Ever wonder where the financial terms Bull, Bears and Bucks came from?

Bull, Bears and Bucks

Bull and Bear at Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Mark Forsyth in his Times column finds poetry on Wall Street: "Pump and dump. Rank and yank. Short and distort. Trash and cash."

The financial world is a veritable zoo, Forsyth observes: dogs and pigs (who get slaughtered) and penguins and black swans and, of course, bulls and bears.

A 1490 edition of Aesop’s Fables contains an extra story never seen before. It’s about two guys who make a deal to sell a bearskin to apes, before having actually obtained a bear. They reckon that bear hunting must be easy, but when it’s time to hunt they both flee in fear, one climbing a tree and the other playing dead.

The moral of the fable: Don’t sell the skin till you have caught the bear. Any financier, though, will recognize the principle of the naked short. This maxim was so well known in the 18th century that those who sold speculatively were known as bearskin jobbers, and then simply as bears

Our founder, Merrill Anderson himself, pointed out that nest eggs are fake. Forsyth concurs:

The nest egg that we’re taught to store away? It is a perfectly real thing among chicken farmers, who insert a fake egg into a nest. The hen won’t leave until the egg hatches, and in the meantime she lays a bunch of real eggs of her own. Thus the nest egg is the capital, the real egg’s the interest.

Like to make a few bucks? "The only reason that anyone has ever made a buck," Forsyth writes, "is that Native Americans had no interest in coins or checks, and preferred to be paid in buckskins."

Want senior discounts? You have to ask!

by Thomas Gerrity, Publisher

One of the few upsides of getting older is the discounts that businesses offer to older adults and seniors. Laurie Quiriconi of Shelton, a friend for many, many years, recently posted on Facebook a list of discounts available to seniors from a wide range of businesses and the key as to how to get them—you have to ask.

I knew that businesses sometimes gave discounts to certain age groups from the days when my father would sneak my brother and me into movie theaters with children’s tickets although we were  teenagers, but I had no idea how generous and wide-ranging the discounts were for seniors.

Laurie has been kind enough to allow us to repost the list below. Incidentally, Laurie is a real estate professional at William Raveis Real Estate in Trumbull. If you have need for a Realtor, I highly recommend Laurie.

Restaurants
Applebee’s: 15% off with Golden Apple Card (60+)
Arby's: 10% off (55+)
Ben & Jerry's: 10% off (60+)
Bennigan's: discount varies by location (60+)
Bob's Big Boy: discount varies by location (60+)
Boston Market: 10% off (65+)
Burger King: 10% off (60+)
Chick-Fil-A: 10% off or free small drink or coffee (55+)
Chili's: 10% off (55+)
CiCi's Pizza: 10% off (60+)
Denny's: 10% off; 20% off for AARP members (55+)
Dunkin' Donuts: 10% off or free coffee (55+)
Einstein's Bagels: 10% off baker's dozen of bagels (60+)
Fuddrucker's: 10% off any senior platter (55+)
Gatti's Pizza: 10% off (60+)
Golden Corral: 10% off (60+)
Hardee's: $0.33 beverages every day (65+)
IHOP: 10% off (55+)
Jack in the Box: up to 20% off (55+)
KFC: free small drink with any meal (55+)
Krispy Kreme: 10% off (50+)
Long John Silver's: various discounts at varrious locations (55+)
McDonald's: discounts on coffee everyday (55+)
Mrs. Fields: 10% off at participating locations (60+)
Shoney's: 10% off
Sonic: 10% off or free beverage (60+)
Steak 'n Shake: 10% off every Monday & Tuesday (50+)
Subway: 10% off (60+)
Sweet Tomatoes: 10% off (62+)
Taco Bell : 5% off; free beverages for seniors (65+)
TCBY: 10% off (55+)
Tea Room Cafe: 10% off (50+)
Village Inn: 10% off (60+)
Waffle House: 10% off every Monday (60+)
Wendy's: 10% off (55+)
Whataburger: 10% off (62+)
White Castle: 10% off (62+)

Retail & Apparel
Banana Republic: 30% off (50+)
Beall’s: 20% off first Tuesday of each month (50+)
Belk's: 15% off first Tuesday of every month (55+)
Big Lots: 30% off
Bon-Ton Department Stores: 15% off on senior discount days (55 +)
C.J. Banks: 10% off every Wednesday (50+)
Clark’s : 10% off (62+)
Dress Barn: 20% off (55+)
Goodwill: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
Hallmark: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
Kmart: 40% off (Wednesdays only) (50+)
Kohl's: 15% off (60+)

Modell's Sporting Goods: 30% off
Rite Aid: 10% off on Tuesdays & 10% off prescriptions
Ross Stores: 10% off every Tuesday (55+)
The Salvation Army Thrift Stores: up to 50% off (55+)
Stein Mart: 20% off red dot/clearance items first Monday of every month (55+)

