# Desktop flotsam **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164 "2005-08-01T16:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/1 "2005-08-01T16:45:06Z")
In an effort to avoid looking at the steenking, uncommented sendmail config that one of my predecessors left me, I’m taking an inventory of the crap that’s floating around on my desktop. My physical desktop, that is. For some reason, I’m going to share it with you. [ul] [li] My PC, monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.[/li][li] 2 port KVM switch (other machine is _under_ the desk).[/li][li] 3Com 10/100 hub.[/li][li] Platter and magnet from a dead 2.5" hard drive.[/li][li] Bigass magnet from an old SCSI drive.[/li][li] Mouse ball, stripped of its rubber.[/li][li] Various precision screwdrivers.[/li][li] Cheapo multimeter.[/li][li] Swingline stapler.[/li][li] _Sendmail_, Brian Costales[/li][li] _Exim: Official Guide for Release 4_, Hazel[/li][li] _Cisco: A Beginner’s Guide_, Shaughnessy[/li][li] Non-functional Cisco 2514 w/ null modem cable and serial adapter[/li][li] Phone charger[/li][li] 256MB USB key[/li][li] Sharp Zaurus SL5500 w/ various CF network cards.[/li][li] Stack of ~ 25 blank CD-Rs.[/li][li] Ubuntu installation disc.[/li][li] Misc. ethernet, USB, and phone cables.[/li][li] Driver discs and manuals for a Gigabyte motherboard.[/li][li] 6" clear plastic ruler.[/li][li] Sharpie.[/li][li] Misc. post-its and scraps of paper, some with cryptic messages such as “tnb000,” “31 III 70 V,” and “JeB etcon FRI!!!”[/li][li] Inovis TLE manual.[/li][li] ~ 6 issues of the _Linux Journal_[/li][li] Picture of my wife.[/li][li] Coffee mug.[/li][li] Water mug.[/li][li] Black cork coaster shaped like a cat’s head.[/li][li] MS Office 2000 CD.[/li][li] Earbuds, paper clips, twist ties, rubber bands…[/li][li] Misc. business cards.[/li][li] Two pens, black.[/li][li] Dust.[/li][li] Crumbs.[/li][li] Granny Smith apple (when did I bring that in?).[/li][/ul] Sheesh, do you think they can tell I’ve got ADD? Now somebody entertain me with your own list, before I start going through my drawers. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/2 "2005-08-01T17:46:06Z")
What? No cat on your desk? How in the world can you function without a cat on your desk? ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/3 "2005-08-01T19:03:23Z")
I"m not even gonna try to list it all. This is just what I can see without moving anything, including myself, and probably not even all of that. [ul][li]assorted make-up[/li][li]CD rack[/li][li]Lamp[/li][li]used World of Warcraft game card[/li][li]one of those ‘look us up on the web’ cards I got from a couple of Mormon missionaries[/li][li]beaded bracelet[/li][li]empty Kinder egg[/li][li]A bottle of SHout[/li][li]Frizz-Ease gel[/li][li]some empty plastic bags[/li][li]Laptop, mouse and mouspad[/li][li]a pile of books[/li][li]two jean chains[/li][li]cell phone[/li][li]picture of an ex-boyfriend[/li][li]two candles[/li][li]webcam[/li][li]bandana[/li][li]two glasses cases, one empty[/li][li]2 combs[/li][li]CD spindle, with a GBA game box, some dead batteries and more CDs on top of it[/li][li]Magic gift card from Coles/Chapters[/li][li]facecloths[/li][li]my old wallet (empty)[/li][li]eraser[/li][li]shampoo[/li][li]pen holder with pens and dry-erase markers[/li][li]anti-persperent[/li][li]a box full of random junk that I don’t want cluttering my desk–obviously, not big enough[/ul][/li] Unfortunately, my current bedroom is more like a closet–a lot of stuff ends up on my desk because there isn’t really anywhere better to put it, especially if I want easy access to it. I can’t wait to move back into residence and have a decent sized room again. (closed list tag–Veb) ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/4 "2005-08-01T19:04:44Z")
Alright, could I get a mod to close that list tag for me? Preview is your friend… ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/5 "2005-08-01T19:56:39Z")
