Silver at 29 ,Bitcoin at 30. this is no-brainer..

[crumbs]

Crumbs,

You do know the difference between money and currency right?  Money is a meduim of exchange and a store of value.  A currency is only a medium of exchange but not necessarily a store of value.  Thats why I have been using the term money when describing gold and bitcoin.  You have yet to use the term currency when speaking of fiat, which is a more accurate description.

I'm a patient, softhearted guy, but you're really beginning to try my patience  This is it -- your last chance:

"Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given socio-economic context or country."  --Teh Teachings Of Wikipedos

That's what money is.  
That's where gold and bitcoin fail.
There is no country in which gold or bitcoin are "generally accepted as payment for goods and services."  Gold was once used, but, alas -- a defunct technology.  A relic.  No moar.

A feeble case could be made that bitcoin is accepted as payment in a particular socio-economic context -- amongst bitcoin users.
Fair enough, though we've certainly cut our path unintentionally wide:  Dope, in that case, would be money amongst strung-out dopers, shoes amongst shoe fetishists, etc., etc.  That's what the nerds call Reductio ad Absurdum.

The Dollar, on the other hand, fits the learned Wikipedia definition to a T.

And that's what makes Teh Dollar ... Sound Money.

Whay you are describing is fiat currency, not sound money.  Explain the difference between money and currency if you can.

Please consider an adult education class at your local continuing education facility.
You have exhausted my generosity.

Try this, since you love Wikipedia, and used the term Sound Money: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_money

Even though it redirects to hard currency, which to me is a subset of sound money, it specifically mentions store of value.

You've answered your own question.  The dollar is prominently featured as an example of hard currency, being the de facto reserve currency of the world.  Both gold and bitcoin are notably absent.
Did you assume Sound Money to be a phrase trademarked, reserved & copyrighted by crusty Austrian misers?

You fixate on "the store of value."  Sure, the dollar stores value.  This does not imply that it stores it indefinitely any more than a battery, designed to store charge, will hold it forever.
While losing charge is an undesirable quality in a battery, for the dollar it is an exactingly engineered feature.  Its architects dubbed this quality inflation, and i've graciously described it in an earlier post for your edification.

As the de facto reserve currency of the world, the dollar's value is Teh Standard -- the yardstick by which other, lesser currencies are measured.  As The Standard, its value is immutable

Finally, let's not lose track of the fact that The Dollar actually buys things -- the very hallmark of moneyness.  Something neither bitcoin nor gold are any good at now that DPR has bid us adieu

What are you arguing? That the U.S. Dollar is worth something?

We all know its worth something. Its just that most likely it will be worth less than what is worth now a week from now. As you mentioned it is "engineered" to do so. I would rather have just enough of the U.S. dollar to buy things with and store the rest of my wealth elsewhere. That's why BTC as a store of wealth is a vastly greater opportunity than as a replacement of the U.S. dollar.

Let the U.S. dollar inflate and let my wealth grow faster than that decrease of the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, BTC can be a growing niche currency, a way to create frictionless transfers of money and mainly a store of wealth. I'll be happy with that evolutionary cycle.

Are you even paying attention?
Are you saying anything that i didn't say already?  Only a fool would hoard dollars.  Said that.  Only a fool would expect the dollar to be worth as much tomorrow as it does today.  Said that too.
What, exactly, do you find issue with

I use and trade bitcoin -- why in the world are you preaching to the choir?

[BitcoinAshley]

why do you guys keep arguing with crumbs? Dont you see his ignore is dark orange?

You guys keep quoting hims make my ignore list useless.

Move on pls

It only took two posts before I realized he was ignore-worthy

I should have known after the first bit displaying his wealth of economic ignorance 

He could barely wipe paul krugman's semen off of his lips quick enough to yell "hoarding is bad" at the first opportunity. It's like this guy is made of cliches. I come here to get away from the embarrassing drivel that passes for "economics" these days: Spend spend spend, consume consume consume, debt debt debt, unsustainable bubble to da moon in every market, and oh ya, hoarding is bad because it makes people not spend spend spend, consume consume consume!

[crumbs]

why do you guys keep arguing with crumbs? Dont you see his ignore is dark orange?

You guys keep quoting hims make my ignore list useless.

Move on pls

It only took two posts before I realized he was ignore-worthy

I should have known after the first bit displaying his wealth of economic ignorance 

He could barely wipe paul krugman's semen off of his lips quick enough to yell "hoarding is bad" at the first opportunity. It's like this guy is made of cliches.

Pssst, Ashley, what's it like to have the whole Invisible Hand up in there? 

[molecular]

I would like there be a all-encompassing historical price index for USDBTC.

I currently think that:
- Since Mt.Gox opened, at least until they started having difficulties last summer, it would be MtGox price.
- After the said difficulties, I don't know (help me!)
- Before the opening, the only datapoint I know is the pizza that was about 0.0025 $/BTC. Does anyone know of others that could be used?

peter surda (lonelyminer here) has been researching early prices, I think. I remember him talking about people selling at cost of energy for mining in the early days. Maybe PM him?