It’s that time of year again when I stop shaving the hair off of my face. I do it mostly as a way to keep my face warm while motorcycling. I usually start on Thanksgiving day so I have a few days to grow out my stubble before I go back to work and scare my officemates.

This year, however, there is a beard-growing contest over at Ars Technica. I’m kicking it off a bit early, and unlike last year I may get more mileage out of my beard as I ride deeper into the season.

The contest ends on March 1st, 2010 … which might be a bit longer than I can tolerate. We’ll see. :)