compiled from 2.0 to 2.6.17-rc1 maybe 400 or more now

LOL, all those kernels in the maternity ward, but the best-est most beautiful one is always yours!

does "several thousand times" count? I didn't see an option in the poll.

Several thousand times?

Go for the last option.

Out of curiosity, for how long do you know linux?

I forgot the count. I still remember those days when compiling a new kernel was a BIG and scary issue. All my colleagues would advise me against it. But I am a nerd and I don't listen to what others say many a times
since then i have compiled my own kernel countless times, i distinctly remember the first five times when my computer would boot up normally but fail to play my usb mouse, sound, network card and .... but i got over it. I started to see how i could make my devices work most of the time. the output of lspci and lsmod from the old kernel provided much the support i needed.
Now when i think of it, i still miss to include some support when i compile but i am getting better at this. All one has to do is handle the menuconfig to the best he can to get the best from the new kernel. all other steps are just routine.

As others have said, I've compiled tons of kernels. Not only on my personal workstation, but also on comps I've built for others.

My greatest personal satisfaction in kernel building is getting everything properly supported and booting without a single error or warning in syslog.

Yes the the kernels are updated 2 or 3 weeks. But that leaves us with two questions
1> Is it not a good idea download only the kernel instead of the whole distro everytime.
2>The kelnel that comes with the distro is updated but is not optimeised for your specific harware and your need. Have you ever needed ntfs support in your linux?

I don't really think its that simple. Of course a new version of your operating system is going to use a new kernel. Most of the time though you don't have to upgrade the whole OS just to say "current." I guess in short, its much easier to just do the kernel than the whole OS. IMHO

I started compiling kernels when giving a try to Debian in 2003. So I first played with some 2.4 kernel. I admit it is indeed a thrill to boot a new one :-)

But I recently had bad experience with 2.6.15 with broken USB 2 support (at least for my external hard drive), so I counted days until 2.6.16 arrival.

I compile a new kernel every 3 or 4 months, depends on mood :-)

I have compiled a kernel about 5-6 times for gentoo. And I did it once for slackware 3 days back but wasn't so successful then.
Will be compiling a lot kernels in the days to come.

Gentoo took the scare factor out of compiling a kernel for me. Not that Gentoo makes it any easier, its just that after you do all the other things required to install Gentoo, compiling your kernel dosen't seem that bad.

***But I recently had bad experience with 2.6.15 with broken USB 2 support***
So that's what happened!

***Gentoo took the scare factor out of compiling a kernel for me.***
Agreed
Gentoo guide me through my first -real- kernel compile. (aprx 6 months ago)
The two first with mandrake were 30 minutes of compilling failures. (aprx 2 years ago)

I keep learning everyday.

5 - 6 times, i have complied kernal for gentoo,

1-20, don't remember specifically how many times.

About 100 times on five or six machines.

The process is always pain in the ass when the kernel is to be compiled for an old machine with partly unknown hardware.