Conky won't start without internet.

This is mysterious and I have no explanation.
But, yesterday the internet was down and Conky apparently did not launch at boot in either Ubuntu 1.04, ZevenOS 3.0 or LinuxMint 10.0 on my EeePC 901.
In Ubuntu, conky seemed to be running according to the output from the command "ps -e | grep conky".
As soon as the internet was restored, Conky started on boot in all three OSes.
But why should lack of an internet connection prevent Conky from being visible?
So, I unplugged the ethernet cable on my 901 (no working wireless card)and disabled Conky in Startup Applications and rebooted.
When everything was stable, I started conky from a terminal. Despite a voluminous output complaining about a lack of internet, Conky started up but, of course, without weather, IP address or Gmail information.
Reactivation Conky in Startup Applications, but without internet, led to Conky starting at boot.
In other words, I am unable to reproduce the non-appearance of Conky in all three OSes without internet yesterday.
Hmmm......................