The author shows a use case for both a small and a large logging system. The use case is complex queries which spans multiple applications and don't need regex ninja skills but sensible queries.
he does not. His small logging system is not small at all, it spans multiple systems and has requirements that are not at all typical for small systems.
My small system is usually two computers. Having a router/proxy/firewall box at home is not all that uncommon, and some examples I gave apply there nicely.
Do you really think that your requirements apply? I think none do in case of really a small system. See, I think I understand your requirements, but I think they are not common at all.
For a small system - a desktop PC and maybe a custom router box - you do not need one central place for the logs. Thus you don't need an easy way to change it. You don't need to preserve logs in a more efficient way than logrotate does. They don't need to be stored more structured than the filesystem does, the queries are local, and grep is more than efficient enough.
Maybe a binary log is the best choice for you - it seems to be what you want. But that does not generalize to the general public. That is why the rant feels very misplaced for me.