Steering wheel tabletop for the multitasker who has everything

There's always someone on your Christmas shopping list who is guaranteed to stump you. I'm talking about the person who already has everything, right?

I found this in the mentalfloss blog, and wasn't even sure this was real. Can't be. But the Laptop Steering Wheel Desk might be just the thing to give this year.

This cool item is a little tabletop you can attach to your vehicle’s steering wheel, and it creates a level space to do anything you might need a level space for.

But when I wrote this, Amazon had 326 reviews for this product. Mentalfloss writer Miss Cellania related some of her favorites in her blog entry, and here's one:

... I am a Pathologist in Riverside County California and the Laptop Steering Wheel Desk has changed my life. I used to spend long hours in the autopsy room and had too much time away from my family. With this new tool I am able to dissect the organs of a patient during my commute home ...

OK, I grew up in Riverside County, and I can attest that not all of us are freakos.

Then there's the review -- I'm not making this up -- from a dope dealer who loves his steering wheel tabletop because it allows him to ply his trade without having to hire a runner. I tell you what, some of these reviews are classic.

On its face, the whole thing sounds kind of pet-rockish. Why do you you even need something like this?

I can see some uses for this item. During my taxi driving days, my office was behind the wheel. I kept a manifest of all my trips, plus I always had a few other things cooking. Between calls I'd do some writing, arrange some music, or make some phone calls. I'd always have two or three notebooks lying around, a clipboard or two, a briefcase, a couple of books, a newspaper, my lunch, and a travel mug of coffee. Plus my cell phone, charger, handheld computer, and a folding keyboard for that. Trying to keep all that stuff neat was a real chore, and it wasn't good for my legs and back to work while slumped in the driver's seat.

But maybe its allure is a little behind the curve of society. It seems our multi-track fast-lane culture is giving way to something a lot simpler. I'm reading lots of articles suggesting that multitasking is on its way out, that you really don't get anything done when you've got 15 things going at the same time. Which is true, by the way. Like it or not, multitasking is a moral weakness.

But if you feel your time in the vehicle is dead time, you might want to take a look at this item. Just don't use it while you're driving, and we'll all be OK.

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