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After you get your sketch working and uploaded to the Arduino, how do you wean it from the computer; i.e. use it as a stand alone item? Do you just disconnect the USB and power it up with a 5 volt source or what? None of the instructions cover this or maybe I'm just to blind to see how they do it.

Rodney- After a sketch has been uploaded to the Arduino board, it is the active program on the board.
When you disconnect the USB cable from the computer, and the board will retain the last program that was uploaded to it.
John

Thanks John. Shortly after I posted this question I did find the schematic of the Arduino and found that you could power it with separate source, looks like a typical 12 volt source would work but since I had an 8.4 ( 2 cell) volt LiPo handy, I used that as a power source and it worked fine. I was just surprised that there was not some mention of how to power up the Arduino once the program was loaded. It probably is in some of the documentation but was not in the package I got with the board. That's what I get for pinching pennies.

I hear you Rodney. I bought my first Arduino Uno from Radio Shack for $35, but since then have been buying them on Ebay for $19.
However, beware of "knockoffs" on Ebay.
If I recall, the board will run on 5-15 volts. Have fun!
John