i’ve got a lot of different hobbies and as long as there’s been internet forums dedicated to these hobbies, there’s been an outcry on them to support your local bike shop/hobby shop/electronic store/etc.

local hobby shops like hobby shack (now hobby people) used to be a place i could go and get answers to my questions. there were nice old guys in there that were happy to help and had a wealth of information and this type of service used to keep me from saving a few bucks online. but the guys that work there now (at least at the hawthorne store), are fucking idiots and they’re rude too. i had a question about a new type of battery and this fat, balding guy named aaron j. started spewing all kinds of nonsense that didn’t make any sense but he just assumed i knew nothing about the subject. after 5 minutes of going around confusing himself he was like “well i don’t have 2 hours to educate you on electronic science to completely explain it. you should read about it online.” well, i already had read all about lipo battery packs online and was hoping he could answer a few very specific questions, but he didn’t even have a general grasp on the subject — and he was giving me false information to boot! he wouldn’t really stop talking so i just started walking away and his parting words were “read the manual,” great. other than emergency purchases i’m going to stay away from hobby people, and be forewarned about false advice from aaron j.

and don’t get me started on radio shack! a place i used to be able to go and get answers to real electronics questions is now a place where i don’t dare talk to any of the ghetto kids that work there that only want to get me to sign up for a cell phone or a radio shack line of credit. i really don’t see how that place is still in businesses actually.

on the other hand, bike shops aren’t nearly as bad, as most of the people that work there are usually riders themselves and can answer my technical questions. i do my best to patronize them as often as possible, although it seems that high-dollar items are often much less expensive online and sometimes i find it hard to resist.