Thank you, Slybeard. I really appreciate your encouragement and I feel good about committing to 13 weeks. I will post updates as the beard develops, and I hope to encourage the beards of others as my journey progresses.

To answer your question about plans: I want a full 5 or 6 month beard with the stache trained out to the sides (kind of like Captain Nemo from the 1954 "20,000 Leagues", but with the length I have in mind and in my own coloration). I have been warned that in my department there is a "discouragement of large beards", but no one's been clear on what their definition of "large" is and how much "discouragement" they're willing to impose on my face. I'm at a university where there are lots of men with beards so I don't think this warning carries much weight. I'm going to test the limit of their tolerance and cross that bridge when I come to it. My lab partner says "if they get pushy, file a 'personal beliefs' form".

Last Edited By: Fuzzymike Oct 23 14 3:44 PM. Edited 1 times.