It is a painful thing to actually give the cable company a bit of credit, but during a recent power outage the cable went down as well, which is odd especially since this was not weather related in the least. Anyway, I called the endless loop of automated BS that is our cable/internet provider and basically got nowhere. However, after about an hour I took a ride around the block and discovered a cable tech’s cherry picker, and apparently the junction box doohickey failed when the power went down. I think this box usually has a battery backup since cable usually stays up when the power goes out, but I’m not sure. What I am sure about is the solution that got the cable back online, which was to put a tiny Honda putt-putt generator on top of the box and plug it in. Very quick fix, and, dare I say it? Clever.