Pretty much this right here.

Fridays are the worst. Everyone's basically watching the clock tick down to 1pm which is also the time when I can safely break SLAs and start running the security tests I should only do after work hours, because nobody but me is around who would even notice that some systems go down.

You don't think anyone gets anything sensible done on a 9 to 1 Friday, do you?

You can keep that privilege, I don't give a fuck about that. But could I get two more hours to spend with my family instead?

This is in what way different from consultants giving advice who never really worked a day in their life?

And why shouldn't I expect it?

The weekly work hours were lowered from 48 to 40 hours in 1975 in my country. Ever since, we increased productivity per man-hour by 200% to 2000% percent in some fields.

Now a 20% reduction in time worked will break the camel's back?

Oh how did we ever work back in 1975 when we worked more and produced less? How did our economy even function at this level of abysmal productivity? How did our companies not go bankrupt left and right when we produced half to a magnitude less?

The rules of engagement, up until now, were pretty much "don't piss anyone off who could actually get laws changed that keep us from fleecing the flock".

If it happens to the kids of "important" people, maybe we're gonna see some improvements in security.

This is not about honoring anything, it's about not having to deal with it in the first place.

The reboot is already happening. With great visuals, but frankly, I didn't really want to play a part in it...

Well, congratulations for getting promoted.

All you get today for doing a good job is more work and the hate of your fellow workers because you're the new gold standard they have to conform to.

While I agree with much that you write, I disagree with this.

China is still mostly known for cheap, unreliable crap. Maybe they can make better things (excluding the ones that they simply copied 100%, factory and all, from western companies) but they don't export them. There's plenty of garbage coming out of China, while things "made in Germany" and western brands in general still have a much better reputation.

late-stage capitalism.

Communism self-destructed in the end. I fear capitalism will do the same. And if the fall of Communism teaches us one thing then it is that it can all go really, really fast.

Quite to the contrary, I guess. This is a move out of the "Make China Great Again" textbook.

Sure, short-term there might be a shortage of certain chips. But they'll produce their own in no time, and then even if the political landscape changes and we're all friends again, they won't buy from US companies again.

You're mostly old fashioned in the sense that you seem to have gotten enough time to actually do your job well.

Opportunity costs are a thing.

But yes, as far as bancruptcies go, getting back all your money is a rare event.

It seems awfully charitable to describe that as a 'mistake'; rather than a cynical recognition that they have the opportunity to impose negative externalities for their own convenience.

It might rise to the level of 'mistake' if the neighbors manage to get a suitably punchy judgement and some combination of damages and being forced to modify or terminate operations ends up costing more than it would have to just put the drone site off in the sticks somewhere originally; but it's not like Bezos cares whether these people live or die; so as long as he can make them absorb some of the costs of Amazon doing business it's coming up roses for him.