Interesting. I do tend to like a challenge and get really absorbed in tech stuff. Like I keep all my old broken computers so I can tinker and fix them and I enjoy getting viruses off of computers. Though I don't generally get viruses these days I have helped people remove some nasty ones. I alsoused to get super absorbed in to website design as a teen, and then got pretty into 3d modeling as an adult. So, I think programming is really right up my alley and possibly even robotics in the future. I just never previously had the time to invest.
You post has definitely inspired me though. :D
I am following you now to read about technology and maybe help you decide on your lunch some day.
If you're feeling up to it, a really great starting point is running linux on your main computer. Linux is interesting from a number of standpoints:
Another interesting linux excercise is certainly flashing old Android smartphones. You can update their software in myriad interesting ways. I have a little tinkering going on, working to get full Linux (not android) onto an a33 tablet. Hopefully I can get a distributable ROM put together for it :).
I dont know if I would want to commit to linux until I have another laptop. I do use it on my thinkpad that I use to create my coloring books and digital art with. So, I am familiar with linux somewhat.
If you have a 2nd machine with linux, good enough! What distro do you use?