Building up a basement rec room stereo from a Heathkit kit is one of many electronics related memories I have of bonding with my dad. I was less than 10 years old, and I'm sure he did most of the work, but it certainly helped teach me -- as the article so wonderfully says -- that machines weren't magic, and that curiosity combined with a healthy dose of fearlessness was enough to understand just about anything. What a great thing these kits were.