I do agree, but my example is intended to illustrate that neither option always decreases ambiguity. I tend to agree that use of the Oxford comma tends to decrease ambiguity. But I am against hard-and-fast rules.

The overloading of commas in both lists and dependent clauses is the root cause of the Oxford comma debate. I blame Victorian grammarians. (I blame all grammar issues on Victorian grammarians.) 

So long as we assume words don’t need to make sense, I completely agree with you.

Yes, good writing requires an understanding of what is, and is not, clear. It does not require mindless application of non-universal “rules.”

(And before someone replies that reordering the list would remove ambiguity in my example, the same holds true for the statue at issue in the article.)

Use of the Oxford comma can, of course, also create ambiguity. Consider the dedication:

Fresh bay leaves and dried bay leaves are not the same plant. Dry are the bay laurel tree, generally imported from Turkey. Fresh are from the “California bay” tree.

As usual, the internet is way ahead of me: http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2015/05/easy-creme-brulee.html

I’m going to try this. Might be a while, but I’ll try to get back to you.

These would be much easier with a Spinzall...

I’ll check that for the next project. Thanks! For what it’s worth, I ended up using my router to get a perfect line cut. A bit silly but it worked great.

Perhaps you mean Oregon? WA does indeed have sales tax.

Not quite what you requested, but close: http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/video-the-great-kitchen-experiment-with-the-f.html

Are they more interested in finding the most persuasive speaker, or in finding the candidate that has the best ideas for the country?

I just meant that plugging in the Unifi AP into a LAN port of your old router (and disabling the old AP in the router) gives a nice upgrade to wireless without effecting other attributes. Yes, if you’re router can’t keep up with your ISP speed, you need to upgrade. But at least in the U.S. (where I am), it’s fairly…

I just meant that plugging in the Unifi AP into a LAN port of your old router (and disabling the old AP in the…

If you’re interested in the details of home networking, do yourself a favor and upgrade to a business-level access point, like this one. Better speed, more reliable, cheaper. It’s not a router (you can use your old box for that). This is for the type of person that likes to tinker with DD-WRT, not people who just want…

If you’re interested in the details of home networking, do yourself a favor and upgrade to a business-level access…

Let them rest for 15 minutes before scrambling to let the salt do it’s magic. The eggs will darken noticeably. Credit to Kenji at the Food Lab and his excellent book for this tip.

This infographic is overly cautious. Most foods store for at least 5 days, and some much longer (salsas, for example, should keep for at least a couple of weeks). Similarly, food doesn’t need to be reheated to 165 degrees F to be safe—in many cases, it was never cooked that hot to begin with!

Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional (NV356E) got more votes than either... Yes, it retails for over $150 right now, but the Shark featured here also commonly does. And both regularly drop under $150. (I’m admittedly biased, as it was my recommendation).

Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional (NV356E) got more votes than either... Yes, it retails for over $150 right…

This is on the line, price-wise, but I’m going to recommend the:

This is on the line, price-wise, but I’m going to recommend the: