Joe's Piece of π

I was on the 34th Street subway platform, waiting for a downtown N express train, when I met Joe who had a series of numbers inked around his arm:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsk6lhiC8TshmYHk_jPiM23TwYYW7aFdp3p0TTnvSMAhy0m_dG3wruKHRssAsW8v0Zq9eoZaV1Q0LyLz6mQJkgSBxX7l8BfS8guMdE0DkZ9bFWCeNwQ9Kt7KLNvliJ4_8FXnkhgv8/s1600-h/Pi+1+detail.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393580477610707522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsk6lhiC8TshmYHk_jPiM23TwYYW7aFdp3p0TTnvSMAhy0m_dG3wruKHRssAsW8v0Zq9eoZaV1Q0LyLz6mQJkgSBxX7l8BfS8guMdE0DkZ9bFWCeNwQ9Kt7KLNvliJ4_8FXnkhgv8/s400/Pi+1+detail.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 317px;" /></a><br />I asked him if the digits represented his social security number (don't laugh, I've heard it has been done) and he shook his head and rolled up his sleeve to reveal the top of the tattoo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyviZwU6yOWGVzmp1YbzNJ8nbbri5sRBWlQGzlvUziErM_cqgk4fhT2QpUqomlfPReWXMayaulVymThHgTnqP23VFe13NK7NmYUvcrcpkURJWG6gzrUqjWGw1qXlKvtmJADhXNfV-/s1600-h/Pi+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393580419346936818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyviZwU6yOWGVzmp1YbzNJ8nbbri5sRBWlQGzlvUziErM_cqgk4fhT2QpUqomlfPReWXMayaulVymThHgTnqP23VFe13NK7NmYUvcrcpkURJWG6gzrUqjWGw1qXlKvtmJADhXNfV-/s400/Pi+1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />This, of course, is the value of <span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:24pt;">π</span></span> (pi), which mathematicians have determined, possesses an infinite number of decimal places.<br /><br />As a physics enthusiast, he loves what pi represents. He told me, as the "meaning of symbols change a lot, what better [to have tattooed] than a transcendental constant?"<br /><br />Despite <span style="font-size:24pt;">π</span>'s infinite number of decimals, he only has the tattoo calculated out to 27 places because, he said, it was "all I could afford" at the time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03AW4QIBDzAL65xrUg72irGOMhhCnq5yG2QPeOIN5S42-zWDk1u6CCCTbQeXX4TEuCUL4FkuwYxLaLuQw-Zx1O4v9X0_lD7iMx-eIq8968rXpEohz7NFRMTnaSjk5FTj4UEYZdimc/s1600-h/pi+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393580314842384274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03AW4QIBDzAL65xrUg72irGOMhhCnq5yG2QPeOIN5S42-zWDk1u6CCCTbQeXX4TEuCUL4FkuwYxLaLuQw-Zx1O4v9X0_lD7iMx-eIq8968rXpEohz7NFRMTnaSjk5FTj4UEYZdimc/s400/pi+2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" /></a><br /><br />Later, Joe e-mailed me and gave me more specifics. The tattoo was done at Utopia in Huntington, New York (out on Long Island). I can't find a current listing foe the shop, so it may no longer be in business. And, Joe said, "the font is Times New Roman, the <span style="font-size:24pt;">π</span> symbol is 180pt font (<span style="font-size:24pt;">π</span> in degrees) and the numbers are 90pt font (<span style="font-size:24pt;">π</span>/2 in degrees)".<br /><br />This careful selection of font size only emphasizes Joe's commitment to the purity of this <span style="font-size:24pt;">π</span>tattoo. <br /><br />Thanks much to Joe for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><span style="font-size:24pt;"><br /><br /></span>

Joe's Piece of π

I was on the 34th Street subway platform, waiting for a downtown N express train, when I met Joe who had a series of numbers inked around hi...

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Megan's Numeric Neck tattoo

On a day when my wife was tattooed with <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/03/friday-13th-tattoosday-adventure.html">a lucky "13,"</a> it seemed fortuitous when our waitress at dinner unveiled her numeric tattoo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaNg9veJycOeybM71ypFoCOhSknb1-thQ2cQCB9nEzZTkRyjsJYYI-4uzmS1ZHNPdJlJsh4Fcd2j2Q2enWBz6495Rn1-Q8aIPfbKCX4UNkeQQJnQDuWIrptnj7zAvAIRskINaJyVEnCZa/s1600-h/PICT1638.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314095620091126626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaNg9veJycOeybM71ypFoCOhSknb1-thQ2cQCB9nEzZTkRyjsJYYI-4uzmS1ZHNPdJlJsh4Fcd2j2Q2enWBz6495Rn1-Q8aIPfbKCX4UNkeQQJnQDuWIrptnj7zAvAIRskINaJyVEnCZa/s400/PICT1638.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 352px;" /></a><br />Born on April 7, Megan had these hash marks inked onto the back left side of her neck.<br /><br />Because of the numbers 4 and 7 being significant in her life (aside from their analagousness to the seventh of April), she chose a rather unorthodox forty-seven lines, inked up like a scorecard.<br /><br />This was tattooed at <a href="http://www.nyadorned.com/">New York Adorned</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Megan for baring her neck in the line of duty and sharing with us here on Tattoosday!

