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Linux

Getting Inked for Tux at OSCON 108

OSCON isn't just a gathering for talks on topics like Creating Location-aware Web 2.0 Applications on an Open Source Geospatial Platform and fightin' words from the stage; it's also an excuse for some interesting social gatherings, like this year's Community Choice awards (organized and sponsored by the corporate overlords at SourceForge, as you might recall, and with Slashdot's own special category), at which, among other festive activities, attendees were offered the chance to get open-source-related tattoos. There are shots of some of these up on the SourceForge Community pages, and — with some overlap — even more in this set at Flickr. (My pasty bicep^h^h^h^h^h shoulder is the one now adorned with a circled head of a happy Tux ala IBM; I was expecting it to hurt more than it actually did.) Anyone with techie tattoos, please disclose below.
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Getting Inked for Tux at OSCON

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  • Pretty Fly (Score:2, Funny)

    by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) *

    Now he's getting a tattoo yeah
    he's getting ink done
    He asks for a 13
    but they drew a 31!
    Friends say he's trying too hard and he's not quite hip
    But in his own mind he's the
    he's the dopest trick

  • by Anonymous Coward

    You've probably seen my photo around [engadgetmobile.com], but I'm trying to get them removed now.

  • by kclittle ( 625128 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2008 @07:48PM (#24410911)
    ... in 25 years, your body-art will be as timely as the "Primos Rules" tattoo I have.
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by spoco2 ( 322835 )

      Indeed, I feel sorry for these people who get tattoos like this.

      Oooh, look what geek cred I have, I have open source logos on me. Except that the penguin has never been anything but, well, pretty lame really.

      And then add to the the speed of progress in the tech world, and you've got yourself a permanent reminder of how narrow focused you happened to be at one point in your life.

      Fast forward 10 years or so and you have so many other things that you are interested in, and you can see how foolish it may have b

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by KGIII ( 973947 )

        Actuallly I really enjoyed checking out some of the ink done at this site:

        Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoos [sciencetattoo.com]

        I have just one tat and it is on my shoulder and not really geeky at all. It's just a Greatful Dead "Steal Your Face" tat that I have had since I was about 16.

        (Oh - and someone fix this window size please? I hate trying to post in idle just because of this.)

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by martinw89 ( 1229324 )

        But it's not an operating system, it's my whole life! See, I won't regret it.

      • Why shit on their parade? If it's that obvious that they're going to regret it, what point does it serve to comment on it? Let them have their fun, it doesn't hurt you any.
        • by spoco2 ( 322835 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2008 @09:42PM (#24411739)

          Because if no-one points out the folly in doing this when others do it, but just heap praise on them, well, others are likely to do the same thing.

          Then you have even more people who wish they maybe should have thought a bit longer about getting something so topical inked onto their body for life.

          If comments like this make just a few people think 'oh... hmmm, yeah, maybe I won't still think Linux is the centre of the universe in 10 years', and perhaps just get themselves a nice t-shirt or something, then my work here is done.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        you're right mom, can I go now?
      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by morari ( 1080535 )

        I've been in the business for almost twenty years now, and I could not agree more. Of course, this is also true for a lot of things: the name of your lover, a favorite band, etc. I always get a laugh out of the guys that walk in and immediately want to show off their pre-existing stuff with "I got this one in prison". Of course, when you have so many scratchers out there that just want to take your money, it's not hard to see why people make poor decisions and end up with poorly done work.

      • by Binder ( 2829 )

        Well, if we look back 10 years at someone who got a tattoo of tux...

        Linux is quickly closing on 20 years, and is likely to keep going for quite some time yet.

      • by doti ( 966971 )

        For a logo that represents a product (even an Free one), you may be right. People do have to think that they will have if for their lives, and that's something. You can't do it for impulse, it has to be a matured decision.

        That's why I got a GNU tattoo [googlepages.com]. It's not about the GNU system, but about the whole Free Software movement. It won't die. Even if 30 years from now I'm completely away from the scene, or it's still an important part of my life, and it represents important ideals for me.

        I'm also considering a

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by rossturk ( 975354 ) *

        I got my tux tattoo about 8 years ago, and had it touched up with the rest of these folks (actually, earlier on in the day because I had to MC the party.)

        I think it's still as timely now as it was when I got it, and I think that if 30 years go by I'll always remember how important Linux was to me during this time in my life. If it weren't for my exposure to Linux, I probably wouldn't have become a sysadmin when I was a kid, I probably wouldn't have become a developer in my twenties, and I wouldn't be the c

      • by HansF ( 700676 )
        Nowadays tattoos can be removed. With lasers, no sharks unfortunately.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • So in 25 years you won't like your cousins?
    • by antic ( 29198 )

      I wish I had an Amazon affiliate code because "So, you got a penguin tattoo, what now?" would be a perfect recommendation.

