This is how I wore the beard most of the year. I got cast as Don Quixote in a local production because of it.

November is nearly upon us once again. It's an interesting time of year; it seems to lend itself well to the creative pursuits as the summer activities wind down and the weather turns nasty.

I've been hacking on the site for the last few days, and I've implemented a number of features that I hope everyone will enjoy. Promised last year, but better late than never, I've added the slide show. You can see mine from last year at http://honotrogroabemo.org/index/2008/slideshow/blob. I see some major enhancements in its future; precaching the next image would be good, as would be the ability to change the frame rate.

Which brings me to the next new feature: The archive. You can view last year's site at http://honotogroabemo.org/index/2008. It's live and functional with its own database. You can comment, post, etc. Donations collected will still be applied to this year, however.

Mom and Dad at Margaritaville in Las Vegas, May, 2009

Which brings me to the next new feature: Beards4Boobs. I had mentioned at the end of last year that I'd like to use the site to collect a few dollars for charity, but the events of 2009 helped solidify the choice of charity. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in January; it had already metastasized, but with treatment we had hope for a number of years. Unfortunately, one of the undetected metastases was in her brain; it bled, leading to coma and death. She passed away on July 1 at the awfully young age of 58. In her honor, please see what you can do to secure some sponsorship for the Ann Voegerl Memorial Breast Cancer Research Fund. The person who collects the most sponsorship in November (though donations are always welcome) will receive a fabulous prize. As I've promised to cover PayPal fees as my contribution, whether that prize has a meatspace component or not depends entirely on the generosity of our readers.

That one doesn't segue into the last new feature very well, but here it is anyway: I've completed the Invite function. If you're a registered user, you can invite someone to join us.

A few more changes are in the works, so stay tuned. Happy Bearding!