Jack. Your answers to the why blog question closely parallel my thoughts.
One thing that is missing is Chris "Joy of Blogging" response yesterday on his blog.

How does joy fit into this equation and how do we feel or think about joy?
To which Chris might respond, we don't think about joy we just feel joy.
To which I might respond, everybody experiences thought and emotion differently and it might be misleading to project our own interplay between heart and mind onto others.
To which Chris might respond....

How is that for a dialogic monologue on the half shell?