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Posts Tagged Node.js
JavaScript… really?
Posted by sdarchitect in Mobile, Mobile Development, Web, Web Development on May 8, 2012
How JavaScript has become the language of choice for Web and Mobile I learnt programming ussing the C programming language, on UNIX. That's as nerdy as you can get. Where else can you manipulate bits with code and have to alloc your own memory. And pointers; that's how real programmers write code. You have not […]


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Local H-E-B employees served a barbecue dinner with all the trimmings in the eighth annual company-wide volunteer program, Helping Heroes.
Don Pullin, chief of the Refugio VFD, said the turnout was good and all five fire departments were represented.
"This was a great opportunity for us to join together to honor our fallen comrades, thanks to the local H-E-B," Pullin said.
The local store was one of 30 stores in the Gulf Coast Region to honor local first responders.
"This community service project honors Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance that pays tribute to the men and women rescue teams who risked and lost their lives at the World Trade Center," said Winell Herron, group vice president of public affairs, diversity, and environmental affairs for H-E-B.
VFW Post 6290 Commander Richard Sanchez congratulated the first responders for their continued cooperation for the good of all the communities in the county.
Refugio fireman Ralph Skrobarcek rang the bell in a solemn ceremony to honor those killed in the World Trade Center attempting to save lives. Paramedic Fern Blain explained the ceremony to those who attended.
"This community project honors September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance that pays tribute to the men and women rescue teams who risked and lost their lives at the World Trade Center," Herron said.
H-E-B conducted ceremonies similar to the one held in Refugio across the state. Local manager Mark Brearton and H-E-B partners Rachel Porras, Albert Anguiano, LaDonna Marquis, Duane Elliott were on hand to serve the food and host the event.

subset: commoncrawl


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Authorities said a 55-year-old man who shot and wounded an Adams County sheriff's deputy has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Adams County Sheriff's Office said Thomas Costigan, of West Allis, was pronounced dead Wednesday evening.
The Sheriff's Office said Costigan shot Deputy Todd Johnson, 43, on Tuesday after Johnson and another deputy responded to a local report of a suspicious vehicle being in the driveway of a family hunting cabin in the Town of Big Flats.
The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the cabin in the 700 block of 10th Avenue in the Town of Big Flats.
Adams County Sheriff Sam Wollin said two officers responded and entered the home, where they found Costigan. The officers gave Costigan verbal commands, but he pulled out a handgun and opened fire on the officers, the sheriff said.
Wollin said the suspect fired several shots at the deputies, wounding Johnson before shooting himself. He said the deputies did not return fire.
Johnson remains in medical care Wednesday night. His condition was not released.
Authorities said a missing person case in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis led to the shooting in Adams County of central Wisconsin.
West Allis Acting Police Chief Charles Padgett said his department got a call around 6 p.m. Tuesday about a 52-year-old woman who was missing under suspicious circumstances. She had a no-contact order against her husband, Thomas Costigan, due to recent domestic incidents.
The Adams County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that the officers involved in the shooting weren't aware of the domestic incident in West Allis until after the shooting incident occurred.
The 52-year-old woman who was reported missing was located by officers at the cabin in the Town of Big Flats. The woman wasn't injured in the incident and was later released, according to sheriff's officials.
Court records show Costigan had a violent past. Three weeks ago, he was charged with disorderly conduct domestic abuse.
A criminal complaint said he grabbed his wife's neck, pointed a knife at her and threatened to kill her.
The Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation and the Wisconsin State Patrol will investigate the shooting.


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BYU downs UTSA on Wednesday night, 81-62
PROVO, Utah — Senior Kannon Burrage scored 22 points, but Brandon Davies and Tyler Haws combined for 42 to lead BYU to an 81-62 victory against UTSA on Wednesday night in front of 16,475 fans at the Marriott Center.
Davies posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to help BYU post a 48-21 edge on the boards, while Haws added 20 points behind an 8-for-16 night from the floor. The Cougars (3-2) posted their third home win of the season in the first-ever meeting with the Roadrunners (3-2).
Burrage topped 20 for the sixth time in a UTSA uniform and second time this season by making a career-best nine field goals to go along with a 4-for-4 effort at the free-throw line. The East Moline, Ill., native was joined in double figures by senior Michael Hale III (13) and junior Jeromie Hill (12).
Playing the first of six consecutive road games in four different time zones over the next month, the Roadrunners saw the Cougars break open a close game with a 26-6 run in the first half. BYU led by as many as 23, but UTSA pulled to within 14 late in the second half, but it could not get over the hump.
Trailing 48-28 at intermission, the Roadrunners made seven of their first 14 shots in the second half to cut the deficit to 13, the last two coming from the senior backcourt duo of Hale III and Burrage. Hale III drained a long three from the top of the circle with the shot clock winding down to make it 58-43. After a BYU miss at the other end, Burrage knocked down a mid-range jumper to pull UTSA to within 13 with 10:42 to play.
The Cougars pushed their lead back to 17, but junior Jordan Sims drilled a trey to make it 71-57 with 4:30 left to play, but BYU responded with a 9-2 run, which was fueled by five points from Haws, to put the game out of reach.
UTSA shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) despite making only four of 13 from beyond the arc. The Roadrunners also committed just 11 turnovers and forced 18 by the Cougars, nine coming on steals, including four by Sims.
However, BYU shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60), 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from downtown and made 13-of-14 at the charity stripe.
UTSA and BYU traded leads through the first six minutes. Hill drained a long three from the right wing to put the Roadrunners up, 11-10, and junior Hyjii Thomas answered a Haws jumper with one of his own to make it 13-12 with 12:44 to play in the first half.
The Cougars used a 15-2 run keyed by a pair of Agustin Ambrosino 3-pointers to turn an 18-15 advantage into a 33-17 cushion. Raul Delgado knocked down a turnaround baseline jumper with two minutes to play in the stanza to give BYU its biggest lead of the half at 46-23.
The Roadrunners will return to action next Thursday, Nov. 29, when they take on Oregon (4-0). Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. (CT) and the game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.


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Home List of Titles An analysis of courtroom evidence presentation technology requirements and current solutions
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/238337
- Title
- An analysis of courtroom evidence presentation technology requirements and current solutions
- Author(s)
- Tipping, Robert T.; Farrell, Vivienne; Woodward, Clinton J.; Farrell, Graham
- Abstract
- With the ever-increasing volumes of evidence being used in today's courts, evidence presentation is an area that may be best modernised in Australian courtrooms through the use of Information Technology to greatly increase efficiency and effectiveness. In this paper we have identified some of the key usability requirements for evidence presentation applications to run on tablet technology. This study analyses three current evidence presentation applications for the iPad for their individual usability qualities, and against the requirements established. The study identified deficiencies in the three applications tested, particularly in the area of document annotation. As a result we propose a number of design principles that will ideally improve the usability of evidence presentation applications for iPads and other tablet technologies. This study will be extended to include different tablet operating systems, and focus on the changes in the design principles that are dependent on available tablet work area size.
- Publication type
- Conference paper
- Research centre
- Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies
- Source
- Proceedings of 'Integration, Interaction, Innovation, Immersion, Inclusion', the Annual Conference of the Australian Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group (OZCHI 2012), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 26-30 November 2012, pp. 599-606
- Publication year
- 2012
- Keyword(s)
- Courtroom evidence; Courtroom technology; Evidence presentation; Evidence presentation requirements; Tablet computers; Technology; User interface design
- Publisher
- 9781450314381, 1450314384
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2012 ACM.
- Peer reviewed


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Please choose a body region on the right for you to pin point the problem area of your body.
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Homecare > Personal Hygiene > Hair & Body Wash >
CWI Medical carries No Rinse Wash, Shampoo, Bodywash, Shampoo Caps and Shower Gel.
Comfort Shield perineal washcloths with dimethicone helps to treat and prevent perineal dermatitis (skin breakdown) while sealing out…


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For Immediate Release
January 31, 2014
Illinois State Board of Education seeks sponsors/sites for summer food programs
Programs ensure low-income students are well-fed when school is out
SPRINGFIELD – Though the thermostat says otherwise, summer will be here soon and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) wants to make sure every child has access to nutritious meals during the break from school. School districts, local government entities and non-profits are encouraged to become a summer food site sponsor and/or site to provide free, healthy meals and snacks to low-income children.
Sponsors may submit their online applications to ISBE starting March 10. Potential sites should contact the Illinois State Board of Education at (800) 545-7892 to receive a list of sponsors in their area.
Last summer, Illinois had more than 1,700 summer food service program sites and 150 participating sponsors across the state.
"Low-income families often have difficulty fulfilling their children's nutritional needs outside of the school day, which can negatively affect their developmental, social and emotional well-being," State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch said. "Engaged learning requires healthy bodies and minds, and summer food programs play a crucial role in filling the nutritional gap over the summer months so students return to the classroom ready for success. I urge school administrators to spread the word about these valuable programs and encourage their local families to participate."
Summer food programs provide free meals and snacks to low-income children through age 18 when schools are on break. Individuals age 18 through 21 who are enrolled in school programs for persons with disabilities and have an IEP on file may also participate. Summer food programs typically operate when school is not in session during June, July and August, but can start as early as May and may go into September. Sites must be located in areas where at least 50 percent of the children are eligible for free and reduced meals from the National School Lunch Program or the family's income is 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
During the summer of 2012, nearly 95,000 low-income Illinois children ate free meals through summer food programs. Those children represent 12.8 percent of the roughly 740,000 children who ate free or reduced-priced meals during the 2011-2012 school year. Nationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that only 2.8 million children received summer meals on an average day during the summer. The total number of children participating in summer nutrition nationally saw a small increase of 13,000 meals in July 2012 from July 2011. However, only one in seven children who receive regular year school lunch is getting summer nutrition.
ISBE administers the USDA's 'Summer Food Service Program,' also known as 'Summer Meals,' which is designed to bridge the summer nutrition gap by offering free nutritious breakfasts, lunches or snacks to children age 18 and younger. Sponsor applications are due no later than June 15 and can be found at: http://www.isbe.net/nutrition/htmls/summer.htm.
School districts, local governments and non-profits can all sponsor summer food sites, which may include schools, parks, recreation centers, housing projects, migrant centers, churches, summer camps, and others. Most summer food program sites are open to all children in the community without any sign up or enrollment. However, some sites only serve meals to those children enrolled in a specific program.
Training is required to apply and participate as a sponsor. Upcoming sponsor workshop dates and cities are listed below. To register for the workshops, please visit www.isbe.net/nutrition/htmls/sfsp_training.htm. Training locations and dates include:
- March 11, 2014, in Marion
- March 20, 2014, in Alsip
- March 26, 2014, in Fairview Heights
- April 10, 2014, in Schaumburg
- April 16, 2014, in Galesburg
- April 30, 2014, in Lisle
- May 14, 2014, in Springfield
Institutions may also participate as a feeding site through an existing or a new sponsor.
Schools may help sponsors get the word out to students, their families and the community about available programs.
To find a summer meals site close to you, contact the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Hunger Hotline at 1-800-359-2163 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The hotline is available in both English and Spanish. Summer meal sites can also be found by texting FoodIL to 877877 or visit SummerFoodIllinois.org.
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
For the latest news from the Illinois State Board of Education, follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Illinois-State-Board-of-Education/136022251779 or Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/ISBEnews. Visit the official ISBE website at http://www.isbe.net.
Follow us: Visit the official ISBE website at http://www.isbe.net.


