>>400
On a suggestion from a dinosaur aged post on /code/, actually. I wouldn't say it's been a useless endeavor. I learned a lot about programming, had a blast, and I'm learning new, useful applications for my personal use every day. Even if it's old and I don't use it for any serious projects, I at least get some benefit. And there's always this CPAN that everyone is talking about. By the way, it's the first programming language that I've studied seriously. Is perl useless compared to other languages or something?

Is there anything else you might suggest? I've made a few other ventures into the world of programming. They did not end without some blood. Learn Python the Hard Way was boring and I felt like it didn't give any good explanation of the material. Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist, another python book, went over my head, mostly because I haven't completed a high school level math course (oh god, the most daunting thing on my to do list). I hear a lot of people suggest C, but I get the feeling I would get bored and give up on that. I'm interested in learning more about programming and hopefully having some fun along the way.