Lpc2000

I am currently looking in to picking up one of the LPC2000 uC's to 
begin messing around with robotics or other automation ideas.  I am 
really new to all this and have found it to be very overwhelming.  I 
was looking into PICs and/or AVRs because all the resources out there 
but was steared away by the idea that since I'm starting at this 
point in technology I should probably use something that has been 
made in recent years. (Not to bash on older uCs)
  So now i have been looking at new micros tiniArm line.  Mainly the 
2131 dev board or the 2138 devboard.  I would like to have the 2138 
but just starting out and low on funds feel I do not need all that 
extra umph.
  Just wanted to know other peoples experiences with these boards.  
Also, besides this newsgroup and google groups, where could I find 
more information on the basics with LPC2000 family? On the new micros 
I found some basics about getting started with compilers but not much 
else.  I need something more on the lines of servo control, timers, 
adding components to boards, etc...

Feel free to email me.

Thank You,
Neal Dyrkacz