Manly Know-How Archives | The Art of Manliness

An Introduction to Lock Picking: How to Pick Pin Tumbler Locks

Brett & Kate McKay — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 18:19:17 +0000

Some of you might be thinking, “Brett, why should I learn how to pick a lock if I don’t plan on breaking into people’s homes?”

Great question.

There are a few good reasons why law-abiding citizens should learn how to pick a lock:

Lock picking opens your eyes to the “illusion of security.” We all lock our doors to keep our loved ones safe at night and to secure our possessions during the day. After I picked my first lock within two minutes of learning how to do it, I realized that locks don’t really do much except provide the illusion of security. Locks make us feel safe, but if someone really wanted to get in your house, they could easily pick the lock on your front door. If they didn’t know how to do that, they could find another way in. You can’t just rely on a lock to keep you and your family safe. You need to utilize other tools and tactics and create multiple layers of security.

Realizing how little locks actually keep you and your stuff safe was both terrifying and surprisingly heartwarming. Terrifying because I saw that someone could easily enter my house and walk off with a crapload of stuff without having to break a window; heartwarming because seeing how easy it is to pick a lock and yet how rarely people get burgled, made me realize that most people don’t break into homes because, well, most people are good people.

It makes you handy. If you’ve ever been locked out of your house or car, you know how annoying it is to be standing there like a chump, waiting for someone to show up with a key or a professional locksmith to arrive. Wouldn’t you love to be able to jimmy your way in yourself? Not only can this skill save you a lot of time and money, being able to solve a problem like that on your own is pretty dang satisfying. Plus, you can help out all your friends when they get locked out too.

Knowing how to pick a lock may even help you save a life one day. ITS Tactical has highlighted a few instances in which someone picked their way into an older parent’s home because they weren’t answering the phone, only to find their parent collapsed on the floor. Could they have kicked the door down or broken a window? Sure. But picking a lock just takes a few seconds and doesn’t leave any damage. So why wouldn’t you do that if you could?

It’s a cool and fun skill! There’s simply a “cool” factor of knowing how to pick a lock. Of all the Jason Bourne-esque skills every man wishes he had, it’s one of the most attainable. The idea that I can surreptitiously enter most doors without a key makes me feel all-powerful, like some sort of super ninja-spy.

It’s also a fun little hobby and something I like to do when I’m taking breaks from work or hanging out with the kids while they do their kid thing on the carpet. If you get really into lock picking, you can actually go to events and contests to test your skills against other lock pickers.

Below we walk you through basic lock-picking techniques for tumbler locks. I made a lock picking YouTube video a few years ago that shows how to do this step-by-step.

The Legality of Lock Picking

There’s a common misconception that the only people who can legally own lock-picking tools are first responders or licensed locksmiths. The reality is that in most states, as long as you’re not trying to illegally enter someone’s home with your lock-picking set, you can legally own, carry, and use lock-picking tools.

There are, however, some states that have laws that make owning lock-picking tools prima facie evidence of criminal intent. If you’re caught with picks in these states and you want to avoid criminal charges, you have to prove that you didn’t plan on committing a crime.

Long story short: owning lock-picking tools and learning how to pick locks is perfectly legal and ethical as long as you do so without nefarious intent. Just be a decent human being. For a summary of lock-picking laws across the country, see here.

How to Pick a Pin Tumbler Lock

Pin tumbler locks are the most common locks found on the front doors of homes. So it makes for a good first lock to learn how to pick.

How a Pin Tumbler Lock Works

You don’t really need to understand how basic pin tumbler locks work to successfully pick them, but it does help.

The design of the basic pin tumbler lock has been in use since 4000 BC. Of course, it’s gotten more complex over the millennia. The design that is used in most cylinder locks — like the one on your front door — has been around since 1861, and it hasn’t changed much. Basically, most of the world is using a technology that’s been around for a century and a half to keep their most prized possessions safe and secure.

Here’s the anatomy of most run-of-the-mill pin tumbler locks:

Pin tumbler locks consist of an outer cylindrical casing (colored green) in which a plug is housed. The small gap between the outer casing and the plug is called the shear line. Remember that. It will come in handy here in a bit. The plug has an opening for the key. When the proper key is inserted into the plug, the plug can rotate, thus unlocking the lock. On top of the plug, a series of five or six holes are drilled. The holes contain key pins (colored red) of different lengths. They’re called key pins because they touch the key when you insert a key into the plug. Above each key pin is a driver pin that’s spring-loaded. Pins are also sometimes referred to as “binding pins.”

