Alright, I’m considering this issue resolved and, thankfully, with nothing nefarious going on. I found a thread, here related to gmail and the problem description is identical. In particular, the comments from ‘Witekb’ are illuminating. After the jump, I have an explanation for what was going on.
NOTE: This issue has been resolved to my satisfaction, see the next post for details.
I posted yesterday about an SSL error I was getting while trying to connect to a mail server. The error hasn’t gone away, and I now see that others are also seeing problems. So I figured I’d post what I’ve done in my attempts to get a handle on what’s going on.
I’ve done a number of things to try and verify what I’m connecting to and if the error is valid or possibly a bug in fetchmail. I’m leaning more towards “valid” at the moment. Here’s what I’ve done.
Why didn’t someone tell me how great a thing the power washer is?
I cleaned the front porch yesterday. It was amazing. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of scrubbing and chemicals that would have been required in the absence of the power washer. And, in all likelihood, all that effort would not have achieved anywhere near the same result.
In speaking with the Wife last night about the remainder of the Summer schedule, I came to the realization that June had basically disappeared in the blink of an eye. It’s funny how a parent’s mind essentially conjures a new sort of time-frame based on the schedule. Time is marked by trips to classes, camps, activities, projects and trips to a friend’s house. Sprinkle in a vacation for good measure and it’s not hard to see the Fall looming. In other words, time isn’t measured in minutes but in large chunks or “busy.”
We’ve done a good job getting projects done, but there are still others to get to. Most notably, there’s a large pile of unstacked firewood and the desire to power wash and stain the back deck and front porch. With the weather turning cooler and drier, I think the deck project might jump to the forefront. Hopefully the neighbor is willing to let me borrow his power washer.
There are plenty of lesser projects as well. I’ve still got the upper half of the armoire to work on; a new coat rack and shoe container project for the front foyer; side tables for the bed room; trying to get a program to a state of satisfactory completion. I’m sure there I’ve left something out.
Whatever it is, it will have to wait. I’m booked.
Upon putting the boy to bed, each night for the past 2 years, the following exchange takes place:
the Boy: Good Night Mom!
the Wife: Good Night!
the Boy: Sleep tight!
the Wife: You too!
the Boy: Don’t let the bedbugs bite!
the Wife: You either!
the Boy: I love you!
the Wife: I love you too!
And then he repeats with myself. Sometimes I’m first and then the Wife. He’s not too picky.
The lass doesn’t have something so formalized, though she’s trying. Of late, it’s been something like:
the lass: Good Night Mom!
the Wife: Good Night!
the lass: Sleep well!
the Wife: You too!
Though she’s often content to perform this with just the Wife.
They sleep well.
Not for me, for the Wife. She has a POP email account that she’s maintained and used for years now. Being the local computer expert, I’ve setup our system so as to streamline her email experience. Basically, that means downloading her emails to a home based server and then making them available to her. The nice thing about the setup is that she can easily access her email from her laptop or desktop without worries about synchronizing.
The other benefits for her is that I get to deal with the headaches that inevitably arise. A curious one has been happening for the past couple of days.
I’ve setup my server to download from the email account using SSL. Yesterday, I started getting warnings that the downloads were unsuccessful because the name of the server on the certificate that was being sent did not match the name of the server that I’m connecting to. Curious, as the system had been working for years now without a glitch.
So I updated the certificate authority database on my server and that seemed to resolve the issue. No more warnings, until this morning.
So I got on a chat line with a Yahoo tech guy who, unfortunately, was not entirely helpful. I tried to explain to him about the names not matching between the certificate being sent by their server and the server name that I’m using to connect to. He didn’t seem to grasp that and instead had me checking port settings and the like. After I humored him by connecting and downloading without using SSL (in other words, everything was sent in the clear) he told me to contact my ISP about them blocking the SSL port.
This was rubbish- the server has no problems using SSL to download from a variety of POP servers so there’s no way the port is blocked. So after disconnecting from the chat, I went back and setup everything again to download using SSL. It worked again.
Curious.
Frankly, I was beginning to smell something fishy, so I went and changed her login password for the POP account. I updated the password here and tried again and everything still seems to be OK. So at this point, all I’ve got are suspicions as to what might be going on. Something to keep an eye on.
