Yes. Buy an arduino kit like this one I got for Christmas: http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=68&sessid=65d2609b6bc85

Yes. Buy an arduino kit like this one I got for Christmas: http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=68&sessid=65d2609b6bc85542f4161a1569e2dcc3 http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&#38... . Work through the tutorials and as many more as you can find until you're comfortable with the hardware. Round up as many interesting RSS feeds for hardware hacking as possible. As a first exercise, learn how to read spec sheets for components in order to select suitable devices (everything from passive and simple active discrete components to CPUs and displays). I've never done what you're asking to do but electronics are surprisingly modular these days, so the next steps should be pretty obvious once you get rolling.