I do have minicom installed, so I'll give that a whirl... good call 
as for kermit.. wow that brings back memories, not all fond 
but I'll spark that one up too and see which one I like better.
I found a python serial modual which gives me all sorts of scripting capabilities that I didn't think of before, I'll report back if I have any success.
(ps, my arduino is shipping right now)
Ray