Outlook 2010 – first run issues

Error message: The connection to Microsoft Exchange is unavailable. Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action.
This wouldn’t be an issue if you didn’t make it an issue, Outlook.

When trying to open Outlook 2010 after a fresh install on Windows 10, I was receiving the error “Connection to Microsoft Exchange is unavailable”, as well as an error that the .OST file was not valid.

This would cause Outlook to freeze, and if I made it through the freeze, it would show me a prompt to update the Exchange details for my account. Changing the settings did solve the freezing problem.

The Cause: When setting up Windows, I used my email address as the new Microsoft account to log into the machine. Windows oh so helpfully assumed that email was tied to an Exchange account, and auto-created an email profile with Exchange info for that email account.

Every time Outlook opened, the attempt to connect to that “Exchange account” would make Outlook take a looong time to open, freeze things up, and generally make you hate life.

Even if you add other email accounts and make one of the other ones the default, you still can’t delete or modify this oh so helpful account, so Outlook will continue to freeze up.

Error message: Outlook cannot log on. Verify you are connected to the network and are using the proper server and mailbox name. The connection to Microsoft Exchange is unavailable. Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action.
Yes, I’m connected to the network. I can receive email from my POP and IMAP accounts, after all.

The Solution: Before changing the email accountsbelow, I converted the log-in account to a local account in the hope that this would remove the need for the Exchange account. I don’t know if this is a necessary first step or not.

If you’re working with an existing .PST file, back it up now.

  • Go into Control Panel -> Mail -> Show Profiles, and add a new Outlook profile with the email account(s) you actually want.
  • Set up the new mail account with the option to use a new data file. Then make that new account your default Mail account.
  • Delete the profile named “Outlook”, as that’s where the broken Exchange account lives.
  • Run Outlook again and continue emailing your favourite people.

The Forks

Fall is here. 

I often forget that I live a short walk from a National Historic Site, and an even shorter walk to a beautiful riverside walkway.

Stairs into the city

My “red chair moment”

Changing of the seasons, as witnessed by the shoreline

“Man’s Trail”, a replica gambling stick, by artist Robert Houle

It was a leisurely stroll. The only disappointment was the detour for food, drink, and candy at the Forks Market.

But I got to end it off by seeing the sky on fire on the way home, with a stark reminder that winter is right around the corner. 

Lorelei, the harbinger of winter

On understanding

From another Dave:

If you asked my father what Dave’s favorite music is, he would have told you what his favorite music is, and (importantly) he’d think he’s answering the question. If you ask someone why Dave works so hard, he’ll tell you what he aspires to. He might say Dave does it to get rich. That wouldn’t tell you anything about Dave, but it likely tells you something about him. This is important to understanding disputes, and is why listening is so important. For example, the US thought North Vietnam was fighting because they were part of a global communist alliance to defeat the west. The Domino Theory. Because we were at war against that. The Vietnamese were actually fighting a war of independence, and were puzzled why the US, a former colony that fought for its independence, was fighting them. Moral of the story: Unless you ask, you probably don’t know why someone is doing what they do. 

Dave Winer (Oct 11, 2018)

how to be generous in a debate

He has some differences of opinion with himself…

What could easily have been an accidental (and funny) dig on someone else’s argument turned into an honest reflection on the difficulty of being intellectually consistent with complex issues.

Jordan Peterson was speaking on a panel at OCON, and brought up an argument he’s had with Sam Harris (who was not in the room) about where values come from.

If he was in a mindset of winning an argument or one-upping Harris, he could have let it stand as a great soundbite.

Instead, he followed up with:

Well, it’s very difficult to be entirely coherent when you think through something that’s complicated. There’s likely to be inconsistencies in your argument because it’s so complicated.

LIVE from OCON: Jordan Peterson, Dave Rubin, Yaron Brook, Greg Salmieri
From The Rubin Report, 2018-07-02
Full episode: Omny.fm