So you have an idea of how the pins look in action, here’s a gif of me inserting a pick into a see-through practice lock:

In the diagram above, there’s no key in the plug. Because of the different key pin lengths, the driver pins cross the shear line, making it impossible for the plug to rotate. If you put a wrong key into a lock, the notches on the key won’t lift up the key pins at the right height, causing them to protrude through the shear line as you can see in the diagram below:

In order for the plug to rotate, you need to lift each of the key pins and driver pins to the correct height — until the gap between the key pins and driver pins reaches the shear line. When all of the pins reach this position, the plug can rotate. That’s what happens when you put a properly cut key into a lock:

Pretty simple, huh?

When you pick a lock, all you’re doing is using tools, instead of a key, to line up the gap between the key pins and driver pins with the shear line between the outer casing and the plug. That’s it. And it’s super easy to do.

Tools Needed for Picking a Pin Tumbler Lock

There are various tools you can use to pick a lock. For this post, we’re going to focus on using the most common lock-picking tools: a tension wrench and pick rakes.

Below is my wallet-sized lock-picking set that I got from SEREPick while I was at the ITS Muster. The picks are made of titanium. There’s one tension wrench and several rakes with different numbers of ridges, which allow you to pick several pins at a time. There’s also a pick that allows you to pick one pin at a time. Some locks will require you to do that.

If you’re looking for something a little sturdier and robust, you can find lock-picking sets several places online (even Amazon). If you want to be even more of a MacGyver, you could even make your own picks from a windshield wiper.

You can also use a paperclip to pick a lock. Check out our article on how to pick a lock with a paperclip.

Lock-Picking Technique

Lock picking is more art than science. You definitely have to develop a “feel” for it. Each lock is different, but the same basic principles apply. The easiest way to pick a lock is to use the fast and dirty method: scrubbing.

1. Insert Tension Wrench into the Bottom of Key Hole and Apply Slight Pressure

The tension wrench is the key (no pun intended) to successfully picking a lock. Thanks to video games, people wrongfully think it’s the pick, because that is the thing that’s actually lifting the key pins to line up with the shear line.

Here’s why the tension wrench is so important: as you’re lifting the pin sets with your pick you need to apply tension on the plug. If you’re applying the right amount of torque on the plug, once the driver pin passes the shear line, the plug will rotate slightly. When you pull your pick out, the key pin will drop back down, but the driver pin will catch the edge of the plug, thus staying above the shear line. Here’s a diagram of what it looks like:

You’ll keep lifting pins with your pick and applying pressure with your tension wrench, until all the driver pins have cleared the shear line.

So far so good? Alrighty.

So take your tension wrench and place it in the bottom of the key hole. Apply slight pressure in the direction you would turn the key if you had it. And by slight I mean slight. If you apply too much pressure, you’re just going to cause the driver pins to bind below the shear line. You need to have enough give to let the driver pins rise above the shear line, but have enough torque that when they start dropping down, an edge of the drive pin catches the plug as it starts to rotate.

From the CIA Lock Picking Field Operative Training Manual

How much is too much pressure? If your tension wrench is bending a lot, then you’re probably applying too much pressure. So lean on the side of applying less pressure than more.

2. Insert Pick at Top of Lock

Pick your pick. I prefer the Bogota rake that has three ridges. This one has picked every lock that I’ve used it on very easily.

Slide the rake all the way to the back.

3. While Applying Slight Torque to Your Wrench, Scrub Your Pick Back and Forth in the Key Hole

Keep applying that slight pressure on your tension wrench. I use my left hand for that. With your right hand, scrub or rake the inside of the plug with your pick. As you pull the pick back, simultaneously lift up in order to apply pressure on the pins. It looks sort of like this motion:

4. Repeat Until All the Pins Set

Keep applying torque on your wrench and scrubbing the pins until they all set. You may need to apply more torque and pressure on the pins with your pick as you get near the last one or two pins that need to set. If you’re not making any progress, you probably applied too much torque with the wrench. Relax, let the pins reset, and start over again, focusing on not using too much pressure.

That’s it! Really. That’s all there is to it. You can successfully pick most pin and tumbler locks using this scrubbing method.

