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On his Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) show one morning, Howard Stern hypothesized that a vague loss of direction or sense of hopelessness is often the backdrop for someone getting a tattoo who wouldn't ordinarily have done so. (The shock jock isn't judging; he has at least two of his own.)

His theory rang a bit familiar ... when I was 26 (old enough to know better), I got some "ink" of my own. Two of my best friends were about to move away, my parents had recently relocated from our mutual hometown, and my boyfriend had unceremoniously ended our relationship. At the time, I had my lower back branded with the orange-and-blue "V" and sabers that trademark the University of Virginia, my alma mater. I did so while repeating three mantras I considered to be quite wise at the time.

First, my tattoo of choice wasn't a capricious decision ... I will always be a UVa alum, and I will remain proud of that fact. Secondly, while larger than I wanted (the artist talked me into a bigger size, noting that it would be "framed by my entire body" -- famous last words), it is in a spot not normally visible in the workplace or in a cocktail dress. Finally, as I flippantly told my friends and my displeased elder relatives, "When I'm 60 and ready to be rid of this thing, they'll have technology where I can just wipe it off, no problem."

The devil made him do it. Or maybe it was Bill Gates.

No matter. The internets are having a jolly mock-fest over a man who took brand marketing to an alarming plateau. Our sister site Engadget is a-twitter over the happy Microsoft Zune fan who got not one, but two Zune logos tattooed on his beefy arms.

With the amount of chatter going on about this chap, you might think he'd be in for his 15 minutes of fame as a sort of underground Zune spokesman. But there are a few problems:

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s MP3 player Zune is widely seen as a decided also-ran next to the ubiquitous Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPod. And even though Microsoft hired college students to help flack Zune during its launch late last year, there are certain tacit rules when it comes to using people to help promote a brand: One of them is that they gotta seem cool and attractive to other people.

In other words, not big-'n-geeky and living in your parents' basement. That sort of endorsement doesn't exactly help Zune's cause.

The fan in question is flying out to Microsoft's Seattle headquarters in July. Maybe the company should pay him not to do it any more favors.