One of the most educational exercises i have ever take to learn Linux was
the old school minimal install of Gentoo. Their process was one of the best
documented install guides i have ever seen. and it presented allot of good
launch points to learn more about your computer and the way Linux interacts
with it. (both from troubleshooting pebcak, and from general curiosity).

It is a process that for those who learn by doing I
cannot recommend strongly enough.
-- 
A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from
rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

Stephen