In the movie Office Space, Chotchkies is a restaurant where the staff are encouraged to wear "flair". In the geek world, chotchkies are little things you set around your office.
I work with geeks. Their workspaces are generally decorated with all kinds of flair, like anime figures, stuffed animals, Star Wars action figures, game and movie posters, the works. But even the most unassuming office worker typically has something in their office, and it usually stares at them from on top of their computer monitor.
But now, and especially in high-tech companies, the trend is toward flat-screen LCD displays. That are only an inch or two thick. Which make it impossible to balance all but the narrowest chotchkies on top of them.
If this keeps up, we'll have nothing but work and the internet staring us in the face all day.