[wp-hackers] Running WordPress "offline"?

[Mike Walsh]

I recall this question coming previously but  I must not be phrasing my
Google query correctly because I can't find an answer.

I have WordPress running in a Virtual Machine which I use for development.
 The majority of the time this works well for me.  However, there are times
when I find myself without an Internet connection (e.g. yesterday on a 5+
hour airplane flight) where I can still get work done locally but WordPress
is verrrrrrrrrry sloooooooow because it is constantly reaching out for
resources (e.g. Gravatar, WordPress.org update server, etc.).

Is there a setting or hook or something that will cause the external
connections to either fail much quicker or not be attempted at all?

Mike
-- 
Mike Walsh - mpwalsh8 at gmail.com