Storm knocks out service in Brookline, Roslindale, no doubt points inbetween, but how can you report if your Internet is broken and you don't have, oh, a 'Net-enabled smartphone?

If you have an analog TV and analog Comcast cable service without a converter box, and you turn on WGBH-TV-2 right now, you're going to see something very wrong: video of normal WGBH programming, accompanied by audio of WGBH's continuously-looping Ready for Digital TV special.

The picture says "This TV is DTV Ready" while the sound says, from time to time, "This TV set is not ready for the switch to digital TV in February 2009". Also, the picture is shrunk down and enclosed in a black box.

WGBH says this is a "Comcast engineering problem", not a problem with WGBH's broadcast or with your TV set.

David Scott reports that the Comcast local channel is laying off most of its employees (including, presumably, Sara Edwards) and will end all operations in New England in early January. Some of its sports shows might wind up on Comcast SportsNet New England, he reports.

Matt O'Malley shares the secretest of secrets of how to create a 30-second skip-ahead button for your Comcast DVR remote. Guaranteed to work until the next time Comcast discovers it and sends out secret rays to reprogram the remote - and make Matt disappear.

Not everybody uses their broadband just to download porn. Sometimes on-call social workers need access to Google Maps to find out how to get to emergency locations in the middle of the night. And sometimes, Comcast just doesn't care, John Greiner-Ferris explains.

Mark O'Neill spots one of the Red Line's infamous sperm-donor ads. That SO needs to be placed next to one of Comcast's new "Wanna hook up?" ads (is Comcast really admitting it wants to screw you?).

Write about the fee on your blog.

Barry Nolan out at CN8. OK, granted, probably not somebody you've actually watched since his "Evening Magazine" days, but still. He got canned for objecting to Bill O'Reilly getting some sort of bloviator award from whoever it is who hands out regional Emmies.

Complain about them on Twitter:

... It seems that Comcast has gotten with the program, they even have their own Twitter account, and actively monitor Twitter and other sources for complaints. ...

Fabulously Out There decided to switch from Verizon to Comcast for broadband when the Verizon phone rep offered to send out a technician to diagnose her broken broadband "between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m." She reports her experience with Comcast hasn't been much better.