21
Oct
0

Just 2 wishes

I don’t have 3 wishes today, just 2.

1. My Firefox quick search for amazon.com broke recently (aka Firefox Smart Keywords). I used to use the URL http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=blended&field-keywords=%s and now that is a “400 Bad Request”. Apparently it has been broken since September, according to the mozillaZine support forum >> Quick Search for Amazon not working. Help?

[update: Fixed, thanks to radicalcongruency. I now use this URL for Firefox Quick Search to search amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?keyword=%s&mode=blended&tag=djchuang]

2. I write comments on other blogs. I’d like to find my way back to those blogs, and to see if the blog author or others have responded or referred to my comments. Several great blog search engines are around for finding blog posts — used to be only Technorati and BlogPulse, then there was IceRocket. Now there’s Google’s and Yahoo’s. But, how do I find comments I’ve made elsewhere? (this’d be great to go with my wish for a smarter integrated Web search)

Leave a comment — start a conversation:
  1. Charlie 21 Oct, 2005

    Amen to your second wish. I’m always thinking, “now where did I make that comment?” Think of it as electronic breadcrumbs, ala Hansel and Gretel. Maybe someday.

  2. dlw 21 Oct, 2005

    I wrote an entire post based in reaction to some comments you made at the Anti-Manicheist, not long ago.

    dlw

  3. Matt Anderson 21 Oct, 2005

    Man, Hallelujah to #2! Someone please make this happen–I’ve been thinking this for a while.

    Don’t reply–I’ll probably forget where I posted this comment.

  4. Justin Baeder 22 Oct, 2005

    1. That stinks. Here’s a painfully easy fix:
    a. Right-click (in Firefox) on the Amazon search box on your website (immediately to the left of this post’s comments).
    b. Select “Add a keyword for this search”, and fill in the keyword and name you want to use
    c. Done!

    2. Kottke does this at http://www.kottke.org/afield and it’s very slick, but I have no idea how he does it. Pure genius.

Post your comment