A series in search of commas

That makes my heart race, my lungs constrict, and my blood pressure rise.

Let's just say that the Institute makes full use of the aserial comma, shall we?

Serial Killer

Some say that deep within each of us lies a potential killer who could be released given the right set of circumstances.

Upon waking this morning, I found tangible evidence of that on the writing pad I keep next to my bed. Evidently I had done some automatic writing during the night.

comm·a·tose

Pronunciation: ˈkah-mə-tōs
Function: adjective
Etymology: French comateux, from Greek kōmat-, kōma
Date: 2009
1 : characterized by lethargic inertness (The commatose editor reached a point where he didn't have the wherewithal to decide whether to insert or delete commas in the book he was editing.)

And how, you might ask, did I come down with this affliction?

First, the style at my FT job is to use the serial (aka Harvard or Oxford) comma.

Second, one of freelance employer's style uses the serial, the other doesn't.

Third, some style guides give it a thumbs up, others don't, and still others don't even have a thumb.

Such a tiny little punctuation mark, yet so problematic.