GOINGFORWARD
Below is a rebuttal to my derision of the act of backing-in by my good friend and backing-iner, Craig Lipset:
Time to defend those who backin, because I AM ONE OF THEM.
So I'll admit I first got into the habit during my 911 days; you always back in an ambulance (both to unload a patient but also to get out in a hurry).But here are the reasons why I do it today:
(1) It's safer
I just pulled up to a spot. I know what's around me. I know if there are kids or old ladies shuffling near the street. I know if there are cars behind me. Now is the time to go backwards, because there are fewer things that are going to jump out and surprise me.
I can back out later, but after loading the kids in the car and then getting in and starting it up, I don't know if that old lady has started shuffling or those kids started playing. Yes, obviously I am looking as a back up. But I don't like surprises.(2) It's the SUVs
If you are parked in those that are perpendicular to the street (not the parallel ones) and you are in head first, good luck backing out and seeing what's coming if you are parked next to an SUV. And when are you not parked next to an SUV? If you are backed in, now you can see what's coming. And you won't be that dufus that needs to back out at 0.001 mph to avoid getting creamed before you can see around the SUV.(3) I just want to go home
Call it getting the "hard part" done first, or the "time consuming part". Whatever. But when it's time to go I just want to GO.You should try the joy of just getting in your car in pulling out. Forward. Just going. It's very liberating! Declare this your week of GOINGFORWARD(.com).
Greed Is Good?
A good friend of mine who runs his own successful blog, advised me to include ads on my blog as soon as possible, if I planned to do so at all. The theory is that your audience will accuse you of 'selling out' if you try to make money on your site after it is launched and has a following. Like I do often, I agreed with his assessment, but failed to execute on time. I will be adding paid ads on BackingIn.com soon.
I am a capitalist. Based on my bank account, I'm not a very good capitalist, but a capitalist just the same. I have no qualms about wanting to make a profit on BackingIn.com. I look forward to the challenge of balancing the integrity of the content without being influenced by advertisers and sponsors. I pledge to always be honest in my writing (at least until I can sell the site to Gawker and move to Reno to open my frogurt shop).
Great Expectations
One of the goals of this blog is to facilitate and cultivate intelligent dialog. The state of political and social debate in the United States is an ‘us vs. them’ screaming match. Everybody is talking, but no one is hearing. The best (or worst) example of this inane communication can be found on countless blog forums throughout the web.
It is my great hope that BackingIn.com will foster intelligent and insightful commentary and conversation among its readers. To that end, I reserve the right to remove any post that contain the following:
- Hate speech
- Obscenity
What’s All This Then?
What is BackingIn.com? BackingIn.com is a creative alternative to expensive psychological therapy. This blog will consist of anything that is on my mind at a particular time. It is my hope that by getting my thoughts out of my head and down on paper, so to speak, that I will be rid of the daily minutia about which I obsess. At the very least, I will have a forum in which to express myself, where I can espouse my beliefs, my likes and dislikes, and grow as a writer.
Some posts may be as trivial as, “Why is Florida ‘The Sunshine State’ when it gets almost 50 inches of rain per year?”, to comments on politics, pop culture, technology, and very serious topics that are near and dear to my heart. Mostly, I think, BackingIn.com will consist of the things that eat at me, make my stomach churn, and just tick me off. It must be said, though, that this blog is a living, breathing, evolving site that will become whatever it wants to become.
