Getting closer...

Hood River and the Coast.

This last weekend I went left and then right. Well I went East then West. I drove out to Hood River for the afternoon, well really lunch. I wanted to get out of town so Saturday late morning I fill the car's tank and off I went. The drive is only about one hour and this time I stopped at a view point over looking the Columbia river. I have never been up to this point, but it does have some nice views east and west. I continued on and with in about twenty minutes I was pulling into Hood River. I stopped and the now usual Grind Coffee shop and ordered a coffee and a sandwich. Relaxed while looking out the big front windows and enjoyed the moment. Finished, I walked up the main street and looked in a few shops, I have been in several on past trips up, they have a lot of sports stores.

Windsurfing and Kite boarding are big as is hiking and biking. In winter this is a stopping point for the skiers. After my walk I headed down the the Columbia river to watch some of the kite boarders and windsurfers. The main launching point is a spit of land that juts out into the river, where the Hood River empties into the Columbia. Kiting is now the big thing, but there are still a lot of surfers and this weekend there was a lot. After spending some time there, I needed to head back to town, ,things to do. So I hopped in the car and head back to town, I made good time and soon was approaching Portland.

Columbia River

Sunday brought an urge to get wet. I had seen the windsurfers and I wanted to surf. So I grabbed my board and wetsuit, made my way to the car and strapped in. The drive West is about an hour or so to the coast then a few minutes down to a good spot to surf. This day how ever there was little surf to be had. I drove down to Manzanita and found what I thought to be the best spot. At least there was waves higher than a foot. A quick change and down the sandy beach to the break.

The water wasn't to cold, about 60 I would think. Once in it was no problem, the waves had so little impact that I just cruised out. Unfortunately that meant the waves did have much energy to surf. SO I spend about an hour catch a few small wave and trying to make the best out of them. The cold finally told me to head in and a quit walk up the sand and back to the car. Twenty minutes later I am heading to Cannon Beach, there is a good seafood spot for a quick bite. Then back on the highway for the drive back to town. As always, things to do in town on a Sunday afternoon. But at least I got wet.

Cloudy in the morning at Manzanita Beach

Mars landing site:

A June 2012 revision of the landing target area for Curiosity, the big rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, reduces the area's size. It also puts the center of the landing area closer to Mount Sharp, which bears geological layers that are the mission's prime destination.

The larger ellipse in this image, about 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) by 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) shows what the target area was prior to revision. The smaller one, about 12 miles by 4 miles (20 by 7 kilometers), indicates the revised target area.

This oblique view of Mount Sharp is derived from a combination of elevation and imaging data from three Mars orbiters. The view is looking toward the southeast. Gale Crater is 96 miles (154 kilometers) in diameter. Mount Sharp rises about 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) above the floor of Gale Crater.

Stratification on Mount Sharp suggests the mountain is a surviving remnant of an extensive series of deposits that were laid down after a massive impact that excavated Gale Crater more than 3 billion years ago. The layers offer a history book of sequential chapters recording environmental conditions when each stratum was deposited.

Landing will be about 10:31 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2012, Pacific Daylight (early Aug. 6 Universal Time and Eastern Time). During a prime mission lasting nearly two years after landing, Curiosity will use 10 instruments to investigate whether this area of Mars has ever offered conditions favorable for life, including the chemical ingredients for life.

Penny for your thoughts....

The Lincoln penny in this photograph is part of a camera calibration target attached to NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, which is on track for a landing on Mars the night of Aug. 5 to Aug. 6, 2012.

The calibration target for the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) instrument also includes color references, a metric bar graphic, and a stair-step pattern for depth calibration. The MAHLI adjustable-focus, color camera at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm can be used for taking extreme close-ups of rocks and soil on Mars, as well as images from greater distances.

The penny is a nod to geologists' tradition of placing a coin or other object of known scale as a size reference in close-up photographs of rocks, and it gives the public a familiar object for perceiving size easily when it will be viewed by MAHLI on Mars.

The specific coin, provided by MAHLI's principal investigator, Ken Edgett, is a 1909 "VDB" penny. That was the first year Lincoln pennies were minted and the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The VDB refers to the initials of the coin's designer, Victor D. Brenner, which are on the reverse side. Brenner based the coin's low-relief portrait of Lincoln on a photograph taken Feb. 9, 1864, three day's before Lincoln's 55th birthday, by Anthony Berger in the Washington, D.C., studio of Mathew Brady.

This photograph of the penny on Curiosity was taken in August 2011 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center as the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft was being prepared for launch. The mission launched on Nov. 26, 2011. It will deliver the rover Curiosity to Gale Crater on Mars in August 2012. With MAHLI and nine other science instruments, Curiosity will investigate whether the area has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.

Romney and Salt Lake:

Romney and Salt Lake:
The last time Romney clashed with a law enforcement official, at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Romney found himself stuck in a huge traffic backup on the road to the men’s downhill ski area, because some buses had not received the proper security-clearance placards and were being prevented from proceeding. Romney, who had organized the Salt Lake Olympics, jumped ou...t to take charge. He started directing traffic, over the objections of a sheriff’s deputy, Kodi Taggart; she later filed a report on Romney’s interference. And he lit into an 18-year-old volunteering as a security officer, Shaun Knopp. Knopp told reporters that Romney had asked “who the fuck” he was and “what the fuck” he was doing and had then told him, “We got the Olympics going on, and we don’t need this shit going on.” Romney denied this at the time, saying he had not used such language since high school. “I would not, have not, and never would use the f-word,” he said. The worst word he used with Knopp, he said, was “H-E double hockey sticks.”
 

Since i worked on the Salt Lake games and heard from the local police, I know this really happened and Romeny lied when he denied it. A lot happened that wasn't made public, this one got out. Also, Romney and the organizers were not in charge of security. They gave money to the State for the cost and the state and federal government provided security. Romney had no say or control over what happened around the venues and law enforcement had the final say. What Romney did was a violation of the security process at the venue and could have forced a cancellation of the event. Romney should have known this.

Titan - Tethys

Titan - Tethys

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 18, 2010. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 55 degrees. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 55 degrees. Image scale is 15 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel on Titan and 6 miles (9 kilometers) per pixel on Tethys.

9 Days till landing.

The Mars lander and current possition. 9 days till landing!

