Yes, that was the solution I used
This seems to be the best solution; it gives me the explicit bit pattern I'm looking for, and the explicit instruction to treat the patters as signed. Hopefully, when the first draft of the C++0x spec comes out, they will have cleaned up the spec with regards to this particular issue.
jb4
shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT