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.