Doing a little background search on the guy, it's not hard to find out that he's actually got Asperger's Syndrome - which is on the autism spectrum. Brewing beer apparently was one of the things he focused heavily on. Now, it's precious metals. I thought at first the same way a lot of you did, but now it sorta makes sense.
http://www.aspergers.com/aspclin.html
Eccentric? Annoying? Yes, but I would recommend everyone do some research on Aspergers. It's a developmental disorder that most likely even prevents him from realizing how he comes across to normally-functioning adults.