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The Deal: Republic Hits Labor Snag in Deal to Sell Frontier Airlines
NEW YORK ( The Deal ) -- The potential sale of Frontier Airlines is in doubt due to reluctance on the part of airline employees to take a haircut on equity grants they were given in return for signing off on previous cost savings sought by the discount carrier.
Frontier owner Republic Airways Holdings
A labor source said the buyer is seeking to "substantially wipe out" the equity grants, which were to be triggered by a sale or other liquidity event, and predicted unions representing flight attendants and pilots would not agree to the demands. "If the alternative is for the deal to fall apart, so be it," the source said.
A Republic spokesman confirmed that the potential buyer was seeking modifications but offered no other details, saying that Republic hopes to have the issue resolved by Sept. 30 but if not "the company would continue business as usual."
Should the deal fall apart Republic would likely be hard-pressed to find an alternative buyer. Republic has had Frontier on the block since November 2011 and according to sources reached an agreement with Indigo that would involve little cash but with the buyer assuming a significant amount of Republic debt.
Republic chairman and CEO Bryan Bedford admitted a new deal could be hard to find in a letter to employees dated Wednesday, saying "after having spent the last 18 months working diligently to get to this point, hoping for a better deal to come along with a different buyer would be very wishful thinking." Bedford said "I hope we do not literally throw away the bird in the hand in hopes of finding a better one in the bushes."
In addition to Indigo another private equity firm, Anchorage Capital Group , also reportedly had an interest in Frontier but would likely demand conditions similar to what Indigo is requesting from workers. Republic alternatively could spin the unit off to shareholders, an option that was under consideration while Frontier was being shopped.
If Indigo is successful in buying Frontier the firm is expected to continue work begun by Republic to transform the airline into a so-called "ultra-low-cost carrier" that markets cheap fares but charges fees for not only checked baggage but for carry-ons, snacks and beverages and other ancillary services as well.


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The Department of American Studies was the first Department to offer the PhD at the University of New Mexico. The Department promotes critically-engaged innovative academic research and teaching, and is a vital center for recruitment of diverse undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.
American Studies is a formal academic discipline that began more than seventy years ago as the United States was undergoing a series of crises over the meaning of the nation. Then, as now, American Studies has posed critical questions to Americans about the meaning of the United States in a global society. UNM's program, one of the first four American Studies programs in the nation, remains a dynamic place of critical inquiry, as well as a leading resource for scholarly explorations of the Southwest and New Mexico in particular.
Foremost, among the American Studies Department's many areas of distinction in research and teaching are:
Students have the opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary approach to their specific areas of interest, and receive training in a broad range of historical, literary, visual, and ethnographic theory and methods.
photo credit: Tom Brahl (UNM Image Gallery)
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Physical Location:
Humanities Building
(505) 277-3929
Phone: (505) 277-1208
Fax: firstname.lastname@example.com


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My SIL gave me some dried fruit--prunes, nectarines and pears. They are in large chunks and super tough (overdried) but I thought they might work as teethers for ds--yummy and nutritious. Is there some harm to this that I am not thinking of? I know the sugars are somewhat concentrated, but there is no added sugar. Whatcha all think?
I would, of course, intro the new foods at the same rate as any new food.


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Mall's makeover takes shopping outside
- published_in
- Today's News
Outdoor restaurants with rooftop patios, an outdoor fountain, a "village" gathering space for community events and a children's play area are envisioned for the new shopping area, according to Allen Ginsborg, managing director and principal of NewMark Merrill Mountain States, the development company that bought the mall for $8.5 million in February.
Ginsborg said Wednesday evening that NewMark Merrill is motivated to move forward quickly, though he declined to give a date for demolishing current mall structures or to name any specific retailers who are interested in being in the new mall. Ginsborg spoke at a public meeting held by NewMark Merrill for residents to see new plans for the mall. About 150 people attended the event at the mall in the space previously occupied by a JC Penney store.
"These plans are fluid right now," Ginsborg said. "The one area we can't control are retailers, and retailers are notoriously fickle."
Most Longmont residents looking at an artist's drawing of the new shopping center said they're supportive of the outdoor concept.
"It won't work if it's indoors. Retailers want an outdoor mall," said Liana Huey, 65, a part-time Longmont resident who also lives in Winter Park part of the year. Huey and others examined the rendering closely, looking for clues of potential new retailers and other aspects of the site. The drawing showed generic names on signs above stores.
Ginsborg and partner Sandy Sigel formed NMMS Twin Peaks LLC to buy the mall, which was in bankruptcy. The development team has said it plans to spend $25 million to $50 million to renovate the mall.
The new shopping center also may include a renovated movie theater with stadium seating, a natural-foods grocery store and a Costco or Sam's Club store, Ginsborg said. Those retail priorities come from polling of residents done by NewMark Merrill, he said.
Not only will the new shopping center have a new visual identity, but it also may get a new name, Ginsborg said. It's expected to have links to an existing nearby bike path, an underpass under South Hover Street to the west and an electric-vehicle charging station, he said.
NMMS Twin Peaks LLC paid a fraction of the approximately $26.5 million that former owner Panattoni Co. owed to creditor Bank of America. Panattoni purchased the mall in 2007 for a reported $33.6 million. NewMark Merrill Mountain States had been managing the mall since October 2010 on behalf of Panattoni.
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text: Major study finds "merit pay" doesn't work Does paying teachers bonuses based on student test scores improve achievement? No, it does not, according to the first scientific study of merit pay for teachers ever conducted in the United States. The new study, conducted by the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development in partnership with the Rand Corporation, was released on Sept. 22. "Our position has long been that paying teachers for student test scores undermines teamwork in a school and is ineffective at improving achievement," said MTA President Paul Toner. "This study, conducted by a nonprofit research organization using federal funds, demonstrates that merit pay simply doesn't work." During the three-year experiment, 300 middle school teachers in Nashville volunteered to participate. Half were eligible to receive bonuses of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 based on whether their students' test scores rose by a specific amount over a certain period of time, and the other half were in the control group and received no bonuses. After analyzing all of the data, the researchers concluded that students of the teachers receiving bonuses did no better on Tennessee's state standardized test than students of teachers who received no bonuses. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said he wasn't surprised by the findings. "Good teachers are good every day, not just on pay day," he said.


text: Watch out for the Miralax. Some have had success with it, but I have heard scary stories about side effects. I do agree with the concept, that you have to keep the stool soft and super easy to pass to get over the withholding. With DD I didn't want to use anything systemic (to "make" her go), so I used the Babylax liquid glycerin suppositories when she really needed a good cleanout. When she was getting the idea on letting it out, I went back to the solid glycerin suppositories. They are much less traumatic, and it is more of just the stimulation/sensation that gets the reflex going. Some parents have had success with stimulation alone, usually a lubed-up thermometer or finger. Now that DD has been going daily without the suppositories, she is learning her signals. And if she has a hard time going, I apply a little bit of "un-petroleum" jelly. Rubbing it around triggers the reflex, and the moisture speeds it out and keeps it from hurting. I recommend applying some jelly before all poops for a while, until she is no longer scared of them. HTH!


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GV Now
Convocation speakers welcome new students with tradition
Posted on August 23, 2013
Fifty years ago, Grand Valley welcomed its first students, its pioneer class.
On August 23 during Convocation at the Fieldhouse Arena, faculty and staff members welcomed the newest Lakers, who represent the Class of 2017. The venue was different, and the technology has, of course, changed, but the messages presented by speakers during Convocation likely had similar themes to those presented in 1963: Grand Valley is a student-centered institution that offers a liberal education.
President Thomas J. Haas told first-year students that a liberal education remains the cornerstone of Grand Valley. "We want a diploma from Grand Valley to signal to employers and to the community that you are a critical thinker," Haas said, adding, "you value diversity of thought and you understand the complexity of the world and the value of teamwork."
Haas urged new students to take advantage of the university's newest facilities: the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons and the L. William Seidman Center. He said those facilities and many other resources available on campus will help students apply knowledge and achieve.
A video, "Grand Valley State Through the Decades," seen above, premiered at Convocation.
During his opening address to faculty and staff members prior to Convocation, Haas said Grand Valley's course over the past 50 years has set the stage for future success, particularly in challenging financial times. He reminded the audience that enrollment remains critical, calling it job No. 1. "No public university is as enrollment dependent as Grand Valley is," he said. "Steady enrollment is essential for our financial model. We must promise what we can deliver and deliver on the promises we make to students and to each other."
Other Convocation speakers shared advice with new students. Karen Gipson, chair of the University Academic Senate, explained how her recovery from a 2010 stroke somewhat parallels the journey first-year students have before them. Gipson, associate professor of physics, said her recovery was dependent on four principles — good fortune, excellent support, persistence and patience. Each of those qualities will help students be successful, she said.
Ricky Benavidez, president of Student Senate, recalled being afraid of attending his first college class in 2009. He told students that Grand Valley quickly became a home for him, and the many new faces he saw quickly became his friends. "Grand Valley offers you a chance to expand your minds and views," Benavidez said. "This is your turn to lead your own future."
President Haas' Convocation Address and faculty and staff Opening Address are also available online at www.gvsu.edu/president.


