OnQ

On Mail Flow

Back in February, both Susan and I posted about problems we were seeing with Verizon and people using Exchange to route e-mail through the Verizon smarthosts. I had several clients who were having the issues at the time, and we found workarounds, but Verizon's statements that "we didn't make any changes" rang horribly false.

Fast-forward to November 14, where I'm setting up a new SBS server for a client, and we immediately ran into the problem of not being able to send mail successfully through DNS, because he's on a dynamic IP address on Verizon's network that has been blacklisted by several groups. (don't get me started on that rant, either). So, on a whim, I decided to try and set up his Exchange server to route all outbound mail through Verizon's mail servers, just to confirm that nothing had changed.

Imagine my surprise when test messages didn't bounce back!

We sent stuff to AOL, we sent stuff to the sites that had blacklisted him, and everything we sent went through. Since I had already told him that we'd probably have to use a service like MailHop from DynDNS, when I let him know he could put the credit card back in his wallet, he was overjoyed.

A few days later, I decided to give it a go on my mail server, too, just to see. I confirmed my authentication information, made the configuration changes, and sent a couple of test messages. No dice. Since I didn't really have time to troubleshoot it further right then, I moved the settings around so mail continued to flow through MailHop (the service I opted to use).

This morning, I decided to give it a go again. I wanted to test the SMTP Auth directly, so I found a site with not only the exact commands to use, but also a command you can use in Perl to generate the Base64 auth string. I built the Auth string, then ran the test against Verizon's mail servers. Authentication worked! So I went back to re-enable the Verizon SMTP connector in my Exchange configuration when I found the reason it hadn't worked earlier - I had inadvertently fat-fingered my account name. Once I corrected that, mail started flowing out through Verizon oh so smoothly.

Now I've got a few clients I need to convert back to using Verizon for a smarthost. At least until Verizon breaks the system again.

On December 13

That's the current expected shelf date for Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed. Keep an eye on your store shelves and let me know when it actually arrives in your area.

On Recordkeeping

Would somebody tell the marketing folks at Microsoft and Verizon to look at their records before making cold calls? In the last month I've had the following phone calls from these giants of industry:

1. Verizon Online DSL has called me twice (TWICE!) to let me know that I'm eligible to sign up for DSL in my area. Helloooooo... I've had my DSL account active for nearly three years now. What's more ridiculous than my name showing up as a potential new customer in the first place (you think they could make a quick cross reference against their existing customer base, but I guess that would be too hard) is that I told the first guy that called me that I was a DSL customer already. Then, a week later, I get a SECOND call with the same sales pitch!

2. Microsoft called me today to let me know about a training class down in Houston that will help me to become a Small Business Specialist. Ummm, not only was I the first Small Business Specialist in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, I was one of, if not THE first Small Business Specialist in Texas.

Why not make use of the data you have? Or does this fall into the area of "What would you do with a brain if you had one?"

On Completion

All the proofs have been reviewed and returned, so my part in the production of this book is officially over. Nothing left but the presses.

I did find out yesterday that Sams wants to "early ship" the book, so hopefully that means it goes straight to the front of the printer queue (same terminology, different technology) and gets moving quickly.

More info as I know it...

On Proofing

Well, I'm down to the last step in the process where I have any involvement with the publication of the book - the final proof. I got the PDF copies of the book elements, and with the help of my co-authors, I've been going through and catching the last little items. Things like typos that somehow slipped through the earlier editing passes, figures that didn't get cropped exactly right, and words that you never would have used in a sentence that somehow flowed out of your fingers and into the electrons.

After having a break from working on this for a while (not to mention having surgery, etc.) I'm looking at the content again with fresher eyes, and I'm still pleased with what's been accomplished. I'm getting excited about the upcoming release (it's up for early shipment if I can get all the proofs done by Friday afternoon) and based on the presales numbers, a lot of the SBS community is, too.

Almost there, almost there...

On Release

I've been getting hammered with questions about when the book will appear on store shelves. Trust me, no one is more anxious to see the book finally hit the streets than I am, because I've been working on it for almost a year now.

So, here's the latest:

We're still hoping for a mid-December release. There are three steps left in the process: layout, proofing the layout, and printing. I've been told to expect to receive the proofs next week, and once I approve the layout, it goes off to the presses. I'm going to have several folks help me with the proofing, because I want to make sure we got it as right as we can before it goes to press. If there are any changes needed after reviewing the proofs, that will further delay printing, which will delay the release date.

