Over the past few months, several colleagues have asked me about visiting Greece this summer for vacations. The questions ranged from “Should we go to Greece, is it safe?” to “Where in Greece should we go?”

Since i have been away from Greece for almost 1.5 years, my answer was: “Let me go first, since i am taking my vacations at the start of July, and when i come back i will let you know”

So, i have been to Greece, for a week, came back, and now i am ready to answer. And my answer is:

Don’t visit Greece

or let me rephrase this

Don’t even consider visiting Greece

Here are some good reasons

Greece is expensive

For a country with such low salaries, it is amazing how expensive goods / services are. Let me illustrate my point with an example. We took our vacation at Ioannina (a city in the western part of Greece). Quite close to Ioannina is Dodoni, which besides behind one of the most famous ancient oracles / theaters, is also the place where the factory that produces my favorite feta cheese is located (we are talking like 20 km here). Now, for some inexplicable reason, the feta cheese “Dodoni” is more expensive at a super market at Ioannina than it is at a super market in Stockholm. Go figure…

Another example: We visited a park, which had a playground in it (so that Alexander can enjoy his favorite hobby, have a swing). A kiosk in this park was selling coffee and orange juice. Now, paying 5 euro for an orange juice, at a random kiosk at Ioannina seems a bit lame

And the final blow: When watermelons are more expensive in a Greek super market than they are in a Swedish super market, you know that something is seriously fucked up!

Are you sure you will get there?

One the key requirements of visiting Greece is the ability to actually get there. I know that it sounds trivial, but trust me, nothing is trivial when it comes to Greece and strikes. And boy, do we have strikes this summer…

Background in a nutshell: Greece’s economy is shit, and therefore we asked help from the EU (European Union) and the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Those guys were “happy” to help, but they will only help if they can impose their terms and that basically means that the Greek government now needs to actually “fix” all that crap that led the Greek economy to suck donkey’s ass. Most of the terms have a direct impact on the income of people employed by the state and therefore almost every division of the public sector is on strike (or has been, or plans to be). So keeping that in mind, let’s see how this affects a visit to Greece

Airplane: This is the proffered and most often utilized mean of getting to Greece. Unfortunately the air traffic controllers are on strike and therefore your flight may never land in Greece or even worst, your flight may land but then may not be able to depart from Greece. The funny thing here is that the air traffic controllers are not on a regular strike but on a “white strike“. I am not sure if such a thing exists in any other country, but i will try to explain what this is. Apparently there are regulations on how many planes can land and depart in a given hour at an airport. The air traffic controllers claim that up to now they were breaking the regulations and they could service all arriving / departing planes with no problem. But now, while they are on their “white strike”, they go by the book and they service only the number of planes suggested by the regulation. Obviously, i have to ask:

1. Does anyone care about them suggesting that they have been breaking the rules for … forever?
2. Does anyone care to update the regulations to depict the current capabilities of Greek airports?
3. Isn’t it a bit weird that they remembered the regulations when the government wanted to slash their privileges?

Ship: Now i am sure that you are thinking: In a country surrounded by sea, it will be easy to go there by ship, right? No my friend, wrong. Apparently the latest trend is that a workers’ union (Π.Α.Μ.Ε), blocks access to ships when try are trying to dock at specific ports. So for the past months, more than once, people were not allowed to get of cruise ships, and they were forced to stay on the ship, even if their cruise holiday described something like: “We dock at Piraeus at 08:00 and then you get the chance to enjoy a magnificent visit to Athens‘s ancient monuments”. Tough luck, if Π.Α.Μ.Ε is there. The only thing you get to enjoy is to stare at a port that you can’t go to and wonder why 30 people are capable of denying you the pleasure of enjoying your holidays. If you care to read more, here is the report from Zenith, one of the biggest cruise ships that docks in Greek ports. Obvious questions again:

1. How is it even possible for 30-40 people to make such a mess?
2. Are coast guard, policy, district attorney on vacation?
3. Do we even care about getting tourists to Greece?

