Not sure if "Numerati" is the best word. I already have a maths degree, but did little with statistics so far. I am capable of reading a book on statistics, but it is not the same as getting some practical experience.
I guess I could just start with randomly selected data sets, but somehow that doesn't seem to be enough motivation (like stock market data: seems unlikely to discover something new, with all the Quants already working on it). So I guess what I mean is, among other things: how to find worthwhile statistical problems for starting out? I am not into sports, so betting is kind of out. Also missed the elections, since I am not from the US. I look forward to the book by the 53something website guy, though.
Or you could take up statistical process control. Useful skill, and applicable to many things besides semiconductor manufacturing. Here's a hilarious quote that I've remembered for years, from http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2003/pulpit_20030925_0004...
"I taught over 300 courses for industry where we designed cars and electronic devices, but it wasn't until one day I took over my wife's kitchen and used Taguchi to perfect my recipe for vanilla wafer cookies that I realized how broadly it could be applied," Kowalick recalls. "It took 16 batches, but by the end of the afternoon I had those wafers dialed in."
Go forth and bake some cookies.