As many eyes as have gone over this tome with a fine-tooth comb, I'm expecting that the proofing process will be straightforward and (hopefully) a rubber-stamp of the work that has already been done. Then I can only hope that the six weeks I've been told it takes to actually print the book is an overestimation and it won't take quite that long.

There have been A LOT of preorders for the book, which has been great news, and it's not too late to take advantage of the special that Sams is running (35% off list price and free shipping in the US). Visit http://www.samspublishing.com/smb for more information and to place your preorder, if you haven't already.

So, best case guess, the book will release around December 15. We may not see it until early January if we hit any bumps over the next couple of weeks. As soon as I know something firm, I'll post it here and other places.

On Relief (3 of 3)

The last item that hit me today was a post in a mailing list that referenced this MSN article on a new type of computer-based identity theft attack. It's a type of Trojan that only activates when you browse to a bank site, and it's whole job in life is to grab your on-line bank username and password information and send it off to the bad guys.

But while I was reading it, I was relieved because it didn't apply to me 100%. Because I'm primarily a Mac user.

Now, I'm not trying to incite another unnecessary platform war - I'm a platform agnostic. I used PCs when it makes sense to use PCs, I use Macs when it makes sense to use Macs, and I use other systems (like my UNIX-based web hosting sites) when it makes sense to do those.

But 95% of my daily computer use is from my Mac, so I don't have to worry about this particular threat, or most of these types of threats in general. I'm still very aware of them when I'm using my PCs, but I don't access any online accounts of any kind using a PC. For this exact reason.

I still keep abreast of these threats (which is why I subscribe to many of the mailing lists that I do) for my clients so that I can be proactive in making sure they're protected. But when I don't have to focus as much time on making sure my personal computing platform of choice is free of this crap, I can devote more brain cycles to more important issues, like making sure my clients are protected.

Am I suggesting that everyone run out and buy a Mac to avoid this type of problem? Heck no. But if you’re already thinking about looking to the Mac for other reasons, here's another one to add to the list.

Do you still have to be aware of security issues on the Mac? Absolutely. But the volume of threats to the Mac pales in comparison to the threats to Windows systems, so staying aware and up to date with the latest information takes far less effort.

So instead of scanning my PCs to see if I've succumbed to this particular threat today, I've instead been able to take the time to write this post. Just another reason I'm happy to be multi-lingual.

On Relief (2 of 3)

This is the big one. Some of you know of the health issues I've been dealing with this past month. Basically, October sucked, and November isn't starting off much better. But, the situation is improving, and should get back to normal in the weeks to come.

Here's the full story:

Three weeks ago, I had a small abdominal pain as I was going to sleep Monday night. I remember the night clearly, as it was the night the Astros should have won the NLDS but instead had a massive 9th inning meltdown that let the Cardinals force a game 5. Anyway, the pain started about 9:30 that night, and never went away. Instead, it got more and more intense, so at 3:30am, when I could no longer stand it, I woke my wife and had her take me to the ER. A few hours and blood tests later, they diagnosed pancreatitis. I was admitted for a 23-hour observation where I was kept on IV fluids and painkillers, and couldn't eat. I also had a sonogram done, which showed that I was not pregnant but did have some "interesting" stuff around my gall bladder. Apparently, it wasn't enough to justify a CAT scan at that point, but it was determined that if the pain didn't subside or if my blood work didn’t improve, I'd get the scan to see what else was wrong.

A day and a half later, I was released because the pain went away and my blood work improved. Two days of liquid diet later, I started eating "real" food again, but was advised to avoid really fatty foods for a while, in case there was a problem with the gall bladder.

Now I've tried to blame this on my brother, but it really comes back on to me. I went to a Halloween party at my brother's place last Friday night, and even though we ate dinner before we went, I had a slice of pizza while at the party. Oh boy.

So, at 3:30am Saturday morning, the pancreas woke me up again. This time I knew exactly what it was, and didn't wait around to see if it would "go away". I had my wife take me back to the ER, and started the process again. This time, I got a CAT scan immediately (that entire process was less than 15 minutes from the time the gurney wheels were unlocked in the ER until I got back into the room - wow) and it clearly showed gallstones causing blockage. The diagnosis was easy - the gall bladder had to come out, and right then.

