First the good news:  I made a "custom" HWDIRECT 1.3 kernel (without the
MRG_ADB option) and now a shutdown -h really does shut the machine down.
Power off, the whole bit, just like it should.

Now the bad news:  my machine (an 840av) still crashes during boot more
often than not and now when it crashes the keyboard is dead.

Signature failed Preliminary Design Review.
Feasibility of a new signature is currently being evaluated.
h.b.hotz@jpl.nasa.gov, or hbhotz@oxy.edu