Car / bike: Last chance for you would be to get there by car / bike. And yes, that works, but there is a good chance that you won’t be able to leave Greece. You see, the Greek truck drivers are on strike, and this means that: a) The people who deliver gas to the gas stations are on strike and therefore 90% of Greece’s gas stations are now out of gas, and b) Just to make things even worst, the drivers on strike have decided to “park” their vehicles in “random” spots to maximize damage. For example, they have blocked all exits around the oil refinement facilities (in order to block all company trucks to deliver gas), they have parked on the emergency lanes (on national roads), etc. Judging on an update i read 1 hour ago, it doesn’t seem that they will end their strike soon, so if you actually go to Greece bring some gas from your home country! And this time i won’t even bother to ask the obvious questions

I managed to get to  Greece, now what?

As Dante said, in his Divine Comedy work (Inferno section) , “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here“. I have already discussed the fact that Greece is expensive, but let’s see what other problems you might face while being there.

One of the most traditional things to do in Greece is to visit some ancient monuments. Acropolis, Delphi, Olympia, something. And again my friend, you are wrong. You see, there are two possible scenarios you may stumble upon:

1. Π.Α.Μ.Ε might have decided to lock the place down and block entrance to anyone. Here is a typical example (if you can’t read Greek just “enjoy” the pictures)
2. The public sector division, responsible for maintaining the ancient monuments might be on strike. The result is the same, you don’t get to visit the monument

You are now done with not visiting the monuments, and you decide to find a nice place to eat / drink / rest under the nice breeze of an air condition (since the weather is Athens especially tends to get really hot, 40+ C are not uncommon during the summer). So, you have found a nice restaurant, crashed under the air condition and gave your order. Nothing can go wrong now, right? And once more my friend, wrong. Remember, you are in Greece, and our favorite hobbies are: discussing football and politics, swimming and strikes…

So, the employees at ΔΕΗ (national power company, mainly owned by the state), decided that they disagree with the terms imposed by EU and IMF and therefore they will go on strike. This by default is not a bad thing, but you have to keep in mind that:

1. During the summer the power network is already problematic, since every house and office heavily utilize air conditioning during the longest part of the day. As a result, during the summer Greece needs to “import” power from nearby countries, since its own production does not suffice
2. No strike in Greece is “successful” unless it causes problems. Therefore going on strike means that first we will ignore any complaints / problems and secondly we will “force” a blackout by not taking any precaution actions

To cut a long story short, that means that if these dudes go on strike, expect in the middle of the day (when it’s hottest) to lose all power

Closing

I am quite sure that someone will ask: “Are you sure you are Greek? – You seem to hate Greece“.

The answer is: I am definitely 100% Greek, raised in Greece, from Greek parents and lived there almost all my life (excluding the first 4-5 years, and the last 2). So yes, i am quite confident that i am Greek. I am also quite confident that my writing is accurate (since i lived in Greece, i have seen these things happen in the past) and i am also confident that most of my Greek friends will agree that this situation is not enjoyable. I don’t like the fact that Greece has fallen so low, but on the other hand, after seeing how a state should work (aka Sweden), i can’t but laugh with the things currently happening in Greece

Bottom line: I would love to love Greece, but right now Greece is in a state that it can’t be loved…

Back to Greece, after a long time (almost 2 years), and i realize that some things never change. For example:

