How about a small button at the top of each threat that takes you to the newest post since your last visit? Many forums have this feature and if it can be implemented here, than I don't see why we don't have it. It's really usefull for long topics.
An alternate or second button could take you to the last post you yourself made in the topic. That would be useful too. I find myself wasting time scrolling around looking for the last place my author icon shows up, which is ungainly and of course, as mentioned, time consuming.
So, can it be done in these forums?