Making a basketball shot clock Thats the 24 second count down that sits over the basket.(I imagine this wouldnt be that hard and similar to the scrolling marquee?)

Making an rfid reader or buying one and connecting it to the nerdkit and then have the nerdkit send that info over a network to my computer where the data will be saved.

Making a system of stepper motors that will keep my solar cells pointed at the sun all day. I would like to hook up a light sensor to the nerdkit and then have the nerdkit control the stepper motors to make sure the solar cells are pointed at the sun all day.

Im sorry if these are dumb questions... I have no money... I would like more then anything to go to school for computer engineering and computer science(atleast thats what i think i want... I want to be able to build just about any electronic device i can think of).

I search online for info on how to do things but all i ever see is the projects other people have completed but not much on how they are made.. I believe the only thing really stoping me is my lack of programing skills... I have a good idea of how to build things but how to program them is giving me troubles... is this something i can learn online? or do i need to go to a school to really learn these things?

All i really wanna do is make the shot clock and the rfid reader and sun tracker..... but i dont know how u would type that up so that it makes sense to the nerdkit..

I'm pretty sure they're possible but, just like you, I have no clue how to make this. I'm thinking about getting a programming book.

For C programming, there's a classic book that was originally written by the authors of C programming language. It's still pricey after all these years, but I think it's worth having if you are serious about C programming: K&R C book

thanks for the replys guys.

jbremnant that book u recommended has really great reviews and sounds like exactly what I'm looking for in terms of acquiring knowledge. Thank you very much for that, I am ordering the book today.