Woot!  so, it works.
turns out I 
did have to compile my own server.  which wasn't too bad as long as I followed the guide 
and I remembered that we are dealing in a 32 bit world that doesn't like spaces. (had 64-bit mysql installed in program files directory).
Once that was done it compiled no problems.  I was able to use the pre-packaged database that I downloaded previously (I compiled revision 1410 so I wouldn't run into issues) and everything worked!  logged in and created/spawned my first bot.
Thanks all for your help.  now, to figure out how to use them 

.