I've always had a fondness for seeing that "first dollar" framed and posted on the wall behind the cash register in some mom & pop establishment. It symbolizes a lot for me, all good. So, let me get right to framing and hanging my "first dollar" right here in my new Blog. I was quite pleasantly surprised to notice yesterday that Billy Beck became the first in the Blogosphere to link to one of my articles. I couldn't be happier that it was him. Billy is known to me from way, way back -- perhaps as early as 1994 on Usenet. I still being ideologically wet behind the ears, Billy was a primary influence in reinforcing the queer notion that if a philosophy is to be a rational one, then it must, out of every necessity, be a practical one. In other words, it really can, and is supposed to be a tool for everyday living, amongst ordinary human beings, doing ordinary things. Most particularly, he helped me to recognize that a lot of the people I admire most, like the mom & pop with their first dollar, or the guy bent over the fender of his car tinkering with...