Working from memory, my desk at work has: [ul] [li]In Tray/Out Tray[/li][li]Confidential shredding tray (emptied daily)[/li][li]Regular paper recycle tray[/li][li]Get Fuzzy page-a-day calendar[/li][li]Pen cup with various pens and highlighters[/li][li]Clear plastic 12" ruler[/li][li]Scissors[/li][li]Framed picture of the people in my department, from the company Christmas party[/li][li]Small battery-powered fan[/li][li]Stapler[/li][li]Staple remover[/li][li]White-out[/li][li]Cheque-book sized accordian-style paper holder/organizer[/li][li]Computer and monitor[/li][li]Phone[/li][li]Accounting-type calculator[/li] And because until very recently I was sharing my cube with a co-worker, a second set stuff, including: [li]Stapler[/li][li]Cup of pens/highlighters/etc[/li][li]Computer and monitor[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/6 "2005-08-01T20:00:39Z")
Fair collection of cruft here… Powerstrip Box of business cards with old mailstop on them Three 128 MB SODIMMS left over from upgrading some laptops Two packets of instant oatmeal Calculator Phone Headset Picture of SO Jar of dead batteries Stapler Tape Dead PC (one of those confounded micro desktops - 10x10 inches by 3 inches thick) Two screws and a metal shielding bracket from that dead PC Power supply from same dead PC One can each, Coke and Diet Coke Bag of M&Ms Bottle of Aleve Battery charger Cell phone charger “Business end” of another cell charger iPod cable Stack of outgoing bills - just waiting to be dropped in mailbox Several vending-size bags of pretzels and chips Laptop power supply CISSP study books Three cell phones Assorted pens and highlighters Monitor - keyboard and mouse are under desk) LAN cable Table knife from Bell Labs ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/7 "2005-08-01T20:33:08Z")
Scanner Monitor Keyboard (computer) Keyboard (piano) Speakers Headset Mouse Mousepad Broken guitar picks Empty cigarette box Pens Book with staves Guitar tablature book from “The Wall” Small Lava Lamp Medium gauge bass strings Assorted CDs Sketchpad Bunch of rubberbands Posable wooden doll “Dracula” book Crumpled up papers You can tell a lot about a person by looking at what he keeps on his desk, no? ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/8 "2005-08-01T20:42:32Z")
Left to right, back to front: In-box with today’s junk mail. Stack of papers which includes working file for revised dept. handbook. Legal pad full of notes. Clipboard with maps marked up with measurements. cd-rom for something someone wants me to buy. Stapler Accordian fold post-it dispenser. 2 small slinky’s (the heart shaped one and the star shaped). Staple remover. Wire mesh pencil/pen holder with about 50 assorted pens, pencils and Sharpies. The Get Fuzzy Page-a-day desk calendar (no, I still haven’t looked ahead) Squeezy baseball from a tech company. Squeezy star from an educational tech company. Wire mesh paper clip holder. Phone Altec-Lansing speakers for laptop Pile of papers on front left of desk that I call “things i will get to” Day Timer Pile papers called “things I’m doing now” large number Casio calculator. Letter opener Liquid Paper Cell phone This Toshiba laptop Logitech wireless mouse Half-empty 20 oz Diet Dr. Pepper ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/9 "2005-08-01T23:08:13Z")
