php: waiting for other slow websites

[Eric C]

hi all.  i'm using data from other folks websites on
my website.  when a user views my page i update the
database and then display it to the visitor. 
unfortunately the websites i get info from are really
freakin slow sometimes.  i would like to gather the
info independent of the visit.  it's on a lazy managed
host. can somebody offer a keyword or two to google
with to give me a clue?  - eric c.

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