The concept of man versus machine is at least as old as the industrial revolution, but this phenomenon tends to be most acutely felt during economic downturns and fragile recoveries.

"I got a eureka moment because I felt an old feeling of how to walk normally," she recalls of the first time she used the machine.

As my little need-machine consumed my life, my jeans felt tighter, my eyes felt heavier, and I had the sobering realization that I needed to write a last will and testament.