Quick Hits

* NY Times profits fall 52%. I don't know how traditional print media is going to survive. Everything is online for the price of your monthly internet connection, and news aggregators are taking over. I suppose with the Sunday paper, you still get coupons. Is that the only reason to subscribe?

* Hurricane Wilma now a category 5. Incredible. I have some friends in FL who are evacuating (yet again). Well, we know where Geraldo and Rita Crosby will be this weekend.

* Who will President Bush pick as new chairman of the Federal Reserve? Greenspan's term is up in January. So, will it be somebody we've been reading about, or a crony down the hall? Markets worry loyalty to guide Bush in Fed Choice. From the USA Today, Fed chief nomination in November?

And bloggers joke about headlines saying, "Bush picks own accountant to replace Fed's Greenspan."

* I have a link to the Red Cross above, but truth be told, my favorite is the Salvation Army. The WSJ (in today's paper today) has a column Incidents Of Fraud at Red Cross Centers. I don't think it's the Red Cross' fault. There is a ton of money involved, and whenever that happens, somebody is trying to get their hands on some. Another option would be to donate to your local food closet. Some of the local charities go wanting when the nation's focus is turned to these (one after another) natural disasters.

* Are asthmatic cats allergic to humans?