Old School: Wisdom From Grandma & Grandpa

Common sense, hard-won lessons and the way our grandparents did it, from the people who lived it. Still works.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Working nights without wrecking your sleep, heart and waistline

Rotating shifts are hard on the body, but most of the damage comes from four or five fixable habits. Start with the drive home.

GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

The axe you need and the hatchet you probably don't

Most guys buy the small one first and swing it the fewest times. Here's how to pick the right length, and what a cheap head really costs you.

Ask BRO

Rehearse the raise conversation with me

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GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Build your first forge from a brake drum and a hair dryer

You don't need an anvil, a chimney or a shop. You need fire, air, a hammer and a chunk of steel to hit against.

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Fitness6 min read

The lung scan takes ten seconds and most who qualify skip it

A low-dose CT is a 20-second breath hold, no needle, no fasting. If you smoked a pack a day for 20 years, it's probably free. Here's who it's for.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

The cheap earplugs beat the expensive muffs you didn't wear

Foam plugs cost pennies and outperform most muffs if you roll them right. Everything else in the hearing and eye protection aisle is about whether you'll actually use it.

GuideMen's GroomingTobias ReedSep 23, 20265 min

The Home Haircut That Doesn't Look Like One

Ten minutes, one corded clipper, and a neckline you leave alone. The mistake that ruins a self-cut is almost always the same one.

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

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GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Bunions, flat feet and when an insole is worth the money

Pull the insole out of your boot, stand on it, and look down. That five-second test settles most foot arguments before you spend a dime.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Store the water first, filter it second

Most storm water plans fail on volume, not purity. Do the gallon math, buy the boring jugs, and keep a filter for the days you didn't plan for.

GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Make Your First Knife From a Blank Without a Forge

Skip the anvil and the coal. A hardened steel blank, a few files and one weekend gets you a knife you'll actually carry.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

The first two days after a pulled hamstring or calf

Ice is comfort, not treatment. What actually shortens the layoff, the one test that says you can run, and the trap that gets you hurt twice.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

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GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

What actually fails on a camp stove

Spend on the pot, the lid and the fuel plan. The $20 burner is right more often than the gear shop wants to admit.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideSkillsDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Learn Stick in an Afternoon Without Cooking the Clutch

The bite point is about an inch of pedal travel. Find it in an empty parking lot and the rest of driving a manual is just repetition.

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

How to get off sleeping pills without losing a month of sleep

What the little white pill is actually doing, why it stops working, and the slow taper that gets you out without three weeks of wreckage.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

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GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

The dust you can't see is the dust that stays in your lungs

Chips on the floor are housekeeping. The invisible fines still hanging in the air three hours later are the part that actually costs you.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

Gear5 min

You're not buying a drill, you're buying a battery mount

Fitness6 min

Snoring is noise until it stops, then it's a warning

Ask BRO

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

Ask it

GuideStyleTobias ReedSep 23, 20266 min

Teach your son to dress while he still lets you

The lessons a boy actually needs, roughly in the order he needs them, from the shoulder seam at nine to the tailor at seventeen.

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Gear6 min read

The binocular number that matters isn't the magnification

Why 8x42 beats 10x50 for most men, what a cheap spotting scope actually costs you, and the $30 upgrade that fixes both.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

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