ok i think i have the gist of things,  thank you all for your very helpful and insightful responses

ive not been doing this long so im still getting to grips.  if you have any good material on explaining the protocol in depth that would be epic!  i have read most of the parts of the main bitcoin wiki but something that can give more of an example would be awesome!

if you cant think of anything then no worries, i always like learning by playing and you guys have been more than helpful as it is