Flame in space:

This image shows a vast cloud of gas and dust where new stars are being born. Three familiar nebulae are visible in the central region: the Flame Nebula, the Horsehead Nebula and NGC 2023. The Flame Nebula is the brightest and largest in the image. It is lit by a star inside it that is 20 times the mass of the sun and would be as bright to our eyes as the other stars in Orion's belt if it weren't for all the surrounding dust, which makes it appear 4 billion times dimmer than it actually is.

My Greek Olympics: Last half and the end...

Second week of Olympics:

After the first week of the Olympics, I just went where I wanted and did what I wanted. No one was calling me or asking me what I was doing. I would go to the Fire Brigade late, then have lunch, then leave early. I would say I am going to the MMM or to DAOA, but I would just take off. I went by the Metropol a few times or the noodle shop for lunch, sit at home and read. David and Vic had their own things going and Jay was always off with Semos doing some behind the scene shit.

They schedule events the first week that may be dependent on weather, so if they have to postpone an event they will have time to re-schedule it. The second week is mostly in-doors stuff like gymnastics, boxing and wrestling. Swimming, sailing, biking, weighs lifting, and all those other sports are the first half of the games.

Art in Plaka during the games

I would hang out with David at Mie Tie or go to some other place and hangout. Most others were off doing something during the day and I would only see them at night. I watched the games on TV at a bar every night and it was on the video wall at the Fire Command Center every day. I was paid to watch TV. I sometimes just stayed home and read, after all that work it was strange that there wasn't anything to do. It was a real let down and it seemed that all the hard work and sacrifice was for nothing. It started as a noble cause, but turned into a mess.

The system was not operating fully and was not even being used. Because of the fight over the last payment payment, the company had locked some thing up and limited access to the system. It didn’t matter, no one cared. The Greeks did what they had done before, nothing changed plus there was no real threat. So much was made of potential threats but mostly it was just a scare tactic. The Greeks were under a lot of pressure to do what the US wanted them to do and it was a way for all the US government agencies to send people so they could say they did Olympic security, it was a scam.

Soccer game:

At the end of the soccer event series, Vic had an extra ticket to the gold medal round of the women's soccer match. It was all the medal games and Sweden was playing Germany for the Bronze and Brazil was playing the US for the Gold. So I went with Chuck, Bob and Pam to the stadium, I would meet David, Jay, Semos and Vic later. This was the only time we all were together at an event.  We took the metro down to Faliro and talked to a few people on the train, a guy just arrived from the UK and got a ticket that day. There weren't many people on the train or at the station. I was surprised that the stadium was almost empty when we got in there. It was in one of the newly rebuilt ones that belong to one of the city teams. In less than a year, the old one was torn down and a new stadium built. Here in the US it would take years to do the same thing.

The Germans were playing the Swedes for the Bronze medal and there were mostly Swedes where we were, the other side had the Germans. When the match started, the place was maybe 1/5 full, I thought more people would come as the match went on, but it stayed empty the whole time. Sweden won the match and the Bronze medal, lots of cheers for both sides. The preparations started for the next game and it was Brazil against America.

More people showed up, but it was still ¼ full. The match started and it wasn't very exciting, the US team was running more and Brazil made some mistakes. More people showed as the match went on, but it still never got more the 1/3 full. Most people were cheering for the Brazilians, the German and Swedish fans were all for Brazil. The US scorned and it was 1-0 for the rest of the match. I was disappointed, I though it would be more interesting and have more scoring. Most of the people wanted Brazil to win, the American fans in there hats and flag shirts looke dscared as they left.

Look at the crowd.

After the match, we all went out to the metro and rode back to the Metropol for drinks. The Olympics were winding down and the project was at an end. David and Jay argued about the politics of the contract and Jay was already working behind the scenes to get ready for the fight over the acceptance test and final payment. I was just the third wheel again and I just sat and listened to the arguments.   

Last few days:

During this last week I went out with Dimitri, Stavroula and Alex a couple of times. I spent time with my friends and went out for coffee and lunch, dinner out was normal. During the day I would sit in the Fire Brigade and play video games on my computer, I had nothing else to do. There were not that many people in Athens, August is the holiday month so the city empties out. There wasn’t that many people in town for the games so in general the city was easy to get around in. There were lots of tickets for event and if you wanted to go you could. I didn’t see one person from the company, they all were off doing their own thing. I didn’t care what was happening, I worked so long and so hard for the project and it was just a waste of time and energy. I had heard of so many corrupt things that had gone one, Siemens didn’t seem to care what happened, they just wanted the money. The SAIC people had a warped sense of right and they justified what they did as being for the good of the country. The US that is, they didn’t care about Greece.

Last day of Olympics and the Marathon:

The last day of the Olympics was the Marathon and the closing ceremonies. I didn't go to the Fire Brigade, no point in going because nothing was going on. David had tickets to be in the stadium to see the end of the marathon, but I didn't want to spend the money to see them just run in at the end. I went down to Vasileos Konstantinou Road and stood on the side of the street. I was about ¼ mile from the stadium so I would see who was in the lead. Many people were there, it was free so anyone could watch.

Soon word came that they were approaching and you could hear the crowd cheer as the first runner came by. I saw the runner who had a TV motorcycle and an escort all around him. It was the Italian runner and everyone was cheering as he past, no one was for one particular runner, all got a cheer. Soon other runners came by; the Greek runner got a big cheer.

The African runners looked like they were just skin and bone, very skeleton like. I heard some one say something about a controversy, but I didn't know quite what they were talking about. Most of the runners came by relatively quickly and the last runner was by after only about 15 minutes. The crowd started to dissipate and I wanted to get away from the crowd. I called David and said to meet him later.

After I left I walked up to Kolonaki and was to meet David at Mie Tie for drinks. I found out about the interference on the course, how the Brazilian runner who was in the lead was pulled off the course. It happened only a short distance from me, but I never knew it happened. That must have been the controversy. The closing ceremonies were on and since it was August, it was relatively quite at Mie Tie.

The games ended and I sat with David in Mie Tie drinking beer. The two year ordeal was almost over and the Greeks had pulled off the games with little or no problems. All the concerns went away and the talk was of how great the games were. I saw it as an end of a part of my life, another chapter would soon start. I left David at the bar because I was tired and I walked home through Kolonaki. The next day we would go over the events and get any info on what was next, but I don't think anyone really knew.  The Para Olympics would start in two weeks and we would do some minimal work on that.

We were supposed to do the SSAT (Sub-System Acceptance Test) and we would be told when that was scheduled. The government had decided to fight the last payment and SAIC was taking a hard stand. There would be no SSAT and we were not allowed to go to any site. Since I was friends with many of the Greeks, I could go in and talk to them. No other SAIC person was allowed and at least my good will was appreciated by the Greeks.

