Also, don't get me started on the newer functions such as XLOOKUP and Dynamic... Relational data belongs in a relational database. If you are joining tables and filtering massive arrays, you should be using standard SQL Arrays, it makes it so much easier to troubleshoot long term.

And let's be honest, a lot of folks in IT aren't exactly top performers and don't seem to care all that much. It's really the developers you find on forums like this who are genuinely passionate. You're not likely to bump into the people actually buying those big Oracle or IBM systems around here though :)

Yeah, the ad supported model has its problems, but it also makes the internet way more accessible. If we think about it, companies and people with more money are basically subsidizing these services for everyone else. They're the ones seeing the ads that keeps the lights on for users who can't afford to pay.

If everything was subscription only, a ton of people like students, low income families, people in developing countries would be shut out. "Free" services, even with their flaws, create a kind of digital subsidy. It's not perfect, but it means way more people can use these tools.

Wind power and other intermittent sources create grid instability, which drives up costs.

And to my knowledge, Germany has chosen not to have different bidding markets within the country (or has at least kept prices consistent across its four markets) to protect vital industries in the west?

I think the rest of us who interact with it don't really fully understand what's going on. We've basically traded one set of scripts only a few folks understood (bash, perl) for Terraform in this case.

I totally see the benefits, but sometimes I feel like we try to force everything into it, even when it might not be the best fit.

Ah yes, time for the annual debate on the complexities of Kubernetes versus the unparalleled genius of custom scripts that seem to work...sometimes. Because reinventing the wheel is always superior to something with a standardized API.

And let's not forget the sheer elegance of a homegrown scripts that rivals the structured approach of Kubernetes. A true testament to intuitive design.

Sure, Kubernetes might have a few minor benefits beyond 'scaling out'. But honestly, who needs the ability to manage complex applications with any semblance of ease?

I could of course do flow control myself in the Cloud Run service, but it'd be nice if I could just switch to pull.

Previous attempts to nationalize companies have not, as far as I know, been a shining success?

Both nuclear, water and gas have the advantage that they're pretty massive and can store energy while they rotate. In the past, these systems were great for the grid because they kept on spinning and were hard to slow down. So, when there was a big load on the grid, like when an industrial plant fired up a huge device that sucked up lots of power, these giant machines took a while to slow down. That meant they could pump some extra power into the grid, at least for short periods.

The realistic option is probably to expand solar and wind power and also set up hydro pumps for storing energy. Alongside that, also invest in SMR reactors and supercapacitor to handle sudden spikes in grid demand.

Regrettably, energy poverty is a new concept we will have to learn in Europe, I'm afraid...

In my opinion, it would have been better for Google to acquire FlutterFlow or something similar instead.