Because sometimes you want to learn the fancy tools but only need to make something simple. When the time comes to make the complex web app, you are now more prepared.
Why am I here bitching all the time? Because I don’t have it in me to fight someone at work. The underlying tension can be reduced to me saying ‘you know this is crazy right?’, followed with ‘you don’t get it because you are not a real programmer’, and alas, those are both fighting words from both sides.