Author Archives

MissMelisshttp://www.missmeliss.com

I GOT IN !!!!!!!

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And I owe it all to the support of my friends and family.

I’m talking about The Algonkian Novel Camp in San Francisco. I heard from them just a few minutes ago. Here’s the email.

Dear Melissa,

Hello and thank you for your application. The Algonkian Park workshops will show you the craft and knowledge needed to produce a manuscript able to compete in today’s tough marketplace.

Have read your application with interest. It is clear you are a serious writer and one capable of writing a manuscript that editors and agents will want to see. Additionally, your prose sample is indicative of a competitive commercial fiction style. In the workshops we will study and apply craft enhancement techniques that will improve your narrative and make your ms even more competitive. Our goal is to provide writers with realistic advice and work with them to create a plan for publication.

They only take 15 people.
I’m hyperventilating.

Mmm. Blueberries.

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I woke up this morning to a pounding headache, one that had been threatening to arrive all day yesterday, but didn’t really come on in force until I tried to go to sleep last night, and the sound of Fuzzy grumbling in the bathroom. It seems that L, our new housekeeper, did such a great job of cleaning the bathroom vanities, that he can’t find anything.

(Mind you, he is afflicted with the inability to see any object that requires moving another object. I always thought this was limited to looking for items in the fridge, but it’s universal, apparently.)

Outside, while the temperature is mild, the wind is not, and it’s making a howling sound that the dogs are clearly disgruntled by. Poor sensitive chihuahua ears. Zorro’s been giving me his patented slitty-eyed look all morning. As if I can control the wind.

I found the perfect way to soothe my own grumpiness, however. I made oatmeal, laced it with honey, and mixed in half a container of fresh blueberries.

Mmm. Blueberries.

My head still hurts.
But I’ll survive.

AT&T, SMTP & External Email

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I’m posting this as a service for all those people who have AT&T Uverse or DSL, who need to use the AT&T smtp server to send mail from non-AT&T accounts.

I was thisclose to throwing patio furniture at the next AT&T truck to enter my neighborhood, when I finally found the necessary solution on an external forum. Because I KNOW I’ll need it again, and because I suspect there are folks who don’t want to hunt down forum posts, I’m posting it here.

Several months ago, shortly after we canceled our ComCast account and switched to Uverse, which also required killing our backup DSL account (also through AT&T), we had to change all our mail settings because AT&T blocks port 25. No big deal, you just set your mail server to use port 465, and use login/password authorization based on your AT&T account.

For a while all worked sweetly. Then, one day in December or January, I stopped being able to send mail. Now, while I HAVE an at&t address, I don’t actually USE it, because I have my own domains. I also have work email addresses at their own domains. My Dreamhost accounts all have their own smtp servers, so that was fine for sending, except my parents’ server in Mexico wouldn’t accept relayed mail. The work pops don’t HAVE smtp service.

We called AT&T and explained the error, which at first was intermittent – maybe one in 12 email messages would bounce back with an error message that the server didn’t recognize my address. AT&T said, “Oh, we’re having a glitch.” The next day, all was well.

But then we started getting the error again, more and more often. Another call to Uverse tech support. “We can unblock port 25 for you, until we figure out what else to do.” Fine, okay. We have anti-virus and anti-spam software like crazy on our systems. We could deal with that. Except that after three weeks of this, we got a note from AT&T telling us that if we didn’t stop using port 25, they’d forbid us from relaying anything.

We complained about that. They apologized.

Meanwhile, when I tried to use the secure settings, I was getting more and more errors, until finally, this morning, I could not send mail at all. I sent in a ticket, they said, “We can’t find a problem, and we can’t reproduce it.”

I began searching the net for external information – users talk, after all – and found out that in order to send from an external email address, even if you’re using your own mail client (Thunderbird, Mac Mail, etc.) you have to log into your AT&T/Yahoo webmail, and add and verify all your external accounts.

Now, while this is time consuming, it’s not that difficult, and I’d have happily done so months ago, but AT&T NEVER TOLD US TO DO THIS. There was never an email sent, when the secure servers became required. The various calls and letters to tech support never included this information in their responses. And honestly, who would think to go to a webmail account they never use to set up external mail relay for sending through a regular client?

In any case, I spent about twenty minutes going through the necessary steps this morning, and while Thunderbird still can’t FIND my smtp server on my MacBook, Mac Mail works fine, and Thunderbird on my windows machines works fine, and life is good.

If you, too, need to make external email work on AT&T’s secure servers, the instructions you need are here:
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/mail/original/manage/sendfrom-07.html

Monday, Monday

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It’s a dark, damp, dismal looking day outside. It’s the kind of day that makes health nuts storm into the kitchen, swallow whatever Orovo product is helping them get their groove on, eat some granola, and run three miles before breakfast, “so I can get it done before the rain starts.”

For me, however, it is a day in which I’ve already finished the article that was due, already posted a blog entry at All Things Girl, and am settling in to enjoy a day of reading, writing, and…I don’t know…rhythm I guess? It’s a weight day, exercise wise, and I always do a really energetic dance warm-up with music that even makes crunches fun.

No, really.

Meanwhile…I’m craving oatmeal, even though it’s already 73 degrees outside.

Excellent!

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Excellent Blog

CajunVegan, who is pretty excellent herself, named me among the ten people she passed her own excellent blog award to, and I’m now sharing the love, and outing some excellence of my own, as per the rules which state I must:

  1. Identify and link the originator of this award: (That would be Kayla at Project Mommy)
  2. Pass on the award to at least ten other people.

    Here, then, are my picks, in alphabetical order by blog title:

    • Buck Naked Politics, because while I don’t talk politics in my own blog, I appreciate intelligent discourse among those who do.
    • The Daily Bitch, because not only is this woman incredibly cool about music and life, but she also encouraged my recent audio-drama audition, and her internet radio show kicks ass.
    • Fond of Snape. Not only is her blog Snape-a-licious, but Janet is an animal lover, and an amazing photographer, as well as all-round cool person.
    • The Fountain Pen. Catherine always shares these wonderful pieces of writing, helps us explore the Tao Te Ching, and is just a fascinating person.
    • Having Writ. Sister AE is an amazing, vivid writer. I found her through my writing prompt site, CafeWriting, and various other memes. Reading her stuff always blows my mind. In the best way.
    • Herb Urban. Quite possibly the funniest and most shameless blogger on the planet.
    • Incurable Insomniac. She’s away right now, but you should visit her, anyway. Trust me.
    • Matterings. I only “met” John tonight. He followed a link from elseblog, noticed I was pining for the ocean, and sent me a photo collage. How cool is that?
    • Notes from an Eclectic Mind. I met Rana through her blog, and then she became an offline friend, colleague, and so much more, when we moved to Texas. She completely rocks, albeit to an old-time country beat.
    • Richard INK. He found me on Twitter, and I fell in love with his pens and pencils. His email to answer a question showed we had tons in common – hats, and music, Sherlock Holmes and punky hair. Visit his site!.
    • Rooted. Gautami is an amazing poet. Amazing writer. Just amazing.
    • Utenzi Blog. Dave takes amazing photos, sometimes of whatever he’s cooking. He’s inspired me to make mac-n-cheese, among other things.
    • Writer’s Blog, “The Easywriter” is talented, generous of spirit, and just really cool. Read her stuff.
    • Written Inc. Carmi is an amazing photographer, and his blog, whether sporting snapshots in image or text, or a combination of the two, is always a fascinating place to hang for a while. Sort of like visiting the corner diner where you can have a great conversation, while also watching the two old guys in the corner playing a passionate game of chess.

    Now…go read stuff.