Windows Update Error 4024800A

I just ran into a problem with one of my virtual server snapshots not wanting to update.  It would start to check for updates, then stop with error 4024800A.  It looks like what had happened was that it was in the middle of checking when I last snapshotted the machine.  Restoring the snapshot caused the software distribution repository to become corrupted.  To fix it, I opened a command prompt as administrator and ran the following:

net stop bits
net stop wuauserv
rd /s /q %windir%\Softwaredistribution
net start wuauserv

Thanks to Mustang on Windows EightForums for the help and Google for helping me find it!

Hackers Timthumb Their Noses at Vulnerability to Compromise 1.2 Million Sites

This just goes to show how many different areas are touched by information security.  Unfortunately, there are too many people who never install security patches on their WordPress and other content mangement system (CMS) sites.  The idea that a hacker can use this vulnerability to install a malicious file on someone's site just goes to prove that you should never trust user input from the web.  Everything should be checked, double-checked, and then quarantined just in case (okay, that may be a bit extreme).

Cluster Day 30

I had my first headache since Sunday today.  Of course, it started just as I was getting ready to leave at 9:00 am for a funeral honors detail in Decatur.  I took a Zomig and headed off, and it was gone in about 30 minutes.  It didn't get too bad, but I've felt the residuals most of the day.  According to my tracking, this is the 50th headache of this cluster cycle.

I found out today that Aetna wants me to go through the whole process of seeing a neurologist again in order to up the quantity of Zomig to what I need during a cluster cycle.  Apparently the neurologist consult and MRI that I had 6 years ago isn't current enough for them to approve it.

Cluster Days 25 & 26

Saturday was pretty much pain-free.  I had a mild headache most of the day, but nothing major.  I was able to remove the window air conditioners and mow the lawn without any trouble.

Sunday started at 7:15 am with a headache beginning.  I tried to just go back to sleep, but had to get up at 7:25 to take Zomig and get started on the hot washcloth routine.  By 7:30 it was one of the worst headaches I've had, but the Zomig kicked in and it was completely gone by 8:00.  I was drained, so I went back to bed until 11:00.  The rest of the day I had a mild headache, but no more clusters.

This is pretty typical of the end of my cluster headache cycle.  I'll have a few more every couple of days, and some will be pretty bad, but then they'll be gone until the next cycle starts either in the late spring/early summer or late summer/early fall.  Maybe I'll get another 3 year reprieve.  I'll take whatever I can get.

One blessing is our 95 year old next door neighbor, Elvira, who is currently at Christian Village nursing home, gave Aliscia a check to pay for my medicine.  Aliscia visits her several days a week, and went to Springfield to see her when she was admitted for pneumonia the week before last.  Thank you, Elvira!

Cluster Days 23 & 24

Well, Thursday was okay until about 10:00 pm, when I started getting another headache while going to bed.  This one didn't really progress, though, so I was able to get to sleep at a reasonable hour.  I woke up at 1:40 am with a moderate headache, and used the hot washcloth for about 30 minutes until it subsided enough for me to get back to sleep.  I woke up again at 5:20 am with a bad headache that lasted almost an hour with the hot washcloths.

Aliscia went to pick up my Zomig from Wal Mart after noon, and they informed her that it was not quite ready and that the insurance said I wasn't eligible to refill it until the 19th, but could pay $180 to get it now.  I called the doctor's office, then Aetna, to try to get it straightened out.  Aetna told me that although the medication was pre-authorized, the quantity was rejected.  They will only allow me 6 pills every 19 days.  I go through 6 pills in 3 days easily.  I will probably be done with the cycle by then!  They said the doctor's office would have to resubmit.  I called the nurse again, and she apologized.  She had been so happy that the pre-auth was approved the second time, she neglected to notice that the quantity was not.

I told Aliscia to go ahead and get the script filled so I'll have something for the weekend.  I'll figure out how to pay for it later.