NOTES FROM DOGTOWN'S DOG POUND (Or, GRAMMAR NAZISM)

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[DOG POUND NOTES are simply random thoughts, ideas, and maxims that have occurred to me. I am totally convinced of the merit of some of them. Others may merely be food-for-thought or even outright Doggy Doo-Doo. I'll let you guess as to how I categorize each of them.]
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No, I am not a "Grammar Nazi". I can't afford to be, as my own grammar is not good enough for that.
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Nevertheless, I do have a grammar pet peeve. And that is when people say or write "I could care less" when what they should be saying or writing is: "I couldn't care less".
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Not only is "I could care less" wrong, but it is 180-degrees wrong (literally, as wrong as it could possibly be), expressing the EXACT OPPOSITE of what the person really means to convey. There's just no excuse for that. And especially when it comes (as it frequently does) from professional writers and commentators. Start paying attention to how often people get it wrong, including people who make their livings using words, and you will be shocked inside of one month. 
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Although this does not rise to the level of a pet peeve for me, another thing I've become painfully aware of is how often people say or write "BY THE WAY" ("BTW"), when what they really ought to be saying or writing is "INCIDENTALLY". Or even nothing at all.
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There is no rule stating that you may not move on to a new topic without preceding it with an essentially superfluous remark like "By the way" or "Incidentally". 
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However, if you do wish to include an introductory remark or word, you should not be using "By the way" unless what you are about to say really is somehow related to something that was just expressed. "By the way" means that we are... by the way... or "in the neighborhood" of something that we were just discussing. There should be some shared idea or mood between what was just said and what you are now about to say if you are going to begin with "By the way,..."
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"Incidentally" can be used to begin a new topic, if the new topic is not really related to anything that came before it. Or, if you'd prefer to save your breath or wear and tear on your fingers, you can just launch into the new topic without any introductory expression or word at all. "By the way" and "Incidentally" are really just conversational traditions that are mere ornaments; they are not at all necessary.
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Lastly, I want to say that I cringe every time someone says, writes / texts "K" instead of "OK". Have we really reached a point where we're going to "dumb down" OK to K, just to save the trouble of saying or typing a single letter? WTP?! (I'll spare y'all the lecture on why "OK" should, technically, really be written as "O.K.", O.K.?) 
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What's next? Just leaving half a parenthesis for a smiling face -- ) -- because adding a colon or semicolon for the eyes -- : ; -- is just way too time-consuming?!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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