All over:

I would see Stavroula again and we would go out for a drink and talk a few more times before I would leave. The last time I saw her was at lunch a few days before I was to go. We talked and I really enjoyed her company, she was back with her boyfriend 'Fred' and she thought he would be nicer this time around. I hoped so. I gave her a kiss on the cheek as she went back to work. I would miss her the most.

I had two weeks of work till the rotation day, but I would stay another month past that. The Para Olympics ended in September and then I was to go. We had to take down the MOC and turn stuff over, of course the government didn't care any more about the system. They finished the Olympics and now were starting the fight over the payments and finishing the system. I would come to dread this mess and the never ending negotiations

I would be turning the apartment over in a few weeks, plus shipping my stuff back. I bought some things to send and looked for souvenirs at the flee market. I should have gotten more stuff since I had the space in the shipping containers. I just bummed around for a week and saw Ari and Jay once in a while. David and Vic were off doing things and would leave soon. I had to find work too and I had a possible chance to work in New York.

A "major award":

At the end of the project, I was called by Sophia "the twig", I had to go to the office for some shit and while I was there I was given a thank you "present". It was a stupid little statue of an olive branch and some writing on the base. It was designed by a local artist and everyone in the office thought is was cool, I thought it was stupid. What a joke, looked like something you would find in Plaka in a cheep tourist shop. I gave it to Ari, he said the SAIC corporate asses should use it to shove up their asses.

I bought my computer, I paid too much for it, but it was a $2k computer that I got for $500. We had to shut down the MOC and turn stuff over to Siemens who would deal with the legacy stuff it seemed. People started to leave, I didn’t care much since most people I thought were idiots. We inventoried everything and had the computers taken and desks. The lease on the MOC was up in September and we had to be out. Athens was in the post-Olympic high though so many people didn’t seem to care.

A last gathering of sorts:

On one of the last nights when we all were there, we went to dinner at Psira. David was in full-court mode and he commanded the staff to bring much food and wine. This was when he had met Athena and she and a friend came along for dinner. Athena was from Serbia and lived in Kosovo during the fighting, she was pretty and David was happy to have her as a friend. We all ate way too much and drank a lot as well.

It was one of the last times we all were together and it was an end to a project that had cost us all a lot to work on it. Vic and David would be leaving soon and I was looking for other work and didn't quite know what I would be doing next. As I sat on the patio looking out over the Plaka and up to the Acropolis, I was sad to be leaving and knowing that the project was a failure. I had enjoyed my time in Greece so much and had made some really good friends that I would miss.

My time in Athens was short and I was getting ready to move back to the US. It was hard to say good bye to all my friends, all the people I met and I was friend s with. I loved the city and had some great times, but I regretted not seeing the project finish in a successful way. In the end SAIC dragged out the contract trying to get the final payment, they spend a ton of money and didn’t win in the end. They lost more than $200 million on the project, I wish it was more, they deserved it.

Staying on:

A few days before I was to leave, I got a call from Chris. He was working on the acceptance test and he asked if I would stay on for a bit to help. Since I had no work prospects I said yes. Chris fills me in on things and I extend my hotel stay for another week. It was a joke; I sit in an office with a bunch of the SAIC corporate lackey types and listen to them bitch about the Greek committee and government. I don't say anything and I don't think they knew who I was. I am told that nothing is going to happen for a few days since they are sorting out the contract. Chris says to just hangout so I do. 

David and Vic had gone as had the ETeam guys, most of the corporate guys had started to go except the ones who were doing the follow up stuff. I basically hung out at the annex and walked around. There was nothing to do and since it was late October most of the sites were closing and the weather was getting cold. I was in a hotel and though it was nice to have the room service and cleaning, I still had to do launder.

 I would call Chris and ask what was going on and he just kept saying to hangout. I never went to the office or talk to anyone else. I called Tryphon and would see Stavroula or Alex once in a while, but they all were working. So after a few weeks of this I decided to head home, I had been called on a project in New York and I hoped I could work on that. I was just wasting time in Athens since there was nothing to do. I was fed up with just sitting around or going all the way to Marousi for a meeting with the shitheads. I called Chris and said I was going to head home since nothing was going on the there was no movement in the contract talks. It was the last week of October and I was preparing to leave for good, but this wasn't the last time I would be there, I would soon be in Greece again and then to Turkey.

I had to say good-bye to everyone again and get the last of the stuff I would be taking; I did some shopping and got the tickets for my flight. I stopped by the fire center and the commander gave me some presents, everyone came over and I was very surprised. The officers said I was the only one who seemed to really care about what was going on and they appreciated it. It was very nice and I was totally surprised. I went to the MMM and saw the people there, I was told to come back anytime and I felt they meant it as well. I didn't go to the police station, but I saw some of the committee again and we talked, they said goodbye and CG Stavroula gave me a kiss. That surprised me the most, but I was sad to be leaving. I went to all the places I had made friends at and ate at my favorite restaurants. I walked to the Acropolis and looked out at the city, this was it, my last view.

Trip back home:

I said goodbye to Sissy and Alex. I went out with Dimitris and Tryphon one last time. I met Stavroula for lunch and we talked and I promised I would be back. Then on the day I had Peter take me to the airport for my 6:00 am flight. I sent Stavroula one last massage and I was off. I was flying through Germany and then to San Francisco and on to San Diego. I had mailed most of my stuff home so I was carrying mostly clothes and a few little things. It would be a long trip, in the 24 hour range and I never slept on the flights.

I went to the Olympic Airlines lounge to kill time and I had a few drinks, then I went to my gate. I boarded and since I was flying business I had extra room to stretch out. As the plane took off I would be ending a chapter of my life. I didn't know when I would be back thought I would return in a short time, but it was quite strange to leave. I watched as the country fell away and soon I was over the blue water and heading to Germany.

The trip to Germany was relatively quick and since I had a few hours to kill I went to the executive lounge and relaxed. Coffee and something to eat, I watched a little TV. I went to my gate and had to go through the check points, but since I had an EU passport I just walked through. I was on a United plane for the trip to SF and I would have another relaxing flight.

