I don't think it sounded like a rant; don't forget, we can't really hear tone of voice and so forth online...
I personally hate perfboard, and stripboard isn't a lot better. It's difficult for me to get it right, whereas if I draw the schematic correctly in eagle, and the PCB matches the schematic, my prototype's gonna be what I intended (it may be wrong, but at least it will match the schematic).
On the Olimex cost, please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's 30 euro plus at least 8.50 euro to ship to the US, which works out to US$60 for that single 4"x6" panel.
-j