You may run across locks that require a little bit more finesse by picking each pin set one at a time. In these trickier locks, you may need to get more methodical by looking for the pin stack that resists the most and picking it first and then repeating the process until all the pins are successfully picked.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Like I said above, lock picking is more art than science. The best way to learn how to do it is to simply pick locks as much as possible. Buy yourself different pin and tumbler locks at the hardware store and keep them on your desk or by your couch. When you’re taking a break from work or while you’re watching TV, practice picking. I’ve got three or four locks in my drawer that I’ll bust out during the day for practice sessions.

You’re one step closer to becoming Jason Bourne. Remember, use this knowledge for fun or for legal entries. If you’re going to burgle, only burgle hamburgers. Robble, robble.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I pick a lock with?

Your best bet is a lock-picking set that includes a tension wrench and a set of rakes. My favorite is the set from SEREPick. In a pinch, you could fashion some lock picks with a paper clip, bobby pin, or even windshield wiper blades. In my experience, picking a lock with paper clips is more difficult because they have a tendency to break in the lock.

Is lock picking legal?

Depends on which country or state you live in. In most instances, as long as you’re picking a lock and don’t have criminal intent, you’re fine. In some states, owning a set of lock picks is prima facie evidence of criminal intent and things get more complicated. Be sure to check local laws before buying a lock-picking set.

Can you pick a lock with a credit card?

Not tumbler locks. But some locks on internal doors can be opened by jimmying a credit card between the lock and the door. Here’s how to use a credit card to open these doors.

Further Reading

If you want to get more in-depth in the art of lock picking, check out these two sources:

CIA Lock Picking Field Operative Training Manual

The MIT Guide to Lock Picking (This baby goes really in-depth into the mechanics and physics of why we’re able to pick locks. Very thorough. Definitely recommend reading it.)

With our archives 4,000 articles deep, we’ve decided to republish a classic piece each Sunday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past. This article was originally published in November 2015.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

Skill of the Week: Heel-And-Toe Shift

Patrick Hutchison — Sun, 31 Aug 2025 12:31:02 +0000

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

First used as a necessary technique for pre-WWII clunky gear mechanisms, heel-toe shifting is largely unnecessary for daily drivers (if not impossible since most cars today have automatic transmissions!). Used mostly by motorsports professionals in high-octane cars and motorcycles, it’s not really something you need to learn unless, of course, you want to feel like a professional motorsports driver when you run to the store to get milk. In which case, you should absolutely learn how to do it.

The fancy footwork of heel-toe shifting does have a lot of benefits. It reduces stress on the transmission, keeps the weight of your vehicle balanced during gear changes, helps to prevent wheel lock, and allows smoother and more efficient acceleration around corners.

At its core, heel-toe shifting is a way of getting around the fact that we don’t have three legs. Utilized mostly when approaching corners, it’s used to match engine speed (RPMs) to road speed through gear changes.

When you approach a corner and apply the brake, your car slows down and engine speed drops. Coming out of the corner, to compensate for your reduced speed, you shift into a lower gear, but depressing the clutch only causes engine speed to drop faster. By the time you’re ready to release the clutch in 2nd gear, the engine is practically idling even though you’re still rolling along at a good clip. When you do release the clutch, the engine has to race to catch up with the rest of the car.

These big swings in engine speed vs. road speed are highly inefficient and make all the difference in high-end racing, where smooth acceleration around a corner is critical. Heel-toe shifting maintains engine speed so that it stays constant with your road speed, maximizing efficiency and power. To accomplish this, your brake foot rotates so that you can operate the throttle and the brake simultaneously during gear changes. Sound complicated? Follow the guide above, do some practicing, and you’ll have it down in no time.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

Skill of the Week: Make a Rope Swing (And Fly Like Tarzan)

Jeremy Anderberg — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 15:58:07 +0000

Among the many quintessential summertime activities is swinging from a rope over a lake or river. If there isn’t a rope swing by your favorite swimming hole, here’s how to make one safely and use it like the King of the Jungle.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

Skill of the Week: Jump From a Height Into Water

AoM Team — Sun, 18 May 2025 15:36:09 +0000

It can be quite the summertime thrill to jump from a cliff or bridge into a body of water. But it’s not a thrill that should be engaged in recklessly. Although some professional divers can enter the water safely from more than 100 feet, chances are good that you’re not a trained professional, and all jumps — even those from a low height — risk serious injury or death. To mitigate this risk, follow the above guidelines as to your chosen jump spot and body position.

