Acknowledgments

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can- there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did. – Sarah Caldwell I have had the good fortune to know and to learn from several individuals who wittingly or otherwise contributed to this work. Foremost among these, my advisor Bill Mark. For persistently insisting on a high standard of research, writing, and clarity of thought, I am grateful. I am likewise grateful for five years of advice and encouragement. To the other members of my graduate committee, particularly Don Fussell, I am grateful for the wisdom and for making the proposal and defense among the most positive experiences of my student career. Beyond my committee, I am indebted to Jay Boisseau. He is the Ranger to my ring bearer. To Jay and to Kelly Gaither I am grateful for seven years of guidance and unfailing support. Several others have directly participated in this research, none more so than Chris Burns. Chris will (rightly) attest that one of Dante’s nine circles of Hell is reserved for systems researchers who dare to write a hardware simulator. Thoug