Sunday, October 4, 2015

Thanks everyone!

Hello, world! I'm Bazookafied (go by "Zook" for short most of the time) and one of my big hobbies is modifying Nerf and Laser Tag blasters for recreational use around town with friends and colleagues. These games have been great social outlets and are safe and convienent enough to play just about anywhere and I am, at heart, a tinkerer. So messing with these blasters has been a fun hobby of mine for quite some time.

After four-and-a-half years of writing articles for Tactical Tag, I'm hanging up the mantle of blog-ness.  I'm still messing around with Nerf and Laser Tag, still hosting games, still following my favorites, but I just don't see much of a point to continuing the blog any longer.  I would rather leave it as-is as a resource than drag it out and scrounge for content.  There are smarter, more active, better equipped fans out there for these hobbies and, should I do anything earth-shatteringly awesome, I can just post it up on YouBook or FaceTube without feeling obligated to fill the time between projects with needless posts and queries.  

I used to think all the "great Nerf blogs" were dying because the writers were growing out of these admittedly kid-oriented hobbies.  However, in the time that I've been doing this, there's been an obvious shift in focus online from blogs and websites to social media outlets.  Much like MySpace, Geocities, and Message Boards, the blogs are slipping away as Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, and YouTube come to the forefront.  I can't fight it, and I won't drive this blog into the ground just to keep a steady trickle of content going for it.



I can't avoid these hobbies that have been such a big part of my life.  Friends and relatives simply expect me to host Laser Tag games in the back yard or to come across a dart in my house from an impromptu battle.  That's just me.  So don't think I've "outgrown Nerf" or "graduated from Laser Tag".  I'm still a big kid driving fast cars to get to my 9-5 job to come home to my wife and puppy in a house full of grown-up things and a garage full of kid things.  It's just time to quit pretending that it's important to keep the blog going.  This page will always be here.  My Facebook page will stay up.  My YouTube channel will continue to have n00bs claiming all sorts of things about Elite Longshots.

For those who have followed this, whether it was recent or from ages ago, thank you for your support.  I have made and hope to continue friendships forged through the connections of this blog.  Following their projects and games keeps me going and helps fuel this hobby with helpful insight and encouraging results.  

For those who missed this train, I hope the information between April 15th 2011 and October 4th 2015 is useful for you!  That'll be all for Tactical Tag on the blog side of things.  It's been a lot of fun!

19 comments:

  1. RIP, TT.

    Hell of a ride, man. Be sure to let us know whenever you decide to come down to 808 again.

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  2. It's sad to see you go; I loved reading your blog posts to keep up to date with everything Nerf. Thank you for providing such insightful and detailed content to the Nerf community, you will be missed. Good luck with your future endeavors and never put down those plastic toy guns!

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  3. Perhaps some of you wonderful people could occasionally take a glance at Nothin' Foam. I'm still keeping it open, and I've got some articles in the pipeline.

    Maniacal Coyote
    Nothin' Foam
    nothingfoam.blogspot.com

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  4. This blog definitely had quite an impact on Nerfing and it's effects still ring out today. Quite the run you had Zook, godspeed dude.

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  5. Sorry to hear this is the end!
    Thanks for all you have done to promote the game side of the hobby as well as all the mods etc. Who could forget the Elite Longshot?
    Goodbye and thanks for all the fish.

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    1. The quote is "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

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  6. Wait!! What about part 2 for the air restrictor series???


    Anyway, thanks for this blog. I've loved it.

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    1. I'll probably just edit that post once I've compiled all the flood of information that people gave for that. It'd be mean to leave it unfinished! Thanks for the kind words, David. I appreciate it!

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  7. I know this might sound really poetic, but that's how I express myself, so here goes,
    Over all these years, Mr. Zook has worked away on an enterprise that cannot be framed in words alone. Its like building a sculpture that can only be seen properly from 5 miles away. You were there when I set my noob feet in Nerf in 2012. You were there when I first opened up my Longshot, and you were there when I tried painting it(although I failed miserably).
    All these years in creating this monumental edifice, only to let it slowly disappear into the sands of time. But I'm sure that every now and then, some intrepid sojourner will sift through these ruins and find gemstones glimmering brightly in the sun,unaffected by the trials of space and time, that is how brilliant your work has been, that is how brilliant your work will be, and I cannot ask for anything more than what you've already done.
    Have a great life ahead, Mr. Zook, and stay tacticool.

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  8. You ran a top-notch blog till the end, Zook. You should look back on it with pride. I have you to thank for getting me back into Lazer Tag and I appreciate your excellent coverage of the hobby. I'm gonna miss reading about your LT season updates--it always made me want to get out there myself. I hope you'll still post updates about it on your Facebook page. Hell, one day I'd love to be able to join you and your crew for a game if I ever found myself near Omaha.

    Awesome work. Now go have fun playing again!

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  9. Farewell! Thanks for all the great posts over the years.

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  10. Instagram just can't compare with a blog. Sure, it's great for posting leaked photos, but in-depth analysis and discussion kinda needs either youtube or a blog.

    Ditto for homemades discussion: Youtube, Blogs, or the 'Haven.

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  11. Sorry to hear this, Zook. You were one of my favorite blogs of all blogs, not just blaster-related. Thanks for the work you put in to make your writing unique, fun, and professional. You and Blaster Labs have been providing the meat to every meal. Yes, video blogs on YouTube are being made (and done very well by some), but there will be an absence now with little left to actually consistently read. Like MC referenced, Instagram is great eye candy, but lacks depth. Facebook just lacks the content. And as valuable as Reddit is, there's so much banter that it's not worth the time scouring through all of that which is already known as well as the asinine behavior to get to new info. You definitely had a niche. Again, sorry to see you go, but best wishes to you.

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  12. Zook... it really has been a fun ride.... (Formerly canonmp830, Nerflover etc..) I have in my life grown out of modding nerf in my own life.... it was one of those hobbies however that was from from without it's mark on my life... from the old days back with NM&R and Drac to now.. with the dwindling amount of truly skilled nerf blogs... I made amazing friends in this hobby and I have seen some amazing content... nerf modding taught me early in life to learn how to take things apart and make them better than before, a hobby that still is with me today and has inspired me to become an engineer. While my nerf modding days are gone (for now) their effects are not. Blogs like yours are sure to be missed and it makes me wonder about the next gen of nerf modders... where they will come from and who they will be.. I hope to stay in touch somehow with you. This blog meant a lot to me in my modding days and it still holds a place in my heart. I think I speak for all when I say,, Thanks Mike!

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  13. Thanks for all of your efforts in helping to promote laser tag. I'm sorry to hear that you are stepping away from your blog. Laser tag is one of my favorite things to do for my birthday with my friends. I wish you luck in your future endeavors. http://www.advrealm.com/adventurerealmattractions/knights-quest-laser-tag/

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  14. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.........

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  15. Please someone help me! I want to know if any more modes have been made to the Phoenix LTX. If so, has SniperShot ever been released???

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    1. Only the ShotBlast was ever officially released. The rest never made it to production. If a Sniper is what you're looking for though, it's pretty easy to increase the range on the stock LTX blaster with a new Lens Arrangement. We've built several "sniper" layouts with LTXs.

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