I'd like to cancel a .load() operation, when the load() does not return in 5 seconds. If it's so I show an error message like 'sorry, no picture loaded'.

What I have is...

...the timeout handling:

jQuery.fn.idle = function(time, postFunction){  
    var i = $(this);  
    i.queue(function(){  
        setTimeout(function(){  
            i.dequeue();
            postFunction();  
        }, time);  
    });
    return $(this); 
};

... initializing of the error message timeout:

var hasImage = false;

$('#errorMessage')
    .idle(5000, function() {

        if(!hasImage) {
            // 1. cancel .load()            
            // 2. show error message
        }
    });

... the image loading:

$('#myImage')
     .attr('src', '/url/anypath/image.png')
     .load(function(){
         hasImage = true;
         // do something...
      });

The only thing I could not figure out is how to cancel the running load() (if it's possible).

Please help. Thanks!

Edit:

Another way: How do I prevent the .load() method to call it's callback function when it's returning?