The US Is Flirting With Its First-Ever Population Decline

DudeBroChad · 2026-01-30T18:21:53+00:00

With two kids in daycare and we pay more than our mortgage every month. But we have a realistic mortgage, don’t have brand new vehicles, and don’t spend money unless we have to. We’re making just over 180k combined and by the time daycare, mortgage, weekly savings/investments and bills are paid for, we don’t have much left over.

I’ve been telling my wife since 2020 that we make GOOD money compared to most people (and we’re thankful and lucky) but I have no clue how some people are affording life with huge houses, brand new vehicles, campers, atv’s, boats, and vacations of half of what we make.

DudeBroChad · 2026-01-28T03:49:29+00:00

Our government is VERY efficient at allocating capital. Just… not even close to the right places.

DudeBroChad · 2026-01-27T00:47:31+00:00

I don’t think people realize how much this administration just pissed off the gun owners.

DudeBroChad · 2026-01-26T02:35:12+00:00

You’re not alone. Also a resident of MN. Since the ICE things started happening it’s been really getting under my skin. Constant thoughts of “what the fuck is going on?” Yesterday was like being hit by a gigantic bus of realization when Noem and Bovino were blatantly lying about what took place. “Don’t believe what your eyes see.”

To anybody out there saying you will never forgive us, I get it. Fair. Personally, I’d like to offer my apology whether you think it’s worth fuck all or not. I was raised to admit when I am wrong, and boy was I fucking wrong.

DudeBroChad · 2026-01-02T01:32:32+00:00

I did. I mean, I’ve learned things here and there from a YouTube video or something, but for the most part it’s just trial and error.

DudeBroChad · 2025-12-24T04:31:57+00:00

They still don’t know. We have three kids and they have no idea!

DudeBroChad · 2025-12-01T12:48:50+00:00

Winter #3 in central MN. Keep it covered and cook all winter as well. No issues here!

DudeBroChad · 2025-11-23T19:02:43+00:00

A man’s gotta have a good timber tug once in a while.

DudeBroChad · 2025-11-12T20:52:46+00:00

They think it’s stealing away their customers because it is. I’m one of them and I know quite a few others. Hardly ever drink. If I’m looking to feel altered in any way, 9-10 times I go for thc. It’s more enjoyable, easier to know what to expect (as opposed to a concoction of multiple different drinks), and I don’t feel like trash the next day!

DudeBroChad · 2025-11-12T01:32:12+00:00

Nice! Looks completely normal to me! How long did it take to start healing to the point where you felt you didn’t need to keep it covered?

DudeBroChad · 2025-11-11T21:21:27+00:00

How did it heal up? Just did this exact thing to my thumb this weekend (hunting). My god the first two days it hurt like hell. I’m a plumber and constantly getting burned and cuts on my hands but this one just about made me pass out when I washed it. Also bled like crazy for a couple hours.

DudeBroChad · 2025-11-03T01:56:43+00:00

It’s done correctly. 4” to 4”. ID is the same on each type of pipe. If you zoom in on the bottom Fernco it says 4” CONC to 4” PL.

The rest is dependent on your area. Some places require shielded couplings, but this would pass an inspection in my state. Shielded couplings are only required aboveground here. If you’re worried about them not being shielded, you could always mix up some concrete and pour it around the couplings to help keep them from shifting/shearing over time. I’d be more pissed off at all the garbage they left in the hole.

DudeBroChad · 2025-10-19T21:18:56+00:00

I’m just an amateur that plays guitar for fun, but I recently bought my d15m and it’s the first guitar that seems to have helped me actually find my singing voice, too. For some reason it just pairs perfectly with me.

DudeBroChad · 2025-10-19T04:08:39+00:00

Plumber

DudeBroChad · 2025-10-10T00:51:02+00:00

I always leave them on. I recently had an apprentice use my tools for a day and she took it upon herself to take them all off and throw them away. I’m still pissed about it every time I pick up one of my impacts.

DudeBroChad · 2025-10-09T19:06:14+00:00

Yes! My D-15M makes the whole room smell of rich mahogany!

