The Self-Employed Man

Be your own boss and still pay the bills: clients, pricing, taxes, tools and time for your family.

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

Do's & Don'ts: Men Do's & Don'ts: Business Owners

Your pie crust is tough because you were stingy with the water

Flaky, tender pie crust comes down to cold butter, enough water and less handling. Here's why dough cracks and how to fix it at the counter.

GuideWoodworkingDean ShawOct 5, 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.

Ask BRO

What should I wear to this?

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GuideDadsSam OrtizOct 5, 20266 min

Give your kid one tomato plant and keep your hands off it

The plant teaches patience. You just have to stop rescuing it. A season-long plan with buckets, radishes and one warm tomato.

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

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Food6 min read

Bake your first sandwich loaf by the dough, not the clock

A soft, sliceable sandwich loaf takes flour, yeast and a free afternoon. The trick is knowing when the dough is ready, whatever the recipe says.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideBRO SeniorsCal BrennanOct 5, 20266 min

Grow vegetables at counter height and leave your knees out of it

A patio garden that never asks you to kneel, lift a full pot, or haul a watering can. Start with the height, and the rest gets easy.

GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarOct 5, 20267 min

Build the Chicken Coop for the Raccoon, Not the Hen

A small backyard flock is a great idea. Just check your city code, wire the coop against what's hungry, and do the honest egg math first.

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

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StoryCarsDean ShawOct 4, 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

Is your money actually in order?

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

StorySportsMarcus ValeOct 4, 20266 min

Thanksgiving Football Began With College Kids and a Radio Man

Yale and Princeton started it in 1876. A Detroit radio owner made it permanent. Your town's high school still does it best.

GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarOct 5, 20266 min

Buy the Skinny Fruit Tree and Pick Off the First Apples

The bare-root stick beats the big potted tree with fruit on it. Here's how to choose, space and raise fruit trees through the first three years.

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuideMilitary & VetsMarcus ValeOct 4, 20266 min

Read the Medal of Honor citation before you watch the movie

World War II's Medal of Honor citations are free to read and written in flat Army prose. That plainness is exactly why they hit so hard.

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

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StoryHistoryWes DunbarOct 4, 20267 min

Before Paul Bunyan Was an Ad, He Was a Few Thousand Real Men

The north woods camps ran on pine, pancakes and nerve. They built the Midwest, nearly burned it down, and left a lesson in how to clean up after yourself.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideGarden & YardSam OrtizOct 5, 20266 min

A Kid's Garden Needs a Win by Week Four

Tomatoes and pumpkins lose kids by July. Radishes, bush beans and one giant sunflower keep them coming back out the door.

GuideMilitary & VetsMarcus ValeOct 4, 20267 min

The World War I Heroes Worth Teaching Your Kids by Name

York, Johnson and the Hello Girls are the place to start. The World War I story your kids need most is probably sitting in your family's paperwork.

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StoryHistoryDean ShawOct 4, 20267 min

The Wright Brothers Flew for Five Years Before the World Believed It

Kitty Hawk was the easy part. The hard part was the cow pasture, the newspapers that yawned, and the years they chose not to fly at all.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

Garden & Yard6 min

Water-Bath Canning Lives or Dies on the Acid

Home7 min

Caulk a tub and a window so nobody can tell you did it

Ask BRO

Give me something to do with my kids this weekend

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StoryHistoryMarcus ValeOct 4, 20266 min

The Railway Canada Couldn't Afford and Built Anyway

A young country promised a train to the Pacific, nearly went broke keeping its word, and finished five years early. Not everyone was thanked.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

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Garden & Yard7 min read

Save Tomato and Bean Seed First and Leave the Squash Alone

Seed saving is easy with the right five crops and a jar of stinking tomato goo. Pick the wrong ones and next summer gets weird.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

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