I worked for a Big Company that was cutting back and dropped their Oracle contracts, forcing all the DBAs to work in Access. Then they fired all the DBAs, forcing everyone to either try to figure out Access or switch to Excel. Guess which way they went.
In my last job at that company, my department had built an Excel spreadsheet (database) so large and full of calculations they had to request money to update our machines to 64-bit Windows and 16GB RAM just to run it.
It's like product reviews. The people leaving a review are either angry about the product or are so pleased they feel a need to tell the world about it. Most people, on the other hand, just use the product, have a perfectly average opinion of it, and don't feel a need to tell the world. What makes things seem awful or great is you don't usually know what percentage of the overall customer base they represent. Fifty bad reviews can be a red flag or noise depending on how many customers there are.
You are not alone. In fact, you sound just like me. I can't recall a time when being aware of what's going on has been so soul-crushing. It's so easy to feel powerless in the face of all of it. I'm barely holding on, but I'm not vanquished yet.
You need to do two things first and foremost. One is to stop the doomscrolling. Since you're retired, there's probably no work stuff you need to be aware of, so turn off notifications. Another, likely much more difficult, thing is to have a chat with your girlfriend and explain what her constant messaging is doing to you. If she continues, it's a sign she doesn't take your feelings seriously, and you should consider moving on.
Beyond that, you might want to search out opportunities in your community to help those who are the most vulnerable to what's happening. You can't change the world, but you can make a positive difference for someone.
Botanically, fruits don't have to be sweet. It's anything that's a seed carrier of some kind. Vegetables are other plant parts that don't contain seeds, more or less. It. Culinary usage takes a different approach, hence the different aisles.
Not sure about beans, I don't usually buy canned beans.
There are two big grocery chains where I live. One puts the olives in the canned vegetable aisle, the other puts them in the canned fruit aisle. I keep forgetting which does which and end up in the wrong aisle every time.
It was fairly common in the US decades ago, but you don't hear it as much now. You're more likely to hear it with "business" instead of "beeswax" when you do.
Warren Buffett bought Berkshire Hathaway in part to spite its management. He had been buying shares for a while, and at one point offered them a chance to buy them back. They low-balled him on the price, he got pissed, took majority control of the stock, and fired the management.
"Sometimes Excel is what's available."
I worked for a Big Company that was cutting back and dropped their Oracle contracts, forcing all the DBAs to work in Access. Then they fired all the DBAs, forcing everyone to either try to figure out Access or switch to Excel. Guess which way they went.
In my last job at that company, my department had built an Excel spreadsheet (database) so large and full of calculations they had to request money to update our machines to 64-bit Windows and 16GB RAM just to run it.