Once in SF it was strange being back in the US, it felt like I was in a foreign country. I liked Greece and found the life there interesting and I enjoyed the people and culture. I arrived in late afternoon and it was getting dark since it was the beginning of November. My flight to SD was just a hop and I would soon be home, I missed Greece already. I got home finally and it was very strange, like it wasn't my home. My life was different and I felt as if I were on some trip or vacation. My life would never be the same.

My Greek Olympics: Finally, it starts..

Assignments:

I was told I would be at the fire brigade center and was to be available if needed to go to other centers. Since we weren't going to be allowed to do anything, it was a joke to have to deal with SAIC corporate shits. A lot of people came to "view" the system and how it worked, but basically they wanted a vacation in Greece during the games. It didn't affect me and most of the time I wasn't told what was happening. I also never went to the offices in Marousi so I never saw what went on there. It had become a joke, the project was a joke. A huge waste of money, they could have cut it by 75% and still have been fine with security. We did Salt Lake for about ten million, we spent 300 million and had nothing to show for it.

Olympic time:

The Olympic month was a let down, the system wasn't working and the company was being confrontational with the customer still. We were told that we would be allowed in the facilities, but could not do anything unless they asked. Basically nothing was going to be used and we would just sit around all day. I was assigned to the fire brigade and at least I could see Sissy and find out what was happening. Actually I was allowed to go around to different places and talk to people, most others couldn't. I had made friends with most of the people in the command centers so that they knew I was on their side. I could talk to anyone and would be allowed to see what was happening.

Opening Ceremony:

The Opening Ceremony for the Olympics was a big deal as it always is. I was at the FB center during the opening, and even though I was just down the street, I watched it on TV. I could see the fireworks out the window and hear the crowd. I went out to see what was happening and saw the blimps flying and the fireworks smoke. There had been some fires started a few days before from fireworks and there was concern about fires starting during the games.

I called mom and talked for a bit, since there was a 10 hour difference, it was morning back home. I thought the opening was a good show, interesting and historical. The roof of the stadium was important to the show, since cables where strung up to move the objects, without the roof there would be no show. So the effort to build the roof paid off.

All the Greeks in the Fire Brigade were watching the show on the large video wall. I was in the conference room with the other contractors and we were not allowed into the command area. But I was asked to come in a go over a few things. The Greeks seemed to trust me and I was doing all I could to help them.

The ceremony was of course a big deal, the opening is one of the main events. I went out side the back of the Fire Brigade and walked out into the street. Since I was just one kilometer from the stadium, I could hear and see what was happening. Fireworks, the airship, the crowd cheering, I wish I were in there and see the show. I talked to a few people in the stadium and got a feel of what was happening. I went back inside and watched to show, I thought it was very good. The Greeks were very proud of what was going on and the culture on display.

The big concern was fire from the fireworks, there had been several fires caused by fireworks the prior week. It was dry and there was little thought it seemed on safety sometimes. Of course the system was not being used and nothing was going on, the Fire Brigade was still using paper and pencils. After the ceremony ended, all of us left the Fire Center and decided to walk to the Metro. I was with Rick and some of the ETEAM people, the other Greeks had cars to go home in.

There were no taxis and we didn't want to try to go near the stadium, so we walked to the Halandri metro station. It was longer than I thought or I was just tired, but it took a while to get there. The train ride to the center was fast and there weren't that many people on the train, though a few people were heading into town and you could tell they attended the ceremony.

For the next two weeks this was were I was to be, I did make a few trips to the CG and hung out at the usual places after work, but it was a bit different in Athens and the mood had changed. There were large crowds in Plaka and around the Acropolis, but other places there were few people. Tickets to events were easy to get and just about any event was doable. Ticket vendors were in key locations and all you needed to do is look at what was available and buy the ticket.

Tourists in Plaka:

As the Olympics got underway, the tourist started to show up. It wasn't much more than a normal summer crowd and with so many people leaving Athens, it wasn't too crowded at all. In Plaka, the crowds were thick though. All the stores were hawking their stuff and the tourists were all over the place. Since I was a local, I wasn't bothered by the shop keepers, they knew me as someone from the area and I would never buy anything from them anyway. The big traffic problems never appeared and power never failed, there where no riots or anything like that. It was nice and quite.

I would go down to Plaka a few times, but I would go to Mie Tie more. The annex was boring and nothing to do there by myself. I had to go the Halandri everyday and now that the metro ran all the way to the airport, I could take the metro to a certain point and then grab a cab the rest of the way. I saw a lot of people on the Metro heading into or out of town, but not a lot of Greeks. August is typically the month that everyone has a holiday, so Athens was deserted. The tourist did the usual tourist thing and I really tried to stay away from them.

Going to the port was more crowded, since all the ships were there as hotels, but not all the ships came. The demand for space wasn't as great as expected. The one big ship, the Queen Mary II did show up and boy is it big. They parked it at the entrance of the port and it was like a huge wall. It was larger than most buildings in the port area and dwarfed the other ships.

Bike race:

The bike route, on the way to Mie Tie

One event was the street bike race. This was a race on a course through the streets of central Athens. The course started and ended in front of the Parliament, went down Amalias and up past the Acropolis. Then down behind the Agora and onto Athinas Street. Down and around behind Lykabettus and around the North side. They ended up on Academious and then into Kolonaki, past Tops and up Lykabettus again. They came down onto Leof Sophia and back to the Parliament. They passed just half a block from my apartment, the streets had barriers and it was hard to get past them.  I was going to be at the Fire Brigade Center that day so I didn't see the whole race.

David had stacked out a table at Tops and spent the day drinking, eating and watching. (David met Athena there and they became kind of friends. I think at first it was more the "I met someone who works on the Olympics and lets see where that goes." David spent time with her after the race and they became friends, when David left, we had a good-bye dinner at Psara and Athena was there.)

I was back just in time to see the end of the race, but there was no one on the street to watch. It seemed strange that the streets were empty except for the police standing around. The police standing around wasn't strange, but there just weren't any people around either. I saw the bikes fly past and that was about it, no cheering or anything. I guess where I was not many people watched.

Car crash:

The afternoon of the bike race and after I left the Fire Brigade and was heading home, I was walking down the Leof Sophia near Kolonaki square, when a car crashed just behind me. A car coming out of the side street didn't stop to let a car pass by. The cars made a nice T-bone crash and it sent glass flying in all directions. I saw that one of the persons in the car was injured so I called the FB emergency number, I couldn't get them to understand that there was a crash. What was funny about it was a bunch of cops were across the street and they wouldn't do anything to help. They just stood there and looked, finally the FB showed up but the police did nothing.

