Had to make a long round trip drive last night so my tank was near empty and I needed fuel. I wondered what in the mother fuck was going on as I see massive lines at gas station pumps all a,one my interstate travel/destination. Once I hit my destination I asked my friend wtf was going on. He said "News said gas shortages so everyone is out getting gas". I mean I got back home at 11pm or so, and on the streets it was like Saturday night of a holiday weekend, everyone and their dog was out. Crazy to see that much traffic that late on a weekday.

I get near home and pull into a gas station away from the interstates that I'd figure would be slow. I was correct and I only have one person to sit behind to fill my bear empty fuel tank. I had driven past a Costco (not the one I regularly frequent) earlier and there was a line, I shit you not, 20-30 deep in each line, 4 pumps to a line (2 each side), so 8 lines of vehicles 20-30 in length waiting. So I'm at a QT, and this Mexican-American overweight lady is in front of me. She is in an older CUV, beat up with hail dents and never repaired (pocketed the insurance $ if she even had insurance). She is fueling and the pump clicks, and shuts off, which means completely full. She then meanders her way from her driver's seat to the pump, as slow as she can go then proceeds to pump again, click goes the pump. It's full you bitch! She then presses more gently, then proceeds to do this, a dozen more times. I was fucking fuming. I never do this, and especially would never do this with someone waiting behind me. Finally content after a dozen pump squeezes she racks the handle then proceeds to walk into the convenience store. It was all I could do to remain in the car. She finally comes back out of the store, then proceeds to fuck around in her car for another mi use or so before pulling out, and when she does she pulls away at .5 miles an hour. Man my temper got the better of me and I started revving at her.

These idiots panic at the slightest if things. People are dead, tens of thousands displaced, fortunes ruined, homes ruined, and you go out in public and act like this? Milking a gas pump for every last fucking drop of gas. I halfway expected her to pull out a gas drum and fill it too until I quickly remembered how stupid people are. That would take preparation. God forbid people need to cut back, drive only where required (work, school, groceries, doctor) and skip Starbucks and the shops. Please forgive the rant (this is the rant section) but it kicks in my recollection of Bush, when he was president, telling the nation to cut back on fuel use after Katrina for obvious reasons. I did so. I made sure I had gas for necessity use only. Labor day weekend I see people everywhere pulling boats, stores packed. I was out getting groceries for the following week and pretty much stayed home for a while cutting out everything because of a natural disaster. And the last time we had snow/ice, local news folks say 2-3 days of it, school closures, etc. I go to get groceries on my normal day to do so, and there is no bread, no eggs, no milk, all cleaned out like we were gonna get a blizzard that would shut down the metroplex for weeks.

I've got a close friend that has a brother in Houston with a few feet of water in his house. He was gonna drive down from DFW this weekend to help out his kin anyway he can. He now says with people panicking about gasoline, he may not go for fear of getting stuck along the evacuation route. Another close friend said he actually needed fuel for his work commute this morning and waited 45 minutes late last night to get gas. His commute is nearly an hour, and he's a machinist. These fucking people can't be inconvenienced for anyone else in harms way, and it makes me sick. I'll be at home all holiday weekend not using any fuel.

A little late now, but I got me a 4 pack of these 5 gallon plastic gas cans. Good stuff. no BS environmental filler cap either.
https://www.amazon.com/VP-Gall...+fuel+jug+with+spout

Yep I have 4 of the 5 gallon fuel tanks in the garage, use one for the lawn fuel, but when we hear of weather approaching I fill all of them with ethanol free fuel, it can be run in my bike, tractor, truck, etc without issue.

That way I have 20 gallons reserve (fill up the bike, truck, suv too prior to the arrival. I gave two away to a friend that didn't have them during the storms of 04, so I did have 6.

You have to stay ahead of these things and expect people to panic and be stupid and plan for these situations. Then you are not stuck behind the crazy lady at the food mart.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
He said "News said gas shortages so everyone is out getting gas".

Therein is the root cause of the issue, those bastards have to sensationalize every issue and start the idiots panicking.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve 22X:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
He said "News said gas shortages so everyone is out getting gas".

Therein is the root cause of the issue, those bastards have to sensationalize every issue and start the idiots panicking.

It's bad, real bad out there, like nothing I have ever seen. I stepped out of work to run a couple errands as you know how nutso bat a hit crazy this place is Friday of a 3 day weekend. There were lines stretching up to a half mile out of gas stations that had fuel. I went by Costco and there were 50-60 cars per line, extending onto the service road of 75 a quarter mile. And that was 2:30pm. Imagine 5:30pm. This will be all over the news tonight. People are in full panic mode. I've got everything I need for this holiday weekend and for the next 7 days. I can't believe what I just saw out there in them streets. People are losing it.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve 22X:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
He said "News said gas shortages so everyone is out getting gas".

Therein is the root cause of the issue, those bastards have to sensationalize every issue and start the idiots panicking.

It's bad, real bad out there, like nothing I have ever seen. I stepped out of work to run a couple errands as you know how nutso bat a hit crazy this place is Friday of a 3 day weekend. There were lines stretching up to a half mile out of gas stations that had fuel. I went by Costco and there were 50-60 cars per line, extending onto the service road of 75 a quarter mile. And that was 2:30pm. Imagine 5:30pm. This will be all over the news tonight. People are in full panic mode. I've got everything I need for this holiday weekend and for the next 7 days. I can't believe what I just saw out there in them streets. People are losing it.

