Custom kernel confuses Update Manager's versioning

[Jaime]

Hi all.

I use a custom kernel, compiled using the "dpkg-buildpackage" method,
that installs and works perfectly. Every time I install it, however,
Ubuntu's Update Manager immediately tells me that there is an update
available for my custom kernel package.

Using the current sources, dpkg-buildpackage creates debs of the form:
linux-image-2.6.10-5-<arch>_2.6.10-34.1_i386.deb, and I install the
appropriate deb using:
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-2.6.10-5-686_2.6.10-34.1_i386.deb
Update Manager then instantly tells me that there's a new version of
this very same package available (I suspect that the comparison
mechanism is simply saying that something equal or greater than my
current version is available).

Can anyone tell me:
a) Is this due to some error in my procedure, or does everyone using
custom kernels have the same problem?
b) Is there some way to "pin" my custom kernel so that Update Manager
doesn't immediately suggest I replace it using the package available
from the repo?
c) Can I pin the package in such a way that when a "real" update becomes
available, Update Manager will *correctly* inform me about it?

Many thanks,

Jaime