Suggestion:
This has its pros and cons, but I thought I'd mention it:
What about an automatic resize for pics posted here? In other words, when someone posts, that the pic would only render up to a maximum size set by code?
This would make page loads faster, and might also decrease costs. The drawback I could see is that people here sometimes really need to post very detailled pics, especially when some tricky repair is being discussed. But there's no reason for a pic of somebody's new thrift-store goodie to be huge. Even those of us who have the means and knowledge to resize pics can be a little lazy about it (mea culpa!). Anyone who had a pic needing to be huge could post a link to it on one of the free hosting sites, or perhaps we could have an area where necessary huge pics could be posted, with pics in regular threads getting held to maximum size.
Remember, over half the country's still on dial-up; in fact, dial-up has regained some market share during this recession.