Friday, August 05, 2016

Thank You All So Much

Well I always knew that stepping down from the ONT was going to be bittersweet for me and sad for a lot of people but I...just...had no idea. After reading all the comments, emails and tweets from longtime readers it made me almost want to cry. And have other human emotions.

I truly had no idea that so many people out there appreciated my work.

Not that I was ever a voice in the desert since there were always regulars but because I've never saw the traffic stats I sort of always assumed that I was appealing to an ever more selective audience. So it was one of the most pleasant surprises of my life - maybe the most pleasant surprise - to discover that so many people actually liked what I did and that I mattered in some way in their lives. It's kinda like getting a peek at your own memorial service without having to go though the whole dying thing.

And I have to say that hearing such heartfelt messages of appreciation from so many people does give me encouragement. Maybe there is a not-so-silent Remnant out there that cares and sees things the way I do. In truth you really don't need an audience to write or hope of success to continue the work - but it's always so much better to have both if you can.

(ok sorry for all that Sally Field-y and emo crap - my defenses were down momentarily that's all...)

It'll be nice to take a break for a while but I doubt I'll stay away from some type of blogging for long. Hell my ONT backlog is enough to carry me through November with proper rationing. Or maybe I should sell these ONT components on the secondary blogger market. Note to self: Contact pixy and see what the street value of this stuff is.

39 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay!
[Happy dance/]

We look forward to your future offerings.
The Plague Family

August 5, 2016 at 3:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Add another goodbye from one of the silent majority. :) Thank you for all that you've done.

Zah Gebenscht!

August 5, 2016 at 3:36 PM  
Anonymous MiG18 said...

Maet, I was there lurking in the morning all 8 very fine years. I only had to clean up nose-snort coffee a handful of times. Thanks for helping me wake up and carry on. Looking forward to seeing what you post here.

August 5, 2016 at 3:42 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Will miss your posts at AOS. Hope you have it in you to keep it up; here or somewhere.

August 5, 2016 at 3:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the ONTs, Maet.

Hopefully you'll at least continue to post in the comments at AoSHQ.

davidt

August 5, 2016 at 4:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My God, Maet, I will miss you so much...although I haven't been around much since everything got so stabby. I am so sorry for the grief I caused you over the years.

Seriously gonna miss the eff-u-cee-kay out of you. Take care of yourself.

Tammy al-Thor

August 5, 2016 at 4:56 PM  
Blogger CDR M said...

Gonna miss your ONTs Maet but do keep in touch.

August 5, 2016 at 6:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've been trying to keep my head down since work got so insane and lines were drawn on the mailing list. I'm going to miss the ONT. As to your blog, though, there will be some definite watching to come.

August 5, 2016 at 6:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maetenloch- add one more fan- I never commented I just wanted to say it was the best thing on the internet. I almost want to call it a show or program because it was kind of like tuning in each night and it had so much entertaining content. Anyway- thanks and great job

August 6, 2016 at 6:31 AM  
Blogger Adamsunderground said...

Here's an unsolicited suggestion for easy blog content in the future: commentary on Carolla podcast episodes. And that's not just because I want to crow about how dumping Rosen for Grad was the right move!

August 6, 2016 at 7:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And another long time lurker, non commenter, I was so bummed when I read your post. Been lurking many years. Thank you, my husband though I was crazy because I would rather be in the kitchen reading the ONT than watching TV with him. I think he got a little jealous

August 6, 2016 at 8:32 AM  
Blogger Bookhorde said...

Maet, you have such a great sense of humor and writing style. Keep blogging but also - have you considered writing a book?

August 6, 2016 at 9:22 AM  
Blogger greatbeefalo said...

Maet, I never commented on Ace (okay...maybe once or twice), but I religiously read your ONTs. Your stuff always made the unbearable nonsense of the last eight years more palatable, and constantly reminded me that good things are still all around us. Cheers to you, chum. Good luck in the future.

August 6, 2016 at 10:33 AM  
Blogger thecobrasnose said...

