generic cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol (that's the stuff you get in cd-cleaning kits, kids) is the best sensor cleaning combo.

i discovered this today as i managed to get a tiny spec of grease (don't ask me how) on the sensor of my new camera.
2 attempts later and i had successfully smeared it over the top half of the sensor.
needless to say it showed up BAD in shots, and at this point in time i was rather freaking out about ruining my camera.
worried that i'd have to take it to a service sensor and probably fork out $100 for a professional clean, i had one more shot.

20 seconds later, absolutely spotless.

so here's how it works;

dampen one end of a swab with the alcohol.
set your camera to manual sensor cleaning mode thing, so the mirror flips up and the shutter opens.
run the swab from edge to edge over the sensor (don't forget the corners) - the swab will leave little trails of alcohol on the surface that quickly turn to beads.
use the dry end of the swab to soak up the remaining beads of alcohol.

the only concerns i have about this is the possibility of isopropyl alcohol reacting with the coatings on the hotmirror.
from hunting around i've found that it's most likely ITO (indium tin oxide). any chem nerds want to look into this for me? tanji?

anyway, i hope this helps a few of you out there with dust/grease problems.
you can buy isopropyl alcohol in 45/250/ml bottles at radioparts for less than a cd cleaning kit.

in other news, i really want to have some big shoot soon.