From casual observation they have a few strong opinions which seem to be based on their experiences and requirements up to that point but which change when their requirements change.
I've no issue with that - as your knowledge changes your opinions should be open to change. You could knock them for having strident opinions they later modify but I'd rather be grateful that they are willing to share and learn publicly as that way everyone has the chance to learn with them.
I agree. I'm a 37s fanboy. Web tech has made a quantum leap in the last year. The difference between rails 3.1 and rails 2.8 is huge. Not to mention html5, css3 and new javascript libraries such as backbone-js. These are game changers. Adapting them means a rewrite.
DHH's Twitter suggests otherwise. He talks about the joy of starting from scratch developing with rails/master. Can't link to it because I'm on a phone.
They're pretty successful with their belief so far and it's time to get more revenue from something new.