I was getting a 500 error when checking out the site. So I went to my domain account and checked the error logs. I had the following entries:
PHP Warning: PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library ‘/usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20060613/pdo.so’ – /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20060613/pdo.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory in Unknown on line 0
PHP Warning: PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library ‘/usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20060613/pdo_sqlite.so’ – /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20060613/pdo_sqlite.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory in Unknown on line 0
PHP Warning: PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library ‘/usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20060613/sqlite.so’ – /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20060613/sqlite.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory in Unknown on line 0
PHP Warning: PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library ‘/usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20060613/pdo_mysql.so’ – /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20060613/pdo_mysql.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory in Unknown on line 0
PHP Fatal error: [Zend Optimizer] Extension “Zend Optimizer” cannot be loaded twice in Unknown on line 0
A little googling revealed the possibility that zend was being loaded by 2 different php.ini files. So I commented out the offending line in the php.ini file and the site started working again. I’m putting this here more for my own reference for the next time something screwy happens. I’ll investigate further to get a better understanding of what’s going on.
UPDATE: OK, I’ve uncommented the line and reinstalled the php.ini and everything is still hunky dory, although I’m still getting the warnings. The fatal error related to zend appears to be gone. Still trying to get a better handle on what happened.
LAST UPDATE: These errors had to do with extensions called out in the php.ini file. Looks like in late May, the PDO extensions disappeared from the server since that’s when the warnings started appearing. Fortunately, the blog doesn’t rely on PDO so when I commented out the offending lines in my php.ini file, the errors and warnings disappeared but didn’t crash my site. I’ll keep an eye on this. Interestingly, PDO appears to be enabled on the server. I won’t say the issue is resolved, but I’ve at least gained some understanding about what’s going on.
Hot. Humid. Sticky. Uncomfortable.
Anyone else ready for the fall and cooler temps?
We’re now up to chapter 5 and I think it’s safe to say the boy and the lass are hooked. Without any prodding on my or the Wife’s part, both have made sure I continue to read the story to them. Last night, they insisted I read 2 chapters.
Obviously, we’re delighted. I was concerned that we wouldn’t make it past chapter 2. Heck, I even thought there was chance they’d phone-it-in during chapter 1. Who cares about the Dursely’s anyway? We’re at the point in the story now where things only get more interesting.
Their doing a pretty good job of following along as well. They don’t remember all the names yet, but their recollection of the events is pretty good. Although I was forced to admit that I’d taken the review a little too far last night. The boy asked at one point “Dad, when are you going to start reading the story?”
I’ll keep that in mind for tonight.
Eric Raymond has been writing almost exclusively, of late, about the future of cell phones. Particularly as it relates to Android versus iOS and which one will ultimately become the dominant mobile OS. Along the way, he’s noted a couple of times that he believes that smartphones will ultimately lead to cellular providers becoming basic “bit haulers.” As I read this post from John Gruber about Facetime on the iPhone 4, I’m wondering if the pieces aren’t coming into place that might force this issue in the nearer term.
Based on the title, one might think I’m going to trumpet the successes of the boy in some latest accomplishment. Alas, such is not the case.
Rather, I just thought I’d mark the day that we attempted to introduce him to the world of witches and wizards. I read him the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I figured since he’s about to enter the 1st grade, and Harry’s story begins as Harry enters the 1st grade, it would be an interesting experiment regarding his attention span, memory and imagination.
He’s not capable of reading such a book yet- he was disappointed to learn the book has no pictures. But perhaps it can serve as motivation to make him more interested in improving his reading skills on his own.
Incidentally, I’d never picked up on it before, the motorcycle Hagrid rides in that first chapter was borrowed from Sirius Black. In hindsight, a detail that might have seriously altered the revelations in The Prisoner of Azkaban had I remembered it.
Incredible match going on at Wimbledon between two guys who likely won’t be heard of again once it’s over. This is their 15 minutes of fame and their making the most of it.
There is no tie-breaker in the 5th set at Wimbledon. The winner has to win by 2 games. Play in the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut was suspended after 10 hours. They are in the 5th set and the score stands at 59 games apiece. That’s like playing a complete 5-set match, and then completing 2 more and starting a 4th. Watching the highlights, it appears to be a case of 2 guys simply refusing to give in, as opposed to 2 guys playing so terribly that neither can win. Both have saved multiple match points and break points to force the match to continue.
According to reports, other players like Federer and Roddick are watching the match in disbelief from the locker rooms. A small initial crowd steadily grew to the point of overflowing as word of what was transpiring got out.
Stuff like this is what makes sport so great. Every now and again a treat like this arises and fans get to see something they’ve never seen before and will likely never see again. We’re not even talking about the best players in the world here. It’s just two guys locked in a struggle, no quarter given or taken. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
UPDATE: Isner wins after another hour this morning- 70-68. Amazing.
FINAL UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Isner lost his second round match today, in rather pathetic fashion. The match lasted a whole 75 minutes. Still, he was part of something that will last much longer than this year’s final.
Just now (shortly after dinner), playing with his erector set the boy and the lass had the following exchange:
the lass: Do you wanna make a crane?
the boy: No. I’m too tired. I’m still waking up from this morning.
