[ubuntu-uk] Newcomer to ubuntu - some questions.

[John]

Just upgraded to Edgy. 
        
        1. How can I get verbose boot messages back?
        2. How can I stop the various "removable" drives (my hard
        drives) from
        being displayed on the desktop?
        3. Is there an available kernel, optimised for AMD64 processors?
        
        Some more questions will undoubtedly follow soon :) I am a
        devoted
        PCLinuxOS user but am trying out Ubuntu to see what all the
        "fuss" is
        about ;)