Illustration by Ted Slampyak

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

How to Use a Multimeter

Brett & Kate McKay — Fri, 16 May 2025 12:29:32 +0000

A multimeter is invaluable for the DIY troubleshooting of electrical problems around the house. You can use it to identify faulty wiring, check if electrical sockets have power, and test batteries. My electrical engineer brother-in-law, Ryan Davis, recently showed me how to use one. Here’s a write-up of what I learned. Maybe you’ll find it handy.

What Does a Multimeter Measure?

A multimeter measures three electrical properties:

Voltage (Volts): The electrical potential difference that pushes electrons through a circuit. Measure voltage to check battery charge or verify power in outlets.
Current (Amps): The flow of electrical charge through a conductor, indicating how much electricity is moving through a circuit. Measure current to verify that circuits or devices are drawing the correct amount of electricity.
Resistance (Ohms): How much a material opposes electrical flow. Higher resistance means less electricity flow. Measure resistance to check component continuity, verifying that a wire or fuse isn’t broken.

Basic Multimeter Components

Multimeters come in analog and digital forms. One of the nice features of digital multimeters is that they’re auto-ranging, meaning the multimeter automatically selects the correct measurement range for the quantity you’re testing — voltage, current, or resistance — so you don’t have to manually dial in an expected value range. That makes digital multimeters easier for beginners to use.

The main components of a multimeter (whether digital or analog) include:

Display: Shows the measured value.
Dial: Lets you select what to measure (voltage, current, resistance).
Ports: COM (black) and two red ports: one for voltage, resistance, and milliamp/μA measurements, and one for high current (up to 10A). Most pro multimeters separate the ports for measuring voltage/resistance and milliamp/μA. There will be a port you use when you’re measuring voltage and resistance measurements. Never plug into the 10A jack unless you’re measuring large currents.
Probes: Black (negative) and red (positive) wires to connect to test points.

Real-World Applications

Testing Batteries (Voltage)

You can use a multimeter to test if your batteries still have juice. Here’s how to do it:

Plug the black probe into “COM” and red probe into the milliamp/μA port.

Turn the dial to AC voltage (~ V).

Touch red probe to battery’s positive terminal, black to negative.

Read the display — AA/AAA should be around 1.5V, 9V around 9V, car batteries 12.6V when charged.

Testing for Parasitic Draw (Current)

A few years ago, my car wouldn’t start in the mornings. Once I jumped the battery, it was fine. The battery was good. But then a few days later, the car wouldn’t start again. I made sure I wasn’t leaving dome lights on or anything.

I ended up taking it to a mechanic, and he used a multimeter to discover a parasitic draw from a wireless phone adapter plugged into the cigarette lighter. Here’s how I could have used my multimeter to diagnose this on my own:

1. Set Up Your Meter

Turn the dial to DC Amps (A⎓ or mA⎓).
Plug the black lead into COM.
Plug the red lead into the mA jack.

2. Break the Circuit at the Negative Terminal

Use a wrench to loosen and remove the negative battery cable from the battery post.

3. Connect the Meter in Series

You’re going to place the meter in series, which means you’re connecting it directly into the path of the electrical current. Instead of electricity flowing directly from the battery to the cable, it now flows through the meter first, then continues to the cable. Because the meter and cable form a single continuous path (like links in a chain), they’re said to be connected “in series.” This setup lets the meter measure all the electricity moving through that pathway.

It’s hard to see what I’m doing in this pic, but it’s this:

Touch the black probe to the negative battery post.
Touch the red probe to the loose battery cable.
You’ve now inserted the multimeter in series and the battery current is flowing through your meter.

4. Read the Display

A normal reading is typically 20–80 milliamps (0.02–0.08A).
Anything above 100mA (0.1A) is excessive and warrants investigation.

5. Track the Culprit

If the meter reads above 100mA:

Have another person start pulling fuses one at a time from the fuse box.
Watch the current draw after each one.
When the draw drops significantly, you’ve found the circuit responsible. From there, trace what’s connected to it.

Testing Extension Cords (Resistance/Continuity)

Extension cords take a beating. Over time, the insulation can crack, wires can loosen, and corrosion can creep into the connections.

