n.
- A more direct route than the customary one.
- A means of saving time or effort.
Seems to me like shortcuts are useful things. And that is what this blog will hopefully be about - things or methods, just about anything that fits into the definition above.
Thanks to computers we mainly use that word now as a reference to handy key combinations which relief us from the effort of clicking with the mouse three or four times.
And sometimes we mean that we have found a hidden path for our way to work which allows us to be there 20 minutes earlier (or rather means that we can sleep 20 minutes longer).
I'd like to enlarge the meaning a bit:
What about this new software that enables us to syncronize our cell phone adress book with our computer, meaning we don't have to type them twice?
What about microwaves?
What about suitcases with wheels?
Are those things "shortcuts"? I think so. They all save time and/or effort and where certainly a different if not more direct route then the customary one at the time.
Particulary interesting for me are the shortcuts that individual people make or find for themselves and normally no one knows about except friends and family. My brother is a good example: He made a beautiful knife holder for his kitchen just by screwing a long piece of dense styrofoam underneath his kitchen cabinet. It works great - the knifes are always handy and safe and the whole thing costs 3 bucks. Plus it looks quite stylish - just a long and thin stripe. I'll post a picture when I get one.
I start here a little collection of all things which make life a bit easier and can be by all means called "shortcuts".
My first recommendation around that topic is this blog:
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/
It's about articles in science magazines. Some weird, some astounding, some plain cool.
