This was back in 2006/2007 and the very first foray of that company into using cloud computing. Those tools you mentioned largely did not exist. And the UI's where a lot more confusing and less clear than they are now.
Another question: does any mistake in configuration signal a mismanaged company to you?
When you said "S3 scares the shit out of me", to me that implied that you still to this day didn't know about those features.
And no, mistakes do not necessarily signal a mismanaged company to me, but not knowing what you will be charged from one day to the next certainly smells like a bad policy to me.
Another question: does any mistake in configuration signal a mismanaged company to you?