I tried lsmod before/after/during and there are no drivers that mention USB at all and no changes in the list.
One thing that was a little different: When I plugged my key into to hub its led flashed but didn't connect - last time it did nothing and then hung the ability to make any USB device to work. But removing the hub and plugging it in directly into the NIT everything worked and I didn't have to reboot.
It seems there is something that is intermittent - in the timing or voltage perhaps.
Is there a module that gets loaded with the USB? I can't even see the USB control program when I run top - unless it is named something different and not obvious. maybe "osso-media-server"???