How to install Saucy when I don't have a DVD-Drive

I am dismayed that Ubuntu releases are now too big for a CD; still, I thought I could do it with NetInstall.

So far, it's just a phupd duck.

One way or another, I'm going to need to work from D-I. Of course, that's how it turned into a duck.

I see that part of D-I is 'iso-scan.' If that works, I can put the full-sized iso on my hard disk and go with that.
SO, the first question is: can I put the ISO in what will become my "/home" partition (SDA5)? Will iso-search look there? At the root of the partition? (hda5)/ubuntu-xyz.iso? Or, can I put it in a subdirectory of the root?

For future reference, If I dig a bit, I learn that GRUB can boot from an ISO if it is in "(grubroot)/grub/iso/". The grub instructions show it mounted as "loop1," but that will run into immediate problems if what I'm booting is an installer. The installer expects to find its own components in "/cdrom" [HEY, WHY NOT HAVE IT LOOK IN "/installer"?? ] This technique, however, runs into another problem. The installer warns me that "The partition containing /boot is not marked for formatting. System directories in this partition will be deleted ..." So far as I can tell, there is no reason on earth to blow away the "/boot" directory! '/bin' /lib' and even '/etc,' yes; but not /boot. Does the installer actually blow away /boot? If it does, is there any point in my filing a bug to say "please don't?"

There are notes in the D-I source about taking note of an existing configuration -- certain files in /etc, mostly. Like fstab, passwd, group, adduser.conf. Probably a few more. But, I don't see any such action taking place when I run mini.iso.
Are these simply plans the D-I designer hasn't gone anywhere with?

Anyway, Thanks in Advance to anyone who reads this. It's long winded, but it is near midnight and I'm stressed by this.
--
David A. Cobb -- Computing Dinosaur