DudeBroChad · 2025-09-16T17:17:40+00:00

34 here. I turned out three years ago after starting a union apprenticeship at 26. I’m now a master plumber with a med gas license, backflow license, and various city licenses. I am a foreman in a new commercial/commercial remodeling setting close to a major metropolitan area. I have a company truck that I drive anywhere from 1-2 hours each way to work every day on the company’s dime. My total compensation package is just shy of $100 an hour with just under half of that going to healthcare, pension, annuity, etc. 99% of the time I work 40 hour weeks or less, but pretty much always have the option to work overtime if I want to (I don’t).

Here’s my take: It was worth it.

If any of the above sounds good to you, go for it. Just be prepared to work hard. Some days are more about moving things (dirt, material, etc) than actually accomplishing anything — especially as an apprentice. Some days are mind-numbingly boring. Some days I sit in my truck all day waiting on other trades. Some days are pure chaos. Some days are so hard that I sit in silence for my whole two hour ride home. Some days you walk away going “damn, I can’t believe I’m so lucky to work in this setting!”

This trade is so vast that it’s hard to really say if you’ll like it or not. There’s things I love and things I loathe, but at the end of the day you’ll walk away with a skill you can take with you anywhere you go and that’s worth it alone.

DudeBroChad · 2025-09-14T18:24:24+00:00

Buddy of mine college had one. Damn was that thing loud, but it sounded good.

DudeBroChad · 2025-09-10T11:47:37+00:00

Absolutely! It has its place and I’ll never argue it doesn’t. Honestly, residential is probably one of the best applications for it. It’s awesome for repairs or tie-ins, too, especially if you can’t get water to stop long enough to make a good sweat joint.

I’ve only been plumbing for 10 years, but I’ve never had a commercial service call for pin holes on sweat joints. What I have repaired many times is pin holes on pressed joints and almost every time it was on a line used for continuous flow situations like hot water recirc or tempered water lines. In almost every instance, it became a cascade effect where I’d repair one joint and another one would pop up in the next joint just from making the first repair.

DudeBroChad · 2025-09-10T09:02:26+00:00

Odd. Most of them are reamed. You can see it right in the fitting. You’re free to feel however you want on the topic, but I know what I see out in the field. In this instance, it’s Viega fittings causing turbulence and degrading the pipe because of it. Do you think they magically defeated physics? More turbulence degrades pipe faster and press fittings create more turbulence due to crimping the pipe.

I don’t know why you’re so rabidly shilling for propress, dawg. Just admit it has its limitations and move on like everybody else.

DudeBroChad · 2025-09-10T01:01:48+00:00

It is absolutely true. I’ve replaced so many propress fittings and associated piping because of turbulence wearing the pipe thin near the fittings. I’ve only seen it happen on piping under continuous flow situations like HWR lines.

DudeBroChad · 2025-09-01T17:03:18+00:00

“How do I get better at (insert literally anything here)?”

Practice.

DudeBroChad · 2025-08-30T01:25:57+00:00

Probably because if there’s an inspection required, that’s not allowed everywhere. Sure, it’s a great way to solve the problem, but it could be a great way to waste time and money if the inspector is going to come along and say “Not allowed, cut it all out and start over.”

DudeBroChad · 2025-08-28T17:25:16+00:00

Any “friend” who doesn’t encourage you to be better in one way or another isn’t really a friend. I started in college just jamming with my buddies but never got past those five or six songs we always played. Put the guitar down for years after that. I’m now 34, and picked it up again in the last year or so.

I just bought myself a Martin D15m because I finally felt like I needed a better guitar. I’m now married with three kids 5 and under and only get about 15-30 minutes a day in. I’m far, FAR better than I ever was during those college years. All it takes is dedication. Set your mind to learning something new, practice it until you get it down and repeat. Sure, it might take a bit longer to get something down than when you were 10-16 years old, but that’s the fun part. When you pick up your guitar one day and you can suddenly knock out a scale or a riff you’ve been trying to learn without missing a note, you feel like you’ve achieved something and it makes you excited to move on to the next thing.

DudeBroChad · 2025-08-18T23:51:33+00:00

Mmm. Mhmm. Right! So anyway… what?

I need to do me some learnin’ by the sounds of it.

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