Creating new entity with rules I want rules to create a new entity on a timed schedule in the middle of the night, when no when is on the .  My question is what do I use for "The author of the node"?
This depends on the purpose of the content. Provided that it is just administrative content, you could just use the admin user (UID = 1). If the content needs to relate to another user, then you should use them as the author.