Finally got my order from moderndevice.com that I ordered on the 15th. I got an arduino duemilanove and a RBBB arduino kit. I'll program and test with the duemilanove, and then transfer the chip over to the RBBB board and run the final tested and true version on that board.
I already have had got my sensor and h-bridge from digikey a while ago, so we're ready to go. Soon, I should be able to get everything wired up with a prototype board and hook up the actuator to see how this is gonna work.