AVR-Chat

I am new to the world of Atmel chips.  I am a long time PIC 
programmer looking to expand my horizons.

I purchased a Butterfly with a specific project in mind but I am a 
bit confused and looking through the archives did not help much. I am 
using AVR Studio 4.13 and WinAVR.

I would like to avoid using the bootloader to load my code.  I am 
using the RS232 port and swaping cables every time I want to load 
code is a pain.

As far as I can tell I cannot use the AVR RISP to program the 
Butterfly.  Apparently the RISP cannot detect if the host (Butterfly) 
has power -- a feature to protect the Butterfly's battery?  Since I 
already have a (USB) RSIP MKII I was wondering if I can safely fake 
out the RSIP and make it think the host has power?  Would a 
Butterfly / Butterfly carrier / RSIP combo work?
 
I am also a bit confused on JTAG debuggers.  It appears that a 
Butterfly / Butterfly carrier / Ecros Ice Cube combo will work just 
fine.  Will a Butterfly connected directly to an Ice Cube work? -- or 
do I need to provide external power to the Butterfly for the Ice Cube 
to work.

Thanks in advance for any help on such a basic question.

-Mike