Ho ho ho, future Santa checking in. Mrs Claus is a hair stylist, so we have some insight into what I’m going to need when the days grow short and the beard (hopefully) grows long.

The biggest thing is: full beards take time. And not just time to grow the length, but time (years) for your face to mature and get those hair follicles in the Christmas spirit. There’s really not much you can do if the fullness isn’t coming in yet but wait. I’m in this phase now. It’s hormones. What are we going to do? Not drugs, not Rogaine: not going to help. Take care of what you got.

But you mentioned you DO have a beard, so maybe you have the stellar volume you need to be St Nick, just not the length. Short answer, skin care IS beard care. Get a good skin care regimen that works for your face and your beard will fall in line. You’ve signed up for an everyday commitment to becoming a touchable beard, and they WILL ALL touch it. Toddlers to Grannies, especially, Grannies.

You have the beard! Now you need the color. This depends on your hair color and how your hair accepts color, so you really should go to a professional. If you want to be a paid, real-beard Santa, a good color job will be the LEAST of your expenses and it will pay off on day one.

Being a good Santa is being a good person. It really is just that. But there is a physical barrier that is conforming to the Coca-Cola ideal of Santa, which is the tutorial I just provided for the BEARD ONLY!

I wish you well and I hope you enjoy bringing hope, magic and love into the hearts of children.

[Bracket City] June 2, 2025

https://www.theatlantic.com/games/bracket-city/

Rank: 🎖 (Mayor) ❌ Wrong guesses: 7

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Connections Puzzle #722

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Wordle 1,444 3/6

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"India’s fertility rate has fallen substantially - from 5.7 births per woman in 1950 to the current rate of two.

Fertility rates have fallen below the replacement level of two births per woman in 17 of the 29 states and territories." - BBC

The replacement rate is 2.1 births per woman, just for accuracy. So the country’s rate of 2 per woman on average is below replacement level.

Wordle 1,442 4/6

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If you haven’t read The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, put it on your list. Please and thank you.

Speech makes the case we can save a lot of money paying the unhoused to teach us about life instead of universities. Anti-college before it was cool.

Connections Puzzle #719

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I just started a TNG rewatch last night after finishing DS9. Worf looks so weird.

Wordle 1,440 4/6

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Connections Puzzle #718

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There is a game where you try to guess the paint color after reading the name that some paint brand has used. Here: https://colorguesser.com/

From the article: “The company claims One UI 8 brings “multimodal capabilities, UX tailored to different device form factors, and personalized, proactive suggestions.” Having used the new OS for a few hours, it doesn’t seem like much has changed with Samsung’s AI implementation.”

If you are curious, the article goes into more detail about the tweaks to the AI layer. I just wanted to provide a TLDR for those keeping up with the general AI shenanigans.

2:33. Nice.

Wordle 1,439 4/6

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Well, that’s one area you definitely don’t want dandelions growing.

I just watched this a few hours ago. Nothing else to add, just neat.

Connections Puzzle #716

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Wordle 1,438 3/6

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