BUSY days for Bono, but nothing new there really.

Let's see, in the past week alone he's been the featured speaker in front of 14,000 women at a conference in California, signed on as a writer for The New York Times, entertained at a Los Angeles tribute concert for BB King and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and applied for permission to add a massive addition to his mansion in Dublin.

Bono and the ladies on hand - including the conference host, Maria Shriver, and other speakers like Jennifer Lopez and Heidi Klum - all talked about the power of women. Bono, of course, urged Americans to be generous when it comes to those less fortunate, particularly those who are afflicted by hunger and disease in Africa.

"Clearly these are momentous times in America... times of crisis, times of chaos. Capitalism is on trial. The U.S., the world, is changing shape in unsettling ways. But this is exactly the right time to think about the world. Even to change it," Bono urged.

A few days later he teamed up with U2 bandmate The Edge to pay tribute to the aforementioned King and Allen. King is especially no stranger to the band, having lent his talents to the great U2 song "When Love Comes to Town" 20 years ago. For last weekend's tribute concert they played the song; visit www.u2.com to see it live.

The New York Times, meanwhile, announced last week that it had asked Bono to start contributing pieces next year.

"We have asked Bono to write an occasional column for the paper next year, covering a range of subjects, but are still finalizing the details," said a spokeswoman for the paper.

The Times, suffering from a drop in ad revenue, made a neat hire, as Bono will contribute for free.

It's not like he needs any extra cash to pay for the addition that he's hoping to create to his Dublin home. Bono's architect wants to literally raise the roof on the Georgian property in the Killiney section of Dublin to create a new upper floor extension which would include a master bedroom, a study, two bathrooms ,two dressing rooms and a storage space.

Should the authorities give the plans a thumbs up, Bono and his wife Ali will own a home measuring close to 8,000 square feet.