Well, I was about to go bevel up anyway - I always do bevel up But I donāt feel confident punching through the skin at an angle, and neither does my piercer. Like I said, at that location, thereās no cushioning under the skin: if I mess up, I damage the ligament.
Maybe Iāll try one of the micro-clamps they use at the office to hold onto miniature eletronics: if I tighten it hard enough, itāll pinch the skin and then I can lift it up, and the clamp wonāt get in the way under the tent the way my fingers do. Maybe pop a couple ibuprofen pills half an hour before doing it: pinching the skin there is surprisingly painful.
No way Iāll implant anything there. Iām a barefooter, I like hiking, and I canāt count the number of times Iāve stepped on really rough stones and pebbles that donāt penetrate the skin, but deform it enough that anything underneath could certainly break. Even under the fat pads would be a significant risk I think - not to mention, good luck getting a needle to penetrate the hardened soles and thickened fat pads of someone whoās been walking barefoot for 20 years
Iāve decided to inject it on top of the foot, but at the lowest point to the ground, which is the webbing between the big toe and the second toe. That places it roughly 20mm above ground, which is plenty close enough for my long-range readers. And if I read it from above (reader under the rear bumper of my van) it wonāt even have to be long range. Also, itāll sit under both bones there, so itāll be protected even if I hit something with the top of my foot, and it wonāt become uncomfortable for the odd times when I do have to wear shoes.
Tenting up the skin was a real bitch. But my piercer had a technique I didnāt know, which is to roll up and massage the skin into loosening. That made things a bit easier, but not much. Pinching and pulling hard enough on it to create an entry point was way more painful than the implant job itself.
Itās quite a bleeder though: the piercer waited 15 minutes for hemostatis, but could never achieve it. In the end, he put a bandaid on it, and some special tattoo cling film to contain the mess. One hour on and itās bleeding - or maybe itās stopped already, I canāt really tell under the cling film:
It aināt no salami, itās a small bandaid with an almost invisible clear film sticker around it, and blood trying to gush out underneath
As for the emojis, well itās like my neighborās toddler who keeps on crying and screaming for hours: as much as I want to bang her head on the wall until she finally shuts the fuck up, I canāt. So I just bite my lip and let it run its courseā¦
Itās just a xEM. Itās actually met my LF keyfob reader already, which I brought along with my cellphone and an OTG cable to check that it reads correctly - or more accurately, that it stayed behind in my foot after the needle was pulled out. Iāve had chips coming back out with the needle, even with the plunger fully depressed, sticking to the end of the needle by capillarity with the blood.
It reads from the top with the keyfob reader alright, but not from the bottom. That was to be expected. This evening Iāll see if it rings with my long-range reader from the bottom.
Thatās the plan. That and a reader as a door mat to unlock my front door. And a reader under the bumper of my car, to unlock it when Iām carrying the groceries, and (if it works, I havenāt tried yet) an xAC antenna under the gas pedal to start it up. Look Ma, no hands!
I made a little inclined stand for one of my long-range readers in the companyās workshop this morning, so I can present my foot comfortably to the reader when itās under my desk at work: