Gear

What to buy, what to skip, and what the cheaper one actually costs you.

The BRO Gear GuideBuy once, fix it, pass it down: a cost-per-use calculator, a warranty decoder and a repairability checklist.Judge it before you buy

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Changing your own oil in the driveway, the way it really goes

The video says twenty minutes. Plan on ninety, a shower and one trip back to the parts store. You'll still come out ahead.

ReviewTools & OrganizingDean Shaw6 Oct 20266 min

The Battery Shuffle, and the One Drill Grandpa Still Plugs In

Cordless wins the ladder, the yard and the attic. But there's one job where Grandpa's old cord still earns its keep.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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ReviewGadgetsDean Shaw6 Oct 20266 min

The robot vacuum that moved in under Grandpa's recliner

It cleans the floor every day. It also parks under his chair and calls for help. Grandpa has notes, and a few of them are right.

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Autos7 min read

The new truck tugged the wheel and Grandpa checked the tie rods

Fifty years of backing up by turning around, one backup camera, and a lane assist system Grandpa calls "the passenger." He's half right.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideWoodworkingDean Shaw5 Oct 20267 min

Build a pair of sawhorses you're allowed to cut into

Five two-by-fours, one afternoon, and a design that expects you to saw through it. The best first shop project there is.

ReviewGadgetsDean Shaw6 Oct 20266 min

Silence, it turns out, comes in a case and needs charging

Grandpa put in noise canceling earbuds, assumed the fridge had died, and learned what all that quiet really costs.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

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StoryAutosDean Shaw4 Oct 20266 min

Detroit's best idea was a big engine in a cheap car

The muscle car began as a loophole, a price tag and a few engineers who knew exactly who was buying. That's still the formula worth chasing.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw3 Oct 20267 min

The Ten Minutes Before You Start a Chainsaw After a Storm

Chaps, chain tension, a clean air filter and fresh fuel. The checks that keep a cleanup Saturday from ending in the emergency room.

ReviewGadgetsWes Dunbar6 Oct 20266 min

A very small oven with a very big opinion of itself

Grandpa looked everywhere for the oil. He never found any, but the little countertop oven won him over anyway. Mostly.

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

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GuideAutosDean Shaw3 Oct 20267 min

The spark plug job is easy until the last quarter turn

Gapping, torque and the hand-start habit that keep a simple plug change from ending with a stripped aluminum head and a tow truck.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

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GuideFitnessCal Brennan29 Sept 20267 min

The pickleball shot that breaks wrists is the one you chase

Wrists, ankles and Achilles tendons fail in predictable ways on the court. An eight-minute warm-up and one rule about lobs keep you playing.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

ReviewGadgetsDean Shaw6 Oct 20266 min

The doorbell that talks back, and the mailman who saw through it

A smart doorbell can greet the mail carrier from your phone. Grandpa tried it from the garage, with the garage door wide open.

GuideAutosDean Shaw26 Sept 20266 min

A supercar is bought. A coachbuilt car is argued into existence

The one-off cars from Rolls-Royce and Ferrari cost millions. The rules for commissioning one scale all the way down to your local shop.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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GuideFitnessCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

Train like a Sardinian shepherd when you've got kids and a job

Some of the longest-lived men in Europe never followed a program. They walked hills, carried heavy things, and never once took a week off.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Country Style5 min

How to Build a Sunday Best for Under Two Hundred Dollars

City Style5 min

Dress for the client, not for the restaurant

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuideFitnessCal Brennan23 Sept 20265 min

What Nicoya does all day beats what you do for an hour

A Costa Rican peninsula where men in their eighties still swing a machete has something useful for a guy with two kids and forty minutes.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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Country Style6 min read

The farm clothes calendar, from mud season to harvest

Rubber in March, chaff-proof cotton in July, nothing loose in October. What to wear each season, what to retire, and when to swap the bin.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

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