The Midas Protocol
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- The Midas Files
In 1983, brilliant Unalco researcher Dr. Lawrence Bingham and his wife are murdered, and Bingham’s greatest...
Magazine
Ideas don't always become novels. Sometimes they become essays, reviews, observations, conversations, or simply stories worth sharing.
Scratch Magazine is the editorial home of Scratch Writing—a collection of articles exploring storytelling, hidden history, emerging technology, films, humor, and the creative process. Whether you're interested in the lore behind The Midas Files, the future of artificial intelligence, a great movie recommendation, or a laugh at the day's absurdities, there's always something new to discover.
Explore the channels, follow your curiosity, and enjoy the journey.
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- Category: The Scratching Post
This past weekend reminded me why I build any of this in the first place. It was the kind of weekend where there were never enough hours in the day, but somehow that did not feel exhausting. It felt energizing. I bounced from football to old friends, from Across Pittsburgh to Scratch Writing, from tinkering with editorial workflows to sitting down behind a microphone and reading another chapter of The Midas Protocol. None of those things, taken by themselves, qualifies as some monumental life event. Put them together, though, and they reminded me of something I have probably known for a long time and occasionally forget: the joy is in the doing.
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- Category: The Funny Newz
New AI quality-control system will stamp a literal poop stain on obnoxious, poorly made content so viewers know when they're about to waste 45 seconds of their lives
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Read more: The Funny Newz: Claude to Add "Skidmarks" to AI Slop Videos
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- Category: The Scratching Post
One of Hank Raglan’s favorite expressions in The Midas Protocol is, “Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?” Lately, I have found myself asking essentially the same question about artificial intelligence, particularly as I experiment with using it to expand the world of the Midas Files. My answer is increasingly that AI is neither inherently a good thing nor a bad thing. It is a tool, and like most tools, what comes out of it depends heavily upon the intent and skill of the person using it.
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- Category: The Scratching Post
Last Sunday night, I finally did my first live reading of The Midas Protocol on YouTube, and the biggest success was simply that I did it. I staged the office, put the Midas Files poster in place, set the tesseract on the table, got the Yeti Nano working through OBS, mounted the phone on its tripod, and then sat down and read an entire chapter for better or worse.
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Read more: The Scratching Post: I Survived My First Ever Live Stream – But Just Barely!
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- Category: The Funny Newz
THE PEARLY GATES — In what theologians are calling the most significant change to the afterlife since somebody decided clouds needed harps, a recently deceased Ohio man was shocked to discover that eternal salvation apparently now operates on a subscription model.
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Read more: Man Arrives in Heaven, Discovers Eternal Life Now Requires Monthly Subscription
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- Category: Quantum Soup
Every once in a while, ancient technology makes modern technology look a little less impressive.
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Read more: TechGnosis: Roman Aqueducts - Watering An Empire on Gravity
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- Category: The Funny Newz
MIAMI — In a radical departure from current medical opinion, common sense, and several basic rules of chewing, the Tennis Ball Nutritional Approach® has become the latest diet craze sweeping Hollywood.
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Read more: The Funny Newz: New Tennis Ball Diet Sweeping Nation
Subcategories
The Scratching Post
The Scratching Post is Matt De Reno’s personal corner of Scratch Magazine, featuring author updates, creative reflections, Pittsburgh-rooted storytelling, house-project avoidance, writing life, book news, and friendly notes from the world behind The Midas Files.
Bingham's Notebook
Bingham’s Notebook explores the lore, characters, artifacts, hidden history, timelines, and behind-the-scenes mythology of The Midas Files, Matt De Reno’s Pittsburgh-rooted sci-fi thriller series about ancient power, impossible technology, and dangerous secrets.
Cool Filmz
Cool Filmz is Scratch Magazine’s movie and TV room, featuring essays, reviews, lookbacks, and story-minded reflections on sci-fi, thrillers, action classics, pop culture, character arcs, genre storytelling, and the films that shaped Matt De Reno’s imagination.
The Funny Newz
The Funny Newz is Scratch Magazine’s humor section, featuring fake headlines, sci-fi satire, UFO nonsense, cryptid chaos, ancient-alien absurdity, local parody, bad technology, and ridiculous reports from a universe that probably should not be trusted with advanced tools.
Quantum Soup
Quantum Soup explores strange science, future technology, space, AI, cybersecurity, fragile systems, hidden knowledge, and real-world ideas that sound like they escaped from a sci-fi thriller — all through the curious lens of Scratch Magazine.