Will Oregon be ok?

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I took it as a man who never used a self serve pump before and was clueless to operating it. So, he probably did figure it out by taking a leap of faith.

I kind of get where they're coming from. Though I've been pumping gas my whole life, when I visited Belgium last year (first time in Europe), I found myself confronted with wack pumps just prior to returning a rental car, before catching a 6am flight home. I was not able to quickly discern how they worked in the short amount of time I had and there was no one about at the rest stop service station, so after an initial panic, I elected to let Avis sort it out. However, I quite sure I could've adapted to them quick enough under favorable conditions...
 
For those of you unfamiliar with BabylonBee, it's a satire site. Take Absolutely Nothing it says seriously whatsoever. Kind of like the onion, only with lower writing quality.


That being said, I heard this joked about earlier: "Coming out of the first week of self-service gas in Oregon, approximately 34% of vehicles are malfunctioning due to citizens opting to use the special green gas nozzles."
 

What the hell heck is that site? It appears to be a parody of something, but of what?

For those of you unfamiliar with BabylonBee, it's a satire site. Take Absolutely Nothing it says seriously whatsoever. Kind of like the onion, only with lower writing quality.

Disagree on the lower writing quality. Their religious takes are as savage as they are well informed, the kind of ribbing you can only get from close family.

"The Babylon Bee is Your Trusted Source For Christian News Satire."
 
I knew that it wasn't just ME that thought the puns would need some lube. So, I got some KY.
 
I lived in Oregon for over 20 years, my favorite thing to do to family when each first came to visit was not tell them about the gas stations. Only one time i had to pump gas which was some shack of a fill station with one pump (that looked 25 years old) in the middle of nowhere. We sat in the car for like 20 minutes before i went in, all the guy said was no full service, kind of funny he could of come out and said it. Don't miss it now, seems faster doing it yourself. I do miss OROC, the drive to brothers i always enjoyed, and of course flying rockets in the sage.
 
I hate the lines that always seem to be in Troutdale when we stop there for fuel, it takes like 20-30 minutes to get back on the road again.
 
The only place I've ever ran into long waits is at Costco. I won't go there to save $0.10 a gallon, no matter what my wife says.

My usual fill station is in the country between Silverton (my town) and Salem (the Capital). It never has much of a line and I enjoy shooting the breeze with the attendant, who I've known for over ten years now.


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It is funny to read the social media comments, but I have to wonder if any of the complainants will ever run into a self service pump.

The new law only pertains to gas stations in counties with a population of less than 40,000 - almost all of these counties are in the central/eastern part of the state. If you live in Harney County (@10,000+ square miles and a population of 7,320) chances are that you know how to pump gas. You most likely can also start a chain saw and probably have butchered an animal at some point in your life.

The Portland/Eugene urbanites that are acting like the world is ending will, fortunately for them, seldom run into the nightmare scenario of having to pump gas into a Prius.


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I hate the lines that always seem to be in Troutdale when we stop there for fuel, it takes like 20-30 minutes to get back on the road again.

My standard operating practice is to fill up before crossing the border.
 
My standard operating practice is to fill up before crossing the border.
That works if coming from the north, but those of us in Eastern WA have a choice of 2 lane HWY 14 on the Washington side of the Columbia River or taking I84 on the Oregon side, 14 is kind of neat about once in 10 years, but its much faster to travel 84, hence fueling in Portland/Troutdale. Of course traffic on 84 going through Troutdale sucks.
 
It is funny to read the social media comments, but I have to wonder if any of the complainants will ever run into a self service pump.

The new law only pertains to gas stations in counties with a population of less than 40,000 - almost all of these counties are in the central/eastern part of the state. If you live in Harney County (@10,000+ square miles and a population of 7,320) chances are that you know how to pump gas. You most likely can also start a chain saw and probably have butchered an animal at some point in your life.

The Portland/Eugene urbanites that are acting like the world is ending will, fortunately for them, seldom run into the nightmare scenario of having to pump gas into a Prius.

Yes, that is the detail that makes nonsense of all of reporting on the Facebook kerfuffle.

I will go farther, and wonder how many of the complainants are actually Oregonians? People are motivated by the little dopamine hit of getting "likes" -- and we all are -- else forums like this would not exist. I am doing it right now. It feels so good when somebody notices what you've posted that you and I both just posted pictures of handsaws, for goodness sake. There is a terrible temptation to post something to bait the crowd, and there is not any better bait than "pile on and make fun of this stupid/entitled person".

As for Willamette Valley urbanites, the native Oregonians in this category are outnumbered by out-of-state transplants. Also, the folks who grew up driving in Portland -- through the first decade of the millennium -- will have had business on the other side of the Columbia often enough to have encountered a self-serve station.

Those growing up in urban Oregon NOW, though, are another matter. Odds seem to be increasing that many won't ever learn how to drive a car, and those that do drive may never have to visit a gas station. Uber and Lyft drivers don't make their passengers pump gas. The apps will tell you if a Car2Go or ReachNow car-share vehicle has more than 5 miles worth of fuel in the tank. And, of course all the electric charging stations are self-serve.

Oh, and its the Shell Station on Hwy 20 out of Bend where the attendants wear the nostalgic gas-man white uniforms with the goofy little caps. There aren't any Sun (Sunoco) stations west of Ohio. Guess that's a clue about here I learned to drive...
 
Oh come now, can't we AL just get along?

Yes, that is the detail that makes nonsense of all of reporting on the Facebook kerfuffle.

I will go farther, and wonder how many of the complainants are actually Oregonians? People are motivated by the little dopamine hit of getting "likes" -- and we all are -- else forums like this would not exist. I am doing it right now. It feels so good when somebody notices what you've posted that you and I both just posted pictures of handsaws, for goodness sake. There is a terrible temptation to post something to bait the crowd, and there is not any better bait than "pile on and make fun of this stupid/entitled person". ...

And that's exactly why I wrote my question. After settling down from laughing at the comment compilations, I began to wonder : "Alright, how much of this is actually real.....". It's on the internet after all (and everyone knows you can trust whatever people put on the internet!)

I'm glad you mentioned the action-reward effect of social media. I was just reading an article a couple weeks ago that was describing studies where there is a temporary "hit" of dopamine when someone comments positively or likes your posts/content, But prolonged social media use may actually be linked to increased bouts of depression/anxiety as people constantly wonder if they'll get likes/reactions, why they didn't get as many likes as they thought, or when they compare their own live/satisfaction/happiness with what other people share. (Grass is greener syndrome strikes again!)


Why is this gas business going viral? Internet humans enjoy laughing at or with people. It's Oregon's turn at the moment. It'll be over soon like most trends (except "Florida man" stories. Pretty sure those are eternal now lol)
 
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