Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

I am alive and well in Istanbul.  I just couldn’t get my laptop connected to the internet until today when we found an internet cafe in the neighborhood with a spare network connection (dial-up wasn’t working from home).  The owner was really cool and offered to let me connect from the quiet of his own office/bedroom in the back of the cafe, but I didn’t want to impose.  I opted for the corner spot in the front of the cafe and now I’m surrounded by 10-year-old boys swearing at terrorists and Nazis as they play Counter Strike, Call of Duty, etc.  At least these kids haven’t started smoking yet.