Random but not unconnected observations

1. The future of the world may depend on tomorrow's House of Representatives bailout vote, but, vastly more important at this moment, the fate of the Cubs rests on Carlos Zambrano's shoulders tonight.

2. This, from today's New York Times story on the Senate passage of the bailout legislation, may be the surest signal yet that a seismic shift has occurred in the presidential race: "The political tension was clear as Senator Barack Obama walked to the Republican side of the aisle to greet Senator John McCain, who offered a chilly look and a brief return handshake."

3. The fallout from the world's economic woes is severely touching Upper Michigan, a beautiful region so impoverished that turmoil on faraway Wall Street rarely causes a ripple. Contractors suddenly have few jobs and must lay off their workers. Food prices are soaring, though they are still lower than those in the big cities. People are tightening their belts, but they have few notches left. This winter is going to be tough.

4. It's already so chilly at the Writer's Lair by the shore of Lake Superior that our woodpile is diminishing rapidly. We have to decide whether to order another cord or two before following the geese south in mid-October, or wait until our return next May.

5. The hummingbirds are gone, but the goldfinches are still hanging on.