I no longer use .date to distinguish kernel builds. It was too frustrating to have 030627a, 032627b (etc) as I tried to figure things out. I now use names, in alphabetical order, starting with the kernel build "alien". I'm going to leave the date option in though as I still think it's a good way to do things.

My current kernel, 2.6.6, is "Elrond." The machine itself is "Smeagol."

For non-Debian instructions see the Appendix "Appendix B".

For more information on how to compile the kernel The Debian Way please read Creating custom kernels with Debian's kernel-package system