The holiday yesterday, a slammed schedule of client work and proposals due coupled with Phil being a slacker taking today off (something about "family" and "holiday" PFFFT!) the normal release of Friday Props got the short end of the stick today. But it looks like I've still got an hour or more to get this in before it becomes Saturday Props so I'm going for it. Since it is getting late I'm feeling a bit tired. And since it seems appropriate to at least pay some amount of homage to the Thanksgiving holiday I thought I'd hand out Props to a turkey of tires. Tired Turkey   When we hand out Props we like to think big. And when we hand out Props to turkeys we want to recognize the seriously big of big, so we're tipping our hats this week to Tom. Tom is (was... ) the world's biggest turkey (No, the biggest turkey is not the Republican party though some might disagree) standing at sixteen feet tall. Tom was a resident of Frazee, Minnesota. Tom was made from white-painted fiberglass, cardboard and insulation attached to a steel frame. Big Tom put Frazee on the map as the home of The World’s Largest Turkey. But [....] Read More >>

Please, sir? Might I have some more Props? I'm so very hungry. I'm sorry. I'm getting out the props out late today due to foreseen circumstances and my lack of advanced preparations. In short, I procrastinated and you suffered. I hope you've eaten your lunch. Because of this lateness, I'm going to go a bit Helter Skelter. There is no unified theme of Props. Besides, I think that everyone is tired of Props partisanship and we should all work together for a Props that will appeal to the masses, to everyone, not just the people who like Props on technology Read More >>

One, Two, Three O' Clock, Four O' Clock Props! Hey there, girl. I'm so glad you could join me today here on the Props. Let me take your coat. Go on, sit down. relax. Would you like a glass of wine? I've got a delicious Chianti I've been saving for a Props just like this. Excuse me a moment while I put on some music. Oh? You want me to play something for you? I've got the perfect instrument right here. Take a look.... Come with me to Atlantic City, home of the world's largest music instrument: a pipe organ. I know, it can be a little intimidating at first. Take a few seconds for yourself while I get reacquainted with the keyboards.What was that? No, I've never played to a sold out show here. Close, but its tough to sell out all 41,000 seats in a convention hall! I won't bore you with all the statistics and such, but let me tell you, this organ is LOUD! Maybe a little TOO loud. Come on over this way...I've got something that might be a little more...natural. I Would Love to See What Mozart Could Do With This Going back to my grungy days, [....] Read More >>

When the sky is cloudy, the air has a bit of chill and, although its Friday, you still feel a little down, where do you go for that extra boost of energy? Friday Props! Now with flavor crystals! This week, we're going to focus on transportation. Yep, how we get from here to there. Our first props go to the canal boats of England. The Romans first built canals, primarily for irrigation, under Caesar's reign many, many moons ago. It wasn't until the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century that canal construction truly blossomed for a variety of reasons: Roads couldn't handle the size and volume of the cargo traffic, fragile goods don't fare well on bumpy roads and, with canals, transport times could cut hours or even days off an over-land journey. At their peak in the early 20th century, there were over 4,000 miles of canals in Britain. Today, 2,200 miles of canals remain open, maintained by the British Waterways Board for commercial and "cruising" purposes, bringing us to the modern houseboat. Limited to 56 feet in length and 4 mph, these boats chug along the canals from town to town similar to the RV culture [....] Read More >>

Welcome back Friday! Time to waste some of The Man's time and scamper around in the land of Friday Props! Yep. To me the Friday Props are akin to frolicking in a luxuriantly green field high in the green mountains wearing my housecoat and viking horns. And they happen EVERY WEEK! Pull out your own magic helmet and join me, won't you? This Friday, we're going a little bit retro, but not in a snarky, hipster kinda way. Our first homage is to the art of signage, long lost and now, with a little breath of life, coming back. While mainly relegated to those streets and communities that can pay to have a custom sign made, how fantastic would it be to have an endemic revival, transforming the feel of strip malls across America? If you are a business owner, consider it. If you are a customer, admire it. In any way you can, encourage it. The best place for your cell phone... Support Local Business!                     Next up on our little retro field trip, we're giving props to the woman who created this killer clock. Blending an icon from long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away with a music media [....] Read More >>