Believe me I know, note my location.
They have actually issued local warnings about dangerous traffic situations due to the panicking lemmings gas customers.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve 22X:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve 22X:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
He said "News said gas shortages so everyone is out getting gas".

Therein is the root cause of the issue, those bastards have to sensationalize every issue and start the idiots panicking.

It's bad, real bad out there, like nothing I have ever seen. I stepped out of work to run a couple errands as you know how nutso bat a hit crazy this place is Friday of a 3 day weekend. There were lines stretching up to a half mile out of gas stations that had fuel. I went by Costco and there were 50-60 cars per line, extending onto the service road of 75 a quarter mile. And that was 2:30pm. Imagine 5:30pm. This will be all over the news tonight. People are in full panic mode. I've got everything I need for this holiday weekend and for the next 7 days. I can't believe what I just saw out there in them streets. People are losing it.

Believe me I know, note my location.
They have actually issued local warnings about dangerous traffic situations due to the panicking lemmings gas customers.

I saw your loc, you know right where I was driving. I've never seen anything like this panic and i've been here 4 decades. These people have lost their ever loving minds. God forbid they have to stay home this weekend, in the A/C, and watch tv. Go for a walk, knock back some beers but get off the fucking road and quit using gas until our nation and State gets through this. For fuck sakes.

I went thru the gas shortages in '73 and '80 in Pennsylvania. Odd and even plate numbers on different days. 5 gallon minimum fill up.

Motorcycles were exempt and were waved to the head of the line for gas and that angered many motorists.

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:
I went thru the gas shortages in '73 and '80 in Pennsylvania. Odd and even plate numbers on different days. 5 gallon minimum fill up.

Motorcycles were exempt and were waved to the head of the line for gas and that angered many motorists.

I doubt they'd o anything sensible like that again. I wanted to ride this weekend too. That is definitely out. I saw cops at many stations trying to police the herd. It's gonna get out of hand in a few hours and I'd bet on gunfire, fists, or a knife drawn this evening.

I keep a radio on a local talk station during the day while I work. They've been talking about rising gas prices all week and today started on the "impending gas shortage" because Colonial Pipeline has temporarily halted operations. One of my paralegals drove past Costco on her way back from lunch and said it was chaos. We're 1,200 miles from Texas and it appears people are on the verge of a gas panic.

It's bad, real bad out there, like nothing I have ever seen. I stepped out of work to run a couple errands as you know how nutso bat a hit crazy this place is Friday of a 3 day weekend. There were lines stretching up to a half mile out of gas stations that had fuel. I went by Costco and there were 50-60 cars per line, extending onto the service road of 75 a quarter mile. And that was 2:30pm. Imagine 5:30pm. This will be all over the news tonight. People are in full panic mode. I've got everything I need for this holiday weekend and for the next 7 days. I can't believe what I just saw out there in them streets. People are losing it.

Yep. Remember Arab Oil Embargo. I did not have five bucks to pay some kid to sit in line for hours to fill my VW. Prices skyrocketed as well. Rationing gas was horrible. This will pass soon.

Price went up 5 cents today around here, $2.44 for regular unleaded.

They were probably driving there from areas that don't have power and cannot get gas at. Also everyone running a gas generator is using a lot more gas in the area than when it normally has electric.

The radio news started on this yesterday so I tanked up to beat the panic. The normally empty corner store had 20+ cars snaked around the corner. I was going to visit my parents this weekend but will likely stay home. I wonder if it would help if Pres Trump can release from the strategic reserve?

The absurd thing about it is that they (media, TV) come on the air at 5pm today and say "There is no gas shortage" and "how did all this get started?" Dumbasses singlehandedly caused a riot and shortage.

Folks around here have flipped out. They have created their own shortage.

quote:

Originally posted by mr kablammo:
The radio news started on this yesterday so I tanked up to beat the panic. The normally empty corner store had 20+ cars snaked around the corner. I was going to visit my parents this weekend but will likely stay home. I wonder if it would help if Pres Trump can release from the strategic reserve?

Does the strategic reserve include refined fuels? I thought it was just crude.

quote:

I thought it was just crude.

It's only crude and it's located in TX and LA.

Same after Katrina and Sandy. the problem is that many stations don't have generators themselves.

Release a strategic reserve so people can screw around?

Sounds legit.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:

quote:

Originally posted by mr kablammo:
The radio news started on this yesterday so I tanked up to beat the panic. The normally empty corner store had 20+ cars snaked around the corner. I was going to visit my parents this weekend but will likely stay home. I wonder if it would help if Pres Trump can release from the strategic reserve?

Does the strategic reserve include refined fuels? I thought it was just crude.

It is just crude.

There are multiple issues with using it, but the two most blatant:

refineries need to process crude oil to turn it into gasoline. Flooded/damaged refineries are the issue

the four SPR locations (Winnie - TX, Bryan Mound - TX, Lake Charles - LA, and Baton Rouge - LA) all got hit by Harvey.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.