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Duke City Hula Hoop enthusiasts! Join us every Sunday at Bataan Park for an afternoon of hooping and community!
Location: BATAAN PARK - Sundays @ 11am
Members: 39
Latest Activity: Sep 9, 2013
Started by Nicole Evans. Last reply by Nicole Evans May 1, 2012.
Started by Nicole Evans Dec 23, 2011.
Started by Alaska. Last reply by Alaska Aug 3, 2009.
Uber fun-ness!


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"I've been listening to the Catholic Answers Live podcast for about a year now. Today I heard Patrick Coffin say you were reaching all nations, and I felt I had to confirm it! I love your show and I learn every day. Thank you very much!"
"Enough, gentlemen, my last word is this: the guillotine seems set up for good. Take me there. An oath against my conscience you will never get from me."


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Note: This recall has been reannounced.
Delta's Recall Hotline: (800) 816-5304
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Delta Enterprise Corp., of New York, N.Y., is announcing the voluntary recall today of about 600,000 drop side cribs. The crib's drop side can detach when the spring peg is not engaged, which can cause an entrapment and suffocation risk to infants and toddlers.
If the spring pegs in the base of each leg of the crib are pushed back into the lower track, the pegs can become nonfunctional. This can cause the drop side to detach from the crib and create a gap that can entrap an infant or toddler.
CPSC staff is aware of a death of an 8-month-old child who suffocated when the drop side of his crib detached. CPSC is also aware of one child entrapment and one incident in which the drop side detached due to a disengaged spring peg.
The recall involves all Delta drop side cribs manufactured prior to 2006 that use "Crib Trigger Lock with Spring Peg" drop side hardware design. The recalled model numbers and country of origin include: 4340, 4343, 4520, 4600, 4620, 4624, 4625, 4629, 4660, 4665, 4720, 4750, 4751, 4850, 4855, 4857, 4880, 4920, 4925-2, 4925-2B, 4925-6, 4980, and 8605. The model number, country of origin and manufacture dates are located on top of the mattress support board. The recalled cribs have Delta's name and address on the mattress support boards and Delta's logo on the teether rail.
The cribs, which were made in China, were sold at major retailers nationwide from January 2000 through January 2007 for between $33 and $200. Cribs currently sold at retail are not involved.
CPSC and Delta urge parents and caregivers to immediately stop using these cribs and contact Delta to receive a free, easy-to-install repair kit. Call Delta toll-free at (800) 816-5304 anytime after 5 pm today or log on www.cribrecallcenter.com to order the free repair kit.
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to find a safe, alternative sleep environment for their child until the repair kit, with new safety pegs, is safely installed are the recalled cribs.
CPSC would like to remind parents not to use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts. Make sure to tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy. When using a drop side crib parents should check to make sure the drop side or any other moving part operates smoothly. Always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Any disengagement can create a gap and entrap a child. In addition, do not try to repair any side of the crib, especially with tape, wire or rope.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of
thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the
nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or
mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to help ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household
chemicals -– contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at
301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing
to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.
Times: 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime
Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.
Please use the below phone number for all media requests.
Phone: (301) 504-7908
Spanish: (301) 504-7800
View CPSC contacts for specific areas of expertise
We are still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product.
Report a Product on SaferProducts.gov
The link you selected is for a destination outside of the Federal Government. CPSC does not control this external site or its privacy policy and cannot attest to the accuracy of the information it contains. You may wish to review the privacy policy of the external site as its information collection practices may differ from ours. Linking to this external site does not constitute an endorsement of the site or the information it contains by CPSC or any of its employees.
Click Ok if you wish to continue to the website; otherwise, click Cancel to return to our site.


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Beginning Tuesday, Georgia residents can bring their firearms with them when they pray, pound some beers, check out books, and even when they drop the kids off at school.
Signed back in April, the state's controversial new gun law — critics derided it as a "guns everywhere bill" — goes into effect today. Officially called the Safe Carry Protection Act, the law allows licensed gun owners to bring their weapons into a slew of new public places, including some lower-security government buildings. Bars, which could previously opt in to allow guns on their premises, must now opt out if they want to remain gun-free. Churches and schools, on the other hand, can now opt in to permit guns.
Gun owners who accidentally bring their guns to the airport will also no longer face criminal penalties for doing so, though they'll still be barred from bringing their weapons with them when they board. Jon Terbush
Sen. Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) Senate farewell Thursday was filled with moments both heartfelt and humorous, as the Senate minority leader prepares to retire after 30 years in Congress.
Hillary Clinton made her first appearance on Capitol Hill since losing the presidential election to deliver a farewell — and a joke about the recent unexpected turn of events. "This is not exactly the speech at the Capitol I hoped to be giving after the election," Clinton said, after receiving a standing ovation. "But after a few weeks of taking selfies in the woods, I though it would be a good idea to come out." Clinton proceeded to praise Reid's work passing "landmark legislation that made life better for American families, specifically mentioning his role in making the Affordable Care Act law.
Vice President Joe Biden started his tribute by saying, "My name is Joe Biden and I work for Harry Reid." He proceeded to reminisce on Reid's habit of ending phone calls abruptly, saying, "Every time I hear a dial tone, I think of Harry." But Biden — who worked alongside Reid in the Senate for 25 years — put the jokes aside to honor his friend and colleague. "I love you, pal," Biden said. "I know that embarrasses you, but I do."
Reid's incoming replacement as Senate minority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), also delivered a tribute, as did Reid's Republican counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and his Democratic counterpart in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Reid's portrait will be unveiled and hung on Capitol Hill later Thursday. Becca Stanek
Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be White House chief of staff, once reportedly tried to talk Trump out of seeing his campaign through to Election Day. Citing "a person briefed on the conversation," New York's Gabriel Sherman reported Thursday that Priebus told Trump he should drop out of the race after the Access Hollywood tape of Trump making lewd comments about women was leaked in early October.
Priebus reportedly said that if Trump did not cut his losses then, he would "go down with a worse election loss than Barry Goldwater's." In the 1964 presidential election, the Republican presidential candidate lost to then-Democratic candidate Lyndon B. Johnson, winning just 52 electoral votes while Johnson won 486.
As we all know now, Priebus ended up being dead wrong about Trump's prospects. Trump, unlike Goldwater, won 306 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 232. While Priebus' nomination as chief of staff would indicate both he and Trump have moved past the incident, Sherman reported that not everyone on Trump's team has. Some, Sherman wrote, are "dismayed by Priebus' influence because they question the Washington insider's loyalty to the president-elect."
Read more about the power struggle that has allegedly created over at New York. Becca Stanek
Former Ohio senator, astronaut, and aviator John Glenn died Thursday at the age of 95, The Columbus Dispatch reports. Glenn was hospitalized a week ago at the James Cancer Hospital at Ohio State University, although his specific condition was unknown and was not necessarily cancer.
Glenn achieved many "firsts" in his lifetime, including being the first American to orbit Earth, breaking the transcontinental flight speed record, and becoming the oldest person in space.
#BREAKING: John Glenn has died at age 95 pic.twitter.com/zYGNA2Cm9D
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 8, 2016
"John Glenn is, and always will be, Ohio's ultimate hometown hero, and his passing today is an occasion for all of us to grieve," Ohio Gov. John Kasich said. "As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation. Though he soared deep into space and to the heights of Capitol Hill, his heart never strayed from his steadfast Ohio roots. Godspeed, John Glenn!" Jeva Lange
Only 51 percent of 30-year-old Americans make more money than their parents did at the same age, economists and sociologists from Stanford, Harvard, and the University of California have learned. The results of their study reflect a shocking decline from four decades prior, when 92 percent of American 30-year-olds in 1970 earned more than their parents did at a similar age.
"My parents thought that one thing about America is that their kids could do better than they were able to do," Raj Chetty, an economist on the research team who emigrated from India at age 9, told The Wall Street Journal. "That was important in my parents' decision to come here."
It isn't immediately clear why Americans aren't earning as much, but economic growth and the widening income gap are likely causes. Regardless, reversing the trend is a daunting task: "If income distribution remains as tilted toward the wealthy as it is now, [the researchers] calculate, it would take sustained growth of more than 6 percent a year, adjusted for inflation, to return to an era where nearly all children outearned their parents," The Wall Street Journal notes. "Since World War II, the U.S. hasn't experienced anything near that level of growth for a lengthy period of time." Jeva Lange
While at an amber market in Myanmar, Chinese paleontologist Lida Xing stumbled upon an extraordinary clue about the appearance of dinosaurs. Enclosed in a chunk of amber for sale, Xing spotted what turned out to be the perfectly preserved tail of a dinosaur that roamed the Earth some 99 million years ago. Her discovery marked the first time a mummified dinosaur skeleton has ever been found, and a paper on it was just published in the journal Current Biology.
Dinosaur tail feathers encased in amber may hold Jurassic secrets https://t.co/0mDP4eGDVc pic.twitter.com/Xu9qJG43QD
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 8, 2016
Interestingly, the tail was neither big nor scaly. Instead, it measures about 3.7 centimeters in length and it is covered in feathers that appear to be chestnut-colored. The tail's vertebrae aren't fused like that of a bird's tail, suggesting the dinosaur could've moved the appendage in a "whip-like" fashion. Scientists believe the tail came from a young coelurosaur "about the size of a sparrow," BBC reported. At full size, NPR says the dinosaur likely would've been "a little smaller than an ostrich."
T. rex cousin's 99-million-year old tail feathers found in amber https://t.co/OLnP4YwFWJ pic.twitter.com/RZHOKEAtE7
— New Scientist (@newscientist) December 8, 2016
Different as this tiny, feathered dino may sound from the mammoth creatures featured in films, scientists say coelurosaurs are actually closely related to both the Tyrannosaurus rex and the velociraptor. Moreover, this newly discovered tail has more and more scientists thinking this feathery creature might be a more accurate portrait of dinosaurs than the ferocious beasts of Jurassic Park. "The more we see these feathered dinosaurs and how widespread the feathers are, things like a scaly velociraptor seem less and less likely and they've become a lot more bird-like," said Ryan McKellar, a paleontologist who co-authored the paper. "They're not quite the Godzilla-style scaly monsters we once thought." Becca Stanek
Apprentice producer Mark Burnett is helping to orchestrate Trump's Inauguration Day festivities
The reality TV producer best known for his work on The Apprentice will play a role in orchestrating Donald Trump's Inauguration Day festivities, The New York Times reports. Mark Burnett, who is also the executive producer of The Voice, Survivor, and Shark Tank, is reportedly huddling with Trump to plan the events of Jan. 20, 2017:
Despite the modest nature of the events under consideration, [Thomas Barrack Jr., who is leading the presidential inauguration committee], said Mr. Burnett was actively involved in producing the inauguration week festivities. He will have a large team to work with, as the committee's staff in Washington is expected to swell to more than 300 people by Inauguration Day.
"Mark is a genius, and the president-elect loves him," Mr. Barrack said. [The New York Times]
The Inauguration Day events are expected to be completed by Monday, although some details, including two balls, a candlelit dinner, and a "victory reception," are already known. "The president-elect wants this to be simple," Barrack said. "He wants this to be about the people." Jeva Lange
Donald Trump and his allies spent the bulk of the presidential campaign criticizing the "donor class," but at least six of Trump's top appointees so far have been direct or indirect contributors to his campaign, Adam Smith of the nonprofit political advocacy group Every Voice pointed out on Twitter:
Labor: donor
Treasury: donor
Commerce: donor
Deputy Commerce: family donor
Education: party donor
SBA: donor
— Adam Smith (@asmith83) December 8, 2016
Andrew Puzder, who was selected by Trump as labor secretary Thursday, "gave $10,000 to pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now in August," CNBC reports. "He also donated $75,000 to a Trump joint fundraising committee with the Republican Party and gave the maximum $2,700 to Trump's campaign in May." Steven Mnuchin, Trump's treasury secretary, is also a donor, having given $2,700 to Trump's presidential campaign. Trump's secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross Jr., is described as a "donor and longtime associate of Trump's," by NPR. Additionally, Ross "helped [Trump] resurrect his casino company after it went bankrupt in the early 1990s." And the Chicago Tribune reports that Todd Ricketts' family spent "$1 million to back Trump's presidential bid." Ricketts was recently tapped for deputy commerce secretary.
Is today's theme "Name a Donor to the Cabinet?"
Mnuchin: finance chairman
Ross: big fundraiser
Ricketts: dad backed pro-Trump super PAC pic.twitter.com/8UehwkhLv3
— Matea Gold (@mateagold) November 30, 2016
Betsy DeVos, who is Trump's pick for education secretary, is described by The New Yorker in such a way: "It would be hard to find a better representative of the 'donor class' than DeVos, whose family has been allied with Charles and David Koch for years." Finally, Linda McMahon, whom Trump named Wednesday as the head of the Small Business Administration, donated $6 million to Trump's super PAC, Rebuilding America Now, in August and September, The Washington Post reports. Jeva Lange


