay. Like trump, he sometimes talked about this test. It was a means of coping.

I'd Be curious how trump does on a test today, 3 years later. Is he trying to convince himself that he's okay?

At some point, they stopped administering the test to my dad. He had Alzheimer's. Every test and MRI told us that. There was no reason to conduct it. All it could tell us was generally how fast it was progressing.

But my mom kept giving him the tests. And while it wasn't helpful it was interesting. He kept having good and bad days. And some questions he couldn't answer at all.

Surely trump is cognitive decline, we deserve to know how severe it is and whether it affects his ability to govern.

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Selma

I hadn't watched this film, and in many ways, shame on me.

But, given where we are today in this country, we decided to make it family movie night.

The movie itself is quite good. You get a sense of what the era was like, and the struggles for social justice.

As I sat there and watched it, all I could think was that this took place about 100 years after the slaves were emancipated. And yes, there was "progress" but in so many ways the blacks were still held back. And so that progress rings a little hollow.

There were strides because of Selma. The voting rights act was big. And the court battles also helped.

...but here we are in 2020 talking about some of the same issues. The black lives matter movement extends on the same topics: all anyone wants is to be treated equally. But there are so many racists still out there who just don't care.

At least Martin Luther King, jr has Johnson's ear. I can't imagine that anyone has trumps ear.