(edit: i realize this may need to change to the MR forum, so go ahead mr. mod if you need to)

I know I'll probably get berated for asking questions which are in the archives, but the search function blows so....

I have a Northwest round trip ticket booked for NBO-AMS-DTW-TVC July 9 and a return on Sept 6. I was reading the archives of this site about adding segments that will give me more miles but not incur any cost.

Is it better to add extra segments in the US since there is more variety, or are there some of who you have taken crazy segments around Africa to get more miles? Should I add these segments in Europe or the States?

I really have no idea how to add more segments without incurring extra cost to my ticket. Do I use travelocity or expedia to see the cost of a AMS-DUS flight and a DUS to DTW flight, and if these combined are cheaper than AMS-DTW I ask for that segment changed?

I guess one of the lessons I'm learning is this: before I book another $2000 roundtrip ticket between Michigan and Kenya i should really put work into using this cash towards getting more miles than what a direct flight gives. I mean, this flight is going to be around 16,000 miles roundtrip, which is enough for me to get SE, but I understand that (correct me if I'm wrong) I can get GE for the same money if I find the right connections and go crazy places at crazy times and do FT craziness like openjaw/nestedtix/blahblahblah. I'm all about getting more miles for my money and getting a higher elite status, fo sho.^

PS: Am I hindered by my dates needing to be July/Aug travel? Do most MRs occur in the "low" season? Are segment costs lower in the off season? Honestly, I have so many questions that I would rather Skype with a FTer who could hold my hand through some of these basic questions.