billions

Agreed. ProtoBufs slows code iteration velocity tremendously. Saving 100 milliseconds on page load while reducing developer efficiency by 30% = a net worse product for end users.

By your logic an unqualified person could attain the CEO job. The CEO is picked by the shareholders to maximize shareholder value. The top boss is extremely well vetted to make sure they make good decisions to protect shareholders' money. The CEO's #1 job is to hire & fire managers that let him keep his job by increasing sales. And so on down the chain.

How could people at the bottom be more "accountable for customer disgruntlement"? They have less skin in the game than people up the hierarchy.

The higher up the hierarchy, the more accountable they are to the customer. If management doesn't increase sales by providing an offering at a competitive price, sales will slump and someone will get fired. This is the opposite of union shops where the manager to employee ratio is much higher because nobody gets fired for being a burden on the customer's wallet.

"No longer can management kick the can down the road on things that many of us wanted to directly address."

so you choose to prioritize your desires over customer needs? what if end users preferred to keep their cash instead of pay for your code refactor of a feature nobody uses?

My bet is HN will downvote this post because HN fights hard to "conserve" against alternate viewpoints such as those of the author

Bitcoin is the real stable coin. Everything else is fluctuating in price discovery until hyperbitcoinization completes.

Can you expand on "Lightning seems like a joke compared to the types of efforts happening on Ethereum" ? I was just in El Salvador and Lightning was a faster and more convenient experience than credit cards...

Coffee increases heart rate. Heart failure is a leading cause of death and caffeine could be a contributor at scale.

Hubble was funded in the 1970s with a proposed launch in 1983, but the project was beset by technical delays, budget problems, and the 1986 Challenger disaster. It was finally launched by Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990, but its main mirror had been ground incorrectly, resulting in spherical aberration that compromised the telescope's capabilities. The optics were corrected to their intended quality by a servicing mission in 1993.

Meh.

When doing a home remodel and the contractor breaks something they either return the money or fix it. Blame the CDC for not vetting the work and enforcing contracts.

The last time the US government made something to be proud of was 50 years ago with the Apollo program. Counter examples welcome!