fresh install of w.warthog -- many questions, gripes

[gl34 at telus.net]

Hi all,

Why does uname -r give 2.2.19(!) when I asked specifically to install the 
2.6.8.1 kernel?

Where are the sources? /usr/src has only rpms in it, which is empty.

How do I play mp3's from the command line? X doesn't grok my Radeon9250 vid 
card yet. Working w/o tunes is a drag 8-\.

I installed in "expert" mode and expected to be able to choose what software I 
wanted but ubuntu installed a _lot_ of stuff I don't want, need or will ever 
use.

What's the safest way to uninstall the stuff I don't want?

I was told I could su to a root console. Wrong! I had to reboot as single 
user. And I couldn't use the install CD, had to turn to my trusty slackware.

Dmesg has lots of "neighbour table overflow". What's that?

On boot I get a lot of "cdrom failed to open" messages. What's up with that?

Topsy-turvy! Suddenly I find ls produces color console o/p as root but _not_ 
as user. What's going on there?

Shouldn't I have a bunch of (dot) files in /home to tweak stuff with?

rgrds,

blissfix