[ul] [li]portable alarm clock[/li][li]jar of peanut butter[/li][li]a key (ummm. I don’t recognize it.)[/li][li]two different nametags[/li][li]bottle of rewetting drops (I wear contacts)[/li][li]3-hole punch[/li][li]primary cellphone[/li][li]other cell phone (with charger)[/li][li]3 bottles of vitamins[/li][li]two PS2 adapters[/li][li]a carabiner flashlight thingy[/li][li]power strip[/li][li]speakers, monitor, keyboard, mouse, mousepad[/li][li]digital camera[/li][li]dock for above[/li][li]two candles (in jars)[/li][li]current Netflix DVDs (6)[/li][li]three borrowed DVDs[/li][li]glass of white grape juice (on a coaster)[/li][li]stack of recent computer club newsletters[/li][li]calendar[/li][li]napkins[/li][li]plastic forks (single-wrapped in plastic, from Jack in the Box)[/li][li]a JitB antenna ball that I haven’t put on the car yet[/li][li]DVD player remote[/li][li]two straws[/li][li]extra batteries[/li][li]17 post-its with reminders of things that HAVE TO BE DONE[/li][li]a receipt from Taco Bell[/li][/ul] Awful, just awful. And this is just my home desk. My desk at work is surely much worse. (I work a “real” job but also freelance from home.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/10 "2005-08-01T23:13:59Z")
I just cleaned mine off leaving only the following: monitor telephone PC speakers plastic cup holding pens and such wooden box that used to hold 5.25" floppies, but now holds my DVD-RAM & DVD-RW discs coaster w/glass several remote controls ruler pair of scissors ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/11 "2005-08-02T00:36:44Z")
I’m not about to dig through the pile just to take inventory. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/12 "2005-08-02T00:37:51Z")
> [@Fuji Kitakyusho](#): > > I’m not about to dig through the pile just to take inventory. [hippie guy]Sounds like you’re livin’ for your desk. man. Simplify![/hg] ---
**Author:** ![CateAyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CateAyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CateAyo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/13 "2005-08-02T01:29:08Z")
Ok, from the left, front: HP “all-in-one” printer/copier, etc., left comp speaker, a nude self portrait of my MIL (years ago, thank you very much) on left rear corner, waiting to be hung, monitor with 4 little stuffed animals lined up on top (bull, wolf, Eeyore, and bear), 1, 2, 3…23 books lined up across the back of my desk (law mostly), on right rear coner, in front of books, is a stack of graded papers i haven’t taken back to campus and a stack of other job related papers, three ink pens, reading glasses, a mini legal pad with various notes, three regular legal pads with notes, a picture of a Cherokee Elder who is very dear to me, a right comp speaker, a stapler and a cel phone, and finally some files from a legal case that I’m a whiling away my now nearly gone summer, working on. Damn that was the longest run-on sentence this side of Heidegger. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/14 "2005-08-02T03:20:01Z")
Still no cats. This is starting to worry me. Or are the cats leaving prior to inventory? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/15 "2005-08-02T11:54:37Z")
Still no cat, got a spider plant tho’ [ul]Octopus Desktop fan (he has gooly eyes and a fan for a hat)[/ul][ul]Juggling bags (from a training company)[/ul][ul]Wedding invitation (It’s in Finland so I’m not going, sorry Ewan)[/ul] All too boring, also the usual suspects: PC/workstation stuff, phone, coffee cup, to-do post-it notes, various coloured pens, programming books, software spec’s, blah. Amongst the books is the 1971 Ladybird book, How it Works [The Computer](http://davidguy.brinkster.net/computer/) ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/16 "2005-08-02T12:30:19Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > Still no cats. This is starting to worry me. > > Or are the cats leaving prior to inventory? **Snakescatlady** , just for you: There aren’t many things on my desk, but here they are: An empty water glass A tube of hand moisturiser A tube of Vanilla Sugar lip balm My headphones The damned PenCam Two notebooks: one from the dollar store with a print of a boy and girl child dressed as adults that I plastered with Pokemon stickers to cover the shame, the other a little silver notebook that says “Caper Cat” (“Caper Cat is super brand for teens.” Yeah. It’s Japanese. I loves it.) And! Drumroll please: Not one… but _two_ cats, perched on my desktop. One is sleeping, the other is guarding. Oddly, the guarding one is not Keroberos (named vaguely after Cerberus, but more after a Card Captor Sakura character who was named after Cerberus). ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/17 "2005-08-02T13:44:36Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > Still no cats. This is starting to worry me. > > Or are the cats leaving prior to inventory? Depends on what you mean by “desktop.” Here’s my wallpaper: [http://www.neussubjex.net/misc/sam1.jpg](http://www.neussubjex.net/misc/sam1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/18 "2005-08-02T14:18:20Z")
Thanks, ya’ll. I feel much better now. Removes cat from mouse to submit message. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/19 "2005-08-02T15:37:23Z")
Too much crap. Purple folders with reference drawings. Hole punch. Plastic pen holder dealie. 5 shot glasses. Lighted magnifying glass. Measuring tape. Another plastic pen holder dealie. Stapler. Cup o’ pens - it says “Coffee from Hell.” Calculator. Paper clip holder. Bottle of lotion. Phone. Computer. Monitor. Keyboard. Pictures of my husband and me. A pile of napkins from various to-go meals. Glass of water. Paper cup of cold coffee from this morning. More pens! Notebook. Box of Kleenex. Post-it notes. Staple remover. My reading glasses. Framed picture of my work group after completion of a project. A pile of various papers. More post-its. A big binder clip. More papers. A plastic bag that holds my container from breakfast. A metal file thingie that holds - you guessed it - more papers. A pile of used notebooks from past projects. My purse. Not too bad today, actually. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164/20 "2005-08-02T15:42:18Z")
A snapshot of my desk at work:[ul][li]CPU tower, with a scanner sitting on top[/li][li]phone[/li][li]personal cell phone[/li][li]coaster[/li][li]PDA in cradle[/li][li]monitor[/li][li]keyboard[/li][li]mouse[/li][li]mousepad[/li][li]Harmon/Kardon speakers[/li][li]a tin of Penguin caffeinated chocolate mints (from 2-3 Christmases ago)[/li][li]a tube of Vaseline Intensive Care Healthy Hand Essentials lotion[/li][li]3 Post-It Note pads[/li][li]a calculator[/li][li]a red pen for hard copy edits (I don’t like using blue pencil)[/li][li]a steno pad and pen[/li][li]a plastic thingy that holds my scissors, Zip disks, staple remover, glue stics, my STC membership card, and a few pens/pencils[/li][li]2 tubes of ChapStick (not sure why, I hardly ever use the stuff)[/li][li]black Swingline stapler[/li][li]black tape dispenser[/li][li]gel candle with seashells in it[/li][li]yellow and pink highlighters[/li][li]an alabaster heart paperweight that my father gave me for Christmas one year[/li][li]a plastic thing with a magnet on top that holds paper clips[/li][li]a mesh pencil cup with various pens, pencils, and markers[/li][li]an M&M’s dispenser (with M&M’s inside)[/li][li]a nameplate I’ve had since my first office job[/li][li]a postcard with a gorilla on it that says “Patience my ass … I’m gonna kill something”[/li][li]a small statue of a howling wolf[/li][li]a box of Kleenex[/li][li]two plastic toy tops that came out of our Cinco de Mayo piñata[/li][li]a squishy airplane with my old company’s logo on it[/li][li]a squishy, stylized “G” with my old company’s product name on it[/li][li]a list of the required courses for my graduate program[/li][li]a packet from the Toastmasters training I attended a week ago[/li][li]materials from our Corporate Communications manager that I’m using to come up with our crisis management plan[/li][li]a plastic file organizer/holder with a file for each new feature in the upcoming software release that I’m documenting[/ul][/li]It sounds like a lot, but it isn’t really: there’s a lot of blank desk showing. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desktop-flotsam/315164.md?page=2)