> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.canneddragons.net/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Treasure Hoard - October 2026 - URL: https://www.canneddragons.net/treasure-hoard-october-2026/ - Published: 2026-10-11T12:20:10.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-11T12:28:01.000Z - Description: Developers can't afford to be losers, new Firefox, the vice president and the Antichrist, social media from a faith lens, linux for your mom, St. Basil on the rich and whether remasters are good for you. - Author: Robert Rackley - Tags: Newsletter ## Sign up for Treasure Hoard Stratagems, gambits and wiles. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## You have been granted access, use your keyboard to continue reading... The Ruby on Rails conference, [Rails World 2026](https://rubyonrails.org/world/2026/?ref=canneddragons.net), has been much discussed, more for what it left out than what it contained (the keynote hardly mentioned the technology the conference was designed around). From Ronan Limon Duparcmeur at *2-45.pm*, [regarding DHH's keynote](https://2-45.pm/i-too-have-thoughts-on-dhhs-keynote?ref=canneddragons.net). > Obviously, this was a weird keynote, as I've said. It felt off to me. It has to be the first time that the opening keynote of the official event about "the latest features and best practices” of a piece of technology doesn't mention said piece of technology, tells the participants that their jobs are now obsolete, and ends on the appeal to not “be a loser”. Duparcmeur remarks about the keynote being more about DHH himself, and his current interests. "Who knows, there may be people who are into DHH himself, like a Temu Elon Musk." --- I really like the new UI for Firefox. It's clean, modern and retains consistency across platforms. The Verge [has the story](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1001867/mozilla-firefox-157-redesign-compact-mode?ref=canneddragons.net) of the visual refresh. ![](https://www.canneddragons.net/content/images/2026/10/Firefox-Frame.png) I still remember when Firefox felt so out-of-place on macOS that people had to use [the Camino browser](https://caminobrowser.org/?ref=canneddragons.net) to get the Mozilla experience. Now Firefox is quite good. --- Matthew D. Taylor covers the millenarian Antichrist theories held by Vice President J.D. Vance and his friend and patron Peter Thiel for *The Bulwark*. The men follow beliefs that are, to put it mildly, not in line with traditional Christian thoughts on the subject. In a certain sense, they are the opposite of what Christians have believed about the concept of the Antichrist for thousands of years. > Notably, Thiel and Vance both have the Antichrist entirely upside down: speaking from positions of immense power, they are using the idea as a tool to further their own power—precisely what the concept is meant to warn against. What Thiel, who considers himself a "heterodox Christian," has been preaching in private lectures is that the Antichrist is a figure who would stifle his ambitions. > The implication of this narcissistic revision of Christianity should be clear: The Antichrist is anyone who might get in the way of Peter Thiel. In the tech investor’s telling, the Antichrist makes his presence known through a style of politics that attempts to forge new alliances and collaborations for the sake of humanity. Thiel’s greatest worry is a unified humanity that will regulate AI and refuse to cede the future to tech futurists like him. That is his Antichrist. The framework of Thiel's beliefs cut to the very fundamentals of a Christocentric faith. Thiel, who speaks little of Christ, doesn't believe in an Antichrist who opposes Christ and what He stood for (which is of course in the etymology of the very name of the concept), but against the powerful and monied. > In Thiel’s scandalous revision, he himself takes the position normally reserved for Christ, with a few important lifestyle tweaks. Discarding the dust and discomfort of peripatetic life, Thiel comes to us as a beleaguered techno-libertarian billionaire, ensconced in unfathomable luxury, who would save the world—while acquiring even more money and power himself—if the damned regulators would only get out of his way. (If they won’t, well, perhaps they, too, are Antichrist.) [How Vance and Thiel Get the Antichrist BackwardsOne is doing a bit of cynical pandering, the other is condemning anyone opposed to the tech future—and neither is willing to look in the mirror.![](https://www.canneddragons.net/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F227e4e1f-cd0d-4172-942c-f72d87801b78-2Ffavicon-48x48-48980798-0710-4569-9dd1-90650108241a.jpg)The BulwarkMatthew