The bad

• The drive to Ioannina still sucks. I have used the so-called national road some times now, and i still have to wonder, why the hell do we call this piece of shit road a national road? Lousy asphalt, semi-decent signs, no lights and a million and one turns
• Greeks still smoke everywhere and at evert given chance, no matter how many laws i read about (last update i have is that the anti-smoking law was postponed again). Since it’s summer and we can sit outside it does not bother me that much, but still
• The traffic. I know i am bitching now, but i have forgotten how lousy the traffic was. And i am not even talking about Athens, i am talking about a small city (Ioannina) where everyone still thinks that it’s OK to drive on pedestrian roads, park wherever you feel like it and stop in the middle of the road to “just getting something from the kiosk, don’t panic”
• On one of the largest / most crowded streets of Ioannina (street called Dodonis), there are 3 major buildings: City hall, Court house and the Prefecture hall. When on ALL three of them you see graffiti with lines as “Kill the cops”, “Say no to army”, “Strike now”, etc, you get the feeling that nobody gives a damn about how the city looks like. And obviously, those are the most outrageous examples, the whole city is full of posters, graffiti and no sign of cleanness
• Greek TV still sucks balls. A quick zapping through Greece’s major TV channels demonstrated that either we like old thinks, or we don’t produce anything new. Most of the TV channels (MEGA, Antenna) were re-running old Greek shows (Dio ksenoi, Kafe tis Xaras, etc)

The good

• Economic crisis my ass. The roads (Preveza to Ioannina) and in Ioannina are full of SUVs, expensive BMWs and fast streek bikes (over 750cc of course). This is definitely NOT the image of a country which is deep in economic crisis
• At 00:30 i had to go into town to find something to eat. Besides the fact that ALL the places i drove by were full, with people drinking, listening to music and having a good time, i also had a thousand and one options on where to eat. Burgers, pizza, souvlaki (Greek junk), pastry shops, everything was open and serving people, something that i definitely have missed in Stockholm
• People seemed to be more polite. I was addressed in plural in shops (this is the proper way in Greece, but again this might be happening cause i am getting older), the service was fast and even the taxi driver almost forced me to get a receipt
• Pita gyros (Greek souvlaki) is still the best junk food around, no matter what!

The uber

I was very happy to see that Liakopoulos is still around. Apparently his best-selling series “Ο καιρός γαρ εγγύς” (Translation: the time is near) has come to an end (a fact that means that the time came, and i missed it while in Sweden) and now he is promoting his new masterpiece “Ο Πολέμαρχος γαρ εγγύς” (translation: the warlord is coming), which from the little i gathered, claims that Alexander the Great is still alive, and he will re-appear to put God’s plan for Greeks into action

Apart from his new fixation with Alexander the Great, all the other masterpieces of the show where there. “Greeks rule and we just take a break now”, “Nefelim are the bad guys”, and the epic “Φέρε την κάμερα σε μένα” (translation: point the camera back to me)

Seriously though, i will try to order some of the book,s just for the heck of it…

Nora was roaming the city during the “royal wedding” weekend, and she took some pictures of Stockholm (and some of the royal boats arriving in Stockholm)

Last week, June 23 and 24 OWASP had it’s AppSec Research conference in Stockholm

It was my first time attending, and definitely it was a unique experience. Although i would like to make a post about the talks and the people, i am making this one to simple show some pictures from the wonderful after-conference dinner we had at Stockholm’s City Hall

… να είσαι Έλληνας!

Δεν ξέρω τι λένε, αλλά σίγουρα ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα προτερήματα μας πρέπει να είναι η υπομονή. Δεν μπορώ αλλιώς να εξηγήσω αυτό που συμβαίνει σε αυτή την χώρα. Αυτό που άκουσα χτες είναι η κλασσική περίπτωση: “Εδώ ο κόσμος χάνετε και το μ…ί χτενίζετε”

Ο Άρειος Πάγος (ναι, το σοβαρό και ανώτατο δικαστήριο της Ελλάδας) αποφάσισε ότι πρέπει να βάλουμε φώτα στα πρόβατα. Εξ’ αιτίας ενός ατυχήματος (σύγκρουση με κοπάδι προβάτων), ο Άρειος Πάγος απαιτεί το πρώτο και το τελευταίο πρόβατα του κοπαδιού να φέρουν “φώτα”, ώστε να είναι ευδιάκριτα και να αποφεύγονται τα ατυχήματα.