Burgers:

One night I was at a place in Kolonaki having dinner, a burger place that I hadn't been to before but I had seen. I was with David and while we were eating and drinking beer, they had the women's pole-vault finals on. It was a duel between a Russian, a Ukrainian and a Swede. The Swede was knocked out and it was just the Russian and the Ukrainian. The two were good and it was a back and forth competition. As each one made the height, we could hear cheers from all over town, the whole city was following the action and they didn't care who they were.

The TV coverage was really much better than any American Olympics that I saw, they showed everyone, not just the Americans. It really shows how self centered the Americans are in the coverage. I didn't see many American TV crews around, but a few foreign crews were visible. I later heard of all the 'celebrities' who were there, but never saw any of them.

The burger place was just a few blocks for Mie Tie and on the hill going up to Lykabettus. It was small but the food was really good. I should have gone there more, but I didn't eat burgers much. This was a great night and the vault compitition was great. The US TV would never show the event since no American was in it, they only focus on the Americans and if they will win a medal.

Nothing to do:

The Olympics were really boring, I did nothing and no one even cared what I did. I could have just gone to an island and go swimming all day. The government didn't want anything used, so we had nothing to do, just sit there. SAIC had said they would lock the Greeks out of the facilities, but that was stupid. The facilities were in the buildings of the police and fire departments and they could have just removed the doors. I did get to go in the command center and talk to the Greeks, they trusted me and they knew I was there for them. I also went to the MMM and saw Tryphon once in a while, a change of pace and new scenery. I hung out with the ETEAM crowd and with David once in a while. I didn't see Jay much and Vic was off doing other things. But I really never saw anyone form the company during this time. A lot of people were going to events instead of working, nothing bad was happening so everyone went out to play.

One day Vic said he was taking all the ETEAM people to see a baseball game and some other events at the Hellenico complex. I wanted to go but I had to stay at the Fire Brigade and baby sit the shits. Really boring to be there and nothing to do but play on the computer. Dimitris had given me a copy of Call to Action and I played it most of the day, there wasn't much to do and in this case the Greeks closed the blinds so we couldn't even see the TV. Later that night, I saw David and he said they had a good time at the events. That night we had dinner at a burger place up the street from Mia Tie, something different

Cooking again with David:

Vegetables market at the central market

Breakfast at David and Vic's place on the Sunday of the Women's Marathon was going to be a warm up to the afternoon. The race started at about noon and the runners would take about two hours to do the race. Since their place was two blocks from the course, we would all eat and then walk over and see the runners go by. David and I would do a special brunch and we would dazzle everyone with our skills. We went out and did some shopping and found some steaks and other bits. David had a plan to do Benedicts so we shopped for specific things. We had to substitute some ingredients simply because they didn't have them. I went to the central market on Friday and stocked up on stuff, eggs potatoes, bacon, smoked salmon and other stuff.

We would do Steak Benedict and Salmon Benedict with potato pancakes and all the other stuff like bacon and sausage, fruit and drinks were there. It was hard to cook it all on a small stove, but we managed. It came out good, but the timing was off because we had to do one plate at a time. I did the pancakes in one pan while David did the Benedict and Hollandaise sauce; the last burner was boiling water for the poached eggs. It was a real challenge to do everything for the ten people in one shot. Anyway, everyone liked it and we all had plenty to eat and drink.

We heard the race had started and were watching it on TV to see the progress. Once the runners were close, we went out for the viewing of the Marathoner.  We got a spot on the side of the street in the shade and waited. The first runner came with a motorcycle and cameraman on the back and a police escort. Everyone was cheering and waving flags. No one cared really who it was, they just were cheering the leader. Soon others came by, more cheering. It was amazing to see the runners, they were almost at the end and they still were running hard.

All the runners past within a few minutes of each other, the crowd was cheering even the last one the same as the first. We all separated and walked off in groups, I went for drinks and to relax, no work today. The women’s marathon marked the end of the track and field events, there would still be more events but the next week would be the indoor events. They hold the outdoor first in case of weather issues pushing them back.

My Greek Olympics: The end of the contract, just before the Olympics.

Extended:

June arrived and the contract ends. The system was still not working and some people were going to start to leave, technically I was to be finished at the beginning of June, but I complained that they couldn't afford to have the people who worked on the project for so long just leave. I got the corporate shits to extent the stay of a number of key people, my end date was pushed to September.

Embassy:

One day Vic called and said I had to go with him to the Embassy for a meeting that TJ had set up. I wasn't sure what it was about, but Vic wasn't thrilled. We went down to the US Embassy and met TJ at the front. A real pain to get in and we had to leave our phones and passports at the front. We had one of those meetings that you see in the movies, strange atmosphere, like everyone is suspicious of whom you are. We met in an office with no windows and music playing in the background, 50's rock, and all the people were CIA. I knew a few from Salt Lake, and so did Vic and TJ. The first thing the guy says is that this meeting never took place, just like in the movies.

Metro Station near embassy.

Basically the meeting was a way for the 'government' to gain access to the systems and download the data. They said they would provide satellite imagery in return for access. This was a clear case of interfierence, but I wasn't going to go along with it. There was no need for the imagery and I know that the Greeks wouldn't want anyone in the system from outside. Nothing came of this meeting, but I heard there was an un-authorized entry to the system and data was copied.

After the meeting, Vic and I took the metro back, we just kind of shook our heads. SAIC was going to help the US government keep tabs on the Greeks by letting them into the system. When we got back to the MOC, I had to tell the Vampire that I was in a meeting at the embassy because I had missed a meeting that I wasn't informed of and I was missed. Of course the Greeks never trusted SAIC and they never put anything on the system that was important, it wasn't used at all.

Fire Command Center:

Part of the contract was to build facilities for use during and after the Olympics. The Coast Guard had a small facility added to there command center, the Police got a large facility with many rooms and lots of hardware. The Fire Brigade got a new add on to one of their existing buildings. I had to visit each, but I spent a lot of time at the Fire Brigade center. It was the usual building, cement and lots of it. They added a garage and sleeping quarters on the ground floor and a new 911 centers and forest fire command center. It was hard to do any work there while the construction was going on. The Greeks were working in the old part and the construction was next to them. We tried to stay out of every ones way.

The Fire Command Center for forest fires.

