I type in one command for my updates and go to bed. When I get up later, all I have to do is update the configs. If it takes you that long, you have a slow rig or something. I can do a complete install with KDE in about a day. I can get to a command line server type system in a couples hours, even on a slow rig.

Something fishy somewhere.

My command:

Later

Yeah, it was an exaggeration I know but I just don't see the point of compiling *everything* from source. Perhaps I'm not that leet I dunno, the first distro I used for more than a week was Gentoo and it drove me crazy so I switched to something that was better for me. I tried it again once I had a better handle on how linux worked etc and it still sucked*. Now I have a good handle on how linux works, I'll work on improving my leetness and then I might try Gentoo for a third time but I doubt it, it holds your hand too much for me.

* subjective opinion only

That's IMHO the point: Whether someone *really* needs the stuff compiled or just need the stuff plain and simply running.
Gentoo is a nice distro, very nice indeed, but it can just happen that there is no advantage for a user in compiling everything.
Gentoo is super if you want to keep a network where you can have a centralized portage tree and distributed compilation.
But if you are a home/desktop user and have a nice DSL connection, a binary distro will fill most of your needs.

Optimization is also not specially needed, as most of the software runs nicely with plain vanilla optimization (-O2 -fomit-frame-pointer and that's all), the only
thing which needs optimization is the kernel and few packages more (I was told mplayer).

I recently changed this box from Gentoo to Ubuntu as I got to the need of being able to install software on my laptop while traveling. Thus Gentoo, which has serve me for already 3 years, suddenly was out of the scope of the distros I need.

I don't think that you have to stay bound to a distro. Linux distros are just like any other piece of hardware: You use them if they com in handy, and dump them if they don't fulfill your needs. For me it's OK, as long as it's Libre Software: I stand for Free Software, not for a particular distro.

So, my advice people interested in Gentoo:

Use it if you want to set up a dedicated server where you will have total control of all aspects of your soft and hardware (ideal for heavy-duty LAMP) or if you have a home network, plenty of time and machines to give distcc support.
Else better try a binary distro. Nobody is more or less leet because of using a particular distro, as if this where the case the two most leet would be SUSE (Linus' choice) or Red Hat (Alan's choice).

Finally: Free Software is all about choice. Try and use what satisfies you most. Just that.