SOLDIERX.COM Nobody Can Stop Information Insemination

Okay, so I am new to Linux, installed it a week or so ago and am curious. What should I be learning about it? I made a pretty cool desktop but I am sure that there are tons of other tricks and tips that I should be investing my time in to learn the system and how I can be using it. What applications would I need to beef up my security? Any applications that can help me learn C++ and Perl?

Any suggestions?

B