Re: Novice needs help with crazy project

"jerry" wrote in news:1174151068.228643.306840 @n76g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:

I am an amateur triathlete and I'm getting ready for the start of the > triathlon season and I had this problem last year that I'm trying to > solve. > > The problem is that during an open-water triathlon swim I need to skip > a stroke every so often to lift my head out of the water and site the > next turn buoy. I usually find myself off course by a few yards and > need to make corrections. This costs me time from being off course > and from skipping a stroke. So, I had this idea to take apart an old > digital camera or picture phone and mount the camera part to the back > of my head and attach the LCD part in front of my goggles. >

Cool idea, but.... realistically.... wearing this while you swim will slow you down...

First of all the drag with the water flowing around it (instead of your smooth head). Second, the mass will make it more difficult to swing your head over to take a breath. Third, trying to make sense of that jiggly image your display is showing you will break your concentration.

Better way: Train a fish to swim the course and just follow it. (Or build an artificial fish with an internal GPS that you program with the course.) Or a GPS mounted on your back that steers you by giving you electrical shocks in the ribs if you get off course.

Alternatively, a monitor with a bird's-eye view of you and the course markers (aloft on a big balloon or model airplane) would remove the optics and electronics from your body. Just build a receiver that straps on your back and gives you electrical shocks to the ribs when you're getting off course.

Say, can't you just follow the competitor in front of you? Aren't you all swimming exactly the same course?