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Midas Protocol: Midas Files Book One Front Cover

The Midas Protocol: Midas Files Book One

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: The Midas Files
Published: January 2, 2023

Hank Raglan is a gifted young materials engineer whose career at Unalco begins to accelerate faster than he ever imagined. Under the mentorship of Tony Laporte, Unalco’s brilliant but increasingly fragile CEO, Hank is pulled into a world of corporate rivalry, buried research, and impossible technology.

Read more: The Midas Protocol: Midas Files Book One

The Scratching Post: A New Direction for Scratch Writing

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: The Scratching Post
Published: July 2, 2026

I’m excited to share a new direction for Scratch Writing. For a long time, this site carried a little bit of everything: client work, business updates, blog experiments, side projects, fiction news, and the occasional idea that probably made sense to me at the time.

Read more: The Scratching Post: A New Direction for Scratch Writing

Neon lion on submarine. Fantasy image.

The Scratching Post: A New Job Marks a New Phase for Scratch Writing

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: The Scratching Post
Published: April 1, 2025

I’ve had some big, exciting changes on the work front—drumroll, please—I’ve joined General Dynamics Mission Systems as a documentation specialist.

Read more: The Scratching Post: A New Job Marks a New Phase for Scratch Writing

MJ 12 Graphic

Bingham's Notebook: The History of The Majestic 12 (MJ-12)

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: Bingham's Notebook
Published: January 7, 2025

What connects alien cover-ups, classified government secrets, Cold War paranoia, and decades of UFO conspiracy theories? For many UFO enthusiasts, the answer is Majestic 12, often shortened to MJ-12.

Read more: Bingham's Notebook: The History of The Majestic 12 (MJ-12)

Graphic of ancient text that could hint at a mystical order called Order of The Crescent Star. Main Image.

Bingham's Notebook: Inventing The Order Of The Crescent Star

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: Bingham's Notebook
Published: December 18, 2024

Welcome back to Bingham’s Notebook, where we explore the hidden corners of the world surrounding The Midas Files.

This week, we’re looking at a shadowy organization that may help explain some of the more esoteric aspects of Dr. Lawrence Bingham’s research: the Order of the Crescent Star.

Read more: Bingham's Notebook: Inventing The Order Of The Crescent Star

Cool Filmz: I am watching Star Wars in Machete Order and It Changes Everything

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: Cool Filmz
Published: January 24, 2025

I still remember sitting in a dark movie theater in the summer of 1977, clutching my popcorn as the words “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” appeared on the screen.

Read more: Cool Filmz: I am watching Star Wars in Machete Order and It Changes Everything

Obi Wan Kenobi negotiating for a ride on the Millennium Falcon. .

Cool Filmz: Did Obi Wan Use the Jedi Mind Trick on Han Solo in A New Hope?

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: Cool Filmz
Published: January 22, 2025

Rewatching the Star Wars saga can be a revelation. When you revisit these movies, especially in something like Machete Order, you start noticing details that may have slipped past you the first — or tenth — time.

Read more: Cool Filmz: Did Obi Wan Use the Jedi Mind Trick on Han Solo in A New Hope?

Darth Vader Image.

Cool Filmz: Give Palpatine Credit — Darth Vader’s Suit Is The Ultimate Employer "Reasonable Accommodation"

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: Cool Filmz
Published: January 12, 2025

Reasonable accommodations in the workplace are usually associated with things like modified schedules, adaptive equipment, standing desks, accessible workspaces, or software that helps people do their jobs more effectively.

Read more: Cool Filmz: Give Palpatine Credit — Darth Vader’s Suit Is The Ultimate Employer "Reasonable...

Da Vinci Code Scene

Cool Filmz: Revisiting A Review of DaVinci Code Starring Tom Hanks

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Written by: Matt DeReno
Category: Cool Filmz
Published: January 2, 2025

It’s funny what you find when digging through old files. The other day, I stumbled across a review I wrote years ago for The Da Vinci Code, Ron Howard’s 2006 adaptation of Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel starring Tom Hanks as symbologist Robert Langdon.

Read more: Cool Filmz: Revisiting A Review of DaVinci Code Starring Tom Hanks

  • Cool Filmz: Revisiting Conspiracy Theory (1997)
  • CoolFilmz: Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie? Yes—It's Home Alone for Grownups
  • Cool Filmz: Midnight Run—an Action-Comedy Ace!
  • The Funny Newz: New Tennis Ball Diet Sweeping Nation
  • Funny Newz: Did Stonehenge Suffer A Y0K Problem?

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  • Bingham's Notebook: Time Travel, Alternate Realities, and Alien Civilizations

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    Matt DeReno
    Bingham's Notebook
    2024-08-09 17:02:17
    Time Travel Graphic AI Generated

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  • Bingham's Notebook: 9/11 In Call of the Minotaur

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    Matt DeReno
    Bingham's Notebook
    2024-07-31 18:30:07
    9/11 graphic

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  • Bingham's Notebook: Considerations for an Expanded Midas Files Universe

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    Matt DeReno
    Bingham's Notebook
    2024-07-24 19:43:55
    golden alien image

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