diff --git a/ext/mysql2/client.c b/ext/mysql2/client.c
index 68c3efc..65c463f 100644
--- a/ext/mysql2/client.c
+++ b/ext/mysql2/client.c
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ static ID sym_id, sym_version, sym_async, sym_symbolize_keys, sym_as, sym_array;
 static ID intern_merge, intern_error_number_eql, intern_sql_state_eql;
 
 #define REQUIRE_OPEN_DB(wrapper) \
-  if(wrapper->closed || !wrapper->client->net.vio) { \
+  if(wrapper->closed) { \
     rb_raise(cMysql2Error, "closed MySQL connection"); \
     return Qnil; \
   }
@@ -83,11 +83,11 @@ static VALUE rb_raise_mysql2_error(MYSQL *client) {
 }
 
 static VALUE nogvl_init(void *ptr) {
-  MYSQL **client = (MYSQL **)ptr;
+  MYSQL *client;
 
   /* may initialize embedded server and read /etc/services off disk */
-  *client = mysql_init(NULL);
-  return *client ? Qtrue : Qfalse;
+  client = mysql_init((MYSQL *)ptr);
+  return client ? Qtrue : Qfalse;
 }
 
 static VALUE nogvl_connect(void *ptr) {
@@ -132,6 +132,9 @@ static void rb_mysql_client_free(void * ptr) {
   /* It's safe to call mysql_close() on an already closed connection. */
   if (!wrapper->closed) {
     mysql_close(wrapper->client);
+    if (!wrapper->freed) {
+      free(wrapper->client);
+    }
   }
   xfree(ptr);
 }
@@ -139,9 +142,11 @@ static void rb_mysql_client_free(void * ptr) {
 static VALUE nogvl_close(void * ptr) {
   mysql_client_wrapper *wrapper = ptr;
   if (!wrapper->closed) {
-    mysql_close(wrapper->client);
-    wrapper->client->net.fd = -1;
     wrapper->closed = 1;
+    mysql_close(wrapper->client);
+    if (!wrapper->freed) {
+      free(wrapper->client);
+    }
   }
   return Qnil;
 }
@@ -153,6 +158,8 @@ static VALUE allocate(VALUE klass) {
   wrapper->encoding = Qnil;
   wrapper->active = 0;
   wrapper->closed = 0;
+  wrapper->freed  = 0;
+  wrapper->client = (MYSQL*)malloc(sizeof(MYSQL));
   return obj;
 }
 
@@ -167,7 +174,7 @@ static VALUE rb_connect(VALUE self, VALUE user, VALUE pass, VALUE host, VALUE po
   args.passwd = NIL_P(pass) ? NULL : StringValuePtr(pass);
   args.db = NIL_P(database) ? NULL : StringValuePtr(database);
   args.mysql = wrapper->client;
-  args.client_flag = NUM2INT(flags);
+  args.client_flag = NUM2ULONG(flags);
 
   if (rb_thread_blocking_region(nogvl_connect, &args, RUBY_UBF_IO, 0) == Qfalse) {
     // unable to connect
@@ -186,7 +193,9 @@ static VALUE rb_connect(VALUE self, VALUE user, VALUE pass, VALUE host, VALUE po
 static VALUE rb_mysql_client_close(VALUE self) {
   GET_CLIENT(self);
 
-  rb_thread_blocking_region(nogvl_close, wrapper, RUBY_UBF_IO, 0);
+  if (!wrapper->closed) {
+    rb_thread_blocking_region(nogvl_close, wrapper, RUBY_UBF_IO, 0);
+  }
 
   return Qnil;
 }
@@ -335,6 +344,7 @@ static VALUE rb_mysql_client_escape(VALUE self, VALUE str) {
   unsigned long newLen, oldLen;
   GET_CLIENT(self);
 
+  REQUIRE_OPEN_DB(wrapper);
   Check_Type(str, T_STRING);
 #ifdef HAVE_RUBY_ENCODING_H
   rb_encoding *default_internal_enc = rb_default_internal_encoding();
@@ -346,7 +356,6 @@ static VALUE rb_mysql_client_escape(VALUE self, VALUE str) {
   oldLen = RSTRING_LEN(str);
   newStr = rb_str_new(0, oldLen*2+1);
 
