I've experienced quite a lot of them - but reason I got them was because I was trying to get a USB device to work via Parallel's (this was before the recent patch to allow full USB functionality).
Reminds me of the blue screen of death on Windies.
i just got my very first kernel panic. i'm telling myself not to worry as this is the first one i've gotten in six years of os x use and five computers. it's still unnerving, though.