* Multiple exceptions in except should be a tuple. Otherwise, the second
parameter will be the error object. Apposed to the intent, for it to be
another exception in a list of exceptions.
Calling mongoengine (or pymongo) connect() after already calling
connect() resulting in getting the first connection (connection
pooling). This is bad if we are relying on connect() to determine if
mongo is up. Added executing a ping/pong command after the connect()
command to ensure mongo is still/really up.