As they finished one part, we moved our stuff there, and then moved to the other side once that was finished. The servers were upstairs and the power and back up command center was down stairs. One of the first things put in was the video walls and I had to hang around while they were set up, this gave me the chance to talk to Sissy and the others more. I gave Sissy copies of my software and data, plus I was giving her music CDs. Everyone was friendly to me and I was as helpful as possible. This helped later and would provide a means for me to get a lot of information.

Visiting Stavroula:

Stavroula was working out of the training center on Agios Kifisia near the Hilton and the Embassy. It was another rental place that the company was renting for an outrageous amount. They were paying something like 20K Euro a month and the place was not well organized. George was there as well as Chris. I would stop by once in a while, but I didn't like it. They had lots of technical issues there and I would make an excuse to go, more to see Stavroula than anything.

DOORS:

I did some work with George on the acceptance plan, but I found there process stupid. They had put the contract into a system call DOORS that broke it out into 'requirements' and these requirements would be the test of the system. But DOORS was spitting out requirements for things that were never a requirement. The true requirement was meant to represent a capability or process of operation, not just a string of words.

As an example, if there was a sentence like "the system will be used to track Police and Fire vehicles", the requirement is saying basically the system will track vehicles. DOORS would create requirements from a descriptive sentence like "the system will be used to track police and fire asset vehicles". Requirement1 – 'vehicles'. Requirement2 - 'police and fire asset'. Requirement3 – 'be'. Requirement4 - 'used'. So what should have been something like 'track fire and police vehicle assets' turns into a bunch of requirements that make no sense and couldn't be tested. How can you test 'be'? How can I write a test case for 'used'?

What was worse was that in the contract description of the system, we wrote a narrative of what out put types would be available from the modeling software. These descriptions were added to the contract and DOORS spit them out as requirements. Of course they were never meant to be a requirement so they made no sense and couldn't be tested. So again I had to deal with things like "bomb", "explosion", "plume" and so on. Of course it was almost impossible to explain this to anyone and no one cared or knew what I was trying to explain. We had to satisfy 95% of the requirements, DOORS was generating something like 100,000 reqirements and a lot were untestable. We would never get the 95% acceptance. It was just one big mess that kept getting worse.

More bad food:

One night George, Ron, Rick and a few others decided to go to dinner at a place near the annex. It was called the Hermes and I never liked it. I went along and wasn't to excited about the place, but I ordered a drink and ordered stuffed squid which was stuffed with cheese. The food came and all the others ate up. My food was so salty I couldn't and wouldn't eat it. They used Feta, the cheep stuff and it was really salty, two bits and that was it. I complained and sent it back. It was crap as always. I refused anything else and I left and went to the Souvlaki stand to grab a few kabobs.

Acceptance test set up:

At this time our one year term was ending and we were to go home, but I call TJ and said I can't believe that they would send us home with the system in its current state. So TJ had the dates for me and Ron changed to the beginning or September, an additional two months. I was 'kind of' assigned to work on the acceptance test, though by this time I didn't really care. The test would never take place and the final IET and COMEX was pushed back to July, just weeks before the games start. Of course they wouldn't happen so what I was doing was for nothing and I knew it.

Since the committee and SAIC agreed that what DOORS spits out are the requirements for the acceptance, I was stuck trying to write a test case against a bunch of requirements that never were meant to be requirements. So this was a huge waste of time and effort, but I was supposed to help. DOORS is one of the reasons why the acceptance test was never past, simply the requirements were shit and no one knew any better. After the games, everyone left and most of the people were fired or quit, and those were the people who knew the system. I tried to explain what the actual requirements were and why the junk DOORS put out wasn't requirements. No one would listen or seemed to care so I would have Jay talk to the committee and work things out from behind the scenes. I had a few secrete meetings myself with different people I knew, but having to hear the stupid SAIC people talk about how they were going to screw the Greeks was funny and scary all at the same time. Our saying was, 'Look out the window, you're not in Kansas anymore'. SAIC never got it that they were in a different country and different rules applied.

To Poros with Rick:

In June, I took a day trip to Poros with Rick. Athens was hot and sticky and I really wanted to go swimming, at least get in the water. So on a Saturday morning, we took the Metro to the port and got a hydrofoil to Poros. Like Aigina, Poros is only about 30 minutes away. The boat was full as usual for a June Saturday and the short trip was uneventful. We got off at the port, which is on an almost island and is on the south-west side of the main island. There is a narrow strip of land that connects the port area and town to the main body of the island. We got some food at a place on the water and then got on a bus which went around the island.

Just east of the port area, there is a cove type area that has some small hotels fronting a beach area. This seemed like a good place as there were many people in the water already. We found a spot in the shade of a tree and Rick went to sleep, I jumped in the water. It was cool, but since I hadn't been in the water for a long time, it felt really good. The water was shallow and I walked out a bit then swam to a buoy. Lots of Germans were there as in most of Greece in the summer, but it was nice to just be wet. I went ashore and found Rick just chewing his tobacco and looking at the people, he didn't look to different from the fat pale Germans, I think most people thought he was a German. It was a hot afternoon, but I took advantage of the water and enjoyed the time there.

As it was getting late afternoon, we decided to walk back to the port area, so we found a shower and rinsed off. The walk was easy and in 10 minutes we were coming around the dock. As we pasted a line of boats med moored, a guy coming off the back of his boat went for a swim. Not on purpose, his boarding walkway gave way and he went crashing into the water. We helped him out and back on the dock, he was alright but had a few small cuts and scrapes. We went back to the dock and had a beer while we waited for the next boat, then we were comfortably sleeping while we made the short trip to Piraeus.

The Roof:

One of the main areas of concern during the buildup to the games was the completion of the roof over the stadium. It was designed by the Spanish Architect Cavaltrans. They had to build each section to the side of the stadium them move them together. We didn't think it would get done on time. Every day I went past the stadium, I could see the level of construction completion. It seemed like for months nothing changed.

The roof finally finished.

Finally the roof sections were complete and the two halves would be put together. Since the stadium was already there, they built the sections to the sides and them would move them together. Most people didn't think the roof would be finished on time and since it could disrupt the games, the IOC suggested that it not be used. But finally the day came when the roof was to be moved. There was live TV coverage and a lot of talk about if it will work, as the roof  started to move on one side, the track started to sink.

The roof was in danger and the operation had to be stopped. An emergency engineering group can and they stabilized the track and had to stabilize the soil. Apparently the soil was too soft for the roof to go over it and they had to pour cement in to harden the area around the track. Unfortunately it took another two weeks to get this sorted out. Then finally the roof was ready to move, some thought that it would fall over when it moved, but it did move. One side slid across and then the other, they met and were joined. It was a huge relief to the organizers that it was finished, the roof would play a major role in the opening ceremonies and it had to be in place. Also, it was a symbol that the Greeks could get the job done, if it didn't workout, it would have been a huge embarrassment for the Greeks.