D. Taylor![](https://www.canneddragons.net/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F63b326fd-a2d9-4b38-88c3-3e078fbb2334_3000x1687-b51d5a72-ef19-41ab-ae6b-264e5eb57568.jpg)](https://www.thebulwark.com/p/jd-vance-peter-thiel-antichrist-new-testament-tech-trump-authoritarianism?ref=canneddragons.net) --- Metropolitan Saba writes about the problems with spending too much time on social media. > Do we realize how much time we consume reading and debating trivial matters, many of which are not even true and bring us no benefit whatsoever? Do we stop to consider what useful things we could have accomplished during the time wasted scrolling? Beyond that, we willingly disturb our minds and trouble our souls with our own hands. Do we realize how easily we are carried away by rumors and falsehoods, without using discernment or examining what we read and hear? He has an Orthodox Christian practice to follow when engaging with others on the internet. > Stand before your icons (if you are at home), make the sign of the cross, and pray before opening your electronic device. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you so that you may use it for what is good and beneficial to others, and only then begin browsing. It is also helpful to keep your prayer rope in your hand, reminding you that God is present. I gradually realized that the Orthodox Church I was attending wasn't the right fit for me (more on that some other time), but the last time I went was to see Metropolitan Saba, for whom I have much respect. → [On Social Media](https://sabaisper.substack.com/p/on-social-media) --- ![](https://www.canneddragons.net/content/images/2026/10/pika-1791666941822-1x.png) A few years ago, tired of the spyware on my mom's HP Windows machine, I installed Ubuntu. I called it the "linux for your mom" experiment. It didn't go well. To get sound, I would frequently have to recompile the ALSA drivers. The webcam was another issue. It would work for Skype intermittently. Experiences like this (which apparently are still a thing) are why I always doubt the claims that this is the year of linux on the desktop. It still doesn't appear to be the case unless you are a born tinkerer. Via [Bob Walnut](https://bsky.app/profile/bobwalnut.bsky.social/post/3mwglkwhltk23?ref=canneddragons.net) --- Joshua Beck ponders the thoughts of St. Basil on the subject of the rich. > We are seeing this in real time with the American billionaire class. Through the exploitation of the poor, these people have acquired absurd amounts of wealth—and now consider themselves rulers of a sort, unbound by law. St. Basil is reminding us that they are not, in fact, rulers of any kind. As much as they may want to be, they are not superhuman. They are from the dust, just like us. And their attempts to overcome that dust merely result in a denigration of their own humanity. Donald Trump, in particular, has remade his fortune many times over by taking advantage of his power as the president. This has been at the expense of the poor, with programs slashed left and right. St. Basil would remind us, he too is dust. → [St. Basil on the Rich](https://joshuabeck.blog/posts/st-basil-on-the-rich?ref=canneddragons.net) --- [Reelizer.com](https://www.reelizer.com/?ref=canneddragons.net) is described as "movie culture, curated." It depicts standout film art, featuring unique posters from such films as *Robocop*, *A Clockwork Orange* and *Bugonia*, among many others. ![Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom](https://www.canneddragons.net/content/images/2026/10/indiana-jones-and-the-temple-of-doom-md.jpg) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Via [Things to Click](https://buttondown.com/things?ref=canneddragons.net) --- Rian van der Merwe has a high level of skepticism about remasters, and he uses the [Dynamic Range Database](https://dr.loudness-war.info/?ref=canneddragons.net) and his own crest-factor dynamic range measurements to back it up. > My buying rule used to be a vague preference for original pressings. Now it’s a measured one: the earliest CD is the default choice, an audiophile pressing is worth it when the gap is real, and a remaster needs evidence before I go near it. I will now check the DR Database before I buy—it’s crowdsourced and covers most pressings of most things. I have looked up some remasters on the DRD and been disappointed with what the new mastering job did to the dynamic range. This is particularly true of remasters done during the loudness wars of the nineties and aughts. Ultimately, though, I think it's best to let your ears be the judges. → [Do remastered albums ever sound better than the originals?](https://elezea.com/2026/08/do-remasters-ever-win/?ref=canneddragons.net)