That's when the story stops going smoothly. Apparently "right then" to the ER physicians doesn't mean "right then" to the surgical staff. For several hours, we went round and round with the hospital about when the surgery would be performed (after they admitted me, mind you), before they finally agreed to release me and deal with scheduling the surgery later in the week. Then about 5 minutes later, I got word that I'd be going under at 7am on Sunday morning. That should have clued me in to what was going to happen for the rest of the process.

I finally met with the surgeon around 8:30pm Saturday night, and he explained the process and said they'd be by to pick me up at 6:45 the next morning. 6:45 came and went. 7:00 came and went. 7:30 came and went. Finally, about 8:00, they put me on a surgical gurney and wheeled me downstairs to the OR. Which was getting a semi-annual inventory of equipment. So I chatted with one of the OR nurses for about 45 minutes, and they wheeled me into the OR proper. The anesthesiologist was a cool guy, and we started having this great conversation, then nothing.

The next thing I remember, and fortunately I only remember it very hazily now, is screaming in pain. Yes, screaming. Not complaining, not writhing, screaming. And I remember it took a long time before that vague memory faded into me coming to back in my hospital room. No pain, but very hazy and very drugged. My liquid diet breakfast was already on the tray over my bed, and I was starving, so I wolfed that down (it's amazing how good chicken broth can taste and how much you look forward to another serving of the stuff) with no hesitation. As advised by everyone in my family, I go up to walk as soon as I could, and after the obligatory trip to the bathroom, I think I made a trip to the door before heading back to bed.

The rest of Sunday went smoothly, with one exception. Around 9pm, my IV infused, and because I was doing so well with pain management, I asked them not to put it back in (I absolutely abhor getting an IV - that's the worst part of the entire experience for me, bar none). Instead, I took oral pain meds and went off to sleep. Earlier in the evening, the surgeon cleared me for release, but I opted to stay the night just in case. I'd rather be in the hospital if I had complications.

At 1:30 the nightmare started. Not a dream, but the real-world incarnation of one. I got up to hit the bathroom again (IV fluids will do that to you, as will a liquid diet), and I could barely walk. By the time I got back into the bed, I had already run for the nurse to bring pain meds, and I was remembering again the screaming in pain episode that immediately followed the surgery and prayed I was not in for another round of that. Over the next 5 hours, we tried a variety of oral meds and finally got a nurse in to try and start an IV to get a dose of Morphine. Unfortunately, that started the vomiting (which felt really good on the surgically-altered abdominal muscles), and when they tried to push in some anti-nausea medicine, that IV caused the vessel to burst. For the next 30 minutes, another nurse tried six different times to get an IV started and my vessels burst on every attempt, so I finally said "Enough!" and put the IV trip to rest.

After a consult with the surgeon, I got a "regular" shot of a pain reliever and some more orals, and after a bit, the pain finally subsided to a tolerable level. I was able to get out of bed and move around with only minor difficulty, but kept at it to make sure I could keep my system going. The rest of the day Monday was pretty much the same - not much pain (more of a really strong ache) that worsened around time for more meds, but got better pretty quickly. At the end of the day, we again had the option of checking out, and this time I accepted the release. I could give myself pain meds on a more regular schedule than the floor nurses, and since I had no IV and could get no more IV meds, there really wasn't much point. So I came home and for the next 18 hours did the routine of waking up every four hours to take pain meds and handle other bodily functions, then go back to sleep.

We had been monitoring my temperature every time I took my meds because I had been running a low-grade fever since the operation. I'd had an earlier scare where my temperature jumped to 101.3 degrees during the day on Monday, but that only lasted a couple of hours, and eventually went back down to the 99.7 level and fluctuated within a half a degree of that point the remainder of my hospital stay. When we checked my temp at 11 Tuesday morning, however, it had jumped to over 102. Granted, I had been wearing sweats in bed under several blankets, but we were concerned nonetheless. I took a tepid shower and a dose of Tylenol, and within a few hours, the temperature subsided. I never got chills, so I wasn't too worried about it, but we called my physician and he prescribed an oral antibiotic in case I was developing a lung infection from the anesthesia.

