Joel, glad to have you aboard
I remember when I first came to the boards-- I can't even think of how many LATE LATE LATE nights I spent sitting at the screen just reading; familiarizing myself with all of the different acronyms, mic configurations, and techniques, not to mention of course the mics themselves, the pre-amps (I came in not even knowing what a Preamp was!), the Analogue to Digital converters (affectionately known 'round these parts as "A/D," "A-D," or "A to D"), and the recording units. Then you move into the peripherals like windscreens, stands, bags, shockmounts, cables, batteries, and battery chargers.
There's tons here to read up on, as you've discovered. Just be sure that before posting you run a quick search for the topic you're interested in, and everyone will love you all the more.
Again, glad to have you aboard, let me be the first to invite you to feel free to PM me if you ever need any personal help! I'm nowhere NEAR most of the guys on this board, but I'll help when I can!!!