I’ll have to remember that one…
The boy and the lass have had exclusive rights to each other for basically 4 years now. Even during school, when the boy came home, there was his sister ready to play. The flip side of all that play together is they know each other’s weak spots as well as they know anything. Being one of three siblings myself, I know that this is just the way of the world.
But all that is going to start changing. Yesterday, the boy was invited over to a friend’s house for a portion of the day. A little later, a second chum for the past school year called and another play date is set. Added to our own efforts to get him together with some friends and the summer is shaping up to be more hectic than I had anticipated.
But the boy’s gain is, for the now, the lass’ loss. She hasn’t had the opportunity to develop a cadre of girl friend’s to play with. She was mystified that her brother was going to someone’s house to play, while she had to remain home with me. The notion that he could have something while she could not did not compute. Telling her that her day would come wasn’t satisfying because today wasn’t that day.
So the process of forging independence from one another begins. So one chapter of their lives slowly comes to a close. The initial words of the next begin to be written.
So now Boise St. joins the Mountain West while Utah joins the PAC-10, leaving the Mountain West. That leaves MW with 9 teams and no automatic bid to the BCS bowls. The Utes, on the other hand, now have a direct shot at the BCS.
Added Colorado’s jump to the PAC-10 and Nebraska’s shift to the Big-10 and I think it’s safe to say more changes are on the way. At some point, the Mountain West is going to make a bigger stink that they don’t get an automatic bid to BCS games. Now they can argue it’s cost them a team. If Boise St. is successful within the conference, how long before they decide to jump ship?
I’ve never bought into the notion of a playoff in college football. I think how teams matchup against one another are too important to have a playoff result in a satisfying outcome. The notion that the BCS is better than what it replaced has been shown to be false. The argument has just changed from who was more impressive in their bowl win to how the BCS shorted a team of a better ranking. My prediction for a playoff is people will argue that the best teams met early in the bracket, instead of the championship game.
Of course, the payout will be huge for a playoff. And that’s what will count in the end.
Via a linked Instapundit article comes this piece of ridiculousness. Best friends are bad for our kids. No really- that’s what the “experts” are saying now. It seems there is no stone to be left unturned when it comes to social engineering.
Look, this isn’t hard. Neither path is inherently preferable to the other. Some kids will grow up with best friends, some won’t. Each will develop different views of and attitudes to society and the world. Each is fully capable of growing up to be a useful member of society. The differing views and approaches each of those kids ultimately bring to the table are valuable. Society needs them both.
This is the sort of busy-body-let’s-find-what-else-we-can-mess-with stupidity that pisses people off about authority and experts. Most of these same people can barely manage the schools they administer. Maybe they should become more “expert” in administration instead of micro-managing kid’s social lives. Sheesh.
I wonder if the people behind this foolishness would benefit from an adult explaining to them that it’s OK that they didn’t have a best friend growing up.
When I got up this morning, the boy came dashing in with a half-filled mug of coffee. Not a bad start.
Then when I got downstairs, I was quickly ushered into another room and then abandoned for several minutes. No matter, fire up the laptop and what not.
Then they returned, all wearing my Father’s Day gifts- new UA t-shirts! I also got a large pack of handmade cards from the lass, a pinch-pot from the boy, and a grill spatula from the Wife. Not a bad haul.
The pinch pot held about and 1/8th of a cup of milk- which I drank much to the boy’s delight.
It was unconventional, but nice.
Happy Father’s Day to all you other Dad’s out there.
The boy got himself sent to bed early tonight. We had a full day between his MA class and the beach. By the time we finally sat down with all the chores done, it was to late for a movie. But he didn’t want to hear that. So he blamed Mom.
When I corrected him that there was no blame, he got ornery and doubled down. So I sent him to bed. I don’t take kindly to that sort of willful disrespect. Especially when his Mother is the target.
Then, when Mom went up to check on him he gave her more attitude, so she left.
And that’s when the tears started.
I’ve just canned another attempt at a decent sourdough starter. It has the same problem I’ve been having since my first couple of wild starters from a couple years ago- no leavening. The starter is very liquid, lots of hooch, lots of sour taste. But it can’t leaven anything, making it functionally useless.
At this point, I’m thinking that KA switched their wheat suppliers or something, so I’m now trying to create it using their organic bread flour. It’s just started today, meaning it won’t be ready until Monday at the earliest. But I’ll probably know before by Sunday morning if it will be viable.
If this fails, I’ll probably try a more traditional started approach using yeast.
The boy and his teammates got their trophies last night. Great job, thanks for playing and all that sort of thing.
Afterwards, the boy was wondering if he could use the trophy like money. The parents all had a good laugh from that one. The realization that all he could do with it was set it on his dresser just wasn’t satisfying apparently.