A damaged extension cord is a fire or shock waiting to happen. Fortunately, your multimeter makes it easy to test cords and catch problems before they become dangerous.

Step 1: Check for Continuity and Shorts

Start with the cord completely unplugged.

Set your multimeter to resistance (Ω) or continuity mode. Plug the red probe into the voltage/resistance port.

To test each wire:

Ground:

Insert the red probe into the round ground hole on the female (plug-in) end.
Touch the black probe to the round ground prong on the male (wall plug) end.
Expect a reading under a few ohms depending on cord length and gauge. Anything over ~5 ohms could indicate corrosion or a partial break.

Now check for shorts:

Keep the red probe in the ground hole and touch the black probe to each flat prong on the male end.
Your multimeter should display “O.L.” or infinity, indicating no connection. If you get a low reading, the cord has a short and should be tossed.

Hot and Neutral Slots:

Repeat the same procedure for the short (hot) slot and long (neutral) slot:

Match each slot to its corresponding prong and test for continuity (0.8 ohms or less).
Cross-test against the other prongs for “O.L.” readings to confirm there are no shorts between wires.

If any test shows continuity between circuits that shouldn’t be connected, that cord goes in the trash. It’s not worth trying to repair.

Step 2: Test for Live Voltage

Once you’ve confirmed the cord isn’t damaged, you can check that it’s delivering voltage properly.

Plug the cord into a live wall outlet.

Set your multimeter to AC voltage (VAC).

Insert the probes into the two female holes of the cord. You should get around 120 volts.

Move one of the probes to the ground hole (it’s round). You should again see ~120 volts.

These readings confirm the cord is carrying voltage properly and safely.

There you go. How to use a multimeter. Whether you’re checking batteries, hunting down mysterious electrical problems in your vehicle, or making sure your extension cords aren’t fire hazards waiting to happen, this simple tool can save you time, money, and headaches.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

30 Ways to Use AI to Make Life Better and Easier

Brett & Kate McKay — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:19:47 +0000

People might get the impression that I’m something of a Luddite. I don’t use social media at all in my personal life and employ it only sparingly in my professional one. I don’t care much for watching online videos. I’ve hosted a lot of guests on the podcast who criticize modern tech.

Given this, people might imagine that I don’t care for the newest technological innovation on the block: AI.

But honestly, I kind of love it. It’s pretty glorious. It makes me feel like this is an awesome time to be alive.

There are some legit concerns to have about AI, to be sure. It’s not always accurate and not yet great at everything. But if used in the right way and with the right stance, AI can be really handy, improving your life and making it better and easier. It’s like having a personal assistant without paying personal assistant prices.

The great thing about using AI like ChatGPT is that, unlike doing a Google search where you have to sift through countless websites, conflicting opinions, and endless information, you get a single, streamlined answer. Is it really the best, most definitive answer? Maybe not, but oftentimes it’s nice just to be given one option. Again, it’s like having a personal assistant; they may not always fulfill your requests 100% optimally, but the time, bandwidth, and frustration you save by delegating a task in a turnkey way makes the tradeoff well worth it.

30 Handy Ways to Use AI

AI is new enough that people are still discovering the different ways it can be employed. Below are some of the things Kate and I have been using AI for in our work and personal lives; maybe it will give you some ideas you haven’t thought of.

Most of the suggestions below can be done with the free version of ChatGPT, though I use and would recommend the premium version. (As a side note, I’ve tried using ChatGPTs new AI agent feature where it can do things like book hotel rooms and flights for you. I didn’t find it particularly useful, nor worth the $200 a month you have to pay to access it. Maybe it will get better.) There are some other AI tools I think are helpful that I’ll mention with the associated tasks I use them for.

