if it's ok with you the priority will be on people with linux kernel / u-boot (etc.) experience
Understandable, that seems to be what you need the most at this point.
well, "sysadmin" to me says "clearly capable of trusting and following written instructions to the letter" which surprisingly, from my brother's experience as a teacher, is a rare skill: he found that many of the kids just totally locked up and froze, and were literally incapable of following step-by-step written instructions, even when verbally prompted as to what to do.
Previous to my current position I worked in Linux customer support, so... I'm unfortunately quite familiar with that behavior. :) Sometimes it's a result of making hidden assumptions in the instructions though, when you have enough experience with something you'll make mental leaps that someone without exposure to the material might not.
they don't... but i have some casework sets. the primary thing to make absolutely sure when putting them on is: (a) get the plastic part on the right way up (as it tells the PCMCIA socket which pin is which) and (b) make absolutely sure that there's yellow insulating stickers on the inside, and that they're not damaged in any way. also bear in mind they're hell to take off again...but that you really shouldn't need to.
Sounds good to me - if you can find more people with kernel/u-boot experience they can jump ahead of me, but let me know if the prototypes aren't all accounted for and I'm in for one.