Frazz by Jef Mallett for July 20, 2015

This was why I always kept Rubbing Alcholol and Turpentine handy!

(And LOT’s of clean rags!)

Hair spray works.

Henna. It colors the skin surface, but wears off in a week or so.

Ethanol, gasoline, and Stoddard solvent all remove permanent marker. We have to etch all of our test samples to identify them.

Sandpaper.

I have made sure my boy knows that if he EVER comes home with a tattoo, he is grounded for the duration of the tattoo. I told him he can get one when he is older and out of the house..However, I have also told him it is wise to wait until you are well established in your carer before you get a tattoo that is visible in any way while wearing short sleeves and shorts.

Goo-gone. And you’ll smell all nice and orangey.

Have you ever seen an 80-year old with an old tattoo (50-60 years)? You don’t want to. The canvas gets wrinkly and saggy and the tat gets faded.

I’ve got 4 tats myself (all easily covered by regular clothing). The first two were ‘gifts’ to myself at my half-century mark. The other two were added within two years to express other meaningful aspects of my life. They are full color, and I’ve received many complements on the high quality artwork. The most expensive (a full Chinese dragon, covering most of my right upper arm) was $400 and took a total of 6 hours (two three-hour sessions spread over two weeks) to complete. No regrets.

I have five co-workers in reasonably-paid professional jobs requiring a degree with visible tattoos. No problems with them, highly competent men and women. I don’t know their salaries but based on mine, I’d say they all make $80K minimum annual. Nice people to work with.

Not in arts or design, either – science, project management, financial analysis and engineering (we do complex stuff at work, requiring multidisciplinary knowledge). Good thing they were chosen for their competence and not whether they are inked or not. The world’s becoming better that way.