Dual OSX-Linux project

I am tired of not having Linux and not knowing how to use Linux so I am going to get Linux and install it on my laptop.  This will be more than a little cumbersome, because I will have to back up everything, erase and partition the hard drive (I'll probably give Linux 20GB), clean install macosx, and then linux.

Right now I'm looking most favorably at Ubuntu, but also a little at Yellowdog and Gentoo.  This will take some research, because I don't want to fuck up my computer.

I'll keep you updated, I guess.