i have a thermopen, is there really any need for me to buy a remote thermometer?

Yep!

If you want to keep your cook times down you'll want to keep your door closed as much as possible. No better way to do that than with a remote.

I will tell you why I have a remote thermometer. I use a Maverick ET73 to monitor the temp of the smoker. It's that I don't trust it but I don't like to tempt fate. If for some reason the smoker goes outside the range I expect it stay within, I want to know.

It is what works for me.

i ordered the 008 and i am curious. i assume the thermometer on the 008 is calibrated? if so, would it need to be recalibrated at some point?

anyhow, it looks like im going to have to buy a remote thermometer.

The 008 doesn't have a thermometer, so I'm not sure what you mean. It will run close to the temp on the dial (it does stay within a certain % of temp set).

And every time you open the door to check, you'll have 30 min or more to cooking time.

A remote will allow you to monitor temps from the outside of the smoker and more important, verify the temp of the smoker. It will work as advertised, but always good to verify the temp and you can't put your thermpen in the smoker to check. You can put it down through the vent, but it will be reading only as far as the probe goes.