Hey guys, sorry about being a little late to the post..
I just finished up an associate degree, in EE about 1.5 yrs ago, and currently working on ba in computer science. If anyone needs any advice, suggestions, circuit diagrams, or explanations on components don't hesitate to ask, my email address is
ijedi@hotmail.com or you can get a hold of my on aim or icq.
mad your right on the money, your explanations are perfect. Radio shack in my opinion is heavily overpriced, and a great alternative for circuit diagrams is to use google. i found this 555timer diagram back when i was getting my degree, it needs to be specially tuned for it's job, but it's pretty simple to do.
http://www.mitedu.freeserve.co.uk/Circuits/Timing/555mono.htm
lastly though, 555timers from my experiences are unstable and unreliable. you wouldn't believe how many bad chips i have come across during my electronics degree and the few that did work, would either run great for a few hours, or they would generate very sporadic, crazy results. but on the light side, the chip is dirt cheap, and easy to wire. if you're going to use one, just make sure you triple check your wiring job before power is applied.
if anyone needs any help, just let me know!