pacific--about the guy on the ferry-makes me think of walking up to an older German gent in France (me from a car) and him on a Rohlof equipped bike. I hadnt seen one before and asked him about it, and like your example, he went on about it and then also went on about his route, how many kilometers, and naming every town he passed through on the way to the Normandy coast (where we were).
The one sided conversation kinda ended up like you describe, all technical and whatnot, not a friendly chat between people who had toured (I mentioned the trips I had done), so I know what you mean, and so plead "guilty" to an extent with this one ;-)

I too am just too damn lazy to want a half-step, and just muddle along.

I think nun made a very good comment way back about over time being less concerned with gearing. I figure the main thing is having a low thats low enough for your load and terrain so that you dont have to push, I hate pushing.