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Have you been keeping track of how much you really like Maureen Dowd? Turned to Paul Krugman for an economic analysis of the utility of his columns? They warned us about this months ago, and now the day is nearly here: NYTimes.com editor-in-chief Len Apcar shows up with a note on the site's homepage today reminding us that TimesSelect kicks in on Monday, and you'll no longer be able to read the op-ed columnists for free online.

There are other TimesSelect benefits, of course. Seamless archives integration! Email news alerts! Video interviews with columnists! But the real pot of gold is the columnists, and the question is how badly you want them online. $50 bad, for folks who don't get home delivery?

Yeah, we didn't think so.

So enjoy your last few days with Mo and the boys. We'll leave you guys alone together for a bit.

Letter From the Editor [NYT.com]