I keep my desk pretty minimal. Its pretty big, but the desktop is usually about 80% cleaned. The few things that I keep on it, other than a notebook and pen, are strategically placed and are designed to be conversation pieces. These items include a 2 gallon fish tank, with a Tiger Barb and plant, a poseable Gumby figure, and the latest addition, my Architecture Rules mug.

Now, the whole reason for these artifacts is to draw those two pass by my desk into a conversation - this offers a break in the day and a chance to get to know the people around me better.

The fish tank has been very popular, a lot of people can relate, or have a story, or just like to look at the fish. Gumby is a lot of fun. Its fun to see those who recognizes him, and those who don’t even know who Gumby is. I wanna order a couple of Blockhead figures to go along side him.

So the new one is the Architecture Rules mug that I designed and put up on CafePress. This has been a great way for me to get the people around me to talk about software, and specifically, about software architecture. I highly recommend that, if you use Architecture Rules, you pick up one of these mugs, put it on your desk, and start telling the world that you are actively mitigating architecture risk everyday. Hey, thats something you, your coworkers, your customers, and your bosses can get behind.

Or, if you’re just looking for a new trinket to put on your desk, this mug is a lot cheaper and easier to maintain than a fish tank is. I have personally tested the mug and had successfully results with coffee, water, various teas, apple cider, and soup.

I have to be honest, the price that CafePress charges, of $13.99, is rather steep for a mug, but it is a tall mug with a capacity of 15 oz., and a buck or so goes to supporting Architecture Rules. Right now we are trying to raise funds to snag the domain architecturerules.com. Your purchase would go a long way in helping to secure that domain.

Here you can check out the upclose graphic. And if you can’t afford the mug, but you wanna help us get the domain or help us towards our current fund raising goal, you might be able to donate some change to the project.

So, what toys do you keep on your desk? What are the best conversation starters? Do you keep any trinkets branded with a tool or technology (my pen branded with Sun Java)?