-  REQUIRE_OPEN_DB(wrapper);
   newLen = mysql_real_escape_string(wrapper->client, RSTRING_PTR(newStr), StringValuePtr(str), oldLen);
   if (newLen == oldLen) {
     // no need to return a new ruby string if nothing changed
@@ -366,6 +375,7 @@ static VALUE rb_mysql_client_escape(VALUE self, VALUE str) {
 static VALUE rb_mysql_client_info(VALUE self) {
   VALUE version = rb_hash_new(), client_info;
   GET_CLIENT(self);
+
 #ifdef HAVE_RUBY_ENCODING_H
   rb_encoding *default_internal_enc = rb_default_internal_encoding();
   rb_encoding *conn_enc = rb_to_encoding(wrapper->encoding);
@@ -386,13 +396,13 @@ static VALUE rb_mysql_client_info(VALUE self) {
 static VALUE rb_mysql_client_server_info(VALUE self) {
   VALUE version, server_info;
   GET_CLIENT(self);
+
+  REQUIRE_OPEN_DB(wrapper);
 #ifdef HAVE_RUBY_ENCODING_H
   rb_encoding *default_internal_enc = rb_default_internal_encoding();
   rb_encoding *conn_enc = rb_to_encoding(wrapper->encoding);
 #endif
 
-  REQUIRE_OPEN_DB(wrapper);
-
   version = rb_hash_new();
   rb_hash_aset(version, sym_id, LONG2FIX(mysql_get_server_version(wrapper->client)));
   server_info = rb_str_new2(mysql_get_server_info(wrapper->client));
@@ -420,8 +430,14 @@ static VALUE rb_mysql_client_last_id(VALUE self) {
 
 static VALUE rb_mysql_client_affected_rows(VALUE self) {
   GET_CLIENT(self);
+  my_ulonglong retVal;
+
   REQUIRE_OPEN_DB(wrapper);
-  return ULL2NUM(mysql_affected_rows(wrapper->client));
+  retVal = mysql_affected_rows(wrapper->client);
+  if (retVal == (my_ulonglong)-1) {
+    rb_raise_mysql2_error(wrapper->client);
+  }
+  return ULL2NUM(retVal);
 }
 
 static VALUE set_reconnect(VALUE self, VALUE value) {
@@ -501,7 +517,7 @@ static VALUE set_ssl_options(VALUE self, VALUE key, VALUE cert, VALUE ca, VALUE
 static VALUE init_connection(VALUE self) {
   GET_CLIENT(self);
 
-  if (rb_thread_blocking_region(nogvl_init, ((void *) &wrapper->client), RUBY_UBF_IO, 0) == Qfalse) {
+  if (rb_thread_blocking_region(nogvl_init, wrapper->client, RUBY_UBF_IO, 0) == Qfalse) {
     /* TODO: warning - not enough memory? */
     return rb_raise_mysql2_error(wrapper->client);
   }
diff --git a/ext/mysql2/client.h b/ext/mysql2/client.h
index d5c2993..fca99c4 100644
--- a/ext/mysql2/client.h
+++ b/ext/mysql2/client.h
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ typedef struct {
   VALUE encoding;
   short int active;
   short int closed;
+  short int freed;
   MYSQL *client;
 } mysql_client_wrapper;
 
diff --git a/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql2_adapter.rb b/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql2_adapter.rb
index 78a7901..a442fa8 100644
--- a/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql2_adapter.rb
+++ b/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql2_adapter.rb
@@ -617,8 +617,13 @@ module ActiveRecord
           # Turn this off. http://dev.rubyonrails.org/ticket/6778
           variable_assignments = ['SQL_AUTO_IS_NULL=0']
           encoding = @config[:encoding]
+
+          # make sure we set the encoding
           variable_assignments << "NAMES '#{encoding}'" if encoding
 
+          # increase timeout so mysql server doesn't disconnect us
+          variable_assignments << "@@wait_timeout = #{@config[:wait_timeout] || 2592000}"
+
           execute("SET #{variable_assignments.join(', ')}", :skip_logging)
         end
 
diff --git a/lib/mysql2/client.rb b/lib/mysql2/client.rb
index bf55621..ee1a36b 100644
--- a/lib/mysql2/client.rb
+++ b/lib/mysql2/client.rb
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ module Mysql2
       :symbolize_keys => false,       # return field names as symbols instead of strings
       :database_timezone => :local,   # timezone Mysql2 will assume datetime objects are stored in
       :application_timezone => nil,   # timezone Mysql2 will convert to before handing the object back to the caller
-      :cache_rows => true             # tells Mysql2 to use it's internal row cache for results
+      :cache_rows => true,            # tells Mysql2 to use it's internal row cache for results
+      :connect_flags => REMEMBER_OPTIONS | LONG_PASSWORD | LONG_FLAG | TRANSACTIONS | PROTOCOL_41 | SECURE_CONNECTION
     }
 
     def initialize(opts = {})
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@ module Mysql2
       port     = opts[:port] || 3306
       database = opts[:database]
       socket   = opts[:socket]
-      flags    = opts[:flags] || 0
+      flags    = opts[:flags] ? opts[:flags] | @query_options[:connect_flags] : @query_options[:connect_flags]
 
       connect user, pass, host, port, database, socket, flags
     end
diff --git a/spec/mysql2/client_spec.rb b/spec/mysql2/client_spec.rb
index cad599e..8927410 100644
--- a/spec/mysql2/client_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/mysql2/client_spec.rb
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ describe Mysql2::Client do
       end
     end
     client = klient.new :flags => Mysql2::Client::FOUND_ROWS
-    client.connect_args.last.last.should == Mysql2::Client::FOUND_ROWS
+    (client.connect_args.last.last & Mysql2::Client::FOUND_ROWS).should be_true
   end
 
