I don't know, I kinda like the semicolon parenthesis combination (although I guess putting the semicolon after the parentheses makes a little more sense). Then again, I'm a wild and crazy punctuation rebel.

Last night, I was editing a cover letter for my mother, in which she had a double comma (to wit: "...the magazine,, and said..."). I jokingly asked if she meant it to be a really long pause.