text:
June 16, 2011 —
SOUTH FALLSBURG, NY — St. Andrew's Episcopal Mission in South Fallsburg will hold its annual yard and basement sale on Saturday, June 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. Items include books, CDs, videos, designer clothes, kitchen equipment, china, jewelry, arts and crafts and collectibles. The church is located at 5277 Rte. 42.
The proceeds will be used to partially cover the food pantry, foundation work on the historic church and the Chamber Music at St. Andrew's free concert series. The pantry dispenses free groceries to needy families who live in the Town of Fallsburg the second and fourth Friday of each month from 5 to 7 p.m.


text:
( I also posted this under parenting but wanted to make sure I got some responses)
Okay after 6 months of daily soaking of poopy clothes and it is just getting worse I must ask. She has that runny breast milk poops. She fits a size 2 well in pampers swaddlers for her wets but poops out them every morning. I want to know if you would try her up a size or another brand.I hated luvs they were even worse. I was worried if I go up a size that she will have droopy diapers. Any advice? Also I don't think I would be able to do cloth with working.


text:
18 things to do, see and read this November
- Next1 of 19Jae Rew/Getty Images
- Previous Next2 of 19Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
- Previous Next3 of 19Glo
- Previous Next4 of 19AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
- Previous Next5 of 19Jemal Countess/Getty Images
- Previous Next6 of 19MGM/Columbia Pictures/Photofest
- Previous Next7 of 19PBS/Photofest
- Previous Next8 of 19New Line/Photofest
- Previous Next9 of 19Glo
- Previous Next10 of 19Glo
- Previous Next11 of 19Focus Features/Photofest
- Previous Next12 of 19C Flanigan/FilmMagic
- Previous Next13 of 19Kevin Mazur/WireImage
- Previous Next14 of 19Glo
- Previous Next15 of 19Superstock/Getty Images
- Previous Next16 of 19Matt McClain for The Washington Post via Getty Images
- Previous Next17 of 19Lifetime/Photofest
- Previous Next18 of 19STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images
- Previous Next19 of 19David Corio/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Happiness List1 of 19
By Julie Fishman
While it might feel like Turkey Day and Election Day may dominate this November, the month has a lot more to offer than just football and mashed potatoes and politics. With new fashion collaborations, film premieres and book launches, here's your anti-boredom guide to the next 30 days.
Love the 'Stache2 of 19
All month: Men around the world will be growing, grooming and waxing their way to facial hair philanthropy for Movember. Having grown from 30 Mo Bros in 2003 to 854,288 in 2011, the organization is changing the face—quite literally—of men's prostate health.
Think Small3 of 19
Nov. 2: As thin as a No. 2 pencil and just 0.68 pounds, the iPad mini fits in one hand and just about any purse. The tablet Hits stores today, and there are now 275,000 iPad-specific apps available. Now you can have the whole package in a smaller package.
Cast Your Vote4 of 19
Nov. 6: Today's your chance to get out and help elect our country's next president, as well as vote on other important issues in your state such as legalizing marijuana, health care reform and food labeling, depending on where you live.
Score Designer Deals5 of 19
Nov. 7: Snag the sophisticated style of Narciso Rodriguez at a fraction of the price: The high-end designer's limited-edition collection hits the racks at Kohl's today. His colorful outerwear, dresses, tops and knits range from a wallet-friendly $30 to $150.
Bond With Bond6 of 19
Nov. 9: Daniel Craig returns for a third time as 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd installment of the longest-running film series in history. Also starring Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes, this high-octane film is almost worth seeing solely for the eye candy.
Get Nostalgic7 of 19
Nov. 10: Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969 and has since been watched by 74 million Americans, likely including you!
Have a Good Cry8 of 19
Nov. 11: At 8p.m. ET/PT tonight ABC Family will air a special edition of the 2004 tearjerker The Notebook, featuring over 10 minutes of deleted scenes.
Upgrade Your Java9 of 19
Nov. 13: Rodarte and Starbucks are teaming up to create limited-edition coffee products available online and in stores today. Choose from a travel mug, reusable cup sleeve, gift card or tote, each plastered with a pixelated Starbucks graphic.
Go Avant-Garde10 of 19
Nov. 15: Body: H&M's latest collaboration with avant-garde French fashion house Maison Martin Margiela hits stores worldwide today. While the designer's originals can cost thousands, the H&M collection's most pricey pieces will be under $400.
Discover a Classic11 of 19
Nov. 16: The latest film adaptation of Tolstoy's 1877 novel Anna Karenina opens in theaters today. While stars Keira Knightley and Jude Law may be easy on the eyes, the costumes, designed by Oscar nominee Jacqueline Durran, will also likely impress.
Watch Who Wins12 of 19
Nov. 18: Tune in to ABC tonight at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT for the 40th American Music Awards live show, featuring performances by Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj and Linkin Park.
Have a Dance Party13 of 19
Nov. 19: Rihanna's seventh studio album, Unapologetic, hits stores today. Expect upbeat pop tunes in the same vein as her recently released single "Diamonds."
Get the Dirt14 of 19
Nov. 20: Ke$ha's illustrated tell-all memoir, My Crazy Beautiful Life, comes out today. Grab a copy to see the grit and grime behind the glitz and glam.
Avoid a Food Coma15 of 19
Nov. 22: Despite popular belief, the tryptophan in turkey is probably not responsible for post-Thanksgiving drowsiness. Drinking too much booze and eating a large, high-carbohydrate meal is the more likely culprit.
Shop 'Til You Drop16 of 19
Nov. 23: According to The National Retail Federation, 226 million Americans spent $52.4 billion over Black Friday weekend in 2011. With store openings getting earlier and earlier, Black Friday is turning into Black Thursday.
See Lilo as Liz17 of 19
Nov 25: Lindsay Lohan plays Elizabeth Taylor in Liz & Dick, premiering at 9ET/8CT tonight on Lifetime. The film follows Taylor's 25-year romance—including two marriages and two divorces—with leading man Richard Burton
Skip the Lines18 of 19
Nov. 26: The National Retail Federation reports that nearly 52 percent of Americans will do their holiday shopping online this year. Get started today and snag Cyber Monday deals and discounts.
Remember a Legend19 of 19
Nov. 27: Fans of Whitney Houston (isn't that everyone?) can check out the new book Whitney: Tribute to an Icon. Expect 130 never-before-seen photos from David LaChapelle, Steven Meisel, Patrick DeMarchelier and more, along with personal essays from Clive Davis and others.
NEXT GALLERY: Inspiring Advice From "Super Agers"


text: Yesterday, Adam was very happy about the Supreme Court's ruling over the California Violent Video Games law and gave you all an early Soapbox. Now after he's had some time to digest the ruling, The Sess has decided to give you another, much longer Soapbox going in depth about the details of the case. Find out why this particular Supreme Court case matters to you, whether you're a gamer or not, in this extended edition of Sessler's Soapbox.


