I find SloSmoking contests to be very Zen, despite no expectation of conventional enjoyment due to having to break in the (usually) new pipe - an exercise I dread in of itself - and often having to suffer through a blend that I might not normally puff. Concentration is paramount, and I find the exercise much like meditation. As to deciding when the last literal puffs are extant, the most rigorous technique is actually a team effort: once at a Chicago event, the great pipe carver Manduela, who is a frequent winner of the women's division, thought she was out, but looking closely I could see the tiniest whifts when she exhaled. We got her through another 2 minutes or so, but that was enough to advance her place in the standings.
With the discovery of our new team technique, she returned the favor. A year later, a piper approached me and asked who was that woman who was so rudely in my face at the previous contest. The examination in this technique would have the observer centimeters away from the puffer's mouth, so the social distance is exceedingly short. He was surprised that the 'rude woman' was actually doing me a very generous favor.
hp
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