Magneto and Titanium Man

Today is Saturday. The word of the day is foment.

Football is back. Jim McBride breaks dow what to expect for tomorrow’s Pats game. It’ll be interesting in more ways than one.

Strontium, Zirconium and Phosphorus are the nicknames Microsoft gave to the hacking groups operating out of Russia, China and Iran, respectively. These are the groups actively targeting the presidential election. “It is critical that everyone involved in democratic processes around the world, both directly or indirectly, be aware of these threats and take steps to protect themselves in both their personal and professional capacities,” wrote Tom Burt, the company’s Vice President of Customer Security & Trust, on the Microsoft blog.

Hey, here’s a crazy idea: a team of non-partisan experts from across government, epidemiology and health care, all focused on tackling the problems at the heart of a national emergency. Sort of like a Covid Manhattan Project.

In the 1990’s, the big names in cheap, mass produced PCs were Gateway and Dell. Gateway was the big kahuna and Dell the upstart. As competition heated up, Dell ate their lunch and eventually Gateway disappeared. But they’re back. Or, at least, the name is. Acer is now offering a Gateway branded laptop. Unclear if it comes in a cow box.

And eating in the great outdoors should continue into the fall as Charlie Baker has stated that he intends to sign an executive order extending the timeline for permitting outdoor dining. Now it’s up to the weather. Which, in an La Niña year, means, get out the snowblower.