Dear Benjamin
I see that we both intuitively believe that space-time is background free. You also understand my conclusion about my derivation of special relativity, a referee only wrote that Minkowski spacetime is so defined that time flows also in empty space. :) He also claimed many time repeated words that "derivation with relativistic mass does not give anything new". (I admit that this version needs some corrections about Duff's claims.) I hope that someone will generalize my derivation into general relativity, that influence of diffeomorphism will be easier explained.
I agree with Machian rule, which is in one version advocated by Barbour. I think that causal relations are based on Machian rule. If we said that spin of universe is zero, then Newton's bucket do not contradict with Mach. Do you agree?
You write that you hope that your theory will give SR and GR at large scales. It seems to me that such theories need be so clear, that we will see this without long calculations. But, who knows. Thus, for instance, I more like Weizsacker explanation of 3D than with triangulation of Loll. Maybe the theory still needs clarification about foundations, and then quantum graphity will be easier.
I you can see I avoided causal metrics to give masses to Planckian black holes, but it will be necessary some day.
Probably we disagree about consciousness. It seems to me that the money which enables Higgs boson, will enable also physical explanation of consciousness. Then we will see, how it is important for physics.
Those are some my disagreements, but because of your right intuition (I hope) and because of your big mathematical knowledge I give you 10.
Best regards Janko Kokosar
p.s.
I wrote the wrong book of Feynman. Feynman has a Lecture book on gravity available. Here I found his explanation why gravity of anti-particles is not negative. I do not remember it precisely, but it is worth to read it.