:-)
I set /var's options to include noatime and while I was there, added noexec. I mean, you don't put anything executable in /var do you?
Well, yes, actually. /var/lib (which has /var/lib/dpkg). Amongst other things, this is The Place to put a range of miscellany that I discovered a few months ago when a MySQL database was installed over in there.
I wonder how many other long-time unix people have stumbled on that quirk...
Wade.