keeping kmod-nvidia and kernel upgrades "in sync"

[Dr. Michael J. Chudobiak]

>> > My guess is that livna hasn't caught up with the kernel yet.
>>
>> No, it hasn't. So why does yum pull in a new kernel, if kmod-nvidia
>> depends on the old kernel?
> 
> Because you're not upgrading kmod-nvidia.  The kernel has absolutely
> no dependencies on kmod-nvidia, its the other way around.

Well, yum has all the package dependency info in its metadata, so why 
can't it apply it both ways (i.e., kernel -> kmod, and kmod -> kernel)?

But more urgently: what's the best way to ensure that you don't have a 
non-functioning computer in the morning, because of a driver/kernel 
mismatch? Do I have to exclude kernel and kmod* from yum updates?

- Mike