Look out below!

No, that's not as classy a slogan as "E Pluribus Unum," but the dollar has weakened so much this week that it might as well be "Vidi plungibus." The yen also weakened Friday but the trend for the summer as a whole has been one of appreciation, and the yen now stands at 115 to the dollar. Economists think it will strengthen more, but even if it stabilizes here it means Japanese visitors will find their money travels 10% further in Hawaii than it did in the spring. The euro bought $1.40 Friday, the most ever, so this might not be the optimal year to see Venice, but it's a good year for Germans and Britons to visit Waikiki, and we might also see a bottoming out of the declining Canadian arrivals now that the Canadian dollar has finally achieved parity with the U.S. dollar. By the way, gold has blown way past $700 to a 28-year high. Gold prices rise when investors get nervous about other investments like stocks -- and bundles of mortgage notes, which once were considered a safe investment until all those subprime borrowers began defaulting. "Sunrise" has now been on one week. What a wild ride it's been -- remember, most of my previous television work has been done from an otherwise empty newspaper office. Your in-person, email and phone comments -- I reckon I've spoken to more than 100 people about the new show -- have been very kind. Steve and Grace and Jeff and Ramsay and I hope to polish this show into a service that helps you get your morning started, sending you to work or school informed, in a good mood, and generally ready for the day.