Tom, Thanks for your hard work on this; you have lots of very good information, hints etc.
I have been battling the issue of accessibility of this type of material, especially for Newbies, for a long time.
Take a look at http://yourduino.com which is my latest effort, still very incomplete compared to what I have in mind. Maybe we can collaborate somehow on this.
At the very least I will read all your material and try to get more good ideas out there...
Email if you'd like to talk this over more.