Riding in the taxis:

A common way of getting around was by taxi. They were plentiful and cheep so it made sense to take them when the traffic was conducive. Though the train could be slower, a taxi ride from one of the work locations into town could last hours if the traffic was really bad. A ride on the metro or train would be about 30 minutes to one hour at most. In most cases it was 30 minutes. If there was no traffic, a taxi ride could be as short at ten minutes. To get a taxi you have to stand on the street and do the 'wave'. It is an arm out-stretched with your hand out straight. If you wave your arm, the taxi may not stop, it is different than here in the US. Most of the time the taxi will not stop completely, they slow down and roll down a window. You yell where you want to go in a general manor, like Syntagma or Marousi.

If they are going in that direction they stop and you get in, if not they keep going. Also they will take more than one person at a time, they may have a fare already and they are looking to take someone else who is going in the same direction. If you are in the cab, the driver may ask if you mind taking someone else. In most cases it is no big deal and you say OK. If there is someone in already, you thank them for letting you have a ride. Renting a taxi for a day is possible also, if you need transportation somewhere they will rent there service to you for the day for a flat rate. Taxis are cheap, about a Euro a mile. In most cases you are only going a few miles so it is only 2 or 3 Euros. Most Greeks can't afford this but we could.

The Tram:

One of the infrastructure improvements to Athens was an addition of a tram system, which would connect the center of town to Glyfada and Neo Faliro on the coast. The construction started in the fall with the digging up of the street in front of the MOC. I didn't know what they were doing at first them I was told a tram would go in and it would be finished by spring. Like all other things I didn't think they would finish. The line would follow the streets down and towards Glyfada, then turn to the coast and splint once it got there. A line would go north to Neo Faliro and the friendship stadium. The other line would go to Glyfada and the Elliniko complex.

The plan didn't include a system to synchronize the traffic lights, so the tram would have to follow the street lights like the cars. This would slow the tram so that it would take an hour to travel the distance that you could drive in a car in 15 minutes, plus it would make the tram subject to traffic jams and make it even slower. I rode the tram a couple of times, but it was very slow and I wished I just took a taxi. They finally got it running the month before the games to much fan fare, then a couple of people were killed by the tram and it got in several accidents, plus the slow speed made it fodder for critics.

Euro Cup:

The month before the Olympics, the Euro Cup was being held in Spain. This is like the super bowl playoffs for all of Europe. Greece was winning and they played Germany for the semi finals, if they won they would play for the championship. The Greeks won and the country went crazy, it was way more popular than the Olympics. Everyone was out in the streets celebrating and it just kept going on and got bigger and bigger. I noticed the noise and went out on the patio and I could see a stream of people walking down the street towards Omonia Square.

So I deiced to go out and see what was happening. I walked in the street with the mob of people and ended up a block from Omonia, I couldn't get any farther than that. It was crazy, people chanting and singing. People climbing on trees, cars, anything at all, people lit flares and threw them around. I was stuck there for at least three hours, I couldn't get out and it was just a big party. I finally worked my way out of the street and down a side street, and then I was able to head back to the apartment. I got in at about 3:00 am, but the celebrating continued into the morning hours. During the morning telecom, people were talking about it and I said I was down in it, they were silent as usual. They couldn't believe I went and did that.

The next few days everyone was excited  and waiting for the final game, when the Greeks won the cup there was more celebrating, though it seemed a little less extreme. The team was flying back to Athens and the city was going to welcome the team back. We suggested that it would be a good idea to use the system to track what was going on and see how the system worked.

Of course the Greeks didn't, mostly because of the fighting with SAIC over the contract and modifications. We were at the Fire Brigade center and could see what was happening on TV. The plan was to drive the team from the airport to the old Olympic stadium where they would be met by the Prime minister and others and it should have been about a one hour trip from the airport to town at that hour. We saw the team get on the bus and start to drive out of the airport.

Not more than one hundred feet from the gate the bus was mobbed by cheering fans. The bus sat for minutes then slowly started to move. There was no security and control, the police could do nothing to stop the people and the bus was just surrounded the entire was to town. After about one hour the bus had gone no more than a mile. People were on the highway and cars stopped everywhere to see the buss and the team just couldn't go any faster than a mile an hour. We watched for a couple of hours then we left to go to the metro. The roads were completely blocked with people or cars.

Eventually we got to the center and went to the annex for drinks and we could see the progress on the TV and could tell the bus was still miles away. As we ate at a place up in Plaka, the bus was just starting the run down to the center, but still miles to go. The people gathered at the stadium had been waiting for about 6 hours and the bus was still not there. After dinner we heard that the bus would be at the stadium shortly, we went to Mie Tie for drinks. Finally the bus made it, 7 hours later and the celebrating started again.

We just watched on TV and could see the huge crowds in the street and at the stadium. Some of the players had tried to get off the bus, but couldn't because of the crowds. There was a big firework show and we could hear the cheering miles away. It was a perfect opportunity to test the system and see how it worked in an actual event, but no one would go along with that idea, the system sat idle.

Meeting the Prime Minister Dude:

Something special happened one day while I was at the FB center, Ron got a call saying that the Prime Minister was going to come and everyone was excited, but then a call came that said he wasn't. Ron left and I was there alone with Dimitris when one of the Fire Brigade girls came in and said the Prime Minister was there. Actually it was the deputy Minister, the one on all of the TV commercials that I had seen. He came to view the new command center and see what the situation was. There were a lot of reports on TV and political fighting about the system and he wanted to see what was actually happening.

So I was there and one of the girls in the office came into the command center and said that the visitors were there and they would be coming in. In about five minutes, the small group came in and sure enough, the guy I seen on TV, the head of the Posolk party was there. I shook hands and said hello, he looked around and I stayed out of the way. The commander spoke and showed him around, the visit was short and off they went.

The next day during the morning telecom, the dicks were talking about the visit and how they didn't know in advance and if anyone new about it. I said I was there and met the people when they came into the command center. There was silence on the phone for a minute. I am sure they were thinking of what I said to them and why I was there and not someone else. I was the 'outsider', not one of the minions of corporate.

