My Hot Legs

I thought of calling this post "My Burning Loins." That would have got your attention. But I looked it up, and found that technically "loins" means the lower back, and I'm writing about the region between the hips and the knees.

For various reasons I've been using laptops more often lately, usually balancing them on my lap because most tables are the wrong height, and a sofa or easy chair is more comfortable anyway. Isn't that the point of laptops, the ability to use them wherever you find most convenient and comfortable? The one thing the various models seem to have in common is that they get uncomfortably warm after a while. I tried putting a pillow on my lap, but it raises the keyboard too high. The local phonebook is a convenient height, and keeps my lap from reaching a painful temperature, but it's still a little warmer than I like. (It might be cozy in the winter, though.)

Has anyone found a handy solution (where I don't have to buy something or keep track of it) that keeps the keyboard at an ergonomic height and the lap comfortably cool?