I have a few ebooks on the subject and a couple tut videos but would like to know what you guys would suggest for learning the ropes? I am complete newb btw, I have limited electronics knowledge but pretty good with a soldering iron. Glad I found this site and happy to be here!
welcome..
Im a noob, and find hardware a bit a of a learning curve for myself.. so take my advice for what its worth 
alot of the tutorials posted here are good to start with.. along with some beginner books.
I suggest getting a small kit or a general electronics kit (ie: resistors, capacitors, leds, jumper wires, sensors, breadboard..etc)
and follow along with the beginner lessons, form beginning to end.. (dont skip)..
I really found this place a good resource/reading and has a bunch of fun/practical lessons to go through:
this is place is GREAT, and full of very intelligent people/mods,..just dont be lazy and show you have given an honest effort, and people will gladly help you with questions.
good luck.
Thanks a ton x!
I have been into alot of different aspects of electronics for a long time and lucky for me, have built up a decent collection of random components. I am still a newb in the most general sense but always knew I would be getting into this field so have collected through the years. With that in mind I hope to be able to get started without purchasing anything more than I already have invested. Currently I have the mega arduino and a couple Basic stamp boards, but my interest remains mostly with learning what I can about the Arduino and putting it into action. What I am really wanting to seek out is something to help me get to where I can brainstorm my own unique ideas and be able to put those into action by writing my own code. So far the coding seems pretty intimidating. Especially this being my first foray into such matters I will be sure and check out the link you have provided and thank you for your advice.
Cheers to all!
The best book I found to help with programming is "Programming Arduino Getting Started With Sketches" by Simon Monk.