HazardsMind:
Is this your first time using arduino? If so, then yes, check out the get starting guide and try some of the basic arduino examples. Their are plenty there.
Yes it is. I've been thinking about trying it out before, but now I have a project I could really use it for. Just wanted to have some comments on the feasibility before really digging into the docs.
Looks like it might work very nicely, in deed. It seems I could easily add an infrared receiver and use a very simple remote for the manual dimming function... that should be so foolproof I don't need any manual overrides for the dimming, just a main on/off switch in the controller box and everything else is controlled using the the IR remote (plus additonally ethernet/wifi connection from my computer).