A rough week in land of Friday Props. So many distractions. If the changing of the seasons wasn't enough here at the news desk, the presidential debates made it abundantly clear that any remaining leaves will soon be on the ground, a foundation for the snow to come. Though it was almost a fun year ago, we won't forget what happened. So this week, our props go to the elephants, those terrestrial mammoths that stop the earth and those that can invisibly fill the room. The Aquatic Elephant, NOT A MERMAID. Though not native to the European continent, this elephant and many of her kin appeared on Belgian coastlines and in parks after navigating the treacherous waters as small pieces of driftwood. With the help of a few local artists, the elephants became whole again (though a bit static) to majestically watch the beaches and beckon to their kin. From the faux elephants to the elephant in the room: The power and influence of social media continues to grow and companies are adapting more quickly to it. In response to this posting on their Facebook page, Bodyform produced this commercial below. So intensely funny, the company took an opportunity and ran with [....] Read More >>

Friday Props turns 21 this week. If anyone wants to send Friday Props a drink for it's 21st just let us know. You'd think I would have bundled together some interesting category of things to celebrate the 21st week, but you'd be wrong. I've done no such thing. Q: What do remote control cockroaches, paper horses and lamps have in common? A: Nothing until now. Remote Control Cockroaches When disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis strike, the sad fact is oftentimes there are people who die buried in rubble that could survive if only they could be located.  The difficulty in locating people trapped in these situations is getting deep enough down inside the devastation to actually find them. Well Props are going out today to the engineers and scientists of the North Carolina State University for pioneering control of cockroaches for exactly this purpose. By outfitting the cockroaches with a backpack capable of delivering small electrical impulses to the antenna and rear of the insects, scientists are able to control where the roaches go - effectively giving scientists the opportunity to use these critters as miniature eyes beneath the surface of a disaster and potentially helping to save lives. The program still has lots of [....] Read More >>

  Twenty! Hitting a milestone of props this week! Ed and I got to talking last week amid the autumn breezes, throwing our brains out in an informal storming session when the topic turned to the potential for a world take-over by robots. On the one hand, there is plenty of fodder, past and present, to fuel these nightmares (fantasies) including tales from I, Robot by Ray Bradbury to the Terminator and Matrix movie trilogies. The missing element from these stories is the background, the precursory stories leading up to the desperate state of humanity envisioned in these futures. Regardless of what the future holds for the human race, the future is here. The problem is, it sounds like a very large, annoying mosquito. And while these swarm bots have the right idea, there is no WAY that a small child is going to sit still this long. A patient child is a missing child   Robots from Above!   Settling back into the natural world, a couple of coders developed a new tool to track surface currents on the Great Lakes, our inland seas. Although there are no tide on the lakes, the surface of the water is constantly on the move, cover 94,250 square [....] Read More >>

Props! In this unbounded realm of creativity, I find it difficult to filter out the everyday scrum of information and boring type from the merely interesting and distill the final essences into a formidable post for Friday props. Surrounded by the visual cacophony of color exuded by the maples, ash, birch, beech, sumac and other deciduous trees turning at this time of year, I stare at the contrast of the rich green fields lying in the river bottoms on my drive to work. With our props today, though, I refuse to succumb to these natural beauties and ignore the increased population of white-platers and tour buses on the road. "With such natural beauty, how could you possibly focus on optimizing websites or jumping into vibrant search engine marketing strategies," you ask. "Friday Props," I reply. "Friday Props." I've never been to Wisconsin. Traveling to that Midwestern state, a prominent rival in cheese and dairy production, could get me shot. I did, however, have a friend who visited and told an amazing tale of The House on the Rocks. To prove that this place existed, she even brought a book back with her. This adventure happened many years ago and while I still am [....] Read More >>

Welcome to Friday Props! A delicious part of this nutritious breakfast! Fall, fall, fall. Leaves, chilly nights, cider....yeah, yeah, yeah. There's plenty of people talking about that these days. "D'ja git yer cider up ta Ellie's yet?" Not yet, sir, but I assure you I shall. The comforting regularity of the seasons is grounding for everyone here, but one reason we consider things creative here is when the expectation, the normalcy is changed; bent or gently twisted at such an angle where it gives us pause to think deeper. We all walk a fine line between our reality and our imagination. Personally I prefer to dance and hop around that line as much as possible, exploring what shouldn't work and why, but making an effort to try it anyway. When the universal laws of physics come into play, that's when reality can truly become distorted. The Balancing Barn of Suffolk, England Imagine walking through the fields of Ye Olde England whistling some bagpipe music (because you know full well that the bagpipes are Scottish) and coming upon this Airstream-style trailer. From one end, everything looks reasonable and fine. From the other, it seems the landlord has found a creative way to evict [....] Read More >>