text:
Western ballads played on guitar are the only sounds used in this romantic portrait of a cowboy. He rounds up wild horses, lassoing one of the high-spirited animals in the corral, and then goes for a glorious plunging ride across the spectacular Rocky Mountain foothills of Alberta.
After I had been at the NFB four years, I went with my father to a cattle auction. (My father was the foreman on one of the largest cattle ranches in southern Alberta, the Cochrane Ranch.) I watched while several hundred head of ranch cattle were brought through the rain by the ranch hands. Wally Jensen was the top hand at the ranch. He was riding through the wet grass with his yellow dog at his side. A wave of nostalgia hit me that I had never felt before. The next summer I asked Wolf Koenig, a farm boy himself, if he would like to come with me to Alberta to make a film about a cowboy. He was delighted and we spent three weeks on the ranch. My father provided his top hand, Wally Jensen, and the horses.
We made Corral in 1953. Wolf Koenig was in the NFB Animation Department and this was his first live-action shooting using a new Arriflex and a tripod with a gyro stabilizer. He was an amazing cinematographer! I had written a script but Wally Jensen re-wrote it while we worked.
My father knew that we would work with about 20 horses and he urged us to work sensibly. He did not want the horses spooked. The horse that Wally chose was a young half-broken mare that he had not yet ridden. In the corral he used several horses for the roping shots so that the mare would not be hurt.
The mounting of the horse for the camera surprised the horse so that she reared and then ran with the other horses as Wally had predicted. To do the long run at the end of the film, we took Midge, the horse, up to Waterton Park, where there was a paved highway without fences. We followed the flying run for a couple of miles with the camera in the ranch truck. Everyone thought we had a helicopter.
Most of the shots in the corral were hand-held by Wolf standing behind or close to Wally or the snubbing post. The horses were mostly trained and were not hazardous to be around, but a certain amount of buffeting occurred. It was a corral that was used very often. We did not rush the shooting and often waited for the light and broken clouds to give us strong light and shade.
I worried that we would need a fairly long narration to explain the process, but when I talked to Stanley Jackson at the screening of the cutting copy, he said, "This film doesn't need narration, it speaks for itself." Tom Daly, our producer, cut the film, and Wolf and I were in the cutting room and I must say that we learned a lot from Tom's skill and experience. Eldon Rathburn wrote the score for two jazz guitarists in Toronto based on several well-known cowboy songs. Most people seemed to like the simplicity of the film.
The year that the film was finished, it won the documentary prize at Venice. I stopped worrying that we needed narration.


text:
Reviewed By Cathy S (Anaheim, CA) Reviewed for a 2004 Toyota Matrix —3/3/2010 10:42 PM
Well at frist I thought oh no this is going to take forever to get them on! But as I started to put them on it was so easy to do!! Now I can take them off,and wash them with out going crazy! So This is the best seat covers I have ever had!!


text:
New turf for Indians
SALINEVILLE-Fans who attend football games this fall at Southern Local High School will be treated to a vastly upgraded facility.
Work is currently underway to replace to the natural grass at the football stadium with a new synthetic field turf. The new playing surface comes in addition to a host of other facility changes. The visitors side bleachers will be completely replaced, while new bleachers will be added to both ends of the home side. A new field house which will hold a weight room and wrestling facilities is also under construction. On top of that, the running track will receive asphalt and 100 additional parking spaces will be added.
"Last football season really highlighted how much we needed to make improvements to our facility," Superintendent John Wilson said. "This project is something we feel will benefit the students of Southern Local and the community for a long time."
Wilson cited an accident after a football game a couple of years ago in which a girl was struck by a car as the main motivation behind expanding the parking area. At a January meeting to discuss the issue, Wilson also said that the visitors side bleachers had sunk so low that people could not get an adequate view of the game and that the field had "virtually not been worked on since it was installed in 1962."
The football field improvements are scheduled to be completed by August 1, with the fieldhouse set to be finished by mid-September. The total cost for the project came out to slightly more than $1 million.
According to Wilson, the money came from moving 2 inside mills (which is guaranteed money from the state) from the current expense fund to the permanent improvement fund. The millage move was approved at a March 6 board meeting and resulted in an unvoted tax increase which will cost owners of a $50,000 home an extra $22.97 a year and owners of a $150,000 home $66.91 according to Wilson's calculations. The 2 mills is expected to generate $164,000 for the district.
The turf is being installed by The Motz Group out of Cincinnati, which has also supplied turf to Ohio State University and the Cincinnati Reds among others.
Football coach Mike Skrinjar echoed Wilson's remarks about the need for an upgrade.
"This was something that our field has needed for a long time now," Skrinjar said. "With artificial turf the field can be used a lot more often and we are excited to play on it. I give a lot of credit to John Wilson for putting all of this together."
Before the issue was approved, Wilson hosted several public meetings to gauge interest in the unvoted tax increase. He said that views were and remain generally positive.
"You are never going to please everybody," Wilson said. "Some folks don't believe that we need the stadium improvements or don't like how the money was raised but a lot of people are also pretty excited about it. We think this new facility is something the community can be proud of."


