You mean you can use it for punctuation, too?

A comma is as good as a semicolon to a weak sentence.

The article by Roy Peter Clark, "Good Semicolons Make Good Neighbors," was posted on Poyntner's website today. It praises the semicolon, which would probably have died off due to indifference, misuse, or ugliness except for the one practical purpose it still seems to serve: How else would we convey that we are winking?