Can men have facial hair at work?

Startups and the tech community in general tend to be more accepting of individual expression. This includes weird t-shirts, casual (slovenly?) appearance and ... facial hair! I got back from Argentina with over a week worth of hair on my face. I wore it proudly back to work on the first day. The second day of work, I had a client meeting. That morning I felt compelled to shave it all off.

Was my perception wrong? Is it ok to be a little scruffy when meeting with clients? I usually dont worry about it with up to 3 or 4 days of facial hair.

I didn't really think too much more about it until I saw this hilarious post and set of pictures through the flickr blog - "Whiskerino '07". What are your thoughts on the Whiskerino Manifesto and wearing beards to work?

"I WILL HAVE A BEARD!! I WILL BE A MAN!! I WILL NOT CONFORM TO YOUR RULES!" -- Whiskerino Manifesto