Megan's Numeric Neck tattoo

On a day when my wife was tattooed with a lucky "13," it seemed fortuitous when our waitress at dinner unveiled her numeric tatto...

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Friday the 13th: A Tattoosday Adventure

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19cEy7tskL5y67WFof9Pi1WwFgYW7wZiLN0U9fJDWjbf2qlB3jy_JwuGJsRzQyZ0Pb6FBP9tBDbF2WzU-zvAGPKaqtJLxxsABnjF5pQRe2ULJNn3ZG9OHGeoSmV4ddzXwarEuXiGeOR8b/s1600-h/scan0001.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313156580875395634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19cEy7tskL5y67WFof9Pi1WwFgYW7wZiLN0U9fJDWjbf2qlB3jy_JwuGJsRzQyZ0Pb6FBP9tBDbF2WzU-zvAGPKaqtJLxxsABnjF5pQRe2ULJNn3ZG9OHGeoSmV4ddzXwarEuXiGeOR8b/s400/scan0001.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 217px;" /></a><br />Today has finally arrived. A much-anticipated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th">Friday the 13th</a>. My wife, Melanie's, birthday. She was born on a Friday the 13th, so whenever it falls in March (the last one was in 1998, the next one is in 2015), it's always an event.<br /><br />This Friday the 13th, I've taken the day off and plan on spending a large chunk of it with Melanie, waiting in line for what has become a New York City tradition: a lucky 13 tattoo courtesy of the good folks at <a href="http://www.daredeviltattoo.com/">Dare Devil Tattoo</a>. Located on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Street">Ludlow Street</a> on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_East_Side,_Manhattan">Lower East Side</a>, Dare Devil delivers $13 tattoos every Friday the 13th. They draw up some flash beforehand, and the clients get to choose from a selection of 13-themed, or Dare Devil-specific tattoos. As you'd imagine, they see a ton of customers, so we plan on arriving early to secure a spot.<br /><br />10:30 AM - We hit the Manhattan Bridge, much later than we had hoped. We'd planned on a 10AM arrival. We're now anticipating a lengthy line.<br /><br />10:45 AM - We've arrived. Maybe two dozen people ahead of us. The two young women who line up behind us point to a wall twenty feet away and said last month (a rare back-to-back Friday the 13th phenomenon), they lined up there and waited four hours. Best estimate at this point is to be done by 3 PM.<br /><br />11:05 AM - A guy with a dog announces to the crowd, "We have a minor issue!" The group of two dozen people tenses up. They need us to line up North-South on Ludlow, as opposed to South-North. Apparently the neighboring store owner doesn't like her entrance blocked. Not a big deal. We all move, collectively exhaling. We do note that it is considerably colder out from under the scaffolding to the north. We are 21st and 22nd in line. There are 5 people behind us.<br /><br />12:30 PM - They finally let in the first 10 people. The temperature has been struggling to get above freezing, and this has affected a little bit of the crowd's morale. However, we are given a reprieve. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nypd">NYPD</a> has received complaints about the 50+ people on the sidewalk, so a very nice Dare Devil employee named Rebecca takes our cell# and will call us, in about an hour to an hour and a half, by their estimate.<br /><br />1:15 PM - We are sitting in a warm cafe on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenue_B">Avenue B</a>. Caffeinating and restrooming. Heading back shortly.<br /><br />2:00 PM - We are waiting across the street from the shop. Still no call....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfM8USV4yib2Iq2GbUBVtM7T3osUhSBx1ATSN_SE1mC1Gv0vW4GXjFX2Qz_lKkttUM3mn-FwRl5D4YIWiwuT4XOBteah9aFIOZ7847HslJ5EJk01qeiYcC9sjG51tNk02DwEzKmVN5XUil/s1600-h/PICT1631.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313013314618729570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfM8USV4yib2Iq2GbUBVtM7T3osUhSBx1ATSN_SE1mC1Gv0vW4GXjFX2Qz_lKkttUM3mn-FwRl5D4YIWiwuT4XOBteah9aFIOZ7847HslJ5EJk01qeiYcC9sjG51tNk02DwEzKmVN5XUil/s400/PICT1631.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />2:15 PM - Peering in the window, we get our first look at the flash chosen for today's event.