text:
This article will show you how I am using PF (the Packet Filter from the OpenBSD project) and
spamd (also from OpenBSD) to implement greylisting and greatly reduce incoming spam. This solution is completely MTA agnostic. You do not have to make any changes to your existing mail server configuration to use
spamd/PF. In fact, you can easily use PF and
spamd to guard any SMTP mail server; even MS Exchange.
I first read about PF when reading Micheal Lucas's Absolute OpenBSD. If you have never read one of his books, I urge you to do so. His writing style is very clear and easy to follow. The book contains about thirty pages on PF, yet there is so much packed into that short chapter that when I read it I knew one day I'd start using PF. That day came a few weeks ago. My gateway at home has been happily running PF since early October. And more importantly, I've been happy. One of the best features of any software product is simplicity of use. PF is simple to start and easy to extend when you need the more advanced features.
A few weeks after implementing PF on my home gateway, I attended NYCBSDCon 2006 and listened to Bob Beck's talk on
spamd. It was so easy that I just had to try it. So I did.
On a related note, I'll also give you a short introduction to OS fingerprinting and how you can use PF to block/pass packets based on the sending OS.
spamd and PF work together. PF will direct any known good clients directly to the mail server. Similarly, it will send known bad clients to the tarpit, a slow-responding mail server that does not add much load to your system. Finally, it asks new clients, not known to be good or bad, to try again later.
This makes three lists of clients:
The key to greylisting is knowing that good and kind mail servers do not mind being politely asked to come back later. This is part of the STMP protocol. Spammers, however, are cheap and nasty. They don't like this. They probably won't come back later. Why? Queue management is tricky. If you're sending to millions of email addresses, why worry about a few messages that you cannot deliver? Just skip along to the next one. Spammers work on volume. Greylisting exploits that characteristic.
My gateway was running FreeBSD 6.2 PRELREASE. PF is also available on DragonflyBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD (of course!). The FreeBSD Handbook has a good introduction to PF.
There are several ways to enable PF, including compiling it into the kernel, or loading the module. I added a few options to my /etc/rc.conf file to ensure PF starts up at boot time. It also starts the logging daemon.
Note that I have chosen a nondefault value for my PF rules. The default value, as found in /etc/default/rc.conf, is /etc/pf.conf. To avoid any merge conflicts with
mergemaster(8), I chose a different filename. The default install comes with many fine examples in /etc/pf.conf and I urge you to read them.
Designing a PF rule set is beyond the scope of this article, but the OpenBSD project has a good PF rule set example.
The primary interface between PF and the outside world is
pfctl. To load PF on a running system, issue the command:
# kldload pf
# kldstat
Id Refs Address Size Name
1 8 0xc0400000 6721fc kernel
2 1 0xc0a73000 58554 acpi.ko
3 1 0xc4eb5000 16000 linux.ko
4 1 0xc5e20000 2d000 pf.ko
What does loading PF give you? To see all the filter parameters:
# pfctl -s all
No ALTQ support in kernel
ALTQ related functions disabled
Status: Disabled Debug: None
Hostid: 0x595cedd1
State Table Total Rate
current entries 0
searches 0 0.0/s
inserts 0 0.0/s
removals 0 0.0/s
match 0 0.0/s
bad-offset 0 0.0/s
fragment 0 0.0/s
short 0 0.0/s
normalize 0 0.0/s
memory 0 0.0/s
bad-timestamp 0 0.0/s
congestion 0 0.0/s
ip-option 0 0.0/s
proto-cksum 0 0.0/s
state-mismatch 0 0.0/s
state-insert 0 0.0/s
state-limit 0 0.0/s
src-limit 0 0.0/s
synproxy 0 0.0/s
tcp.first 120s
tcp.opening 30s
tcp.established 86400s
tcp.closing 900s
tcp.finwait 45s
tcp.closed 90s
tcp.tsdiff 30s
udp.first 60s
udp.single 30s
udp.multiple 60s
icmp.first 20s
icmp.error 10s
other.first 60s
other.single 30s
other.multiple 60s
frag 30s
interval 10s
adaptive.start 0 states
adaptive.end 0 states
src.track 0s
states hard limit 10000
src-nodes hard limit 10000
frags hard limit 5000
Notice that the status indicates PF is disabled. To enable PF, issue the command:
# pfctl -e
No ALTQ support in kernel
ALTQ related functions disabled
pf enabled
There are no filter rules loaded. To test your rules, without loading them:
pfctl -n -f /etc/pf.rules
This will report any syntax errors. To load the rules:
pfctl -f /etc/pf.rules
Read the man page for more
-s options. You can pull out NAT, RDR, filtering, etc.
This section shows very simple rules. It is a trimmed down version of what I use at home.
fxp0 faces my ISP.
fxp1 talks to my home network. This setting in /etc/rc.conf allows the gateway to forward packets between the two NICs:
The rule set is:
NoRouteIPs = "{ 127.0.0.0/8, 192.168.0.0/16, 172.16.0.0/12, 10.0.0.0/8 }"
# machines inside
# machines outside
table <AllowedToSSH> { $FISH, $STIN, $THEF }
set skip on lo0
set skip on gif0
scrub in all
nat on $ext_if from $internal_net to any -> ($ext_if)
rdr on $ext_if proto tcp from any to $external_addr port 80 -> $webserver
# block all by default
block all
block in quick on $ext_if from $NoRouteIPs to any
block out quick on $ext_if from any to $NoRouteIPs
antispoof quick for $int_if inet
# pass all traffic to and from the local network
pass in on $int_if from $internal_net to any
pass out on $int_if from any to $internal_net
pass out on $ext_if proto tcp all modulate state flags S/SA
pass out on $ext_if proto { udp, icmp } all keep state
pass in on $ext_if inet proto tcp from any to $webserver port 80 flags S/SA synproxy state
pass in quick on $ext_if inet proto tcp from <AllowedToSSH> to $external_addr port 22 flags S/SA keep state
A few notes on specific lines above:
I hope that's enough to get you started with your own rule set.
Equality is a nice concept. The theory is great. The practice is not universal, especially when it comes to operating systems. Why discriminate? I will answer that question in the form of a story related to me by someone who uses OS fingerprinting at home to lessen his domestic workload. To protect the guilty, I will call this person Phil.
Phil uses BSD in his everyday work. At home, his kids use BSD. Their machines also dual-boot with Windows in case they need to do specific things for homework. In general, they use BSD. When using Windows, they can only use the Web; nothing else. Why do these rules exist? To lessen Phil's workload. He doesn't want to remove viruses and spamware all the time. How do you keep them off the Windows computers? You keep the Windows computers off the Internet.
Sure, rules are nice, but some kids, and some adults, don't follow the rules. It would be nice if there was some way to enforce this at the firewall. Enter OS fingerprinting.
OS fingerprinting is not new. nmap, for example, uses it. From
man pf.conf:
Passive OS Fingerprinting is a mechanism to inspect nuances of a TCP connection's initial SYN packet and guess at the host's operating system.
PF's ability to detect the Operating System at the other end of the TCP/IP connection allows Phil to prevent his kids from breaking the rules. To illustrate this, I'll try blocking incoming queries based upon the OS you use. On my web server at home, I created a website: http://beta.freebsddiary.org/. To demonstrate that the website is actually running, you will be able to browse freely to the URL, but if you try http://beta.freebsddiary.org/:8080, you will not be able to connect if you use Windows.
How do I do this? I'll show you the PF rules, but the Apache setup is outside the scope of this article.
These rules redirect incoming traffic from the gateway to the web server:
rdr on $ext_if proto tcp from any to $external_addr port http -> $webserver
rdr on $ext_if proto tcp from any to $external_addr port 8080 -> $webserver
As you can see, port 80 (http) and port 8080 both redirect to my web server.
These rules will pass or block the traffic based on port and OS:
pass in quick on $ext_if inet proto tcp from any to $webserver port http flags S/SA synproxy state
block in quick on $ext_if inet proto tcp from any os windows to $webserver port 8080
pass in quick on $ext_if inet proto tcp from any to $webserver port 8080 flags S/SA synproxy state
The first line allows traffic to flow freely from my internal NIC to the web server on port 80.
The second line blocks all traffic from any Windows machine headed towards port 8080 on my web server.
The last line passes all traffic on port 8080. The above line contains a
quick directive so if the client OS is Windows, subsequent filter rules have no effect on the packet.
I originally wanted to redirect different OS connections to different web servers, but the OS directive is not available on the RDR statement.
For FreeBSD,
spamd comes as a port. The easiest way to install it is to have a fresh copy of the FreeBSD ports tree and issue the commands:
cd /usr/ports/mail/spamd
make install clean
To enable
spamd, get greylisting going, get verbose logging, and add these entries to /etc/rc.conf:
pfspamd_flags="-g -v"
man spamd for more details on the various options you can specify.
If you are using greylisting, also run the command:
mount -t fdescfs fdescfs /dev/fd
This mount allows
spamlogd to update the
spamd table. To mount this directory at boot time, add a line to /etc/fstab:
fdescfs /dev/fd fdescfs rw 0 0
To ensure you have the latest versions of the spam blacklists, refresh them once per hour with a line in /etc/crontab:
48 * * * * /usr/local/sbin/spamd-setup
spamd-setup utility adds blacklists by adding addresses to the PF table
<spamd> according to the instructions in /usr/local/etc/spamd.conf. To distribute the load a bit and avoid having everyone hit the servers at the same time (perhaps 48 minutes past the hour, or at the top of the hour), change 48 to whatever minute it is when you enter the crontab entry.
Make a copy of spamd.conf:
cp /usr/local/etc/spamd.conf.sample /usr/local/etc/spamd.conf
You may wish to amend spamd.conf according to your needs. My changes are:
I also added a line to /etc/syslog.conf so I could see the log from
daemon.err;daemon.warn;daemon.info /var/log/spamd
I created the file:
touch /var/log/spamd
Remember to HUP
syslogd so it reads your changes and takes appropriate action:
kill -HUP `cat /var/run/syslog.pid`
Although your logfile will be empty at this point, here are a few entries that appeared after mine had run for a while.
$ tail /var/log/spamd
Nov 8 00:30:15 nyi spamd[27528]: 184.108.40.206: connected (1/0)
Nov 8 00:30:15 nyi spamd[27528]: 18.104.22.168: disconnected after 0 seconds.
Nov 8 00:37:31 nyi spamd[27528]: 22.214.171.124: connected (1/0)
Nov 8 00:37:34 nyi spamd[27528]: (GREY) 22.214.171.124: <email@example.com>
-> >email@example.com>
Nov 8 00:37:34 nyi spamd[27528]: 22.214.171.124: disconnected after 3 seconds.
Nov 8 00:37:38 nyi spamd[27528]: 22.214.171.124: connected (1/0)
Nov 8 00:37:40 nyi spamd[27528]: (GREY) 220.127.116.11: >email@example.com>
-> <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Nov 8 00:37:40 nyi spamd[27528]: 184.108.40.206: disconnected after 2 seconds.
Nov 8 00:45:16 nyi spamd[27528]: 126.96.36.199: connected (1/0)
Nov 8 00:45:16 nyi spamd[27528]: 188.8.131.52: disconnected after 0 seconds.
No, those aren't the real email addresses from my logs, but they are close.
There are some problems with greylisting. Be sure to read the whitelisting section at greylisting.org. I have taken its whitelist and added it to my whitelist (/usr/local/etc/spamd-mywhite). Also in that file are my own mailservers and any special places which are immune to any
spamd intervention.
I added a few rules to /etc/pf.rules:
table <spamd> persist
table <spamd-white> persist
table <spamd-mywhite> persist file "/usr/local/etc/spamd-mywhite"
scrub in all
# redirect to spamd
rdr pass inet proto tcp from <spamd-white> to $external_addr port smtp -> 127.0.0.1 port smtp
rdr pass inet proto tcp from <spamd> to $external_addr port smtp -> 127.0.0.1 port spamd
rdr pass inet proto tcp from !<spamd-mywhite> to $external_addr port smtp -> 127.0.0.1 port spamd
# mail!
pass in log inet proto tcp from any to $external_addr port smtp flags S/SA synproxy state
pass out log inet proto tcp from $external_addr to any port smtp flags S/SA synproxy state
That's not too difficult to digest:
spamd table. Everyone in this table redirects to
spamd-setup maintains the contents of this table; it runs from a cronjob.
spamd's greylisting efforts.
spamlogd maintains this table.
pflog, which
spamlogd will monitor and use to update the
spamd table.
Note that the use of
pass on the RDR rules is significant. Here's an explanation from the OpenBSD PF FAQ:
NAT and Packet Filtering
NOTE: Translated packets must still pass through the filter engine and will be blocked or passed based on the filter rules that have been defined. The only exception to this rule is when the
passkeyword is used within the
natrule. This will cause the NATed packets to pass right through the filtering engine.
Also be aware that since translation occurs before filtering, the filter engine will see the translated packet with the translated IP address and port as outlined in How NAT Works.
In short, if you're on a whitelist (either
