Back in July, I upgraded my single parallel port tattoo to add on Fire Wire ports and a bar code. Underneath the bar code was my name in binary code and for those who don’t know binary, I wanted the bar code to scan properly to display my name, just in case. Below is the picture I posted online of my new ink.
When I told Jordan at Americana Tattoo that I had put off the bar code for years because it seemed everyone was doing one, I added that I finally decided to do it because I found a way to make mine unique. He told me how a surprising number of people ask for a bar code and just give him any random bar code to copy. Apparently, there’s a lot of people out there who, if thrown on a checkout line scanner at the supermarket, would likely come up as a $0.99 bottle of filtered water. Hearing that made mine seem so much better, but I never got around to scanning it until Friday, when a friend told me he scanned the picture of my tattoo with his T-Mobile G1 and it worked. Of course, I immediately headed to Jared’s office to borrow his G1 and try it myself. I took my video camera:
In case you’re wondering what got me thinking (and talking) about my tattoos again, take a look at some of the recent blog posts that I noticed popping up that were talking about it. I love that it inspires people to write about it.
http://snigit.blogspot.com/2008/08/techtoo-bar-code-and-ports.html
http://www.geekytattoos.com/joe-tech-is-versatile/
http://www.tattooblog.org/entry/joe-is-geeky-and-his-tattoo-too/
http://www.tattoo42.com/joe-is-geeky-and-his-tattoo-too.html
http://tystips.com/archives/39/techtoos-technology-related-tattoos/
There was another link in Spanish that I can’t find at the moment.
With all this tattoo action buzzing, it also got me thinking about what’s next. I know I want more ports, but I also want to move forward with the beginnings of what will be a whole cyborg theme. The ports are just a start. What’s the best geeky tattoo you’ve seen? Any suggestions on what I should do next?
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on December 14th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Microchips, circuits, guitar hero buttons and switch thingy. LOL!
usws’s last blog post..The Day My Butt Sat Still
on December 15th, 2008 at 12:58 am
usws: Good call, except I don’t think I’d tattoo something as potentially temporary as Guitar Hero on my body.
on December 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am
That is cool that it actually scans.. hee hee… I have always wanted one like that too! :)
Taylor Blue’s last blog post..Hayden Panettiere Gets The Christmas Spirit
on December 15th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Taylor: You should get one. It’s fun to explain to people that it really scans and the binary spells my name. It freaks people out a bit.
on December 27th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
unique nick name, but odd too :D
on December 29th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
naruto: That could describe me as a whole.
on May 4th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Wow! Thats a pretty cool tattoo yet scary at the same time. Its scary to me being that I’m wary that one day we might have our kids tattooed with scannable tattoos at birth. Far fetched but could happen
on May 25th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Really a very unique style of barcoding
on July 18th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
yes,theres some nice tattoos here!
on February 25th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
After you finally make up your mind to get a tattoo, the most important and hardest decision to make are what tattoo design to get and where on your body you should get it at. However, it is paramount to stay away from tattoo trends. This is because there is a very high likelihood that your tattoo design that was once popular will not look so great a few years down the lane. After all trends or fads fade out of style all the time. The best piece of advice is just to simply stay away from tattoo trends, unless it is something that you truly want and can live with forever.
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on August 23rd, 2016 at 3:53 am
Hi, thanks for the story! Normally people get the same old tattoos everyday, picking them from a catalogue without knowing anything about meaning. What do you think about custom made tattoos? Thanks