Well, just one person here.. but I have this problem fairly regularly, which may be because I live in NYC and frequently go to new places within the city. I'm not sure how large the market would be, but I suspect there are others like me.
I agree with you that what we have is luxury compared to much of the world. Like you, I've seen this first-hand.
What I think is often missing from these discussions though, is that working a low paying job in New York City, for example, also affords considerable luxury compared to much of the developing world. That hypothetical person working that low paying job might not feel that s/he is living in luxury -- without some agreement on what constitutes basic comfort, it's quite difficult to define luxury.
The problem, which I think you've identified well, is that even the idea of basic comfort shifts as the economic landscape shifts. When the idea of basic needs shifts, the idea of wealth shifts with it.
In general, I think it's good for those of us living in privileged areas to recognize our blessings. I also think comparisons made to the developing world tend to oversimplify the problems of inequality present here as well.
Also, not to single this comment out on the middle class thing, but I've seen a few comments here which are equating middle class with median income. Middle class is a social construct. It's not well defined.
I did a short bit of contract work for Viñoly some years ago... and while I can't attest to the entire process you've outlined (I wasn't involved in the architecture stuff), I can attest to the bit about working conditions. The long hours, deep stress, harsh deadlines -- all spot on from what I'd observed.
I think the intended definition of culture in the context of a company is this:
"the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization <a corporate culture focused on the bottom line>"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture
I've talked to several folks who shrink back from the term... but I can't really imagine a better one for it. In my experience, various shared values and practices emerge in any team.
I've found cultural fit to be one of the biggest factors in determining whether I'll be happy at any particular company. After all, It's very hard to do good work if you can't agree on what good is.
People who have sleep disorders such as Non-24 or DSPS will not set into a societally accepted cycle the way you do. While there are treatments for those conditions, they aren't as simple as just willing the problem to go away.
It is possible that the grandparent is simply habitually nocturnal... but it's equally possible that something else is happening.
I, for one, would love to see a follow up post which discusses specific things Java allowed you to do faster/clearer/better in that context. ... if you're so inclined. It might also be neat to hear about which Java libraries were in play and how they compare to Ruby equivalents.
I'm in the category you're describing. (Switched from Jira/Greenhopper to Pivotal and happy about it).
I think the divisive bit may, in part, be that Pivotal is a strongly opinionated tool while Jira is a fairly customizable and open ended tool.
For projects & teams committed to the process Pivotal champions, it's highly optimized. For teams using a different process, or who need to customize views for different people etc, Jira can provide more options, and be a better fit.
For me personally... at the moment, I really appreciate Pivotal's relative simplicity and the way it encourages folks to focus on the somewhat nearer term.
These links (below) are a bit clearer, imho. The project actually looks pretty interesting, but the readme in the repo isn't as convincing:
http://foam-framework.github.io/foam/about/
http://foam-framework.github.io/foam/tutorial/0-intro/
Edit: formatting