After 6 years and 300 episodes, it's about time to put a ribbon on this Podcast and call it good. The decision wasn't an easy one. Recording the podcast every week is just as much a ritual integral to our lives as it is to those who listen. And seriously, thanks for listening.

Here's the episode. Thanks and farewells follow.

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For the past 6 years (or 10 years if you count all the episodes aired back at KCWU (88.1 The 'Burg!) back in college) I've had this wonderful outlet to yammer on to friends about whatever was on my mind that week, or whatever I've been playing or reading. I've been to three E3 conventions, six PAX conventions (it's held in the same town I live in, but it still counts!), three or four Emerald City Comic Cons (same) and met amazing friends. But the thing that has struck me the most is how good it feels when you introduce someone to something you know they'll love.

I love knowing that stuff we've talked about has caused positive change in people's lives. Whether that means you've started cooking for yourself because of listening to the show, or that an album we recommended blew your mind and helped shape your musical tastes, or even just that you stopped to consider something maybe you'd never thought to consider before. Thanks for taking risks based on our recommendations, and I hope we've never really let you down.

Thank you for telling your friends about the show. Thanks for everyone who's ever written in to the show. Your questions and thoughts and commentary have been awesome over the years. We've never really attempted curating a "community" beyond having a bulletin board a few years ago, but there's definitely a Weekly Geek Community. We've had the pleasure of meeting you at conventions and meetups. We've even become close friends with many people who listened to the show before they met us in person.

Thanks also to everyone who's been vital to the success of the show over the years. Not only the people who have been co-hosts with me on the podcast, but also to everyone who helped make the blog portion of the website great. Thanks to Grant and Amy for sticking with it and letting me boss them around while we figured out a voice. Thanks to John Forster for Dr. Helmig. Thanks to Max Brooks for The Mind Boggleth. Thanks to Sparky for Practical Alchemy. Thanks to Nevery and Laurel and Mack and Steve. Thanks to Mike for his music reviews and our music podcasts. Thanks to Tettix for our theme song. Thanks to Colette, Rikki and everyone else who has ever co-hosted with me. Thanks to Niero and Flynn and Ron and everyone who first helped the community find us. And most of all thanks to Ryan, Qais, Ross and Jinny for putting up with me misusing the word "penultimate" all these years.

This is an "indefinite" hiatus, which means that I completely reserve the right to magically post something on this RSS feed sometime in the future. Could be a bonus, one-off podcast down the line, it could be a note about new projects we're working on. It's not really an "end".

If you'd like to keep up with us, here's how.

• Chris - twitter | tumblr/art blog | Gamertag: chrisfurniss
• Jinny - twitter | Gamertag: jinnyjuice
• Qais - twitter | Gamertag: qnonymous
• Ryan - twitter | Gamertag: ryangbiv
• Ross - twitter | Gamertag: ironrinn

And now, messages from Ryan and Ross. Jinny and Qais will post their thoughts later.

Ryan - My assimilation in to The Weekly Geek was an organic process that proved the merit of the medium, a sharing of ideals, interests, and ultimately personalities fueled by nothing more than the desire to lean across a table to a friend and exclaim "Taste this!" as one would to a friend. The fact that we do not rehearse, Chris does not edit, and people are still entertained proves all of this to be true.

It's been touching to read correspondence over the years, people telling of how they felt to be part of a community and not just passive listeners. I can only echo that sentiment as I look back on my own progression deeper in to the fold of what was exactly that - a naturally occurring, evolving, and absolutely self sustaining community.

The real world takes effort and compromise, nothing I did for The Weekly Geek ever did. It was a meeting of minds, whether the voices were across from me Monday night or sent in via email, and will absolutely continue on as any naturally occurring community would even stripped of its beloved ring master's weekly cohesion.

It has been a pure, unadulterated pleasure.

Ross - I like my goodbyes short and sweet, something I can hopefully achieve here (without being particularly maudlin). When I came on a few years ago I didn't think much would come of it. I figured, I was the new guy, they would have me on to say, "Hey, here's the new guy,", I would say something terrible, and that would be the end of that. However many episodes later and here we are. Apparently I didn't say anything too terrible.

I want to thank the rest of my cohorts, Chris, Jinny, Ryan, and Qais, for being particularly great people, people who I am glad to be able to call my friends. And thanks, of course, to you, the listeners. I've loved reading your emails, and hearing your thoughts -- debating and conversing with you via electronic proxy. I appreciate you tuning in every week to the show, despite my particular brand of half-baked nonsense. I hope you have had as much fun listening to it, as
I have had helping to make it.

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