Health & Wellness

Figure out a health issue. I’ve replaced Dr. Google with Dr. ChatGPT. I’ll just type in my symptoms (and sometimes upload a picture — don’t forget that AI can analyze images!) and ask ChatGPT about the potential causes. For example, I’ve been having some pain in my quads lately. I couldn’t determine if it was a muscle strain or a tendon issue. So I told ChatGPT where my pain was, what the pain felt like, when I experienced it, and what precipitated the pain. ChatGPT helped me figure out that I’m dealing with a muscle strain and not a tendon issue. My daughter had some bumps show up on her foot the other week, and I couldn’t tell what it was. So I snapped a pic, uploaded it to ChatGPT, and asked, “What is this?” ChatGPT ruled it a bug bite. Should you rely on ChatGPT to diagnose you for big issues? No, but it can help you troubleshoot minor problems and know when to consult a healthcare provider — when in doubt, go see a doc! (And be aware of over-diagnosing in general.)
Explain medical test results. I’ve used ChatGPT to help explain medical test results I’ve gotten in terms I can understand. My father-in-law recently got an EKG and the cardiologist only spent a few minutes giving him a cursory explanation of the results. My FIL then went home and ran the results through AI, which gave him a lot more details.
Generate workout plans. AI can give you a months-long workout plan; just tell it things like your age, your goals, how much time you have, and what equipment you have access to. I have a human coach to do this kind of programming for me, but I’ll use ChatGPT to whip up a workout on the fly. For example, if I’m traveling, I can tell ChatGPT, “I’m in a hotel gym that has a cable machine and a set of dumbbells. I have 30 minutes to train. Generate an upper-body workout that I can do with an emphasis on shoulders.” It instantly offers up a solid workout I can perform with the available equipment.
Estimate macros. ChatGPT has been really useful in my macro tracking. One issue I’ve had with counting macros is estimating the macros for a homecooked meal. Now I’ll just snap a picture of the recipe and ask ChatGPT for an estimate of the macro breakdown for a serving. It’s not going to be super accurate, but it gets you in the ballpark, and that’s good enough. Another way I’ve used ChatGPT for macro counting is to help me figure out what to eat at a restaurant so that it will fit my macros. Here’s a prompt I’ve used: “Here are my remaining macros for the day: ______. What can I get at [insert restaurant] that will fit my macros?” In fact, I’ve started using ChatGPT as my full-service nutrition coach.

Home & Lifestyle

Diagnose home repair issues. I’ve been using ChatGPT to help with home repair issues. The other day, I was installing a fan. My outlet had more wires coming out of it than what the installation instructions said there would be. So I snapped a pic of the installation instructions, told ChatGPT I had an extra wire not listed in the instructions, and then asked what I should do with that extra wire — I got the correct answer in a few seconds. Another issue I had when I installed the fan was that one of the lock washers got stuck on a screw, and I couldn’t get it off. So I snapped a pic of the screw and stuck washer, told ChatGPT the problem, and asked how I could get the washer off. It gave me an answer that worked.
Work through home improvement estimates. Our upstairs bonus room needs some remodeling. We got an estimate from a contractor, and it was way over our budget. So I uploaded the line-item estimate to ChatGPT and started asking it questions like “How could we reduce the cost by $____? What could we eliminate from this estimate?” It helped us work through some scenarios quickly to figure out an approach that would work for how much we wanted to spend.
Translate laundry care symbols. The laundry care instructions on a garment’s tag are sometimes given in symbols rather than text. If you don’t know what the symbols mean, snap a pic and ChatGPT will translate the symbols into written instructions.
Figure out what’s going on with the plants in your garden. I planted a tree in my yard last spring. During the fall, the leaves started getting black spots on them. So I snapped a pic and asked ChatGPT, “What’s going on with my tree? Why are there black spots?” I got an answer and was able to take action to remedy the issue.

Personal Assistance & Productivity

Transcribe and summarize YouTube videos. I don’t care much for the vast majority of online video. I much prefer to read things. So, I use Tactiq, an AI tool, to transcribe YouTube videos instantly. I can then read, scan, and skim the transcript to get the info I’m looking for quickly. I’ll sometimes also run the transcript through ChatGPT to give me a cleaned-up summary.
Transcribe the conversations you have with yourself in the car. When I’m alone in my car, I talk to myself. It’s how I work through problems. I’ll also talk to myself in the car while trying to organize my thoughts for writing. Now, I transcribe the conversations I have with myself using Otter.ai. I can then ask Otter.ai questions about my conversation to help clarify and summarize the main points. A few articles I’ve written on AoM have started as Otter.ai transcriptions from my car.
Organize your computer. Never lose a file again by allowing AI to organize your files for you. I’ve been using Sparkle, and it works like a champ.
Use it as a coin toss in close decisions. When I’ve got a minor decision to make and can’t decide between two close options, I’ll ask Claude or ChatGPT for its opinion and decide to go with whichever one it picks. I basically treat it as a coin-toss mechanism that gives me slightly more confidence in the outcome than actually flipping a coin.
Use NotebookLM as a research assistant. I like using NotebookLM for the research part of my writing process. I input all my notes into NotebookLM, and then NotebookLM creates a chatbot based on those notes. I can then use my chatbot as a research assistant. “Find me quotes about ____ topic.” “Are there any connections between ____ and ____?” “Give me a summary about ____.” It doesn’t pull in outside information, which keeps its answers focused on the specific notes I want answers sourced from and reduces hallucinations.