    • by exley ( 221867 )

      ... in 25 years, your body-art will be as timely as the "Primos Rules" tattoo I have.

      Is that because "Primus" was misspelled, or because you just aren't as big a fan of the band anymore? :)

      • Not sure if you are joking, but I believe he was referring to the now defunct OS, "Primos", which had short lived popularity in the 80s.

        Also, I believe the slogan for the band Primus is/was, "Primus Sucks"...

    • ... in 25 years, your body-art will be as timely as the "Primos Rules" tattoo I have.

      Who or what is Primos???

    • ... in 25 years, your body-art will be as timely as the "Primos Rules" tattoo I have.

      Exactly. I mean, I lean on the side of the vast majority of tattoos are lame anyway (though I have seen some I like), but how pathetic a life do you have to lead that you want to be permanently marked with a -- let's be honest -- pretty stupid-looking penguin. If I went insane for whatever reason and wanted to get a Linux penguin icon, I'd at least get some really cool looking penguin (pardon the pun), with some really co

    • Starland Vocal Band!?!? They Suck!!!!
  • by FlyingSquidStudios ( 1031284 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2008 @07:50PM (#24410933)
    Does that mean I can edit your tattoo to my own specifications as long as I give you credit?

    'Cause I've got the needles right here...
  • I have a three-orbital atom [worldalmanacforkids.com] tatooed on the bicep of my left arm. One of the orbitals is blue, one is red, and the third is green. (I've had an obsession with the primary colours of light for as long as I can remember.)

    • by Hatta ( 162192 )

      3 orbitals means 3 electrons which means 3 protons. Proclaiming your love for Lithium, huh?

  • by NerveGas ( 168686 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2008 @08:08PM (#24411109)

    here [sourceforge.net] is my favorite.

    Trying to pull a tough-guy face while sporting Tux on your arm just doesn't work.

    • by exley ( 221867 )

      When I see the look on his face, I'm pretty sure he knows he isn't tough, and that fact was just starting to sink in as that picture was taken!

  • What is the dude going to do if he gets fired or quits Mindtouch? Is he going to feel the same way I do about my NAVY tattoo? Probably not.
    • It just so happens that the person in that picture is Aaron Fulkerson, the CEO of Mindtouch. It seems to me that he's probably not going to be fired or quit anytime soon.

    • by Roebot ( 1336703 )
      I don't know man. I suspect I might feel, at least, as positively about my MindTouch tattoo as you do your Navy tattoo a decade from now. I started MindTouch with my good buddy Steve Bjorg, started it out of my basement in fact. He and I influenced the design the logo, the product, hired the team together... Now MindTouch Deki has a few hundred thousand installs, 2-3k daily downloads, well over a million users...Used by Mozilla, World Bank, United Nations, US Army, Pentagon, thousands of non-profits...I'd s
  • I think the Zune tattoo'd guy is possible the only sadder person!
  • on my forearm. a tux about 4 inches tall. it's my 7th tattoo. i actually did a photo gallery on techrepublic. here's the link [com.com]
  • Now, I have a lot of ink with much more planned, but I'm not getting tux, beastie, the Microsoft butterfly, or any other tech logos tattooed on my body.

    I'd consider wearing a T-shirt or hoodie with tux on it to a Microsoft conference (just to be irritating) if the opportunity arises, but no geek tats for me thanks.

  • I have my son's birthday tattooed in binary on my right forearm. I don't think I have a picture online anywhere though.

    00110011
    00110001
    00110111
    00110000
    00110010

    Ya, it's the ascii chars of his birthday, not "real" binary numbers.

    • That's ok. My first son was born on Oct. 11th 2001. 10-11-01 A True binary birthday!
    • by otacon ( 445694 )

      Thats pretty cool. I got my last name in binary a few years back. It wraps around my upper arm. Thankfully I only have a 3 letter last name.

  • I've got binary of my college's abbreviation and will be adding my degree and year shortly. I also have a small power button.
  • by Anonymous Coward
    Inked? Did you mean linked?
  • I have a power logo on my back. Well, technically it's a "standby" logo. This shot has a lot of blood in it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thechrisproject/2717988863/ [flickr.com]
  • BSD Daemon (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jlarocco ( 851450 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2008 @10:17PM (#24411929) Homepage

    If you're going to do something stupid like get an OSS logo tattoo, at least get something more cool than a penguin.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by tobiasly ( 524456 )

      If you're going to do something stupid like get an OSS logo tattoo, at least get something more cool than a penguin.