ΟΚ, άδικο μεγάλο δεν έχουν, αλλά σοβαρά τώρα, είναι αυτό θέμα να απασχολεί τον Άρειο Πάγο, όταν η χώρα βουλιάζει, όταν 11 στους 10 πολιτικούς έχουν πάρει μίζα , όταν έχουμε δεκάδες άλλα σοβαρά προβλήματα; Δηλαδή ο πρόεδρος του Αρείου Πάγου όταν πήγε σπίτι του μετά την απόφαση των φώτων στα πρόβατα, ένιωσε ότι δικαιολογεί τον μισθό του;

Τι να πω, με το καλό και σιδερένιοι…

… about my blog! I was looking at my site stats, and especially at the search terms that brought people to my blog

Here is what i saw

For those of you who can’t read Greek, the term in Greek characters translates to: “bestiality videos”

I have to wonder:

1. Who the fuck is interested in bestiality?
2. Why?
3. Why such a search term redirects to my blog

Internet and it’s wonders…

The past few months i have read 2 books, that although they come from different authors and deal with different subjects, the have something in common. The 2 books i am talking about are “Daemon” by Daniel Suarez and “This is not a game” by Walter Jon Williams.

If you haven’t read the books, and you plan to, don’t read below, since i will probably spoil a lot of interesting surprises for you.

Read the rest of this entry »

Δεν υπάρχουν λέμε αυτά τα παιδιά. Δεν υπάρχουν

Άρθρο του Κυριάκου Μητσοτάκη σήμερα στο site του:

Πήρα και εγώ όπως πολλοί άλλοι συμπολίτες μας τον λογαριασμό της ΔΕΗ. Στο κέντρο της δεύτερης σελίδας, σε ένα γκρίζο φόντο διαβάζω: Επιβάλλεται και χρέωση Εκτέλεσης Τελωνιακών Εργασιών 5 τις χιλίοις.

Να εξηγήσω με απλά λόγια τι είναι αυτό. Η κυβέρνηση επιχείρησε στα πλαίσια της συνολικής περικοπής δαπανών να περικόψει και τα προνόμια των τελωνιακών υπαλλήλων , μιας εκ των πιο καλοπληρωμένων συντεχνιών του Δημοσίου. Οι τελωνιακοί αντέδρασαν και απείλησαν την κυβέρνηση ότι αν δεν βρει τρόπο να αναπληρώσει το χαμένο τους εισόδημα, θα κάνουν λευκή απεργία. Η κυβέρνηση έβαλε την ουρά στα σκέλη και χαράτσωσε όλους μας για να βρει χρήματα για τους τελωνιακούς. Τόσο απλά, τόσο σάπια.

Τα πρόβλημα της χώρας δεν είναι τα ελλείμματα ή το χρέος. Είναι η νοοτροπία που τα παρήγαγε. Είναι η λογική ότι κάθε ισχυρή συντεχνία μπορεί να διαπραγματεύεται με το Δημόσιο ξεχωριστά προνόμια για τα μέλη της. Πως θα πείσει η κυβέρνηση ότι παίρνουμε διαζύγιο από τον κακό μας εαυτό όταν συνεχίζει να ενδίδει σε αυτή τη λογική; Πως έχει την απαίτηση για την ελάχιστη κοινωνική συναίνεση που η προσπάθεια εθνικής ανάταξης απαιτεί όταν τα κάνει πλακάκια με τους πιο προνομιούχους;

Και βέβαια στον λογαριασμό της ΔΕΗ συνεχίζουμε να πληρώνουμε ακάθεκτοι το τέλος για την ΕΡΤ. 51 Ευρώ τον χρόνο είτε βλέπουμε τα κρατικά κανάλια είτε όχι. 51 Ευρώ που σε κάποιους δεν θα κάνουν μεγάλη διαφορά αλλά στον συνταξιούχο θα κάνουν. Και αντί η κυβέρνηση να έχει τα κότσια να κόψει το τέλος της ΕΡΤ τουλάχιστον στη μέση και να πει στην ΕΡΤ ότι αυτά έχει και με αυτά πρέπει να λειτουργήσει, συνεχίζει να μας επιβαρύνει για να συντηρούμε ένα άντρο σπατάλης.

