ASK Cubby – Here Comes Your Questions, There Goes My Answers

“Weed, Toke it up article

Let me start by saying that I am definitely pro-weed. HOWEVER, c’mon. If you can’t go a couple hours at the track without a bowl, there’s ways of getting your fix without ruining it for everyone else. My kids know i smoke, they know it’s for adults only, and I never, and I mean, NEVER smoke around them or anywhere they can just walk in. If you really can’t go any sort of length of time without smoking then go to your car, use some body spray (don’t shower in the stuff, nobody wants that either), and chew a piece of gum or something. There really is no reason to just ruin it for everyone else because you can’t handle yourself properly as an adult.

Chad”

Cubby- Ya know Chad, I’ve received more email about THE Cub Report “Weed, Toke It Up” than probably any other Cub Report. And… just like you, I am not against weed. But… because I am so “pro-hobby”, I am tired of seeing it run people away from the sport.

Years ago when THE Cub Report started, one of its purposes was to talk about some of the taboo subjects that nobody else would. Most everyone who has done a lot of racing, or trail driving, or bashing, knows that weed isn’t uncommon at certain venues, yet nobody ever talks about it. And yes, I’ve received the emails telling me to “Go F yourself” and that a little weed isn’t hurting anyone. I just feel that at venues that are open to the public, that it does tend to run a certain percentage of people off. The problem is that our hobby simply can Not take losing many more people. We need to keep every single person we can during this downturn and I hate seeing a few people be so selfish that they can’t see the health of our hobby over the blaze of their pipes.

Thanks for the email Chad and be sure to shoot me your mailing address so we can get you a sticker pack.

Ask Cubby: Love/Hate relationship with forums

Hey Cubby, you dirty old man you.

Is it just me or do you also have a love/hate relationship with online forums for all things RC? I love the fact that people share their experiences with builds, mods, etc. Sharing info is awesome and I learn a lot from others. But in my 10 years in the hobby, I have come to hate (annoyed is probably a better word) them as well. Let me explain. I have found that my forum “pet peeves” are universal. Meaning, whether you’re flying RC planes, drones, cars/trucks, all RC forums are overrun with too many of the following:

1.) The pointless “just bought my new (insert RC vehicle make/model), so stoked!” Thread. Cool man…… guess what? Everyone in this forum has one too. And 90% of us don’t care. The other 10% are the Forum Politicians that will religiously respond with the cliche “congrats! Welcome to the forum! You’re gonna love your new Blah blah blah.” Forum Politicians also LOVE to point out “unsafe” things other members do (i.e. Speed runs on public streets), and typically label anyone who disagrees with him as “a Troll.”

2) Coming in a close second is the “Guy Who Posts Pics of his Bone Stock RC” in the ‘Pictures thread’ sticky. HOLY SH!T!! You have a Red/Black X-MAXX?!?!? I’ve Never seen one!?? (YAWN…..)

3.) Rounding out my top three is a Forum legend. I call him Dr. Lipo. These guys take the cake it. He has an internet PhD in lipo batteries and enjoys typing long winded (half page minimum) dissertations on the proper handling/using/caring for Lipo batteries. Often complete with mathematical formulas, excel spread sheets containing info on internal resistance over time, true C ratings and why his brand of lipo is the best. (If I’m honest, I am very thankful for Dr. Lipo. He helped me tremendously when I first got into the hobby.)

So Cubby, Feel free to add to my list.
Sincerely,

Sean B.

Cubby- Hey now Sean, thanks for the email and don’t forget to get me your snail mail for a sticker hook-up.

Oh yes… wonderful internet forums. Way back in the day, like in the 90s, chat rooms were truly the wild west. Everyone was anonymous, the moderators (if there were any) had no idea how to handle things, and it was generally like a daily war of words. Then forums started taking off, and because there just weren’t that many people on the internet, it was still hard to find people in the rc community. Then came forums like E-Hobbies, the one on RCCA, and another one (the name escapes me but I remember it was truly barbaric in design) that the race crowd used like crazy.

Now days… forums have lost a lot of their luster. I check out Rctech, RCuniverse, and Rcgroups from time to time, but they really are the same old, same old. The only forum I am currently active on is a motocross forum (VitalMX) and for good reason, they simply have all the big scoops and big name guys on it. There isn’t an rc equivalent. If there was an rc forum that had Tebo on all the time, and they guys from Losi would be on every day, and the guys from RC4WD would exclusively announce their latest cars on, I would be on there too, but I never expect to see that happen.

Instead of forums, Facebook groups have exploded in recent years. In their quest to make every single dollar spent on the internet theirs, Facebook is truly putting a hurting on old school forums, as are places like Reddit. Many Facebook groups are a freak’n train-wreck, but there are some that do have their act together.

Anywhos, I’ve often wondered if forums and such didn’t actually hurt our hobby. It seems like people are much more stoked about posting a pic of their new truck than actually driving or wrenching on it. And other people only seem to do mods to show off on a forum, instead of doing a mod to actually increase the performance of their truck.

In closing… if you are getting frustrated with the endless non-sense on your fav forum, I highly suggest logging off, picking up your truck, and going outside. Do something cool, or crazy, or whatever, and don’t post about it, simply enjoy it.

Know what? This weekly column is nothing without your letters, so don’t be a slacker and send something in. thecubreportrc at gmail dot com is my address and you can send in whatever is bouncing around inside that head of yours. Letters that see the light of day in ASK Cubby will get you a sticker pack while emails that win “Letter of the Month” will earn you one of our ultra-trick t-shirts.

YOUR Cub Reporter