this commit fixes #2 and adds other improvements to #3

utils/__init__.py

@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 from .view import AppView
 from .title import Title
 from .views import views_handler
+from .network import checkInternet
 
 __all__ = [
     'AppView',
     'Title',
     'views_handler',
+    'checkInternet',
 ]

utils/network.py

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+import requests
+
+def checkInternet():
+    try:
+        requests.get(
+            "https://rest.ensembl.org/info/ping?content-type=application/json",
+        )
+        return True
+    except requests.ConnectionError:
+        return False