All this conversation really seems to beg one question, which may be
obvious to everyone else, but I figure I ought to ask it anyway.

Is there a plan to move from the biglock to fine-grained locking?

If not then we should shelve this conversation.

If yes, then perhaps our time is better spent trying to figure out how
to achieve *that* goal first, then worry about optimization details.

-- 
Garrett D'Amore                          http://www.tadpolecomputer.com/
Sr. Staff Engineer          Extending the Power of 64-bit UNIX Computing
Tadpole Computer, Inc.                             Phone: (951) 325-2134