Another lurker heard from--I shall miss your posts tremendously! I'm so glad that you are here and look forward to checking in with you. Best of luck!

August 6, 2016 at 11:20 AM  
Blogger hindmost said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

August 6, 2016 at 1:59 PM  
Blogger hindmost said...

nother (mostly) lurker... your ONT's were the best thing about the site. Yep... even above the Ewok's. If I was away for a few days I'd go back and search them out. Thanks.

August 6, 2016 at 1:59 PM  
Anonymous xplodeit said...

The ONT was the last thing I read at night or the first thing in the morning! Thanks again for the great reading.
Another lurker

August 6, 2016 at 3:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've spent YEARS! looking forward to the next ONT, which I enjoyed every morning at Oh Dark Thirty, 'cause that's how I roll (and work). It's been as welcome as my first cup of coffee every morning, an impetus to get out of bed to see what gifts you brought me, and a nice reminder that there are people out there that think as I do. Loved the "quotes of the day"...always a stimulus to pursue further. What a gift, to have touched so many lives...thanks Maet. Sorry I'm Anonymous, but I've always been a Lurker. It's what I do.

August 6, 2016 at 6:02 PM  
Blogger L. Beau said...

I never got to know your ONTs over at that .mu.nu website - but that's my fault, Maetenloch, not yours.

I do have one question, though: shouldn't a website that called itself "The Ace of Spades HQ" have had a little more Motorhead-based / Motorhead-fandom type content?

August 6, 2016 at 6:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another (mostly) lurker who will miss your ONT very much. Will check in at your blog, though!!

No Cargo Cults

August 6, 2016 at 9:21 PM  
Blogger creeper said...

Perhaps we, your audience, are to blame for not having applauded more.

I'm pleased that you will remain a presence at Ace. Should have bookmarked this site long ago. Done.

August 7, 2016 at 1:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just did a search on Yokopalooza ('cause I missed out on them too) and it took me here! Heh.

Anyhoo, I forgot to tell you on the last Ace ONT thread about a story that happened some years ago. At the first rumblings of Obamacare looking like it might become reality back in '09, I joined a carload of middle-aged wimmins to drive to DC to protest at a Michele Bachmann rally -- on the way home we heard Nidal Hassan had gone on his TX rampage (reason still unknown).

Sitting in the back with me was a stranger, a fish out of water as far as political activism goes. She and I had yakked the whole way about a myriad of things, both political and non.

She axed me how I knew all this stuff, and I told her I would send her the link to Ace's place. A couple days later she emailed back, thanking me, and saying how she lurked on the ONT every night! You want to talk world's most unlikely moronette? It was her! This quiet, unassuming woman was apparently thrilled to death not only by the eclectic ONTs but at like-minded members of the Horde community.

And, you, Maet, were the gateway drug.

Well done.

RushBabe

August 8, 2016 at 4:40 AM  
Blogger Will Sullivan said...

Count me among the folks who really appreciated your ONTs. Thanks for all the links.

August 8, 2016 at 6:08 AM  
Anonymous Noah Bawdy said...

I always looked forward to the ONT. I used to be an active commenter, but over the years became a lurker. Thank you for all the work you did. You will be missed.

August 8, 2016 at 8:44 AM  
Blogger Daniel Ortiz said...

I'm a relative newcomer to AOSHQ, and thus to your famous ONTs. I only started reading a few firearms bloggers in 2013, and slowly started noticing AoSHQ posts, that got me reading there, and eventually your posts.

For me, they were a good balance of political and non-political. The politically-related content highlighted events in interesting perspectives that I appreciated (and could likely be appreciated by anyone willing to think and entertain alternate viewpoints) and have attempted to emulate in my own posts online. The non-political content was always interesting and gave a healthy background fluff of normal human life that reminded me that the world spins on with our interesting selves regardless of politics.

I'll be reading this site regularly from now on, but I hope also to emulate your thought-provoking style by reading as much as I can, weighing it against my own experience and values, and showcasing it for others.

