A few weeks ago my friends at ES Robbins (the makers of the excellent NHL 94 chair mat) asked me to try out their new website for custom deskpads and chair mats. The timing of this was freaky because I was in the market for a deskpad, thanks to the keyboard scratching up my desk surface.

I opted to upload my own design, but it took me several days to decide on what I wanted on my deskpad. Did I want an 8-bit NHL rink? The world map from Avatar: The Last Airbender? A RISK gameboard? A map of Middle Earth or Westeros? A giant Magic: The Gathering playing card? The control panel from the bridge of the Enterprise-D? My detailed plans for world conquest? And on and on. Read the rest of this entry →