boy, the grammar police strike again,ken you must have that( gripe about sim's list) either memorized, or saved in your computer.
it seems when the word sim, and learning how to fly comes up, that same list comes out.

here is some solid advice for a beginner, get a sim, and you will get better at flying,the idea is sound and simulators work well for learning the basics as well as advanced manuevers.
all the bla bla about bad habbits forming, its just that,if you get the G-3 the flight charicteristics are very close to the real thing and the learning curve will be much quicker simple as that.

there is nothing better than actual flying time in the air of course.

but for me personally if it wasn't for my sim time, I wouldn't have saved a plane from crashing, instead of forming that stick pile, I pulled off the recovery that came from simulating potential crash situations and recovering,when I saw what was going on in the air instincts took over, and I reacted the extra hours that I spent practicing paid off.

the point is the more practice you get the better you will get.
think about it you go to the field, assemble your plane, gas it up,BS with the guys,fix a problem or 2,then fly mabee 3-4 tanks, thats 40min-1hr of actual air time for 3hrs of work.
too each his/her own but I would always recomend a sim for a beginnner,suposed bad habbits or not.