Μα τι λέω ο τρελός, που τραγουδάει και ο Χατζής. Εδώ η κυβέρνηση δεν τα βάζει με τους τελωνιακούς, θα τα βάλει με τους δημοσιογράφους;

Ήταν προφανές ότι έπρεπε να του απαντήσω. Ότι τίποτα άλλο, αλλά έχω βαρεθεί να με περνάνε για μαλάκα. Και επιδή προφανώς τα σχόλια στο site του πάνε σε κάποιο mail που προβλέπω ότι θα καταλήξει σε trash, εδώ είναι η απάντηση:

Κυριάκο (και γράφω στον ενικό μιας και είμαστε αρκετά κοντά σε ηλικία), πόσα θες να μας τρελλάνεις;

Δεν ζω πια στην Ελλάδα, οπότε και δεν παρακολουθώ στενά το τι γίνετε, αλλά κάτι πήρε το μάτι μου για τα έξτρα τέλη υπέρ τελωνιακών και συμφωνώ απολύτα μαζι σου ότι είναι ξεφτίλα κατάσταση

Αν είχες μείνει εκεί στο άρθρο σου θα ήταν όλα όμορφα. Αλλά για κάποιο λόγο αποφάσισες να αναφερθείς και στην ΕΡΤ, και εκεί φούντωσα

Παρένθεση: αν και έχω φύγει απο την Ελλάδα διατηρώ ακόμα μια κατοικία εκεί, και άρα το τι συμβαίνει με την ΔΕΗ με αγγίζει άμεσα. Κλείνει η παρένθεση

Λοιπόν, αυτο που με φούντωσε ήταν το: “Και αντί η κυβέρνηση να έχει τα κότσια να κόψει το τέλος της ΕΡΤ τουλάχιστον στη μέση και να πει στην ΕΡΤ ότι αυτά έχει και με αυτά πρέπει να λειτουργήσει, συνεχίζει να μας επιβαρύνει για να συντηρούμε ένα άντρο σπατάλης.”

Από ότι βλέπω στο βιογραφικό σου, ήσουν κυβερνιτικός βουλευτής. Που σημαίνει ότι είχες την ευκαρία να κόψεις τα τέλη, αλλά δεν το έκανες, που σημαίνει ότι ΟΥΤΕ η δικιά σου κυβέρνηση έιχε τα κότσια.

Δεν σου αρνούμαι το δικαίωμα να λες / γράφεις την άποψη σου, αλλα ρε παιδιά, δεν είμαστε 16 χρονών. Έχουμε μνήμη, έχουμε σκέψη και μην προσπαθείτε να μας τρελλάνετε…

Saturday’s games start early, so here are the predictions

South Korea – Greece | Bet on Greece to win | 2.70

Argentina – Nigeria | Bet on Argentina to win | 1.45

England – USA | Bet on England to win | 1.50

2.70 x 1.45 x 1.50 = 5.87

Good luck!

World Cup 2010 is starting today, and as usual I will try to give some betting predictions (or at least what I will be betting on)

Obvious disclaimer, if you bet on my suggestions and you lose, don’t come nagging and asking for money from me, you are on your own on this!

Disclaimer no 2: I am placing my bets on Unibet, so all odds are from www.unibet.com . Feel free to pick whatever site you want!

So, for today, 11/06/2010, first day, I plan to bet on the following:

South Africa – Mexico | Bet on South Africa to win | 2.85

Uruguay – France | Bet on draw | 3.20

2.85 x 3.20 = 9.12

Good luck!