A Cool Gift

Dena gave me an early Christmas present.

I have come to love my laptop computer as if it were an adopted child. Actually much more than an adopted child, for my personality. Instantly productive, takes up little space. Never leaves a mess, infects me, keeps me up at night, causes me to leave work early or falls down the stairs. It only cost $600.

This week though, it did burn my leg.

I was so immersed in the usual montage of YouTube videos, fantasy basketball statistics, ESPN and Onion viewing that I was more oblivious than usual to the machine's motor slowly firing up to peak levels. Somehow it managed the neat trick of leaving a tidy red welt three inches in diameter without melting my pants in the process.

Mom's ingenuity runs through me, and I discovered a moderately sturdy plastic shelf that could rest upon a lap desk that Dena uses for her work occasionally. The invention did cause Great Balls of Fire to drop from the top of the charts, but also caused a bit of shoulder tension due to its higher plane.

But now I sit with the Targus Lap Chill Mat whirring peacefully atop me. The cooling fan attaches to the computer through a USB port, providing a flat, temperate environment for being productive - at least in theory.

Thanks hon!