@captainbob: My youngest son (he's 21 now) was doing the same thing. It was a terrible habit that he picked up from his peers. I brought it to his attention and it literally took about 2 years before he eliminated it from his speaking. It wasn't until he left his trade school training and went into the work force (he's an electrician) that it completely went away. He actually came back home during the holidays and mentioned that he never even noticed it until I had told him about it and thanked me! Just goes to show that we are impacted by our surroundings more than we might even realize ourselves.