Head over to <a href="http://makezine.com/" rel="nofollow">http://makezine.com/</a> for lots of projects to get started.  Many are based on the Arduino, which you can pick up for under $30 USD:<p><a href="http://www.makershed.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=43" rel="nofollow">http://www.makershed.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=43</a><p>It's probably the easiest and lowest cost way to get your hands dirty.