How can I light charcoal faster?
This bugged me for a long time, and I assumed that there were better ways.  And there are!  Mostly notably you want to introduce the coals to more of your friend, Mr. Oxygen!
Plight of firefighters everywhere and friend of blacksmiths, increased oxygen will start the coals much much faster.  Three easy ways to accomplish this:


Hairdryer!  Just hook up your hairdryer and blow it on the coals. Beware the ash and cinders that get blown about!  You'll still need the paper to light though.

Vacumm cleaner in reverse! My shopvac, for example, can be a blower and will put the hairdryer to shame in terms of volume.  Beware the ash and cinders that get blown about!  You'll still need the paper to light though.
Specialized bbq tools like this one.  They have that advantage of being heat proof and also starting the coals with super hot air, but the long term reliability and price have always kept me from purchasing.


Personally, the hairdryer is the easiest and shaves the time down to just a few minutes.