TAOM: How to Call 911

It’s Not as Obvious as You Think

TAOM: The Manly History of Cribbage...

...and How to Play the Game:

“While I was sitting there thinking of how Bill was a major artist and how even the knots he tied were artistic, he had somehow got ahead of me in the cribbage game, at which he was a chump. At least, I was a lot better than he was at cribbage, once the favorite indoor pastime of the woods. We even played it outdoors, and often on the trail one of us would carry a deck of cards and a cribbage board in his pack sack, and in the middle of the morning and afternoon we would straddle a log and have a game.” -A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

TAOM: GORUCK Challenge

Go for it.

How to Network & Socialize Effectively

A Comprehensive Guide:

This post is brought to you by Chivas Brotherhood What’s this?

Last month I was invited to attend a whisky-tasting event in Chicago hosted by Chivas Regal. As part of their Chivas Brotherhood, they have an 1801 Club in which members get access to exclusive, invite-only events at private venues in major US cities. I had the privilege of checking one out and hob knobbing with a bunch of folks I had never met before.
Now, despite the fact I write about style and own a custom clothier, I rarely go out and socialize. Being a father of three young children and living in a small Wisconsin town…well, it just doesn’t happen.

TAOM: How to be an Awesome Uncle

Psychologists tell us that one of the most, if not the most important factor in our happiness is the number of quality relationships in our lives. Decades ago, such relationships were easy to come by. You were very likely to be surrounded by extended family who all got together often for loud and boisterous celebrations. As you grew up, you got to know your cousins, and your aunts and uncles as well. 

These days, many families live far apart, and family reunions are few and far between — often non-existent, it seems. But everybody still wants to feel part of a clan, and family ties are just as important as they ever were. 

In the role of uncle, you have a chance to forge those ties in positive ways with your nieces and nephews.

Advice from WWII Vet

Advice From a 92-Year-Old Veteran of WWII on Getting Out of a Dark Place

"I took a two pound double bladed axe, walked a half mile up above where I lived. We had a field there, and I cut down big trees and cut them into fence posts. All I had was that axe. I made my own mallet and split those trees myself.I got me a half acre of ground, plowed it up, and had a field. That same summer I grew potatoes, corn, and beans. The whole summer I spent growing things I wanted to. I’d be out in the woods at daylight. I just worked like that and built myself back up.”"

TAOM: Flashlights

How to Use a Flashlight in a Tactical Situation:

It’s late Friday night and you’re walking to your car after a fun evening with your friends downtown. As you turn the corner down an unlit side street, you see a shadow dart across the wall and hear footsteps. The hairs on your neck stand straight up. You quicken your pace, but the other footsteps speed up as well. You look around trying to make out shapes in the dark, when out of nowhere a fist connects with your cheekbone. The sucker punch takes you to the ground and you can feel your wallet being taken from your back pocket.
Before you have time to react, your assailant has disappeared back into the cover of darkness.
You really could have used a flashlight.

Help with Small Talk

From FastCompany, These 5 Questions Will Help you Work Any Room:

"What’s your connection to the event?"This question can uncover mutual contacts and usually leads to a more robust answer than if you asked the typical “Have you been to this event before?” 

"What’s keeping you busy when you’re not at events like this or at work?" This question gives the encouragement necessary for the person to share his/her passions and outside interests. It is an excellent way to add some enthusiasm into a conversation that has hit a lull, especially if he/she would prefer to be doing that activity at that moment. 

"Are you getting away this summer?" This question can lead to conversations about family, reveal special interests and, if you like talking about travel, it’s a sure-fire way to keep a conversation interesting. 

"Are you working on any charity initiatives?" This question makes it easy to launch into a deeper connection. If they’re not involved with any projects, they often share reasons which is usually revealing, and if they are doing something of value they will be more than happy to share. 

"How did you come to be in your line of work?" For some, the path to where they are today can be quite an interesting ordeal. Having a chance to revisit their story to success can leave helpful clues along the way as to who they are and what makes them tick.

Home of the Brave

A Memorial Day article from the Wall Street Journal, 2007:

America's Honor

Once we knew who and what to honor on Memorial Day: those who had given all their tomorrows, as was said of the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy, for our todays. But in a world saturated with selfhood, where every death is by definition a death in vain, the notion of sacrifice today provokes puzzlement more often than admiration. We support the troops, of course, but we also believe that war, being hell, can easily touch them with an evil no cause for engagement can wash away. And in any case we are more comfortable supporting them as victims than as warriors.

The Man's Library

100 Must Read Books: The Essential Man's Library (from The Art of Manliness)

I haven't reviewed the whole list yet but most of the ones you would expect are on it. I hope that it also reveals some hidden gems.

Wilderness Tracking

Greenside Tracking and Target Science

Tracking school

Damon Hart-Davis

A Bloodhound has 4 billion olfactory receptor cells which help make it very good at picking up and tracking a scent. We humans have about 5 million, which is why we are no good at picking up and tracking a scent.

ITS Tactical has an overview of tracking skills for those of you who don't have a bloodhound handy.

Editor's note: If there are some things that are impossible to learn to do by reading about them, wilderness tracking has got to be one of them. You need to get outside and do it if you want to learn.

Inventor, problem solver, businessman?

Here is a great story about what it really means to be an entrepreneur. A poor immigrant built himself a life and success through trial and error, expertise, perseverance, and a little luck.

I think this is a perfect way to describe entrepreneurship.

How to get your name in lights

The AoM has a cool post about business lessons from the life of Andrew Carnegie.
Some highlights:

-With only a year or two of schooling, he moved from factory bobbin boy to railroad executive to iron and steel magnate, eventually becoming the richest man in the world. 

110 DIY Tips

From Popular Mechanics: "The 110 Best DIY tips ever"

Gear: Camp Stoves

The Art of Manliness: "How to chose a camp stove"

Mud Runs

Primal Mud Run (East Coast)

Above and Beyond Mud Run (Medford, NJ)

USMC Mud Run (Columbia, SC)

Spartan Race (everywhere)

Tough Mudder (everywhere)

Clint Eastwood: handyman

I still haven't seen Gran Torino but I guess I need to put it at the top of the list. From the Art of Manliness:

The Walt Kowalski Toolbox