Bought some gear

pics? 

Dogs are always up in your business Ed, you should know this! 
(Or do you stick to squirrels?)
 
I stared with a Roland SPD-20 for exactly the same reasons, then expanded to a full Roland TD-6 V-Drum set (keeping the SPD-20 for the extra stuff like cowbells) - Soooooo much fun!  I found it very interesting to do a nice drum fill then look at the MIDI.  There's no way I could have programmed those notes!
 

 
Of course, it's all gone now, but I intend to go for the even better V-Drums next time!

" There's no way I could have programmed those notes!"
 
Exactly. Plus I know a couple of drummers I might get to play some drums for me.
 
By the way, if you're a guitarist who has never bought strap locks before, they are not one-size-fits-all.  

I like the DD-65. It's certainly easier than when using a keyboard, and more fun, too.
The "pedals" are just foot switches, and the hat pedal only changes the sound from open to closed. The kick pedal needs a strong boot to get it to make any noise, but I read that real MIDI pedals can be used.
The pads are the opposite; it doesn't take much force at all to max the velocity. That's okay for hard rocking songs, but subtlety will need practice.
Maybe some of you with MIDI drum experience can tell me if this is normal: I often get a 'rebound' note just a few ticks after I hit a pad, always at a velocity of 18. As if the pad rises after the hit and contracts to its normal height, causing a ghost hit.
It's not audible (to me) but it makes editing more tedious. I have been going into the event list and deleting all the vel 18 notes , but I suppose I'll have to set up a MIDI filter to keep those notes from recording.
All in all, I think it will a useful tool.