I don't get it. I was hoping to find references to solid "proofs" and examples on how Google is being deceptive. All I found was the statement that Google is deceptive and an entire blog post dedicated to why deceit is bad (as if people don't know).
In short, we can summarize the reasons why e-mail confirmation is necessary:
1. It's required by law in many places. That's why newsletter/auto-responder services use double opt-in.
2. If someone or something does sign-up on your behalf, why should you have to specifically opt out? So, it's always better to have someone confirm their e-mail, instead of having random users having to "opt out" of services they never signed up for.
3. Many a times, if it's some random site, the activation e-mail can go directly into your SPAM box. If an "opt out" type e-mail ends up in your SPAM box, then you probably won't see it, and it can potentially cause more damage.
4. For features like password reminder, it is always better, security-wise, to send the reset link to an e-mail you know for sure belongs to the account holder. If you mistyped your e-mail, and never received the conformation, you'd try creating an account again. However, if the account was activated by default, and you started using it right away, then you'd have all your e-mails going to someone else.
There might be more reasons...
I don't see how e-mail confirmation can be counted as "wasted seconds." It is to protect you. It's like taking a backup of your website. Many of them don't do it, because the few minutes it takes doesn't sound worthwhile. However, if the server crashes and your data is lost, only then you realize that those few minutes could have saved months of efforts.
The fun is never "out there", it's inside you. The only reason things don't seem fun anymore is because you've made a decision that they're not.
The lack of "challenging problems" is not the problem. Many people complain that things are too challenging to be enjoyable.
Take a vacation away from your daily routines. Just don't think about your problems for that time. When you come back again, you'll then have a bigger picture of things.
The real fun is not in solving "hard" problems. The solutions to many "complex" looking stuff is rather simple. However, we all decide that we need to have a "complex" solution for things to be fun. Don't complicate stuff.
Just try getting a different viewpoint on things. Since you're a good programmer already, it's better to use your natural talent for the better. There are a lot of problems out there which might require your expertise.
Perl has great potential. The reason Rails and other newer languages are getting attention is solely because they're new. Rails is easier to start programming in by people who'll never understand the difference between a constant and a variable in their life. Other languages are invisible to them.
Does that mean Rails is bad? No! Every language has its merits and demerits. It's easier for a programming to learn them all than fight for a single language.
Perl has its own strong points, just like any other language.
"No-one is building anything new with it today."
Generalizations. So easy to make, and so imprecise nevertheless.