Heh, I didn't know about the hybrid ISO... always used bootstrap. I'll probably keep doing it this way just because. However, in a pinch, that's pretty cool.
BTW, is there a command to see if an ISO can be dd'd to a drive like that and work? Ie, if I download the latest puppy, or slack, or or cent, or vyatta, or bill and Ted's most excellent linux distro ISO image, is there a better way to find out than just testing to see?