On Thu, 15 May 2003 00:16:07 -0400, "Ted Byers"
wrote:

While I can get a computer to do literally
anything I want, just by writing a program to do it

You can't get a computer to SUCCESSFULLY divide by zero. :-)

(I can even get a computer to exhibit behaviours as complex as those of almost
any animal; a fact which raises countless interesting philosophical questions we probably
should avoid in this forum),

That would be an interesting topic of discussion.

I would likely be quite dangerous trying to put together a circuit of any kind.

It's not as difficult as you fear.

Or maybe it is a question of simply never having done it before. Do you know
of any good reference books which would show me how?

These authors can make learning the fundamentals of electronic
circuits painless:

Don Lancaster
Cmos Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

Forrest Mims
The Beginner's Handbook of Electronics
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...846201-3696862

I can read, and follow instructions accompanied by diagrams,
so maybe there is hope ...

You might also cultivate an amateur radio buddy as a consultant to
bounce your ideas/needs off of.

Radio Amateurs of Canada: http://www.rac.ca/

The American Radio Relay League: http://www.arrl.org/
The ARRL publishes The ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs which contains
basic electronics theory introductory chapters:
http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=1891

These folks are talented, and usually willing to assist with
interesting projects.

You can order small quantities of electronic parts from Digi-Key
Corporation:
http://www.digikey.com/
http://www.digikey.com/Scripts/US/DK...?KeyWordSearch

I'll cross-post this article to some of these newsgroups, and perhaps
we'll get some additional help in getting you started in electronic
circuit design:

sci.electronics.basics,sci.electronics.design,rec. radio.amateur.homebrew