My I recommend some reading matterial? How to Brew by John J. Palmer. All of your questions are broken down in simplicity in the first few chapters. Easy read. And some words of advice from my local brew shop, "Keep it simple, Stupid."
Good to here I'm not the only person in the world who has just now caught on to the wonderful world of homebrew. I am drinking my first batch as i type (Aztec Cerveza) and my second batch is in the closet (a honey wheat recipe i got from the local brew shop). So far So good. Looking forward to...