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The phone can be charged in the car, so I'm not seeing conserving the phone battery as a hindrance to finding gas. Social media has changed the way we share information, and there are very few people who are so isolated that if they aren't using social media, someone they'd be in touch with would be able to provide information.
Perhaps it's much easier to not seeing things the way they really are if you're 1000 miles away, and you live on the assumption that everyone has the same types of phones and electrical sources you do. You cannot assume that your life and situation is the template for everyone else's, especially when you are not experiencing what everyone else is experiencing.
For example, I personally could not charge my phone in the car, because the electrical system in my car is not working in the part that feeds the socket, which I discovered a couple of months ago when my GPS didn't work. That's not something I'm going to pay to have repaired on a 12-year-old car. I was able to charge my personal and work phones through the generosity of a neighbor with a generator. Also, I don't have a phone that takes me to every website I would want to see. I have a Blackberry that doesn't easily access all the sites, and on top of all that, Verizon access has been spotty at times. A $400 phone is not in my budget, nor do I normally need access to the web from a phone. Two of my sisters, like many others, do not have smartphones at all. The only reason I even got the Blackberry and a data plan was because it supported Skype phone service to China so I could call my daughter when she was at school there.
I found that a gas station down the road was open by asking an old guy smoking a cigarette outside a 7-11, which I suppose you could consider "social media" of a primitive sort. But even if you have all the bells and whistles, a 10:00 a.m. news flash that Joe's Gasoline in some town 30 miles away doesn't guarantee that when you arrive there at 11 a.m.--if the roads are clear enough to even get there--there will be gas available.
Not everyone has a car cell phone charger or a smart phone, but I agree, he could have located the information from somewhere. I'm sure any business or hotel with power and internet access would have been more than happy to look that information up for him in this time of emergency.
Maybe those without a car phone charger (who have a car) should spend the $20 on one.
Perhaps it's much easier to not seeing things the way they really are if you're 1000 miles away, and you live on the assumption that everyone has the same types of phones and electrical sources you do. You cannot assume that your life and situation is the template for everyone else's, especially when you are not experiencing what everyone else is experiencing.
For example, I personally could not charge my phone in the car, because the electrical system in my car is not working in the part that feeds the socket, which I discovered a couple of months ago when my GPS didn't work. That's not something I'm going to pay to have repaired on a 12-year-old car. I was able to charge my personal and work phones through the generosity of a neighbor with a generator. Also, I don't have a phone that takes me to every website I would want to see. I have a Blackberry that doesn't easily access all the sites, and on top of all that, Verizon access has been spotty at times. A $400 phone is not in my budget, nor do I normally need access to the web from a phone. Two of my sisters, like many others, do not have smartphones at all. The only reason I even got the Blackberry and a data plan was because it supported Skype phone service to China so I could call my daughter when she was at school there.
I found that a gas station down the road was open by asking an old guy smoking a cigarette outside a 7-11, which I suppose you could consider "social media" of a primitive sort. But even if you have all the bells and whistles, a 10:00 a.m. news flash that Joe's Gasoline in some town 30 miles away doesn't guarantee that when you arrive there at 11 a.m.--if the roads are clear enough to even get there--there will be gas available.
Have you checked to see if it's a 50 cent fuse that needs to be replaced? Otherwise you can (or have a friend do it, but it's easy) wire an outboard plug into your fuse block.
I'm not saying that everyone can find out anything. But I'll bet many didn't even bother to think outside of the box and instead sat like sheeple for three hours when they could have driven 90 minutes round trip and had a full tank without waiting.
Have you checked to see if it's a 50 cent fuse that needs to be replaced? Otherwise you can (or have a friend do it, but it's easy) wire an outboard plug into your fuse block.
I'm not saying that everyone can find out anything. But I'll bet many didn't even bother to think outside of the box and instead sat like sheeple for three hours when they could have driven 90 minutes round trip and had a full tank without waiting.
I don't think so, based on the people I've been interacting with. Most people do have common sense and are resourceful, and there have been enough open gas stations around, albeit with some lines, that there really was no reason to drive 50 miles for gas.
I know you've provided some information that has been useful, but maybe you should lose the smug and condescending attitude that you're so much smarter than all the people who are actually in the midst of this disaster while you watch from your safe and distant vantage point. Not nice.
People's suffering and problems from this storm are not for your entertainment purposes.
I don't think so, based on the people I've been interacting with. Most people do have common sense and are resourceful, and there have been enough open gas stations around, albeit with some lines, that there really was no reason to drive 50 miles for gas.
I know you've provided some information that has been useful, but maybe you should lose the smug and condescending attitude that you're so much smarter than all the people who are actually in the midst of this disaster while you watch from your safe and distant vantage point. Not nice.
People's suffering and problems from this storm are not for your entertainment purposes.
I'm getting information directly from my husband who is there. Nothing smug about it.
I'm getting information directly from my husband who is there. Nothing smug about it.
I'm not talking about the information. I'm talking about your opinions of who should spend $20 to have car chargers and who should get what fixed in their car and who should have this and that and who is such a damn stupid sheeple and a moron because they are not you. Your sense of superiority comes clearly through your posts. We saw the same know-it-all attitudes after 9/11 from people far removed from the NY/NJ metro area--everyone was an expert on what everyone else should have done. Your husband might be here. You are not.
I attribute it to the fact that you are probably quite young and as yet untouched by real life, but I'll caution you against hiding very long behind that belief that you are superior and untouchable and would never make a mistake when in a dire situation. Life has a way of teaching exactly those lessons that one needs to learn.
I'm not talking about the information. I'm talking about your opinions of who should spend $20 to have car chargers and who should get what fixed in their car and who should have this and that and who is such a damn stupid sheeple and a moron because they are not you. Your sense of superiority comes clearly through your posts. We saw the same know-it-all attitudes after 9/11 from people far removed from the NY/NJ metro area--everyone was an expert on what everyone else should have done. Your husband might be here. You are not.
I attribute it to the fact that you are probably quite young and as yet untouched by real life, but I'll caution you against hiding very long behind that belief that you are superior and untouchable and would never make a mistake when in a dire situation. Life has a way of teaching exactly those lessons that one needs to learn.
I was living in NJ during 9/11, so don't lecture me about that. I've also lived through hurricanes in Florida, and have seen firsthand the people who refuse to spend a few minutes and have a plan to help themselves here as well.
I'm not young, I'm in my 50's and have lived through more tragedy than you'll ever know. I'm just astounded by the people who didn't have what most would consider basic necessities to have in their home. Flashlights, battery operated radios, shelf stable food.
See what I mean? Just please monitor yourself a bit.
It's often more a matter of priorities. I wonder how many who claim they can't afford a $20 car charger have no problem spending that in a week or a month or even a year at Starbucks?
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