Minecraft Machines. There are all kinds of cool moving machines you can make with redstone. You can even send storage minecarts along the track to transport items.
The idea seems to have caught on as a number of variations on the useless machine have hit reddit recently. There are all kinds of cool moving machines you can make with redstone. Rc helicopter for minecraft.
Build minecart tracks between your house your mine and wherever else you venture.
These systems are built from simple components and normally involve some kind of user input such as breaking a torch which generates some kind of result like a door being revealed. There are all kinds of cool moving machines you can make with redstone. A full legend is on the mcredstonesim schematics page. Escalators and elevators are some popular and easy builds.