[blacksmythe]

  >> READ: Hacker News is a reasonable starting point these days.

In my experience, almost the opposite order is best. I find reading Hacker News very enjoyable, but by far not the best use of time early on. An hour spent programming is 10-100x more valuable than an hour spent reading Hacker News, until you have enough experience to put the information in context. I would suggest:

optional Read "Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years"(http://norvig.com/21-days.html)

1) Learn basic HMTL/CSS

2) Learn Python or Ruby fundamentals (http://learnpythonthehardway.org/index or http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/)

3) Learn Django or Rails

4) Learn jQuery

5) Build a few Django (or Rails) projects

6) Find someone to pay you to build things

7) Use Stack Overflow to help you solve customer problems

8) Spend time you are not busy with customers reading Hacker News, attending local meetings, learning whatever catches your interest.

[apperoid]

Absolutely agree. Reading Hacker News may be interesting but it rarely adds something to your skills.