<br /><br />And then, we enter the shop and things move quickly. Melanie fills out the requisite paperwork, we fork over a $20 bill ($13 for the tattoo, $7 for tip) and Rebecca asks Melanie which design she wants:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1wu5xAWvhEzgLgVIoh1P24jvKe9eB90_HiFxWmH9Ls8xWwYHjzLl6RKhU8z4E1lQPhCcUAp51xLNFCl4sYBvxCPiXWPt-VNAHoiAkZewV18X2M6zVki0_3wDsqYxXVhePSgq-PWG_pB-/s1600-h/PICT1632.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313012809390285090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1wu5xAWvhEzgLgVIoh1P24jvKe9eB90_HiFxWmH9Ls8xWwYHjzLl6RKhU8z4E1lQPhCcUAp51xLNFCl4sYBvxCPiXWPt-VNAHoiAkZewV18X2M6zVki0_3wDsqYxXVhePSgq-PWG_pB-/s400/PICT1632.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />Understandably, she chooses a small "13". She would have gone for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankees">Yankees</a> logo, but there was no "13" in it. And wasn't that the point? Not to mention #13 is the jersey number of a much-maligned Yankee named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Rodriguez">Alex Rodriguez</a>. She would have picked the cherry blossom flash, but the absence of the lucky digits was a deal-killer.<br /><br />She didn't want any of the devils, and the various phallus and other crude designs are inappropriate.<br /><br />We chatted with the young ladies from earlier in the day and discovered we had a mutual acquaintance, who they knew from school (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_Institute">Pratt</a>).<br /><br />And then Melanie was up. There was a brief debate about where the tattoo would go, in the middle of the back, or on the wrist. It is small enough that it can pass unnoticed on the wrist, or be covered by a bracelet or watch, should it be appropriate to do so. The wrist it is.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3euyn0FRRNAuBfmlKp4QSZd27VQYFxzW5pTcD1zXiaj_QBnet6tjlsPZY8co4T1Vv87qVgRMgmXkGqjLXAJJepm-Al0eJ_SMFtiYg-Rnp5hT5fZgYpJVOQy_AB0poRMUFcfHFenOv1eB/s1600-h/PICT1633.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313012390020710866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3euyn0FRRNAuBfmlKp4QSZd27VQYFxzW5pTcD1zXiaj_QBnet6tjlsPZY8co4T1Vv87qVgRMgmXkGqjLXAJJepm-Al0eJ_SMFtiYg-Rnp5hT5fZgYpJVOQy_AB0poRMUFcfHFenOv1eB/s400/PICT1633.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXatnHh1L7VMaqhO5t6nw2NVMhT79HyPqicb0oNz4KIUM8ko0YrXMKKoXEzIeZILdRdvcLHhNquwICxKl9u_sdggrNGU-nsnaR5Pi2TD_V0Irf2HzcspNxKIsPNfZrrgXWSZIsn7tUWwFg/s1600-h/scan0002.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313156515545511602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXatnHh1L7VMaqhO5t6nw2NVMhT79HyPqicb0oNz4KIUM8ko0YrXMKKoXEzIeZILdRdvcLHhNquwICxKl9u_sdggrNGU-nsnaR5Pi2TD_V0Irf2HzcspNxKIsPNfZrrgXWSZIsn7tUWwFg/s400/scan0002.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://jasonjune.com/Site/Jason_June-Enter.html">Jason June</a>, the artist, jokes with us, as he tattoos the digits in under a minute. This certainly evens out the average tattoo time for the day, and makes it a quick pay-off for a long wait. The final product is a cute little "13" on the inside of her left wrist:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeGOH4Zh9ESyggfku3M-KpboEBksXONy96KTPtDspQD40NW5DIaKA9VnPPEocQ6J5hwXbrwtKLiCF98Z9KuX7zI8ISS5s8lDypeyscBildyYpuv5XqdXTvgOX7tyeBvP_l6s6bLfp25WR/s1600-h/PICT1634.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313012021808116194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeGOH4Zh9ESyggfku3M-KpboEBksXONy96KTPtDspQD40NW5DIaKA9VnPPEocQ6J5hwXbrwtKLiCF98Z9KuX7zI8ISS5s8lDypeyscBildyYpuv5XqdXTvgOX7tyeBvP_l6s6bLfp25WR/s400/PICT1634.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />We walk back up to the front of the store, Rebecca asking Melanie how it went. Smiles all around. We put on our coats. Melanie asks me what time it is. I look at my BlackBerry and say "3:13".<br /><br />I kid you not.<br /><br />The stars have aligned and the sun is shining brightly outside. A perfect coda to a New York City tattoo adventure.

Friday the 13th: A Tattoosday Adventure

Today has finally arrived. A much-anticipated Friday the 13th . My wife, Melanie's, birthday. She was born on a Friday the 13th, so when...

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