spamd's whitelist or my whitelist), you go straight to the mail server. Everyone else goes to
On your first visit to
spamd, you are asked to come back later. If you do, then you're asked to try again and are added to the whitelist.
By the way, after making changes to /usr/local/etc/spamd-mywhite, tell PF to notice the changes:
$ pfctl -t spamd-mywhite -T replace -f /usr/local/etc/spamd-mywhite
No ALTQ support in kernel
ALTQ related functions disabled
24 addresses added.
39 addresses deleted.
To start
spamd manually:
/usr/local/etc/rc.d/pfspamd start
The first time you run
spamd, it may take 10 or 20 seconds for it to come back to the command line. Be patient.
If you get the error message:
# /usr/local/etc/rc.d/pfspamd start
Starting pfspamd.
spamd-setup: Can't find "all" in spamd config: No such file or directory
...then you probably forgot to create /usr/local/etc/spamd.conf or removed its
all section.
Also start
pflogd, so that the logging works:
/etc/rc.d/pflog start
After successfully starting
spamd, you should see logs like:
# ps auwx | grep pf
nobody 94067 ?? Ss 11:20AM 0:00.03 spamd: (pf <spamd-white> update) (spamd)
root 94282 ?? Is 11:31AM 0:00.00 pflogd: [priv] (pflogd)
_pflogd 94286 ?? S 11:31AM 0:00.00 pflogd: [running] -s 116 -f /var/log/pflog (pflogd)
I have removed some of the columns from this display to make it fit better on the page.
On a side note, I'd like to see
spamd running as something other than
nobody. Perhaps I'll work on that later.
spamd-setup maintains the
<spamd> table shown on line 1 of the PF rule set found later in this article. To view the contents of this table:
pfctl -t spamd -T show
You don't have to worry about moving items from the greylist to the whitelist.
spamlogd will take care of that for you. If you're setting this up for the first time, start
To ensure that
spamlogd starts at boot, add a line to
spamlogd updates the
spamd database (/var/db/spamd). When it sees a successful connection,
spamd in turn uses this database to decide whether someone is on the whitelist or greylist. To provide
spamlogd with the information it needs, you must log your mail server activity. See lines 13 and 14 in my example PF rules. Read all the details in
man spamlogd.
spamlogd does not start, it is probably because
pflogd is not running. Start it. This is how
spamlogd looks when it is running:
# ps auwx | grep spamlogd
root 94345 ?? Ss 11:36AM 0:00.00 /usr/local/libexec/spamlogd
root 94349 p2 S+ 11:36AM 0:00.00 grep spamlogd
It's helpful to send a message from a non-whitelisted server and demonstrate how the server moves from the greylist to the whitelist. I will be sending from
firstname.lastname@example.com to
email@example.com. For your information, zip runs Sendmail and nyi runs Postfix. In both cases, that is completely irrelevant to greylisting.
Here is an extract from the sending mailserver. I guess I should point out that this server is in New Zealand and the one I'm sending to is in New York.
Nov 9 06:30:06 zip sm-mta[59825]: kA8HThYO059822:
to=<firstname.lastname@example.com>, ctladdr=<email@example.com>
(1001/1001), delay=00:00:20, xdelay=00:00:20, mailer=esmtp,
pri=30391, relay=nyi.example.org. [22.214.171.124], dsn=4.3.0,
stat=Deferred: 451 Temporary failure, please try again
A new host,
zip.example.org, previously unknown to
nyi.example.org, attempted to send email.
spamd on nyi correctly asked zip to try again. The mail queue on zip should show something like:
$ mailq
/var/spool/mqueue (1 request)
-----Q-ID----- --Size-- -----Q-Time----- ------------Sender/Recipient-----------
kA8HThYO059822 34 Thu Nov 9 06:29 <firstname.lastname@example.com>
(Deferred: 451 Temporary failure, please try again later.)
Total requests: 1
Looking at the logs on nyi, I see this in /var/log/spamd:
Nov 8 12:29:58 nyi spamd[27528]:
18.104.22.168: connected (1/0)
Nov 8 12:29:59 nyi spamd[27528]: (GREY) 18.104.22.168:
<email@example.com> -> <email@example.com>
Nov 8 12:29:59 nyi spamd[27528]: 188.8.131.52: disconnected
after 1 seconds.
Furthermore, you can see that zip is greylisted:
$ spamdb | grep nz
I waited. Shortly thereafter, zip tried again, and again
spamd asked it to try again. Here is the log entry from zip, the sending mailserver:
Nov 9 06:43:02 zip sm-mta[59893]:
kA8HThYO059822: to=<firstname.lastname@example.com>,
ctladdr=<email@example.com> (1001/1001), delay=00:13:16,
xdelay=00:00:05, mailer=esmtp, pri=120391, relay=nyi.example.org.
[220.127.116.11], dsn=4.3.0, stat=Deferred: 451 Temporary failure,
please try again later.
Checking on nyi, I looked in the spamd database again:
$ spamdb | grep 184.108.40.206
There it was, clear as day. The entry has been greylisted. The three numeric fields indicate timestamps related to this host. The 2 means the host has attempted delivery twice. The 0 means the host has not yet delivered any mail.
Why was the second attempt not allowed?
spamd has three time parameters related to greylisting. See the man page for better definitions. The values shown are the defaults.
passtime: if after this time period,
spamlogd sees a retried delivery, it will move the server to the whitelist (25 minutes).
greyexp: entries on the greylist will be removed if there have been no retries within this period (4 hours).
whiteexp: entries on the whitelist are removed if there has been no mail activity in this time period (36 days).
The default
passtime value (see
man spamd) is 25 minutes. A host will remain greylisted for at least 25 minutes before it can move to the whitelist. What will move it to the whitelist? A retry after
passtime minutes. This requires three delivery attempts; the third will succeed if it occurs after the
passtime period and before the
greyexp period terminates. By default, the sending mailserver will be greylisted for 25 minutes, and then has until four hours after the first delivery attempt to try again. After the greylisting period expires, the sending host must go through the greylisting process again.
I waited for another attempt, and there it was:
Nov 9 07:12:59 zip sm-mta[60044]:
kA8HThYO059822: to=<email@example.com>,
ctladdr=<email@example.com> (1001/1001), delay=00:43:13,
xdelay=00:00:02, mailer=esmtp, pri=210391, relay=nyi.example.org.
[18.104.22.168], dsn=4.3.0, stat=Deferred: 451 Temporary failure,
please try again later.
Remember how I said
spamlogd will monitor the mail logs and move entries to the whitelist? Look here on nyi:
$ spamdb | grep 184.108.40.206
There you go, the entry has been whitelisted. Three delivery attempts have occurred, and none have succeeded. Actually, as I type this, the mail is still sitting on zip, waiting to attempt another delivery. This time, PF will redirect the incoming connection directly to my mail server, not to
Coincident with that attempt was a log entry:
*** /var/log/debug.log ***
Nov 8 13:13:19 nyi spamd[27526]: whitelisting 18.104.22.168 in /var/db/spamd
That is
spamlogd reporting that it has whitelisted the client. On the next delivery attempt, the message should go straight through:
Nov 9 07:43:06 zip sm-mta[60179]:
kA8HThYO059822: to=<firstname.lastname@example.com>,
ctladdr=<firstname.lastname@example.com> (1001/1001), delay=01:13:20,
xdelay=00:00:09, mailer=esmtp, pri=300391, relay=nyi.example.org.
[22.214.171.124], dsn=2.0.0, stat=Sent (Ok: queued as
Here is the receipt on nyi:
Nov 8 13:42:56 nyi postfix/smtpd[2847]: connect from zip.example.org[220.127.116.11]
Nov 8 13:42:58 nyi postfix/smtpd[2847]: 661DC50849: client=zip.example.org[18.104.22.168]
Nov 8 13:42:59 nyi postfix/cleanup[2873]: 661DC50849: message-id=<email@example.com>
Nov 8 13:42:59 nyi postfix/qmgr[47862]: 661DC50849: from=<email@example.com>, size=852, nrcpt=1 (queue active)
Nov 8 13:42:59 nyi postfix/local[2874]: 661DC50849: to=<firstname.lastname@example.com>,
relay=local, delay=2.3, delays=2.3/0.01/0/0.01, dsn=2.0.0, status=sent
(delivered to command: exec /usr/local/bin/procmail -t -a ${EXTENSION})
Nov 8 13:42:59 nyi postfix/qmgr[47862]: 661DC50849: removed
The host is now in the
spamd database:
$ spamdb | grep 126.96.36.199
220.127.116.11 will remain on the whitelist until 36 days of no sent email. While on the whitelist, it will not be subject to greylisting. If if falls off the whitelist, it will go through the above greylisting process again.
Yes, I had a problem. The
<spamd-white> table was always empty, even after
spamlogd moved something from the greylist to the whitelist. My thread whitelists clients still being greylisted in the FreeBSD PF mailing list found the missing piece for me:
mount -t fdescfs fdescfs /dev/fd
Now the whitelist table has some entries!
# pfctl -t spamd-white -T show
No ALTQ support in kernel
ALTQ related functions disabled
My thanks to LI Xin.
Now I had an even bigger problem. Despite having the whitelist updated, my email still wasn't getting through. Whitelisted clients were still subject to greylisting. Delo found the answer. My rules were wrong. I had:
rdr pass inet proto tcp from <spamd-mywhite> to $external_addr port smtp -> 127.0.0.1 port smtp
rdr pass inet proto tcp from <spamd> to $external_addr port smtp -> 127.0.0.1 port spamd
rdr pass inet proto tcp from !<spamd-mywhite> to $external_addr port smtp -> 127.0.0.1 port spamd
See the problem? Line 1. That table name is wrong. It should be
<spamd-white>, the table maintained by
spamlogd. D'oh! When I found this problem, I corrected /etc/pf.rules and updated PF by issuing the command:
pfctl -f /etc/pf.rules
Later on, I found out about this option:
-N Load only the NAT rules present in the rule file. Other rules
and options are ignored.
Once I fixed the NAT rules, I went to m21 and tried to connect. I made it straight through to the real SMTP server:
dan@m21:~$ telnet nyi 25
Trying 18.104.22.168...
Connected to nyi.example.org.
Escape character is '^]'.
220 nyi.example.org ESMTP Postfix
221 2.0.0 Bye
Connection closed by foreign host.
Good, that proves the whitelisting is working. Then I flushed the Postfix mail queue, and the mail message went straight through.
Yes, I missed this entirely during the port install:
$ cd /usr/ports/mail/spamd
$ less pkg-message
In order to use spamd greylisting feature you have to have a mounted fdescfs(5)
at /dev/fd. This is done by adding:
fdescfs /dev/fd fdescfs rw 0 0
to /etc/fstab. You may need either a customized kernel, or kldload the fdescfs
kernel module.
$ spamdb | grep GREY
Yes, I have slightly obscured the domain names, but you should be able to see who is sending to what. For the record, the MX server in question is not an MX for langille.org or freebsddiary.org... but that's not stopping the spammers from trying. At present, only bsdcan.org uses this greylisting server as an MX. I'm about to add more domains to it and implement greylisting on my other servers.
As I type this additional note on November 24, about 3 weeks after the above, here are the stats of each of my three mail servers:
$ spamdb | grep -c GREY
$ spamdb | grep -c WHITE
$ spamdb | grep -c GREY
$ spamdb | grep -c WHITE
$ spamdb | grep -c GREY
$ spamdb | grep -c WHITE
It is interesting to see that one machine has whitelisted nearly 4500 servers in about nine days.
I'm sure all of this sounds great. It can be better. Greytrapping is one step further than greylisting. No doubt you have an abandoned email address that still receives mail. It's probably been on spamming lists for years. If someone is sending email to that address, it's bound to be spam. You can add that address to
spamdb as a spamtrap address. See
man spamdb for details. For example, to designate anyone sending to firstname.lastname@example.com, use the command:
spamdb -T -a "<firstname.lastname@example.com>"
I have a list of 24,592 such email addresses. Why? Well, they aren't really addresses. They are Message-ID values from FreshPorts. FreshPorts didn't always store Message-ID. When I added that attribute, I needed to come up with a value for the existing commits stored in the database. Unfortunately, I selected something like firstname.lastname@example.com (
s/example/FreshPorts/). Spammers grabbed all those addresses, and I started to see huge spam attempts. All bounced of course, because they were not valid addresses. I have since changed those Message-IDs to @dev.null.example.org (
s/example/FreshPorts/), but the spammers continue.
So how do I get the email addresses into
spamdb? They are all in a file named greytrap. This command loads them. It takes a few minutes to complete.
cat greytrap | xargs -n1 spamdb -T -a
That's all there is to it.
With newer versions of
spamd (not available in the FreeBSD Ports tree at the time of writing), you can take advantage of the greylisting period to scan your logs and take appropriate action. The greyscanner script will scan the
spamdb output and look for patterns and blacklist those IP address for 24 hours. If it's not spam, it will come through later. If it is spam, well, you've delayed it. This script can validate the address, check for an MX or A record for the source address, and more.
Greylisting can delay mail. Greylisting can block mail, but only if you continuously redirect the connection to the tarpit. However, it does greatly reduce the amount of incoming spam. I have no comparative statistics to show you. All I know is that I like it and that it reduces the amount of garbage in my mailbox. :)
Dan Langille runs a consulting group in Ottawa, Canada, and lives in a house ruled by felines.
Return to the BSD DevCenter.
Copyright © 2009 O'Reilly Media, Inc.


