I've been meaning for a long time to try to take a vacation from Internet access. Like many others, I've become a bit enslaved to the convenience of an always-on lifestyle.

Well, the past few days life - or, rather, Las Lenas Ski Resort - has imposed upon me a monastic life without the web.

I hated it.

I've been skiing here with Mark Shuttleworth (Ubuntu), and I think we both found it charming at first when the hotel's Internet connection went down. "We're roughing it!" we laughed.

Not for long. As a snow storm blew in, the hotel's satellite Internet connection went down. Two days later, it's still down. Compounding the problem, the chairlifts are also shut down due to avalanche danger. This would be the time for long talks and strategic insights. Instead, it's the equivalent of a constant stream of "Nicotine fits," except the web is the drug.

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