Your lab tech reminded my of the late Grace Hopper. She used to hand out "nanoseconds" -- lengths of wire 30 centimeters long. Since the speed of light is almost exactly three hundred thousand kilometers per second, in a nanosecond, light will travel thirty centimeters. I suppose that a light-nanosecond would be a useful measure, as would a light-picosecond (3 cm). 

I just worked out that I am 57 light-picoseconds tall.