Daryl -- I hope you submit your bugs to Apple. Automator is pretty cool, but it's riddled with stupid bugs that need fixing. As for file renaming, there are freebie apps that do that too.
I'm like a dog gnawing a bone on this sort of problem: I love to spend several days chewing on it, to figure it out my free time. It's oddly relaxing.
I'm an engineer, it's what I do.
I have trouble thinking of Automator uses, but this video conversion process I do every two weeks, it's complicated and takes some time. It feels like a good Automation use.
If you do something repetitively with managing this forum, Automator might be able to help.
As for Spaces, well, that deserves its own thread
(I'm finding they help me focus on certain tasks and manage my windows on a 15" laptop)