Food & Cooking

Generate a recipe. Think of a dish and ChatGPT can generate a recipe for it. Just say, “Give me a recipe for coconut curry chicken,” and it spits out a recipe. Are the recipes that AI produces going to be as good as those you find on cooking websites? Probably not, but sometimes you don’t want to sort through all the variations out there and read through all the narrative fluff food blogs surround their recipes with.
Generate a recipe based on what you have on hand. You cannot only use AI to generate a random recipe, you can tell it what you have on hand and have it come up with something you can make with those ingredients. For example: “I have leftover white rice, Mexican cheese, a tomato, and a rotisserie chicken. What can I make for dinner?” It will then generate several recipe options that use those ingredients.
Modify a recipe. Feed an existing recipe into ChatGPT and ask for it to be modified, e.g., “Make this recipe dairy-free,” or “Scale the measurements up to serve twelve people.”
Organize your grocery list. Once you write out a big grocery list, you can ask ChatGPT to organize the items by sections in the grocery store. You can also feed it a recipe, and it will give you a shopping list organized the same way. It makes shopping a lot more efficient.

Travel & Planning

Create an itinerary for a trip. Just tell ChatGPT where you’re traveling to, how many days you’ll be there, what interests you, the age of your kids, where you’re staying, etc., and it’ll give you a suggested itinerary in a few seconds. You don’t need to follow the itinerary to a T, but it can make for a helpful starting point in creating your own plan for the trip.
Get hotel recommendations. It can be hard to sort through all of a destination’s hotel options to find the one that’s right for you. ChatGPT can give you some recommendations based on a prompt like, “What’s a hotel in New Orleans that’s family friendly, in a quiet part of the city, and has a good gym?”
Build a packing list. Tell ChatGPT where you’ll you’re going, what the weather will be like, and how many days you’ll be gone, and it will spit out a packing list.
Translate on the fly. ChatGPT is pretty dang good at translating things, which can come in handy when you’re in a foreign country and don’t speak the language. Snap a picture of a sign, document, or menu to get an instant translation.

Education

Get homework help. Are you stumped with a word problem your kid is working on for homework? Snap a pic of the problem and ask ChatGPT to break it down. Ask for it to show you the steps for solving it, rather than just giving the answer. Great for helping your kid (and you!) understand the process.
Chat with a reading tutor. When I’m reading a book, I’ll use ChatGPT like my personal tutor. For example, right now I’m re-reading Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. I just finished chapter 3. So I started peppering ChatGPT with questions: “What’s going on in chapter 3? What do literary critics say about chapter 3? What symbols appear in chapter 3? What themes are being explored? What’s the historical background of this chapter?” The chatbot helps me understand the book on a deeper level and notice things I might have missed. The trick is to get more and more specific with your questions.
Summarize scientific studies. We reference a lot of scientific studies in our articles. I’ll paste in a link (when the whole study is available online) or upload a study (when you have to pay to access a pdf) and ask ChatGPT for a short, accessible summary.

Business & Professional

Brainstorm and work through business issues. I’ve been using Claude to help me think through business issues. I can tell it an idea I have, what I plan on doing, concerns I’m thinking about, etc. I then chat back and forth with it as I work through the different issues. I don’t look for answers from Claude, but rather use it as a sounding board to do my own personal reflection.
Perform data analysis. I use ChatGPT to analyze AoM-related data. I’ll upload a CSV file of stats and start asking ChatGPT questions about it. This kind of analysis used to take hours to do, but now only requires a few minutes.
Fix bugs in your code. An issue I’ve run into a few times is our site breaking after I make an upgrade or code change. I’ll upload the code and ask ChatGPT, “What’s causing this to break?” What used to take an hour of Googling and trial and error to fix now just takes a second.
Simplify legalese. Got a contract that you don’t understand? Upload it to ChatGPT and ask it to summarize things in layman’s terms.

