MacGyver

I agree with the tactical part of Google being involved.  It's probably the consumer's only real option for change right now.   The problem I have with it is philosophical. The fact is that Google is one of the largest companies in the world - they're already a defacto monopoly.  They've been turning their back on that whole "do no evil" thing for a while.  What happens when they eliminate the competition?

The fact that we as Americans tolerate the garbage we put up with from the cable/telecom companies blows my mind.  They've got all of our legislators bought off, and that's convenient  as they skip towards monopoly status.   I'd love to see someone other than Google challenging the status quo, but frankly a group like Google may be the only one with pockets deep enough to make a change.  

One of the unfortunate traits of corporate America today is that they're more than willing to burn through employees just like any other consumable.  The most recent downturn in the economy has exacerbated this due to the oversupply of workers seeking employment.  A company that looks at the bottom line and nothing else is going to have no incentive to treat their employees as anything but another commodity.     Mike's comment above about the employee/employer relationship is sort of the old Jack Welch thought of, "you come to the work during the week, we pay you on Friday and we all leave for the weekend squared up."  This is an okay thought, but I think it's changing some on both ends.  On the big company side of things, I think the relationship is degrading rapidly.  The modern corporation really doesn't know any type of loyalty.   That's changing the employee landscape as well.  There are some folks who think that people like Chelsey Manning, Edward Snowden and the insider who helped take down Sony shouldn't really be seen as single point outliers, but rather should be viewed as endemic of a larger shift in the millennial generation.  Basically this group has been conditioned to know no institutional loyalty, either.  This shift may play out in interesting ways.     On the small business side of things, I think there are some interesting things happening.  Most of us really value our employees and recognize the benefit of going to some lengths to make life good for them.  Small things matter.  Most of us spend most of our working hours at work.  How do we expect to get the best out of our employees if we don't care about them in return?  If the relationship is too lopsided, I'd argue that management team is taking a very short-sighted view and that will bite them in the long term.   There are times when we all expect a lot of our employees, but that's a give and take.  If all I do is take, sooner or later I'm going to reach down in that bag and find it empty.

Doug, you'll be in our thoughts and prayers today.  Keep us updated on what's going on.     If you'd like, feel free to have a family member post an update.

Good equipment and the skills to operate it don't come cheap.

I probably wouldn't bet on that plan.

Those are pretty cool!

Inside the Kingdom seems to be troubled at best.  And, while the revolutions seem distant, they're probably not as far off as they look.  The house of Saud has been fairly effective at controlling their people internally, whether classic bread and circuses or forced repression of critical voices.  But, they've played with fire in their tolerance/support for the Wahhabists, and that's likely to bite them sooner or later.   It won't stand forever.

I've spent some time in Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Abdullah.  They've got their issues - human rights and otherwise.  But, make no mistake.  His was a voice of moderation in the middle East, and they are an important ally.  I hope that their transition is a smooth one.  We need that, and so does the middle East at large.    If we lose a moderate voice in the region, we all lose.

I'll loop in with the CMT guys in the next few weeks.  Last we spoke, we were considering a spring buy.

He's my go to pundit for these things

Now that's my kind of fun!

I've never even heard of this manufacturer. That said, recent times have all kinds of folks jumping on the AR wagon. There's nothing particularly compelling about that rifle - even at $551. It looks like a basic build with basic spec-grade components. I'm sure some others around here will chime in, but you could likely build a similarly spec'd rifle and maybe save a few bucks. On the flip side, you wouldn't save too many bucks building one yourself, and for the price, it might provide a good platform to build on later. I'd probably save my money and put it towards a more tested system with a known warranty behind it. Maybe a M&P15 Sport or something at a similar price point.

The Docter sights that used to sit on top of the ACOGs had an optical sensor that would dim the sight down to basically the off position while the cover was on. Once you took the cover off, it adjusted the brightness automatically. I've had one CR2032 last for years.

I wonder what the motivation is here? Love Glocks or hate them, their factory mags are some of the finest ever made, and their widely available. I guess people will buy them just because they say Magpul and there are tons of Glocks out there? I'd love to see them follow up on the MagEx extension for Glock 21 mags with an honest to goodness hi-cap .45 mag. That's about all that's keeping me from building a .45 caliber brother for my 9mm AR.

Nice! I hope you come across a whole pack of hogs.

That's pretty cool.

I think the Nelson is the better of two good choices.  The Marvel units are great, but it's not often that you get someone as enthusiastic about customer service as Larry Nelson.   That alone is would likely seal my decision.

I bet that thing's a veritable tree magnet.   It sure is pretty, though.

This ought to be a case study on what happens when institutional groupthink runs amok.

Between St. Augustine and Savannah, it's worth taking the NPS ferry out to Cumberland Island National Seashore. It's pretty uninhabited, and you can watch the descendants of the Carnegie's old horses run the beach. Heck, if you're going for your anniversary, I'd spend the night at the bed & breakfast on the island, The Greyfield Inn - greyfieldinn.com

Garufa's right about the water, and that's probably worth mentioning since you stated an interest in Lanier.    I've got a boat in my driveway right now that used to be on Lanier.  Lanier is the main water source for Atlanta, and they're consuming at an massive rate. My dad got tired of not being able to put the boat into the water without backing off the ramp and going another 60 feet into the mud.  Atlanta's consumption of water isn't going down, and there's going to come a day pretty soon when Lanier just isn't accessible the casual boater without some new ramps/infrastructure.   Add to it the safety factor of having so many people on the lake on any given weekend, and you can keep Lanier.

Atlanta native here.  Don't do it.  That place is unsustainable. 

You've got our prayers, Doug. And, while I know you've got family local, please let me know if there's anything our community here can do to help.

I guess he's got to pay the mortgage after leaving Magpul.