Tuesday afternoon, I started getting up and around, just because I was tired of staying in bed. So we went upstairs (which was less painful than I expected and, had I known that, would have done so sooner) and started getting caught up on our backlog of recorded TV. A one point we went for a walk down the block (only about four houses in each direction actually), but the weather was really nice, and it felt good to get outside again.

I turned in around 9pm and went straight to sleep. And straight into nightmares. I knew I was dreaming, but the dream was so vivid and real that at one point I thought I had managed to wake myself, but found that I couldn't move my arms. I tried to call for help, but couldn't speak. Then the nightmare world enveloped me again, until I found myself getting grilled about commitments I hadn't remembered making to any deity and had definitely not kept, and the realization that I was dead (or dying) and was being grilled about my entrance into heaven was not going well at all, and I started trying to thrash around to hopefully wake up my wife who would hopefully wake me up in turn, but to no avail. I had lost my connection with the real world and was in this very different reality of what my afterlife would look like when my PDA sounded the new e-mail alert notification, which was enough to wake me up fully.

I had never been so glad to hear that e-mail beep in my life. And never have I been so terrified about trying to go back to sleep, either. At that point, I swore off the narcotic-based pain relievers and switched over to a combination of Tylenol and Advil to manage the pain. I finally went back to sleep, and only had mildly weird dreams the rest of the night.

Wednesday was a setback because of the change in pain meds. Tylenol and Advil are candy compared to what I had been taking, so I was back to dealing with pretty severe pain around the time to take the pills again, so instead of trying to take care of all tasks around the time to take the pills, I modified my schedule to hit the loo about midway through the 4-hour pain pill cycle and managed to finally get somewhat comfortable in that pattern.

Today was the first day that I really began feeling close to human again since the second ER trip. I'm sticking to my four-hour schedule of Tylenol and Advil, and I've made sure I got up to walk around the house and the front yard about midway through the cycle of pain meds. I’ve been able to sit in my office chair for an hour or so at a time, and many of my clients began to realize I was back in "action" and I fielded a few support calls. I got caught up on billing, and started getting caught up on e-mail. I quickly decided I'd never wade through the stuff in the SBS newsgroup, so if there is something interesting in there, hopefully someone will point it out to me.

But I can finally see the light at the end of this tunnel. I slept better last night than the night before, and I expect the same from tonight. My abdominal aches are minimizing, and I'm starting to eat solid foods again (saltines, how I love thee). And knowing that much of the abdominal discomfort I've been dealing with for probably a year or more was directly related to the gall stones the found (and removed), I'm looking forward to feeling much better physically in the next month or so as I build my stamina back. I know I won't have the type of pain I dealt with during the recovery again, and my mobility and flexibility are improving by the hour.

There is one last item of regret, however, through all of this. In the 14+ days that I have either not eaten or been on a liquid diet, I have not shed a single, solitary pound. So if you're thinking that pancreatitis and gall bladder surgery might make an effective weight-loss plan, think again.

And whoever first said "No pain, no gain" should be drawn and quartered.

On Relief (1 of 3)

This is kind of a catch-up post, because I've been inactive in posting for a while, as you'll read about shortly. Anyway, three thins have happened recently that have all given me a sense of relief, and since I've got a bit of a breather to post, well, here they are, in no particular order.

I'll start with the simplest - my USB key. I started carrying a USB key about a year ago just to have a little extra space to grab some small data and whatnot in case I needed something. About three months ago, I upgraded to a 1GB key, which has been invaluable. I also carry a set of bootable CDs with me to client sites when I need to do troubleshooting or malware scanning, but seeing as how I'm lazy, I don't burn a new CD that has the latest version of anti-virus and anti-spyware tools on it. Instead, I have a bootable CD with USB drivers and keep the dynamic data on my USB key.

So imagine my horror when I left my USB key in my pants pocket as I put them in to the wash.

Somehow, I remembered that the key was in my pocket before I moved the load to the dryer. I pulled the key from the washer and it appeared to be intact (I got one of the LG keys that has the retractable USBN connector, so it wasn't physically damaged in the rinse cycle), but I still shook out a good bit of water out of it, considering it size.

Then I waited. Two weeks to be exact.

Last night, before giving up the ghost, I plugged it into my Mac Mini, and lo and behold, not only did it recognize the device, all the data was still there and readable! Now I don't recommend washing a USB key as standard practice, but it looks like I dodged a bullet on that one.