Detecting anomalies from the sun from home I was wondering if there are any ways for some amateur to detect let's say solar flares or CMEs from home. What kind of hardware would you need in order to have chance of seeing/measuring those?

I have a background in programming software and I've gotten my feet wet in hardware if that's of any help. 

I'm aware that the weather plays a "bit" of a factor and I am sure that I can't afford a satellite but anything is welcome!
The most extreme solar flares are visible as bright marks on the face of the sun and the most extreme CME are apparent as aurorae even at low latitudes.

Detecting CME as they leave the sun is difficult: you really need a spaceship to see that close to the sun.

Detecting CME as they interact with the Earth's magnetic field is possible.  You need to make a magnetometer.  There are several designs possible, from a "jamjar/laserpointer" design to fluxgate designs, and commercial detectors at various price points.  

A magnetometer will respond to CME as they interact with the Earth's magnetic field, so they are not an early warning system, and you may find yourself detecting next-door's ironing, but at least the more advanced designs here demonstrate it is possible to get a signal that correlates with observations of the aurora.