Grocery
Albertson's: 10% off first Wednesday of each month (55+)
American Discount Stores: 10% off every Monday (50+)
Compare Foods Supermarket: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)
DeCicco Family Markets: 5% off every Wednesday (60+)
Food Lion: 60% off every Monday (60+)
Fry's Supermarket: free Fry's VIP Club Membership & 10% off every Monday (55+)
Great Valu Food Store: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
Gristede’s Supermarket: 10% off every Tuesday (60+)
Harris Teeter: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
Hy-Vee: 5% off one day a week (date varies by location)
Kroger: 10% off (date varies by location)
Morton Williams Supermarket: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
The Plant Shed: 10% off every Tuesday (50+)
Publix: 15% off every Wednesday (55+)
Rogers Marketplace: 5% off every Thursday (60+)
Uncle Guiseppe's Marketplace: 15% off (62+)

Travel
Alaska Airlines: 50% off (65+)
American Airlines: various discounts for 50% off non-peak periods (Tuesdays-Thursdays) (62+) and up (call before booking for discount)
Continental Airlines: no initiation fee for Continental Presidents Club & special fares for select destinations
Southwest Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
United Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
U.S. Airways: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
Rail:
Amtrak: 15% off (62+)
Bus:
Greyhound: 15% off (62+)
Trailways Transportation System: various discounts for ages (50+)

Car Rental
Alamo Car Rental: up to 25% off for AARP members
Avis: up to 25% off for AARP members
Budget Rental Cars: 40% off; up to 50% off for AARP members (50+)
Dollar Rent-A-Car: 10% off (50+)

Enterprise Rent-A-Car: 5% off for AARP members;

Hertz: up to 25% off for AARP members
National Rent-A-Car: up to 30% off for AARP members

Lodging
Holiday Inn: 20-40% off depending on location (62+)
Best Western: 40% off (55+)
Cambria Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
Waldorf Astoria in NYC; $5,000 off nightly rate for Presidential Suite (55+)
Clarion Motels: 20%-30% off (60+)
Comfort Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
Comfort Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
Econo Lodge: 40% off (60+)
Hampton Inns & Suites: 40% off when booked 72 hours in advance
Hyatt Hotels: 25%-50% off (62+)
InterContinental Hotels Group: various discounts at all hotels (65+)
Mainstay Suites: 10% off with Mature Traveler's Discount (50+); 20%-30% off (60+)
Marriott Hotels: 25% off (62+)
Motel 6: Stay free Sunday nights (60+)
Myrtle Beach Resort: 30% off (55+)
Quality Inn: 40%-50% off (60+)
Rodeway Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
Sleep Inn: 40% off (60+)

Entertainment and Activities
AMC Theaters: up to 30% off (55+)
Bally Total Fitness: $100 off memberships (62+)
Busch Gardens, Tampa, FL: $13 off one-day tickets (50+)
Carmike Cinemas: 35% off (65+)
Cinemark/Century Theaters: up to 35% off
U.S. National Parks: $10 lifetime pass; 50% off additional services, including camping (62+)
Regal Cinemas: 50% off

Ripley's Believe it or Not: $2 off one-day ticket (55+)
SeaWorld, Orlando, FL: $3 off one-day tickets (50+)

Cell Phone Discounts
AT&T: $19.99/month (65+) Special Senior Nation 200 Plan
Verizon Wireless: $29.99/month (65+) Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus Plan

Hair Care
Great Clips: $8 off haircuts (60+)
Supercuts: $8 off haircuts (60+)

And as Laurie posted, go out there NOW and claim your discounts―and remember―YOU must ASK for the discount―no ask, no discount!

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Laurie Quiriconi Direct: (203) 261-0028 Mobile: (203) 993-5044 Fax: (203) 452-0817 Email: Laurie.Quiriconi@raveis.com

Want to go away but don’t want to leave your dog in a kennel?

Check out Rover.com which matches up people with dogs to local dog sitters. Read More.

Veterans Encouraging Veterans

The United States of America (USA) Veterans Combat Group, which has offices in Stratford, recently unveiled a new Web site. The Group is headed by Lyle R. Wahlberg, Acting Group Commander, and its focus is helping Vietnam Veterans and other veterans deal with medical and mental issues related to their service. The group has partnered with Dr. Len Kaplan, an AMA Board Certified Clinical Psychiatrist. Dr. Kaplan is one of only  4,000 MD’s practicing hypnotherapy in the USA.

Click here to visit the Group’s site.        

How to Sleep Better. Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

How you feel during your waking hours hinges greatly on how well you sleep. Similarly, the cure for sleep difficulties can often be found in your daily routine. Your sleep schedule, bedtime habits, and day-to-day lifestyle choices can make an enormous difference to the quality of your nightly rest. The following tips will help you optimize your sleep so you can be productive, mentally sharp, emotionally balanced, and full of energy all day long.

The secret to getting good sleep every night

Well-planned strategies are essential to deep, restorative sleep you can count on, night after night. By learning to avoid common enemies of sleep and trying out a variety of healthy sleep-promoting techniques, you can discover your personal prescription to a good night’s rest.
The key, or secret, is to experiment. What works for some might not work as well for others. It’s important to find the sleep strategies that work best for you.
The first step to improving the quality of your rest is finding out how much sleep you need. How much sleep is enough? While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need at least eight hours of sleep each night to function at their best.

