Jump the shark with AquaSkipper
Wednesday's episode of Lost may have saved it from jumping the shark, but its writers may want the AquaSkipper from Inventist just in case.
The 6-foot-long self-propelling Jet Ski is made of aircraft aluminum and has a wingspan of seven feet. A fiberglass spring on the AquaSkipper responds to a hopping motion to propel it forward.
The hydrofoils on the human-powered Jet Ski create minimal drag, which allows it to go up to 17 miles per hour, according to Inventist. As you can see from this video, water-skiers wishing to exert less effort can also "sail" (or surf) along currents or ocean tides.
Besides riding waves, the AquaSkipper could be a practical vehicle for getting out your moored Porsche yacht, flying speedboat or Paritet Boat quickly. Instead of struggling with a row boat, you could just throw the 26-pound AquaSkipper into the boat and go. The device folds up and fits in a duffle bag.
The only drawback to the air-, noise- and water pollution-free vehicle is its $500 price tag. Even though the only fuel it burns is calories, that's still pretty steep.
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. E-mail her at candacelombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET. 
