World's Greatest Laptop Desk

This article is something that many friends and family have heard from me for years. Now I am sharing with you a secret that I discovered years ago.

First, let's discuss what a Laptop Desk is. Since the dawn of computer laptops, users have found two annoying problems. (Well, two that a laptop desk can solve. I can't do anything about your battery lasting one and a half hours before needing to be plugged in again.) They are getting the keys to a comfortable height to type from and providing cooling air to the computer so it doesn't overheat. A hot computer is uncomfortable to have on your legs, so you also need to insulate the hot battery from your lap.

There are many different types of Laptop Desks available. There are fine wood and leather lap desks from companies like Levenger which can run up to $50. There are models that have fans built into them to increase the air flow to the laptop to keep them cool. Kohls has one from Belkin for $30.

These have some drawbacks. In the case of ones with cooling fans, they either have plugs or batteries that need recharging, or they plug into your laptop's USB port draining even more power from the battery and reducing the time available to work. Another drawback is the cost. Even a durable desk made of wood and leather will wear and get scratches in it. You'll have to replace it in time. There is also the waiting. You may be able to pick one of these up at a consumer electronics store, which is one more errand you have to run when you're trying to get home to have dinner with the family. Or you can order online and without paying extra, it may arrive in a week.

My solution is a laptop desk that raises the laptop about an inch and a half above your lap which is a comfortable typing height. It insulates your legs from the heat generated by the laptop. It is also sturdy creating a flat surface that allows the right amount of airflow that the laptop was designed for to allow the on board cooling system to work efficiently.

They range in price from $8 to $20. They are available in every city in the country. They are personally delivered right to your door the same day you order one, often within an hour from when you order it. Every one of them comes with a bonus prize inside the desk.

Does that sound good? Too good to resist? Trying to figure out why something so prevalent, so useful, and you've never heard of it before? Here you go.

The world's best laptop desk is an empty pizza box.

The empty pizza box has static air inside it. This is a great insulator and the same thing that made the heat tiles on the Space Shuttle so effective. The empty pizza box is lightweight because it is made from cardboard and filled with air. You won't even notice the weight of the box after you get your laptop on it and you're arms resting on the laptop.

The empty pizza box is sturdy as well. This is something that has evolved over time. There are some of you that remember the early years of pizza delivery and the dawn of Dominos Pizza. The heat and steam from the pizza would soak the box. A stack of these in the car of the delivery guy and the tops would sag touching the cheese inside and creating a mess. Some pizzerias developed little plastic stands that they put in the center of the pizza to help keep the sag off the cheese. Others developed stronger cardboard that could stay sturdy even with a piping hot and steamy pizza inside.

Just tonight I got two medium size laptop desks for $15 from Papa John's. Each of them had a two topping pizza inside. Now that is a prize worth the cost of the laptop box itself. I mean I wouldn't be surprised if people were ordering these just to get the prize and throwing away the laptop desk.

For those of you worried about grease and food crumbs left behind in your laptop desk, you're not eating the pizza fast enough. Invite three or four of your friends over and then order one. I bet you that within five minutes, your friends will have your laptop desk cleaned out and ready to use.

You were thinking that having your laptop desk arrive the same day and even the same hour as your order would be amazing compared with ordering other computer supplies online. You won't put up with pizza delivery taking longer than 30 minutes from the order.

What about durability? I bet you when you start using your pizza boxes as laptop desks, you'll have a new one in the house before the old one has worn out. Given that you get a free pizza with each laptop desk, you won't mind ordering another one within a month of the last one. If it does wear out, you can quickly and easily order a replacement.

Think about travel. I bet if you got one of those wood ones, you wouldn't carry it with you on a trip. Even a cooling fan one from Belkin isn't likely to travel with you. Well that doesn't matter. Most place you travel to have pizza delivery. When you arrive at your hotel, order a pizza the first night and you'll have a laptop desk for the trip. Of course you may want to hide it in your suitcase when the maid comes. They don't realize that you're using it as a laptop desk and will throw is out. When you leave that town, just leave it behind in the hotel room and get a new one at your next stop. You can even expense the purchase. I don't know, call it a food expense for the accounting department. They probably won't think twice about paying for it.

If you don't like the looks of an empty pizza box sitting next to the couch or your favorite easy chair, then get a can of spray paint and paint it. Add stickers to it to personalize it. I wouldn't spend a lot of time decorating it though. When your mom comes to visit, she won't know what it is and will throw it out, even if you've decorated it.

If you're still skeptical, try it for yourself. The next time you order pizza, save the box. Then sit down on the couch and put the pizza box between your lap and the laptop. You'll find it easy to use and your legs don't get hot from the computer. If you sit and work this way for an hour or so, you'll quickly forget that your laptop desk came from Papa John's. You'll just know that it worked and was pretty comfortable.

Veteran's Day War Movie

If you're looking for a war movie to watch this weekend before Veteran's Day, I recommend Band of Brothers.

It is a mini-series that HBO produced about the 82nd Airborne and their fighting in WWII. It is a 10 episode series and available through iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/band-of-brothers/id474228215. The battles and the characters are real. It was developed through in depth interviews with the guys who served in the 82nd Airborne.

Spoiler Alert: Without giving too much away, the last episode of the series has interviews with some of the survivors from the unit.

It is a bloody and gory tale of fighting in WWII. The television networks are going to full of classic war films this weekend. If you haven't seen Band of Brothers, this will be a good weekend to watch a couple episodes.

Warning: Be ready to watch the whole series. The story is well told; the actors do a great portrayal of the situations; and the filming make you feel like you're there. Like Lays potato chips, you can't watch just one.

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