Jolie Christine Rickman

It's time again to highlight a singer that is totally overlooked. I started listening to Jolie Christine Rickman about five years ago after being lent her CD Sublime Detonation. That cd was a joyful folk-music experience, like Dar Williams, but quirkier. Jolie's voice is expressive, and the music, while rooted in folk, is creative and sustains the listener's interest. Standout songs are "Out of Air" and "Fly", both songs about the power of individuality. "Fly" especially is a song I can listen to on repeat, getting carried away by the mandolin backing.
Jolie's themes are personal("Being Small"), political("Love Song for Newt", an anti-Gingrich song), and humorous("I Don't Speak Lithuanian", a wonderful song about learning and folk song from her grandmother).
Jolie's next album, Suffer to Be Beautiful, is darker and weirder but just as powerful, and also highly recommended. Definitely, check her out.

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Update: I just found out Jolie passed away on January 19, 2005 after a fight with cancer. My condolences to her family. She was a true and moving artist.

Google Desktop + Google Deskbar = ??

By now you've heard that Google has released the beta version of Google Desktop, their new tool to search your local drive, Outlook email, AIM chats, and browser history. It is a slick tool for free, and it makes Microsoft's built-in search feel like using a card catalogue.

What I haven't read in all the Google blogs is how to combine the Google Desktop with the Google Deskbar. The Deskbar sits in your taskbar and lets you do a Google search regardless of what application is open. Alone it is a pretty powerful tool. But combine it with Google Desktop, and it will completely change your computer experience.

It is pretty easy really. Once both tools are downloaded and installed, go to Google Desktop and do a search on the word "test". Copy the URL from the results. Now go to the Google Deskbar options menu, where it allows you to add customized searches. Paste the URL you had copied, and replace the word "test" with {1}. Assign it a control letter, and you're done.

Now you can instantaneously search all your files conveniently from your taskbar.

Goooooo Google! Now if they'd only come out with URL tagging tool like Yahoo My Web or del.icio.us.

Keeping America Scared

Be very afraid.

Yahoo My Web Search Bookmarklet

Here is a bookmarklet to Search Yahoo My Web. If you have a Yahoo account and have saved websites to Yahoo's My Web, this is an easy tool to search the sites and notes you have saved. In Internet Explorer, you just drag the link above up to your "Links" bar.

Special thanks to Merriam-Webster, who provided the original bookmarklet that I edited to get this.

UPDATE:
The bookmarklet above works in IE, but not Firefox. Here is the Firefox version:
Yahoo MySearch Search Bookmarklet

Yahoo pulling ahead of Google, A9, and Jeeves

Yahoo has finally come out with the tool I've been looking for, MySearch. The web has been too big for bookmarks for a long time. Google was a nice alternative--instead of bookmarking, just search for it. But that meant you had to remember what search you used to get to a particular site.
Recently, A9 and MyJeeves have come out with diary interfaces that let you store notes about webpages you visit, but A9 forces you to download an invasive toolbar (I am tired of tools that force me to install yet ANOTHER toolbar) and for MyJeeves, well, you have to use Ask Jeeves (gag).
Yahoo's new MySearch tool seems to avoid these problems. They let you store a web address and add notes about that page with a bookmarklet called Save to Y! My Web, and then you can go to My Web and categorize or search your saved URLS. Awesome.

Now when is Google going to get on it and release their competing tool?

Fair Warning For Pedestrians

Pedestrians, I know you want to jaywalk and cross against the light. That's fine, I do it to. Just realize that a bicycle is a vehicle. If I am pedaling hard to cross the intersection while MY light is green and you decide to cross in front of me, don't be surprised if I run you down.