Perhaps the reason why AAPL is having its biggest daily tumble in recent history on the day it officially launched the iPad mini for retail sale, is because all the people who otherwise would be waiting in line in front of FAO Schwartz and inhaling the smell of fresh horse excrement, are doing all they can to obtain gas. Any gas. Because iHeater, iShower and iFridge just lack that little "oomph" when dealing with people who are cold, smelly and hungry.
Pictures courtesy of the DailyMail
Desperate measures: Chris Zaturoski uses a garden hose to attempt to siphon gasoline from his car to use in a generator at his New Jersey house which is without power in the wake of superstorm Sandy
Gridlock: Traffic is gridlocked on the Long Island Expressway into Manhattan near the turn off for the Queensboro Bridge as commuters try to get back to work after Sandy
Lights out: Without power, many gas stations have had to close because they can't pump fuel into customers' cars
Busy: An Instagram user shares a picture of their local station
Limited options: Police tape blocks the entrance to a fuelling station where people wait in line
Serious situation: A commuter cycles past a long line of vehicles waiting to get fuel from a gas station in Midtown Manhattan today
Waste of time: Many of the queues were more than three hours long
Tough competition: Lines began forming today at around 5am
Budget choice: A man squats down to fill up his gas can at a Hess fuelling station in Brooklyn
Everyone's affected: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have been inundated with evocative pictures of people coping with low fuel supplies
Heat seekers: As temperatures begin to drop, people wait in line to fill containers with gas at a Shell filling station in Keyport, N.J.
Struggle: President Obama sent 250,000 gallons of gas and 500,000 gallons of diesel fuel via the Department of Defense
Powerless: Drivers are forced to travel to find open gas stations. Many have yellow tape wrapped over their pumps
Anger: State officials have has help from the Red Cross and the National Guard - but it is still not enough
Killing time: Residents of downtown neighborhoods have had to rely on crowded buses or taxis to get around, though the latter may not be an option in days to come
All aboard: Mohammad Ullah fills up his gypsy cab from a gas container while others wait on a line
Heavy work: A police officer, right, helps Jason Bravo push an out-of-gas van into a station in Brooklyn
Which direction? A New York City Police officer directs traffic at a Hess fuelling station in Brooklyn
Some lines are miles long and many have had to stop using their cars because their tanks are empty
Fuel rage: A police officer attempts to break up the row amid escalating anger over the gas shortage
Keeping control: The fuel rationing in the tri-state area is having a huge knock-on effect, and police and National Guard troops are now providing security at gas stations
Drafted in: A police officer watches as people wait in line to fill their gas containers after Superstorm Sandy closed most gas stations in Allenhurst, New Jersey
Friction: Residents argue for their place in line while waiting to get fuel at a gas station in the New York City borough of Queens. State troopers have been drafted in to maintain order in some areas
Dispute: An argument starts as men take their place in the line for fuel from a gas station in the borough of Queens in New York
City in chaos: Children play on the ground during the long wait to get to one of the gas stations still operating
Dry at the pumps: A police officer holds caution tape after a gas station ran out of fuel in the Brooklyn borough of New York
None here: A New York City police officer explains to a driver that a gas station on the west side of Manhattan has run out of fuel
A state on its knees: An estimated 80 per cent of the gas stations in New Jersey are closed closed
All smiles: A group beam with happiness after they reach the front of the line
Trying to stock up: People line up to fill gas containers at the New Jersey Turnpike's Thomas A. Edison service area, near Woodbridge
All ages: A girl holds jerry cans while waiting in line at a gas station in Hazlet township, New Jersey
Running on empty: A man lifts a jerry can over his head to see if there is any gasoline left at a gas station in Hazlet township, New Jersey
Deserted: Many stations are out of action because they have no power to operate the pumps
Patient: Residents hold containers while waiting for hours to get fuel from a gas station in the New York City borough of Queens
Hanging around: A man talks on a cell phone as he waits with others for fuel in Queens, New York City
Weary: Long queues for fuel formed at this Gulf gas station in Manalapan, New Jersey
Little helper: Kora Ferrone, carries a five-gallon gas can as she assists her father, Chris Ferrone, in line at a station in Toms River, New Jersey
Queuing for gas: A long line of people wait to purchase gasoline for their cars and generators, at a gas station in Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Masses: People needing to get back to work in New Jersey queue at a gas station in Point Pleasant
Stressful: Families are stockpiling gas, unsure of when supplies will revive and unable to rely on the public transport system
Endless: Cars wait in long lines at a Sunoco gas station on the Garden State Parkway in Montvale, New Jersey
Sign of the times: Motorists hoping to fill up at a Sunoco gas station on the Garden State Parkway in Montvale, New Jersey, had no choice but to stop and wait
Congested: Cars queue bumper to bumper as they approach a gas station in Toms River, New Jersey, after fuel stocks were depleted following Superstorm Sandy
Filling up: A gas station attendant fills a customer's Jerry cans with gasoline in Hazlet township, New Jersey, after the devastation of Sandy
Frayed tempers: Armed police tackle violence at a gas station in Brooklyn, after one customer accused another of cutting in line
Misery: Drivers get to gas stations as early as they can can to beat the crowds, but the crisis could go on for another week
Drained: Fuel tankers have been diverted to the Port of Virginia, and immediate relief is still some way off
Pushing through: A police officer moves a car that is completely out of gas, trying to position it so it can fill up at a gas station in Brooklyn, New York
Road block: Passing motorists are accidentally finding themselves in line, and getting accused of cutting
In the dark: Station managers in the borough haven¿t been told specifics, only that they hope to have fuel deliveries by early next week
Shellshocked: New Yorkers are just starting to get their lives back on track after the terrible storm
