When I was a boy I did all of my electronics stuff on my own. My father just didn't understand technology and one day when the phone rang my mother asked him to take the stylus off the record she was listening to so she could hear the caller. My father looked at all the controls for a few seconds then pulled the power plug from the wall.
Yeah me too. Getting my dad near anything electric is courting a disaster - e.g. he has seriously tried to convince me that a breaker has to be wired between live and neutral once, going as far as actually trying it. Only after the inevitable bang (and mom screaming from the kitchen because her stove turned off when the house fuses blew) he rewired it, with some muttering about "faulty breakers" ... The number of "suicide cords" (with male plugs at both ends) that can be found at their place I have stopped counting already (and there is nothing that could convince him it is a royally stupid idea to make extension cords like that).
However, I was more referring to the fancy scope, soldering iron and what not. I could only dream about stuff like that! And having a more experienced mentor always helps - I certainly would have appreciated one back in the day. It could have saved me some burned fingers, blown components (blowing a LED or a transistor was a tragedy because you couldn't easily buy them in a small town in the Eastern bloc!).
Fingers crossed for Sagan, hopefully he keeps the interest going!