Tag: advice

Living by Joe WilcoxJan 1, 20177:28 pm

‘Everything is an Opportunity’

A few months ago, I adopted a new, personal slogan—and it is my motto for 2017: “Everything is an opportunity”. Think of it as an adaptation of old adage: “Make your own luck”, which I Googled today out of curiosity. There’s some good advice from several of the top hits, somewhat syncing with my own thinking, that would be good new year reading for you: That phrase as headline, Psychology Today; “13 Proven Ways to Make Your Own Luck“, Inc.; and “10 Proven Ways to Make Your Own Luck“, Entrepreneur.

How interesting: Business publication stories top search results for the “luck” phrase; other than PT. I see the sense in that for someone trying to build something. My motto differs in expanse: It is a lifestyle, a way of thinking. I don’t mean to sound like some living-in-lala-land motivational speaker. As a journalist, my cynicism about everything flows deep through my psyche. But so does my optimism, based on experience.

News Media by Joe WilcoxOct 5, 20107:43 am

Non-Top-10 List for Journalists

I have come to loathe top-10 lists, and I have stopped writing them. They are a sucker’s play for pageviews, although I have always used top-10s mainly for their presentation value. Now that they’re everywhere and displacing original content, I’ve got something of a personal boycott going (hence, why there have been none from me recently at Betanews). It’s with that introduction I come to maim a top-10 list posted last week. “The truth about the newsroom—straight-up!” offers 10 things reporters “want from [public relations] pitch to coverage”.

Deanna White tweeted about the post, to which I responded after reading: “My list would look nothing like this. If that’s what my peers want, someone pull out journalism’s obituary & run it” (News organizations generally keep prewritten obituaries ready to run the second someone famous enough dies).

Apple by Joe WilcoxJun 30, 201012:54 am

What’s in a Name?

Nick Santilli asks the right question: iPhone OS Got a New Name, So When Will iTunes?. Synchronization is the killer application for the connected world, but Apple’s major sync tool is strangely placed: iTunes, which long […]

advice by Joe WilcoxSep 21, 20093:03 pm

$4,999 Car Is the Answer

Today’s Jeopardy question: How do you turn around the auto industry? For at least one automaker, perhaps even two or three, a sub-$5,000 car is my answer. Over lunch, I read news analysis “Small Isn’t Beautiful” in Sept. 19-25, 2009, Economist (I’m a print a subscriber). Economist aptly explains why the auto history is hosed, now that cash-for-clunkers programs are gone, there’s no credit for fancy, high-priced cars and demand increases for smaller, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles. Let’s not forget the production problem: For mature markets, at least, production capacity exceeds demand (and did before the econolypse).

Critters by Joe WilcoxJun 5, 20068:47 am

Bunny Post Mortem

Bubba’s demise may have been caused by contact with a cat. In my last post, I identified bacteria as one possible cause for the baby bunny’s death.

On Saturday night, hours after adopting Bubba, I sent an e-mail to Second Chance Wildlife Center, which is where we would have taken the bunny for care. Last night, Chris from Second Chance e-mailed advice about Bubba. Apparently, she didn’t know that I had called earlier in the day. With her permission, here is the e-mail, which contains information potentially useful to other people with distressed, wild baby bunnies.