This is pretty much my noob post so I can get out of noob status and PM/contribute elsewhere.
I've been mining for only a few months and it seems pretty late in the game. However it's been a fun time (and funny that I miss when difficulty was "only" at 19M) and I am glad for USB Block Erupters for making this possible without having to build a leafblower heater PC rig. My rig runs on a Pi + hubs so it's very low power usage. bfgminer is great.
I recently experienced a private party BTC transaction and that was interesting, too. It's very much like unregulated direct paypal'ing, but without the possibility to complain or get a refund. Luckily the third-party had good rep in many online places, so this was a confident transaction. But what of when the exchange seems shady or uncertain?
I've heard about escrow, but what are the current popular escrow services out there?
Thanks, and hello to the BTC community.