Anyone with other than a degree in journalism understands that inflation has been breathing hot and heavy down our necks since the millennium's dawn. Gas prices may be “down” from $4 to $2, but they're still double what they were when the ball dropped in Times Square on 31 December, 1999. Bread, orange juice, milk, eggs, tomatoes, canned chili – you name it – all have doubled in a decade. Applying the “rule of 78” that works out to about 8 per cent inflation per year for ordinary household necessities for the past decade. When the inflation rate hit 13 percent in 1979, gold shot to $850 an ounce – more than $1,500 in today's FedNotes – and silver flirted with $50: nearly $90 in 2009 Fednotes. Within the next 18 months, we will look back at $1,500 gold and $50 silver and kick ourselves for not having bought more when we had the chance at $880 and $12 – silver, especially, given its current 73:1 ratio to gold Just some observations this morning. Fat Lady isn't even in the house yet. PB