actionmailer configuration slows page loading and then error

I have the following in my environment.rb file: ActionMailer::Base.server_settings = {         :address => "IP_ADDRESS_GIVEN_BY_HOSTING_COMPANY",         :port => 25 }

it causes my pages to take *forever* to load and eventually they error out with

rails application failed to start properly

any idea what could cause this?

thanks, gabe