Yep Good eye again Nem
Have you tried a stepped ramp mapped in the U or V direction?
Also, if you convert it to polys, just like Nem said with Nurbs, you can select one of the poly edges, and then go into the polygon menu under mapping, I think, and change the selection to "Contiguious" <--sp?
This will select a Contiguious edge loop that will allow you to expand your selection downwards, or upwards to select a particular side.
Israel "Izzy" Long
Motion and Title Design for Broadcast-Film-DS
izzylong.com