Turn my back for a minute and the thread springs back to life. So far, I'm confident that:

-- I have not and never will develop a close physical relationship with my bike (ass on seat excepted)

-- It's definitely my drivetrain

-- I'm probably using my chain cleaner thing too frequently (glad to ease off that)

thanks for the replies and humor - I'm going to wait for my next cleaning then switch materials and see if it makes a difference