> - AT&T was completely down for us but Verizon and its MVNOs were up
It really depended on where you were. In my area everything was down. Literally and figuratively. The only utility that worked was gas.
T-Mobile was the first to come back up but it took weeks. I could occasionally get one bar of LTE if I climbed to the top of the hill but even then I could only send or receive about 1 SMS every few minutes.
Once I was able to get out of the neighborhood I could drive 5 miles away and get cell service and spotty data on Verizon.
NPR's updates were our most reliable way to get information on what was happening.
> - Fill up your vehicle’s fuel or battery before any big storm, we spent a lot of time siphoning and otherwise consolidating fuel to get ourselves and neighbors out of town, particularly because we didn’t know how far we’d have to go to find a gas station with electricity
Having supplies on hand and being patient worked out for us. We waited until 40 was clear and were able to head to the Triad for supplies and gas. In the mean time the neighborhood got together and cut up downed trees and filled in the missing road so it was easier to get in and out of the neighborhood.
> What software today do people recommend as an alternative to Sketchup?
onshape (web; free to use unless you want to protect your designs) and fusion (autodesk; free license available) are both really popular right now. they work differently than sketchup. i never really made friends with sketchup but the parametric modeling system used in fusion and onshape clicked with me and i really enjoy using them.
https://youtube.com/@project.lighthouse