Al,
>One way is to go to a site like
http://whatismyip.com. Maybe you could parse the page you get back.
http://whatismyip.org/ is better for you will not need any parsing.
"The five senses obstruct or deform the apprehension of reality."
Jorge L. Borges?
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil in programming."
Donald Knuth, repeating C. A. R. Hoare
"To die for a religion is easier than to live it absolutely"
Jorge L. Borges