While I think this is a very valuable resource, and patterns are always welcome by me, it should be noted that the Apache docs recommend against using .htaccess files due to the performance penalty.

From the docs (http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/howto/htaccess.html):

You should avoid using .htaccess files completely if you have access to httpd main server config file. Using .htaccess files slows down your Apache http server. Any directive that you can include in a .htaccess file is better set in a Directory block, as it will have the same effect with better performance.