-  it "should default flags to 0" do
+  it "should default flags to (REMEMBER_OPTIONS, LONG_PASSWORD, LONG_FLAG, TRANSACTIONS, PROTOCOL_41, SECURE_CONNECTION)" do
     klient = Class.new(Mysql2::Client) do
       attr_reader :connect_args
       def connect *args
@@ -35,7 +35,12 @@ describe Mysql2::Client do
       end
     end
     client = klient.new
-    client.connect_args.last.last.should == 0
+    (client.connect_args.last.last & (Mysql2::Client::REMEMBER_OPTIONS |
+                                     Mysql2::Client::LONG_PASSWORD |
+                                     Mysql2::Client::LONG_FLAG |
+                                     Mysql2::Client::TRANSACTIONS |
+                                     Mysql2::Client::PROTOCOL_41 |
+                                     Mysql2::Client::SECURE_CONNECTION)).should be_true
   end
 
   it "should have a global default_query_options hash" do
@@ -71,6 +76,9 @@ describe Mysql2::Client do
 
   it "should be able to close properly" do
     @client.close.should be_nil
+    lambda {
+      @client.query "SELECT 1"
+    }.should raise_error(Mysql2::Error)
   end
 
   it "should respond to #query" do
@@ -103,6 +111,13 @@ describe Mysql2::Client do
       }.should raise_error(Mysql2::Error)
     end
 
+    it "should require an open connection" do
+      @client.close
+      lambda {
+        @client.query "SELECT 1"
+      }.should raise_error(Mysql2::Error)
+    end
+
     # XXX this test is not deterministic (because Unix signal handling is not)
     # and may fail on a loaded system
     if RUBY_PLATFORM !~ /mingw|mswin/
@@ -137,25 +152,34 @@ describe Mysql2::Client do
     @client.should respond_to(:escape)
   end
 
-  it "#escape should return a new SQL-escape version of the passed string" do
-    @client.escape("abc'def\"ghi\0jkl%mno").should eql("abc\\'def\\\"ghi\\0jkl%mno")
-  end
+  context "#escape" do
+    it "should return a new SQL-escape version of the passed string" do
+      @client.escape("abc'def\"ghi\0jkl%mno").should eql("abc\\'def\\\"ghi\\0jkl%mno")
+    end
 
-  it "#escape should return the passed string if nothing was escaped" do
-    str = "plain"
-    @client.escape(str).object_id.should eql(str.object_id)
-  end
+    it "should return the passed string if nothing was escaped" do
+      str = "plain"
+      @client.escape(str).object_id.should eql(str.object_id)
+    end
 
-  it "#escape should not overflow the thread stack" do
-    lambda {
-      Thread.new { @client.escape("'" * 256 * 1024) }.join
-    }.should_not raise_error(SystemStackError)
-  end
+    it "should not overflow the thread stack" do
+      lambda {
+        Thread.new { @client.escape("'" * 256 * 1024) }.join
+      }.should_not raise_error(SystemStackError)
+    end
 
-  it "#escape should not overflow the process stack" do
-    lambda {
-      Thread.new { @client.escape("'" * 1024 * 1024 * 4) }.join
-    }.should_not raise_error(SystemStackError)
+    it "should not overflow the process stack" do
+      lambda {
+        Thread.new { @client.escape("'" * 1024 * 1024 * 4) }.join
+      }.should_not raise_error(SystemStackError)
+    end
+
+    it "should require an open connection" do
+      @client.close
+      lambda {
+        @client.escape ""
+      }.should raise_error(Mysql2::Error)
+    end
   end
 
   it "should respond to #info" do
@@ -203,6 +227,13 @@ describe Mysql2::Client do
     server_info[:version].class.should eql(String)
   end
 
+  it "#server_info should require an open connection" do
+    @client.close
+    lambda {
+      @client.server_info
+    }.should raise_error(Mysql2::Error)
+  end
+
   if defined? Encoding
     context "strings returned by #server_info" do
       it "should default to the connection's encoding if Encoding.default_internal is nil" do
@@ -231,6 +262,13 @@ describe Mysql2::Client do
     @client.socket.should_not eql(0)
   end
 
+  it "#socket should require an open connection" do
+    @client.close
+    lambda {
+      @client.socket
+    }.should raise_error(Mysql2::Error)
+  end
+
   it "should raise a Mysql2::Error exception upon connection failure" do
     lambda {
       bad_client = Mysql2::Client.new :host => "dfjhdi9wrhw", :username => 'asdfasdf8d2h'