SILENCE RULES Best-selling author Carl Hiassen told an interviewer recently that he has two requirements while writing: his favorite cap and a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. You can spend a lot for a pair that provides superb listening to your own stereo, airplane music or your trusty iPod, but a good place to start would be a $20 investment in a pair of Globalmediapro H-101 Noise Cancelling Headphones. Actually, with shipping added, you'll pay $55. Check out this relatively inexpensive pair at www.globalmediapro.com.

BEYOND THE HELMET The safety-minded motorcyclist will not only wear a helmet, but now also a jacket with an air bag that inflates during an accident. The Hit-Air jacket works by the rider tethering a cable to the cycle. In an accident, as he ejects, the cable triggers a gas canister and the jacket inflates. Hit-Air jackets are widely used by police departments in Brazil, Italy, Japan and Spain and are proving to prevent serious injury and death. There's even a breathable mesh model for hot climates. In addition to inflatable areas, they have armor to protect the spine and vital organs. $499 to $699. www.hit-air.com.

WALK ON WATER Not many folks can claim to walk on water, but now you can join that elite group in a six-foot-diameter, inflatable sphere called the Nuclear Globe. The ball is made from heavy gauge PVC and has inset cups on the outside surface to enable it to grip the water as you walk inside it. If someone else has one, the manufacturer suggests, you can engage in combat games to see who gets toppled into the swimming pool. Not cheap at $275.95. Take a look at the other fantastic water sports toys at www.sportsstuff.com.

SOAR HIGH Remember pogo sticks? Decades ago, these little bouncers launched today's baby boomers on foot-high hops and delivered some air-sucking exercise in the process. Inside a pogo stick was a single coiled spring. Well, pogo sticks are for antique stores now. The Xtreme Generation has created the Flybar. Inside this stick-on-steroids are 12 rubber-band-like straps that can launch a springer as high as five feet. They're not priced like the old pogo sticks, either. The most popular model, the 1200, is $379.99. www.flybar.com.