text:
With Chone Figgins being designated for assignment by the Mariners yesterday, all signs point to the once productive player hitting the free agent market. Ian Riccaboni and I sat down to discuss whether Figgins might be an option worth exploring for the Phillies.
I say yes.
Now, I know what you're thinking: Chone Figgins?! This guy can't be serious! And that's an understandable reaction. Because, let's be honest, Figgins has been unequivocally bad the last two years–that's why he got designated for assignment in the first place.
But, assuming he clears waivers–and all signs indicate that he will–I do believe Ruben Amaro, Jr. should at least put in a call to Tommy Tanzer, Figgins's agent. Should that conversation go well, and there doesn't seem to be any major interest from other teams for the services of the once highly-touted infielder, then Amaro should tender him an offer. Nothing huge. In fact, it should be a minor league deal with an invite to spring training at most.
At this point, you're probably ready to pull your hair out. You're asking questions like, 'Why would the Phillies waste their time on this guy?' and 'What's the point?'
The point is this: The Phillies desperately need to find a third baseman for next year and the market for that particular position is barren. The prospect of Kevin Youkilis–an aging player on the downside of his career who is likely to get more years and money than he's worth–doesn't exactly thrill me, and he's probably the best third baseman on the market. The dearth of readily available talent at the hot corner, coupled with the fact that the team will have to allocate funds to multiple other positions, forces Amaro to get creative in finding a solution at third. Much like he did last offseason when searching for a left fielder, Amaro needs to exhaust every avenue and give himself and Charlie Manuel multiple options to fill that hole.
Here's the other thing. I can't believe that Figgins has regressed this much in just two year's time. He's gone from a perennial 3.5 WAR player to a -1.0 WAR player. Something about that doesn't add up. Obviously players see their skills dissipate with age, but Figgins is only 34. He's not exactly an old man. Just a written off one. He's also battled injuries the last two seasons, appearing in 81 and 66 games, respectively. Not to mention he was victimized by the extremely low BABIP of .215 in 2011 and .237 in 2012. These are all things out of the player's control.
I see Figgins as a low risk, high reward-type guy. The Phillies shouldn't put all of their eggs in the Figgins basket, but they should give him a chance. Where's the harm in a minor league deal? Should he prove to be as bad as he has played the last two seasons, the Phils can cut him in Spring Training and be done with it. But if he shows Manuel and the coaching staff something in Spring Training, he could become a productive player at a very low cost.
Fans with their doubts about taking a flier on a forgotten man need to look no further than last season, when the Phillies took a chance on Juan Pierre and he became a solid contributor. Could Figgins work out the same way? There's no way of knowing. But it's certainly worth a shot.
Now here's Ian Riccaboni to tell you why I'm nuts:
Figgins signed a four-year deal with the Mariners after being heavily courted by the Mets, Cubs, White Sox, and the Phillies following a career year with the Angels. Figgins posted a line of .298/.395/.393 with five home runs and 42 steals in 59 attempts, playing top-notch defense at third and playing suitable defense at second. Since signing that deal, Figgins has gone from potential bargain to disappointment to disaster.
Figgins turns only 35 in January but his skillset has deteriorated at a pace expected for a player on the other side of 40. Everything about his lines and injury history say stay away: Figgins was limited to just 313 and 194 PA in 2011 and 2012, posting lines of .188/.241/.243 and .181/.262/.271 with SB totals of 11 and 4. His defense, once among his biggest assets, is now a liability, costing the Mariners approximately 18 runs over his three years there.
Don't get me wrong: I am as surprised as anybody that such a promising player as Figgins had such a car-crash ending to a mega-contract. The Mariners designated him for assignment yesterday and he will get a second chance. If he clears waivers, which he will, and the Phillies can invite him to Spring Training, he would be an intriguing bench piece. But he is a definite no to me for the 2013 Phillies roster.
0 Comments
On a minor league or veteran's minimum deal, they absolutely should sign him. They should even consider trading for him if they give nothing in return and Seattle eats most of his contract. If his BABIP recovers to closer to his career norm, he can get on base ~1/3 of the time (or more if he's platooned with Frandsen and only faces RHP's) and play solid defense at 3B.
minor league contract is fine.
sure they always sign some players to minor league deals.
I don't think there would be any harm in signing Chone to a minor league contract, much like the Phils did with Pierre last year and guys like Luis Castillo before that. No risk, and some upside. I say put in a call and see if you can get him into Spring Training
I'd even offer him a major league contract. This guy is NOT this bad. And he was playing in freaking Safeco. I can really see him blossom in Philly. Sign him. I'm a big YES.
He's been REALLY bad the past 2 years:
For comparison…
Valdez .231/.270/.293 (51 wRC+), -6.8 UZR, -1.1 WAR in 508 PAs
Martinez .188/.241/.272 (37 wRC+), 0.8 UZR, -0.8 WAR in 356 PAs
Figgins .185/.249/.253 (43 wRC+), -5.7 UZR, -2.2 WAR in 507 PAs
Small sample caveats apply, esp. on the UZR.
In any case, there is a chance that he could rebound to a semblance of his old self, so certainly worth a flyer.
I doubt if Safeco is much of a factor for a guy like Figgins who has never hit for power.
Yeah, he has hit about the same at home and on the road since joining the Mariners:
home: .223/.309/.262 (.572 OPS)
away: .231/.295/.301 (.596 OPS)
I'd wait. Later in the off-season, there may be other, better options. Despite that whole "no risk" sentiment, there's the risk that he can't even live up to a minor league salary and he robs playing time from real prospects. It would be a stupid move to sign a potential DFA this early.
We need Youk's bat, though. I've been saying all along that I'd be fine with signing him to a one year deal in the 10-12 MM range and give him some starts at first as well when there's an especially tough lefty on the mound. I think the key to Youk is using him the right way. he can't play every single game but if he can get into 140 or so I think that a contract such as that might be worth it.
Figgins? … I'm not all that
We need Youk's bat, though. I've been saying all along that I'd be fine with signing him to a one year deal in the 10-12 MM range and give him some starts at first as well when there's an especially tough lefty on the mound. I think the key to Youk is using him the right way. he can't play every single game but if he can get into 140 or so I think that a contract such as that might be worth it.
Figgins? … I'm not all that convinced.
I can't remember the circumstances a year ago, probably if Seattle;d pay most all the freight, but I suggested the idea then. He had some real good games very early, something like 3 3 hit games in a row, but completely failed to sustain. I look at his first bad year as shame on him, and his second on shame on me. I'd pass.
As soon as I saw the DFA I thought about this. We've seen it before, the way a change of scenery can re-energize players. But I agree with George's point, I see no need to move quickly on this.
The Phillies are trying to win championships with all the money they've invested in quality starting pitchers, not resurrect careers, right? IMO- They need to aim high, (Youkilis etc.) or young (Olt etc.). Chone Figgins is neither, but if they can't do better and he's still around mid February, then sure, why not.
I almost forgot, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I wish all of you and yours the best.
Thanks, Lefty. I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, too.
I know nothing about this cat but what about Jim Miller. I read he was Dfa'd. If im reading his stats none of the fancy advanced mumbo his ERA was 2.59 in 48 innings and 44 K's. Is this good no yes?
Is this Figgins, Minimart's twin brother. He is by his stats. NO F____G WAY.
I'm on the fence, but he could be some insurance if Frandsen struggles against righties. If they sign Youk then pass.
Anyone have the stats of the Phils vs lefties and Phils vs Righties for the entire team in parts or in total?
They hit much better vs. RHPs this year:
vs. RHP .263/.324/.403 (.726 OPS)
vs. LHP .235/.300/.392 (.692 OPS)
More here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=b&team=PHI&year=2012#plato
For individual players, click on the links "vs. LHP as RHB"
and "vs. LHP as LHB"
They hit much better vs. RHPs this year.
vs. RHPs: .263/.324/.403 (.726 OPS)
vs. LHPs: .235/.300/.392 (.692 OPS)
more here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=b&team=PHI&year=2012#plato
For individual players:
vs. RHP: http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2012&month=14&season1=2012&ind=0&team=26&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=2,d
vs. LHP: http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2012&month=13&season1=2012&ind=0&team=26&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=2,d
The Phils triple-slash vs. LHP's last year was .235 / .300 / .392 and vs. RHP's it was .263 / .324 / .403.
First off can we please bringing up Youk the guy can not play every day can not stay on the field and is too old dies any remember the first 4 months of last year he is going get two years 8-10 million a year and he is not worth it. He is and less effective defensive Polly with slightly more power. If all it takes is a minor league deal why not take a shot on figgins and really if they can get an impact outfielder Fransen can be an every day guy and hit 290-300
I believe Frandsen is going to come through and I wouldn't pay Youk $10 million. CF, setup and possibly another OF is were I hope the chips fall.
Not really a fan of signing an older version of MiniMart when I don't even want anything to do with the actual MiniMart.
Just what the team needs. An injury-prone 35-year-old who can't hit or field.
The defensive metrics say otherwise about Figgins's glove at 3B, which I assume is the only position at which the Phils would play him.
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youk? no way! figgins? i agree with lefty if he's still there in feb. sign him to a minor league deal. however i don't want him taking playing time awat from asche! if that would be the case then it's a big no! happy thanksgiving to all!
That slash line vs lefties is horrific considering Vic and Frandsen crushed lefties.
Interesting that the Phil's k rate last year was one of the lowest in the league. Hmm.
It's harder to strike ou when you don't work deep counts. Low K's usually go with low walks. For individual examples, see Polanco, Placido, and Pierre, Juan.
Hi Ryan,
I'm an Ms fan, former Phils fan when I lived there, except when they met my hometown Os in the series :-). I think you're right. Not sure what went wrong w/Figgy but it was really weird seeing them move a guy who played a good 3rd base to a place he never played 2nd and putting Jose Lopez from 2nd to 3rd???? never been explained stupid move – I think that messed w/his head. Other big deal is other than Ichiro, the M's had nobody who can hit, no lineup protection period. If Figgy has some decent protection from the Phils pretty good group of hitters, he'll see better pitches. Check out how well Ichiro did once he was liberated to a lineup with major league hitters – that's why he tailed off, he hated to walk and they didn't have to throw him anything to hit = career 320 hitter dropping to 260. Only thing about Figgy I haven't seen mentioned is what if his earlier success was based on 'roids and once he gets the big bux + league testing gets tougher, he stops doing the 'roids – in that case he'll still suck but your minor league contract gives the Phils an easy out – even if he makes the team and sucks, relax – 2013 is on the Mariners (but thank God we're rid of him!)!!!


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My baby will be 6 months old next week. We had a 3 week nursing strike through March where he would only eat if completely asleep. We then had 2 weeks of good nursing, including his 6 month growth spurt. Yesterday he began another strike. I don't know if I can handle another 3 week strike.
Any ideas on why this keeps happening or what I can do about it?