Using shortcuts is something I haven't thought of at all, but it's elegant! There are times when I can't decide where something should go, and there have been times when I've looked for something in multiple places. I'm unsure what you mean by having a script to check for directories, do you have to recheck the organizational structure of your directory?
My only experience with experience with linux was to distrohop to see the differences between them. It was finals week and my procrastination took me through Ubuntu, Mint, Bodhi, and Crunchbang, and I'm sure the MD5 checksum is something I've seen while installing these things. I never really got it. I learned how to drive manual last week, and I was surprised at how many things I've taken for granted driving automatic. I have an idealized romanticism with driving manual and just wanted to take it on. Is this similar to why you would check for a collision that according to this is likely never going to happen to you?