To the beach:

In early June, I went to the beach in Vouliagmeni with Alex one Saturday. It was really hot and I needed to feel the water. The project was such a mess and I didn't do anything but work, so a little rest was needed. I took the metro to Neo Cosmos and met Alex and we drove down to the beach area and parked. We walked around to find a place and settled on a strip of beach by one of the marinas. It wasn't a nice spot, very dry, open and no shade, but the water was very nice looking. We dumped our stuff and went into the water, it was cold!

Vouliagmeni beach

As most of Greece, the water is not very warm and this was no different. Still I enjoyed the water and Alex did too. We just hung out for a few hours, and then decided to go get something to drink. We ended up at a place by the marina and had a few beers and enjoyed the view out over the water. Some of the mountains on the Peloponnese were in view and some of the islands as well. A nice day of rest, the rest of the time I was inside or on the phone dealing with the crap from the other shits. Any chance to get away was always taken. A lot of the people in the offices had taken trips to other countries or to some of the islands, I seamed to just work.

Wildfire:

Also during the few weeks before the start of the Olympics, a wild fire started in the hills to the north of the stadium area, many homes burned and there was a lot of confusion it seemed. I thought that this would be a good time to test the system, but no one would touch anything we provided, this was what was to come. The fire was major and a lot of homes burned, we watched on TV the fire fight. Again it would have been perfect to use the moble command centers and the system to track the event, but the government would not use the system for anything, if they did they thought that it would be a sign of acceptance.

Weird lunch:

When I was at the FB in Halandre, we would eat at a small taverna a few blocks away. The girl waitress never seemed to care about her job and did a lax job of it. One day a week before the games started, I was there eating, the place was just a few blocks from the Olympic complex and there was always people from the media there eating as well. Four correspondents from a Middle East country were there and had ordered some kabobs. When the girl brought their food, they started to yell at her, she played dumb and the owner came over. The kabobs were chicken, but it was wrapped in bacon. Not very good for the Muslim reporters, they took the food back, but I am sure they just pulled the bacon off and brought it back. They were not happy and I am sure the girl could care less.

Party with Pouliatis:

During the last week of July, I got a call from one of the Pouliatis guys who I worked with and new well, he said that there was a dinner latter in the week and if I could come. Dimitris said it was a "thank you" dinner for the people they worked with and he was going so we decided that I would go with him. It was at the Athens Yacht club by the little harbor, a nice place over looking the water and harbor. Dimitris picked me up at the MOC and drove, I wasn't sure who else would be there, but I liked working with the guys so why not.

When I got there, I found a bunch of the corporate dicks and "the twig", we had drinks out on the veranda and then inside for dinner. Most of the SAIC type sat together at one table, I sat with all Greeks. It was a classic show of who was on whose side. We had dinner and after a few little speeches, I was given a small present (binoculars) and we at our table had a good time.  As for the others, they all seemed to dread being there and didn't want to talk to the others. I always thought that it was so strange that you go and work in a country yet you don't try to see the culture and experience it, what a waste.

Coast Guard:

I spent a lot of time at the Coast Guard Command center prior to the games. I would install software or talk with Tryphon about operations. He would call me and ask if I would come to the center and I would tell the shitheads I was off tot he port. Once I got there Tryphon would say we should go and get a drink at a cafe. So out we go and down the street to one of the many places he knows. We sit and talk and I listen to his broken English and I try to explain things.

After an hour or so we go back to the command center and sit around and talk systems or policy. The others who come in are on their shifts and I am introduced. It is mostly girls since the men are out at the facilities or on boats. Greece is a very sexist country, women do women's work, and men are men. It wasn't bad there, but if I stayed to long Tryphon would want to go out after his shift. That could be an all night thing so I would say I had to go to a meeting and get out by 4:00. Plus the traffic wasn't quite as bad yet at that hour.

The command center was in the Ministry of Mercantile Marine building, the port itself was a little way over. I would walk back to the port itself and pass the boats that would being getting ready for the nightly run to Crete or other far off islands. Around the corner and to the train station, walk on in since I had a monthly pass and get on the next train to the center. I would get off at Monastiraki and I would walk past the annex, this meant a stop for a drink and a quick chat with Silvia or whoever was there. Then I would walk back to the office or in some cases I would just go home. At this time I was so burned out and it didn't matter much if I went back to the office, most people would be off somewhere and there would be no point in returning.

Offsite:

The company also had an "off site" lunch at the end of the project. We all went to a hotel in Vouliagmeni and sat through a bunch of speeches and crap, they had a lunch that was way to American. Rick and the boys were there and some of the contractors, but it was a SAIC crowd which meant it sucked. We joked that the twig got a good rate on the place because she spent so many hours on her back in the different rooms. The place had a pool, but no one was going to swim. We mostly just drank and talked shit about the others.

So it was supposed to be a send off after a good project, but it was really a 'lets get out of here' party. David and Vic were there and I am sure all the dicks noticed that I was hanging with them. By this time I really didn't care and it didn't make much difference either. It was a waste of time and after it was over, I was glad to be heading back to my crowd and leaving the corporate dicks. As you can tell, I have no respect for SAIC.

Torch:

While I was on a day trip out of Athens, I went up the eastern coast of Attica, towards a town called Lamia. On the way I stopped in the small town of Agos Constantinos, which was near the famous site of the battle between the Greeks and Spartans and the Persians. I always liked this little town on the water, it is so relaxing. I continued north and ended up in another small town, there I ran into the relaying of the Olympic torch. It was making its way through Greece and this was the first time I saw it. A guy was running with the torch with motorcycles all around him, a van in front filming and a fire truck, bus and ambulance following. The guy stops, someone else takes the torch and continues. Interesting to see and to think they ran the torch all over the country this way.

Nothing working:

The week before the start of the Olympics, the system was still not working as an integrated system. The components were working, if they ever worked, but the communication was not at 100%. The Greeks and SAIC were arguing over the system and the Greeks decided not to use the system at all. There was talk of locking the Greeks out of the centers, but that was a stupid idea. The last IET was canceled as was the other exercises. After the Olympics is what they said. The last payment would hinge on the system working for the Olympics, they would test it in real-time.

We would go and be on hand at the centers and help if needed, but we were also told that we could not do anything unless we were asked. The government had brought in a bunch of Army troops and the US Navy was near as well. Later I heard that talks with certain groups had gone on in private and no attack was planned. The US had a ton of troops in the area as well as the British. The Israelis’ were also there. So many military people in country, all running around chasing ghost terrorists.