GadgetGirl, one interesting experiment would be to check how fast (or slow) you are downloading data.
are you using a 56k modem to connect to the net?
if so, and you are using either OB or DX, you can use the SDTaskManager plugin to monitor the bandwidth. that will tell you if it is slow because there is no spare bandwidth, or it is slow because it simply isnt downloading anything for ages.
as for blaming me, the normal policy is to give
fuzzy logic 50 spanks for each mistake you think i have made