Are you a Gmail advocate? There are a number of us out there, and even though the ubiquitous ‘BETA’ moniker refuses to get taken down, it’s pretty much a polished product. If you’d like to be able to fly through your inbox using shortcuts and impress all of your friends (all 2 of them who might care) then check out this article outlining a few simple methods for using essential keystrokes.

Being a curious person, I fired up Gmail to try some of these out. Something I had to discover is that you need to enable the shortcut option from your Settings to make some of these work. Others need a handy extension that is available for some browsers. The author doesn’t make note of this, so keep it mind.

Some default shortcuts include a few that you’ll probably use more than any other. Letters J and K can be used to get through your list, while hitting Enter will open the message. A commenter points out that the letter X checks the box. Two more that I found particularly helpful reveal that hitting R will reply (when viewing a message) and hitting Shift+3 (#) will trash it.

Pretty useful tips if you’re a Gmail junkie looking for a quick fix!

The Hump is one of many trendy foodie outposts in environmentally-conscious Santa Monica, California.  However, a sting operation conducted by the producers of the Oscar-winning short “The Cove,” about the annual dolphin kill in Japan, revealed that The Hump’s airport location has been serving meat from an endangered animal in its sushi.  The Hump’s head […]

Charles L. Stewart’s religious practices are a bit strange.  He claims that, as part of his religion, he had to illegally import a dangerously invasive species of Giant African Snail so as to protect his followers from illnesses.  Stewart, from Hialeah, Florida, maintains that drinking the mucus from living snails is a common practice to […]

Sometimes it’s really, really hard not to make a Polish joke.  For example, when a Polish guy robs a bank with a spoon.  Or, in this case, when a Polish great-grandmother gets banned from riding her bicycle after biking around while drunk.  However, while the concept is funny, the penalty is not.   Keystyna Patycka, a […]

On the remote island of Svalbard, Norway, is the most genetically-diverse spot on planet Earth.  The island itself isn’t the most pleasant place; in fact, it’s a miserable, frozen rock above the Arctic Circle where the only wandering life is polar bears.  However, dug into the side of Platåberget Mountain is the Doomsday Vault.  Better […]

I’m not sure what to blame for this one.  The recession?  The fact that nobody uses cash anymore?  The fact that she robbed what sounds to me like a little bodega?  Take your pick.  Either way, a woman in Thermal, California went to a lot of effort for very little reward.  She used a semiautomatic […]

After one too many close calls with a screeching, honking car, Peter Smith had officially had enough.  Tired of eating dust and getting cursed at by angry drivers, the dedicated bicycle rider from Austin, Texas, started circulating a petition.  Over 2 years and 50,000 signatures later, and he finally achieved his dream:  Google Maps has […]

Normally at this time of year, Wilbraham Park in West Cape May, New Jersey is a pretty depressing place.  It’s still at the tail-end of winter there, so everything’s dark and dreary and generally not the most pleasant to look at.  Of course, when spring comes, everything will be green again, but until then someone […]