      Too bad Linus's favorite animal wasn't the unicorn.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Nushio ( 951488 )
        I thought /.ers liked Ponies...
        • by zsau ( 266209 )

          If you believe my high school, which uses one as a logo, Unicorns are a symbol of masculinity. This is because all Unicorns are male.

          The other thing to remember about them, which makes them so fitting for Slashdot, is that all Unicorns are infertile.

          No doubt why they're so popular amongst girls.

    • Yeah, that Sun "U logo" thing would look badass on my chest.
    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      If you're going to do something stupid like get an OSS logo tattoo, at least get something more cool than a penguin.

      That's why BSD is way cooler than Linux. She-daemon anyone (regular [bellaminettes.com]) (nsfw version [bellaminettes.com]) (another nsfw [netcode.pl]? And if you're lucky you could hook up with a real [netcode.pl] one [eugeneciurana.com].

    • by NuKeLiTe ( 418 )

      100% agree!

      In a few years any logo can change, any OSS situation can, and will, change. So, it's too stupid getting a tattoo of this kind of stuff.

      It's better something tribal, dragons, etc... that will good actual even in several years.

    • I got a tattoo of Tux on my chest. I got it around the RedHat 7.2( or around 2001) days. I figured Linux was not going to die in my life time that's why I figured it was safe. I was thinking about a KDE or GNOME logo but all of those could run on top of Linux. Maybe I can get those around the Tux tat. Oh well, I figured there is nothing wrong with a penguin. Or a KDE dragon or a big foot logo.

      The thing is when you get a tat I figured it should mean something to you. If you want a BSD Daemon then get one, bu

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Cow Jones ( 615566 )


      If you're going to do something stupid like get an OSS logo tattoo, at least get something more cool than a penguin.

      Yeah, if you want to look scary, don't settle for anything less than a Hans Reiser tattoo.

  • Link [proyectofedora.org]
    Too bad its Henna though....

    The Fedora Logo would be the one thing I'd actually tattoo. Even if I switch distros, the meaning would still stand. Infinite Freedom, Voice.
  • Cut, Print, Gay.

    All for you Jess.

  • by kc8jhs ( 746030 ) on Thursday July 31, 2008 @02:55AM (#24413307)
    I got there pretty early and caught the announcement about free tattoos. My wife showed up a bit later, and told me I should go get one. I told her I didn't think so, and she responded that those were, "the best looking temp tattoos," she'd ever seen.

    Then I told her they were real. She was in shock.

    Her introduction to the open source/geek culture is progressing well though.
    • Her introduction to the open source/geek culture is progressing well though.

      Perhaps you should introduce her to something less deleterious to social lives first. Something like anorexia, or heroin.

  • by old_skul ( 566766 ) on Thursday July 31, 2008 @08:28AM (#24415427) Journal
    In 2001, I got the Microsoft Backoffice logo tattooed around my right bicep. I had taken the logo from a copy of Backoffice I had, lengthened and duplicated it, and finally had it etched into my skin.

    At the time, I was working heavily with MS Site Server (what they called portals before portals were called portals). It jumpstarted my career as a systems administrator and I don't ever want to forget that time, when I was energized, full of life, and right about nearly everything.

    That said, all of my Windows skills went out the window(s) when I became a Java middleware admin.
  • Tux and more (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Ya, I am one of those uncreative fools that got tux too....But I also decided to get a bit more done after that:
    http://www.bbdforum.com/gallery_image.php?action=view&iid=662#pictop

    I could not be more happy with how my tattoo's have turned out. And I look forward to wearing them forever....Tux is awesome, and in 30 years if I am the only one who knows what it means...then fine by me. The point of a tattoo is for yourself anyways. And it can always represent the start of something, or something that yo

    • I could not be more happy with how my tattoo's have turned out. And I look forward to wearing them forever....Tux is awesome, and in 30 years if I am the only one who knows what it means...then fine by me. The point of a tattoo is for yourself anyways. And it can always represent the start of something, or something that you enjoyed at the time. For me it was a large foundation in my open source lifestyle. And it will always be that foundation. Even if the symbol changes to everyone else, I will always have that symbol which means something to me.

      I couldn't have said it better!

  • ... but some people actually got a Glider. [wikipedia.org]

    This actually carries really strong meaning, and is something that while looking awesome, will always mean something really important to you. Or at least that's how it feels to me.

    I've been wanting to get a glider tatooed on my forearm for a while, this just convinced me to go ahead and do it. As long as I still stand proud of what it means, I don't give two shits what other people think.
  • ... I shudder at the thought ...

    ... although, I probably would end up buying her a drink

  • Yes, I had it done way before the movies...

    And no, I don't think I shall regret it, as the books have been with me since childhood, and I find delight in them every time I read them :-)

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