Playoff Beards

Professional athletes have known for decades what most of us have only recently come to realize: extra facial hair gives us extra power. Everyone can keep their face as smooth as a baby's butt during the regular season, but when the time calls for it and you have to dig deep, you can't waste your energy on things like proper grooming.

Recently I found myself in such a dilemma. Or, more accurately, I put myself in such a dilemma. You see, this summer I skipped a regular haircut and thus skipped a beard-trimming (for any number of reasons, I usually trim my beard when I get a haircut). Once the hair on my face started getting a little longer than usual, I came to enjoy the added machismo of my beard and the extra power it gave me.

Drink in all that power.

Out of convenience I claimed that I was growing this beard as a playoff beard of sorts for the next release of some software I use (and, for the record, love). And that software went into full support.  And then it went into general availability. And then I went to a party to celebrate its release. And I couldn't really come up with any more software related excuses.

Plus my wife got tired of me looking like.. well, like that. Never one to miss an opportunity to be an idiot, I had to have some fun trimming it back to its normal levels and kept a photo journal.

My sister called this the reverse mullet.

Sometimes I like to participate in Civil War re-enactments.

If your daughter ever brings a face like this home, you owe her an apology.

Back to normal-ish.

Why not shave it all the way? Because while my wife may not like the Grizzly Adams look, she'd leave me if I ever went clean-shaven again.