How to sleep better tip 1: Keep a regular sleep schedule

Getting in sync with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle—your circadian rhythm—is one of the most important strategies for achieving good sleep. If you keep a regular sleep schedule, going to bed and getting up at the same time each day, you will feel much more refreshed and energized than if you sleep the same number of hours at different times. This holds true even if you alter your sleep schedule by only an hour or two. Consistency is vitally important.Read More.

The story behind St. Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. St Patrick is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Most of what is known about him comes from his two works; the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish christians. Saint Patrick described himself as a "most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God."

Many folk ask the question 'Why is the Shamrock the National Flower of Ireland ?' The reason is that St. Patrick used it to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagans. Saint Patrick is believed to have been born in the late fourth century, and is often confused with Palladius, a bishop who was sent by Pope Celestine in 431 to be the first bishop to the Irish believers in Christ.

Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells" that still bear this name.

There are several accounts of Saint Patrick's death. One says that Patrick died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, on March 17, 460 A.D. His jawbone was preserved in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits, and as a preservative against the "evil eye." Another account says that St. Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury, England and was buried there. The Chapel of St. Patrick still exists as part of Glastonbury Abbey. Today, many Catholic places of worship all around the world are named after St. Patrick, including cathedrals in New York and Dublin city

Why Saint Patrick's Day?
Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide. 

So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins.

In American cities with a large Irish population, St. Patrick's Day is a very big deal. Big cities and small towns alike celebrate with parades, "wearing of the green," music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring and games. Some communities even go so far as to dye rivers or streams green!

For more information on St. Patrick's Day and it's many customs click here

Five tips for a lifetime of healthy vision

(BPT) - Vision plays an important role in daily life - every waking minute, the eyes are working hard to see the world around us. Are you taking important steps to ensure the health of your eyes for years to comForty percent of Americans worry more about losing their eyesight than their ability to walk or hear, according to the American Optometric Association's annual American Eye-Q survey. AOA conducts Save Your Vision Month annually in March to help people preserve vision throughout their lifetime.
"It's easy to incorporate steps into your daily routine to ensure healthy eyes and vision," says Dr. Mitchell T. Munson, president of the AOA. "Eating right, protecting against UV rays and visiting your local eye doctor on a yearly basis are just a few things that can help keep your eyes and vision strong."
Consider these five steps for a lifetime of eye health:

1. Schedule yearly comprehensive exams
Eye care should begin early in life. The AOA urges parents to bring infants 6 to 12 months of age to their local optometrist for a thorough assessment; under the Affordable Care Act, vision coverage is part of the Pediatric Essential Health Benefit. Millions of children (up to age 19) now have access to yearly comprehensive eye exams and follow-up care and treatment, such as eyeglasses, through their local doctor of optometry. Comprehensive exams performed by an optometrist not only evaluate a patient's vision, but can also detect certain serious health problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

2. Protect against UV rays
Long-term exposure to the sun poses significant risk not just to your skin, but to your eyes as well. No matter what the season, it's extremely important to wear sunglasses, choosing a pair that blocks more than 95 percent of UVA and more than 99 percent of UVB radiation. The AOA provides more information and tips for selection of sunglasses at www.aoa.org.

3. Give your eyes a break from digital device use
Two-thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital devices such as tablets and smart phones. This constant eye activity increases the risk for computer vision syndrome (CVS) and can cause problems such as dry eye, eyestrain, headaches, neck and/or backache, and fatigue. The AOA recommends that people practice the 20/20/20 rule (every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break and look at something 20 feet away).
In addition, a poorly designed computer station can also contribute to eyestrain. Be sure to correct factors such as improper lighting or uncomfortable seating, viewing angles and reading or working distances to eliminate visual stress and discomfort. The AOA website provides a helpful diagram on how to set up your desktop computer/laptop.

4. Eat your greens
As part of a healthful diet, eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day - particularly the leafy green variety. Six nutrients - antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, essential fatty acids, vitamins C and E, and the mineral zinc - have been identified as helping to protect eyesight and promote eye health. Since the body doesn't make these nutrients naturally, it's important that they are incorporated into a daily diet and, in some cases, supplemented with vitamins.

5. Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses
More than 40 million Americans use contact lenses to improve vision. While some adhere to the medical guidelines for wearing contacts, many are breaking the rules and putting their vision at risk. Contact lens wearers who don't follow their optometrist's recommendations for use and wear can experience symptoms such as blurred or fuzzy vision, red or irritated eyes, pain in and around the eyes or, a more serious condition in which the cornea becomes inflamed, also known as keratitis. For more information, visit www.contactlenssafety.org.

To learn more about eye and vision health, or to find a nearby doctor of optometry, please visit www.aoa.org. To find out how AOA members donate their services to help Americans save their sight through its charitable programs, visit the Optometry Cares-The AOA Foundation website.