Thank you for all your work and effort. I pray you find continuing satisfaction in your writings, and that your life be ever filled with enjoyable background fluff. Take care.

August 9, 2016 at 10:14 AM  
Blogger Daniel Ortiz said...

I'm a relative newcomer to AOSHQ, and thus to your famous ONTs. I only started reading a few firearms bloggers in 2013, and slowly started noticing AoSHQ posts, that got me reading there, and eventually your posts.

For me, they were a good balance of political and non-political. The politically-related content highlighted events in interesting perspectives that I appreciated (and could likely be appreciated by anyone willing to think and entertain alternate viewpoints) and have attempted to emulate in my own posts online. The non-political content was always interesting and gave a healthy background fluff of normal human life that reminded me that the world spins on with our interesting selves regardless of politics.

I'll be reading this site regularly from now on, but I hope also to emulate your thought-provoking style by reading as much as I can, weighing it against my own experience and values, and showcasing it for others.

Thank you for all your work and effort. I pray you find continuing satisfaction in your writings, and that your life be ever filled with enjoyable background fluff. Take care.

August 9, 2016 at 10:14 AM  
Blogger mpfs said...

Will miss you Maet.
Good luck and Godspeed.

August 9, 2016 at 7:46 PM  
Blogger Feynmangroupie said...

Maet, you rocked. I never missed the ONT, even when you tormented us with Yoko. I'll be visiting you on the reg. Stay safe,sane, and consensual in all your blogging endeavors. Or not, I'm not your mom.


Perpetual lurker-Feynmangroupie

August 9, 2016 at 8:21 PM  
Anonymous Darth Randall said...

Always loved the ONTs Maet. You are a champ for putting up with all of us on nights all those years.

August 9, 2016 at 8:49 PM  
Anonymous California Girl said...

I rarely commented because I'm always the last one when I do. Just want to let you know I appreciate the work you did; I enjoyed almost every ONT (the Yoko ones not so much). Thanks for giving me things to ponder as well as things to make me chuckle. Will miss you much.

August 9, 2016 at 9:00 PM  
Blogger Fred said...

My feelings exactly!

August 10, 2016 at 12:02 AM  
Blogger Fred said...

My feelings exactly!

August 10, 2016 at 12:05 AM  
Anonymous Deb said...

Quietly followed you there, will quietly follow you here, too. You have a great eye for the interesting.

August 10, 2016 at 12:27 AM  
Blogger Feynmangroupie said...

Maet, you rocked. I never missed the ONT, even when you tormented us with Yoko. I'll be visiting you on the reg. Stay safe,sane, and consensual in all your blogging endeavors. Or not, I'm not your mom.


Perpetual lurker-Feynmangroupie

August 10, 2016 at 6:04 AM  
Blogger Topmaker said...

I was a long time AOSHQ viewer, but I stopped commenting after the comments were always a mile long before I even read the post.

Since you started, your ONT's were always my first stop in the morning. Thank you or the many wonderful posts.

-Topmaker

August 10, 2016 at 6:43 AM  
Anonymous Pamazon said...

Thank you Maet for the wonderful ONT's. It has been my first stop for as long as I have been lurking @ Ace's place. Good luck and GOD bless whatever you are going to get up to next.

August 10, 2016 at 8:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My feelings exactly!! Amazing stuff

August 16, 2016 at 12:00 AM  
Anonymous Tex Lovera said...

Maet-

I've been an AoSHQ regular for about 8 or so years now. Just want to add my voice to the chorus of folks who will miss your ONTs, man.

You have a gift. Hope you keep using it here or elsewhere.

And, as you may have already surmised, you are not alone.

Regards,
Tex

September 14, 2016 at 5:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh good grief, Maet, yours was the best non-Ace content on AoSHQ. Sometimes better than Ace. The first time I read the Happy Fun Ball warning, I knew I'd found my blog.

I think the Hitler Reacting to Maetenloch's departure said it best.

September 17, 2016 at 7:48 PM  

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