Plenty of gas on the information superhighway

Eric mentioned it last week in his blog post and you have probably seen it all over CNN and iReport.com... there is this bizarre gas shortage in Atlanta. Actually several cities in the South East are experiencing shortages due to refinery damage in Texas caused by Hurricane Ike. People are lining up to get gas.

It's a little Carter-esque really. Many of us Gen-Xers can all remember being in the backseat of the station wagon, listening to Tony Orlando and Dawn on the AM radio, waiting with our folks in line to fuel up. The Boomers and the Joneses remember being the drivers! But that was an embargo, this is just a shortage.

35 years later and here we are again! Except this time we have the Web to help ease our gas pain!

Mapquest has a tool called Gas Finder that will tell you where nearby stations are and how much their gas costs... but it doesn't indicate whether those stations actually HAVE fuel.

Gasbuddy.com offers a similar service, that also includes notes indicating wait times at some stations.

Atlanta Twitter users are keeping their friends and followers updated on which stations have gas.

Of course, you can also check your local Public Transit website. Everyone who works on the "News To Me" team is sick of me talking about it... but now is a great time for those of us with access to it to take another look at mass transit. A few weeks ago Eric interviewed Christian Lander who created the self deprecating site "Stuff White People Like," where he keeps a list of very non-PC but hysterically accurate stereotypes. One of the things on his list: "Public transportation that is not a bus." Regardless of our race or religion we need to get over that. No, it's not as convenient as your car, but it is a heck of a lot cheaper AND you'll get this wonderful sense of satisfaction as your city bus passes a line of cars that stretches into the street waiting for gas. Trust me, I've felt it.

For residents of certain cities, Google has a great tool to help you plan a trip using your city's bus or rail system.

On this weekend's "News To Me" we'll show you some of the temper tantrums caught on camera that are breaking out in the gas lines in and around Atlanta, GA., Nashville, TN., and Asheville, NC. You'll definitely want to get a bus pass after you see that tape!