Entertainment & Events

Generate game and activity ideas. We’ve used ChatGPT to generate game and activity ideas to do with our church youth group on Wednesday nights.
Generate book and movie ideas. We’ve asked ChatGPT to come up with ideas for books and movies to read and watch together as a family. A good prompt is something like, “We’ve got a 14-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. We’ve enjoyed the following movies together: _______ What are five movies that we also might enjoy?” Are the ideas all winners? No. But some are.

There’s some worry that AI will make us less intelligent, and that risk exists if people use it mindlessly as a complete substitute for thinking and effort. However, when employed judiciously, I find it enhances my creativity and expands my capacities — streamlining tedious tasks and freeing me to focus on what’s more enjoyable, meaningful, and important.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

6 Ways to Open a Stuck Jar Lid

Brett & Kate McKay — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 01:13:03 +0000

Like killing spiders, opening a stubbornly stuck jar lid is a task that the man of the house is often called upon to perform. Sometimes, your virile grip strength is sufficient to solve the issue. But when the lid remains immovable, there are several other techniques that can be called upon to open a jar and gain access to its delicious contents.

Illustration by Ted Slampyak

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

Skill of the Week: Put Lights on Your Christmas Tree Without Swearing Up a Storm

Brett & Kate McKay — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 14:03:37 +0000

In the McKay household, I’m the official “Put the Lights on the Christmas Tree Person.” I’ve done this job every year since Kate and I were married. And every year, I’d end up muttering swear words under my breath while Nat King Cole crooned in the background about the joys of a decked-out tannenbaum.

I kept running into a set of perennial problems that made putting the lights on the tree an exasperating task. But over time, I slowly worked out remedies for each that have made the job easier and increasingly efficient.

The first problem was that the lights wouldn’t work after I put them on; it’s a terrible feeling to get all the lights strung on a tree only to discover they’re defunct because a single bulb is burnt out. Thus, I now meticulously test each strand before it goes on the tree.

Another problem that kept popping up was that when I strung the lights from the top of the tree to the bottom, by the time I got to the bottom, the lights would look too sparse. Since the bottom is wider, it takes more lights to fill it out, and I’d end up having to add some strands, but in a more haphazard way, since they weren’t part of the around-the-whole-tree flow. So now I begin to string the lights from the bottom, which allows me to plug them in before I start, and ensures that I can see how they look as I go and affirm that I have enough lights at the base before moving on up.

A final reoccurring issue was that the lights wouldn’t look like they had enough depth. In years past, I’d just sort of hang the lights on the ends of the branches, resulting in a tree that didn’t have a look and brightness that was sufficiently three-dimensional, and again forcing me to add in more lights after I thought I was done. To solve the problem, I’ve learned to alternate stringing the lights in towards the trunk and out towards the tips of the branches as I work my way up the tree.

By implementing these techniques, my annual lighting job now goes a lot smoother. Hopefully they’ll work for you too, so you can save your swearing for when you’re fixing the furnace.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

Skill of the Week: Throw a Devastating Elbow Strike

Brett & Kate McKay — Sun, 10 Nov 2024 13:14:03 +0000

In the world of hand-to-hand combat, there are few tactics more brutally effective than throwing a powerful elbow to an assailant’s face. The elbow is one of the hardest and sharpest parts on the human body. It can deliver blunt force trauma to your target as well as cut their skin. Elbows can be thrown with devastating force even if your attacker has you close to him or if you’re on the ground. An elbow strike can also be used as a back-up to a missed punch. Thanks to the multiplicity of benefits, the elbow strike should part of every man’s self-defense arsenal.

In this illustrated guide, we highlight three ways to throw an elbow strike: horizontal, reverse horizontal, and vertical. As with the punch, remember that the power of the elbow strike comes primarily from the rotation of the hips and torso.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

Skill of the Week: Light a Fire With Just One Match

Patrick Hutchison — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 16:24:03 +0000

You’re lost in the woods on a cold day, that’s only getting colder as the sun sets and the sky grows increasingly dark. If you don’t warm up, you’ll freeze, so you quickly and haphazardly gather some wood and begin to try to light it. But the wood isn’t catching. As you start to panic, you blow through your matches faster and faster, yet one after the other is snuffed out before it ignites a flame.

Eventually, you’re left with a single match. What do you do with your last chance? You steady your mind and hands, start over, and go about making a deliberate, foolproof fire set-up that’s certain to light with just one match.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.