1: Last Saturday I learned the hard way that ungrounded sockets will cause a signal going through a dist pedal to shatter eardrums. Except of course for using batteries everywhere - or telling the owner of the place to stop being a dumbass and fix some grounding - is there any possible way to get around this?

2: I borrowed an old minidisc player with a surprisingly good mic and did a few recordings of my band's songs. I want to get the recordings into the computer so I can mess around a bit with them, can I just take the player and connect it with the line out/line in, or will I need some special equipment?

Thanks in advance!

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Can't help you with Q #1 but as for the minidisc, you should be able to just plug it in and record it onto your computer. You'll only need recording software (Cubase, Protools, Cool Edit, ect) and possibly an adapter.

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1. dont plug your shit in there. Seriously, if its ungrounded, do not plug your shit in. It will only cause damage.

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Yea, so that's why I didn't, after that first brutal wave of sonic bulldozing. But I felt nervous using batteries at a 1+ hour gig, even if they were fresh out of the package, so I was just wondering in general if there is any smart technical get-around solution to it. Didn't expect there to be.

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You could try scales if you are going to want to play melodies or solos. They are great practice for getting you fingers used to moving, the tips of your fingers used to stress and knowing where notes are. At this stage I would just say practice a lot and learn to play songs. Remember that there is no person who can say that they don't need to practice any more and practice really is the key to good musicianship. learn and master piano review
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There are plenty of very complicated chords to try so I suggest you get a book of like 100 chords or something and work from that and your song book to learn the songs.