screw viagra - eat watermelon!

it's official. scientists are close to proving that fruit is good for you. especially watermelon.

in greek

in english

too bad this country doesn't really produce any decent watermelons.

sw11

surprise! dimi has moved yet again. i think it's about number 15 in the last 12 years, and it is definitely the 4th place in live in london in the past 2 years. but it's the best one so far, and have been thoroughly enjoying it for the past 7 weeks!

so after a tour in the East (the infamous E17), the West (W14, barons court was not all that bad), the North West (golders green), i am now a resident south of the river, in clapham junction. i love it so far. the combination of northcote road with wandsworth common and me being in the middle of that, is great!

i also just realised why i am getting so restless these days. it's because i have crossed a threshold of staying in the same city (london) and the same job (!) for two years in a row (completed june 13th for london and june 19th for the job) for the first time since...??? i think the last time i stayed in the same place for 2 years in a row was 2000-2002 in athens and have been pretty much a nomad ever since. if i manage to stay in the same flat for 2 years in a row that must really mean i'm growing up then!

the last thought was really not needed, since i'm turning 30 in just 10 days!

robin hood modern version - made in greece

i was wondering when something like this would happen in greece. apparently prices have been going up for years, and salaries not following. so a lot of people nowadays struggle. i was wondering when there's gonna be a protest about. and here it is. a few people waring hoods have started looting supermarkets in athens, subsequently just handing out the products for free to passers by outside. not bad for a start.

the news in greek:

http://www.cosmo.gr/News/Hellas/202249.html

no surprises

a heart that's full up like a landfill
a job that slowly kills you
bruises that won't heal
you look so tired-unhappy
bring down the government
they don't, they don't speak for us
i'll take a quiet life
a handshake of carbon monoxide

with no alarms and no surprises
no alarms and no surprises
no alarms and no surprises
no alarms and no surprises
silent silent

this is my final fit
my final bellyache

with no alarms and no surprises
no alarms and no surprises
no alarms and no surprises please

such a pretty house
and such a pretty garden.

no alarms and no surprises (get me outta here)
no alarms and no surprises (get me outta here)
no alarms and no surprises, please

a few good concerts

yep, it's been a while since i last was on a live concert, and i have to say i had two in the same week!

radiohead, at victoria park on the 25th of june, and bon jovi at twickenham on the 27th. they were both awesome. seen radiohead before in thessaloniki, some 8 years ago, and they were also amazing. this time they skipped a couple of my favourites (street spirit, fake plastic trees), but they put on a great show for the fans. highlights: my iron lung, no surprises, a couple of the new songs in the beginning, karma police (when they let the crowd keep singing at the end "for a minute there, i lost myself, i lost myself...!") and finishing with the ever atmospheric exit music was all great! 40,000 people enjoyed a unique experience.



bon jovi is the only concert i have ever been to that there were only 2 songs i didn't know the lyrics to (and i've been to a few). it was a great show, in american band fashion the crowd was completely involved in the whole thing, singing and dancing for 2 and a half hours. it seems like i've grown up with their songs, and so did the rest of the people there, so the connection was instant. can't even begin to list their songs, i would need two pages. but name anyone of their greatest hits, and they sang it!








in the meantime, i got the news that my best childhood friend - kostas - and his band in italy - 81db - are opening the deep purple concert in torino on july 13th! another great gig to follow then! worth visiting their website and listening to their music! all the best!

το δίμηνο που πέρασε...

λοιπόν, μιας που εξαφανίστηκα, να δώσω τα νέα σε τίτλους, για το τι συνέβη το τελευταίο δίμηνο
- πήγα ελλάδα προς τα τέλη μαϊου για τη βάφτιση της ανιψιάς μου, και πέρασα ωραία, οικογενειακά και με φίλους εννοείται. μόνο ένα 3ήμερο
- είμαι και πάλι ένας σινγκλ
- ΜΕΤΑΚΟΜΙΣΑ (γουάτς νιού?). το 4ο σπίτι μου στο λονδίνο σε 2 χρόνια, αλλά το καλύτερο προς το παρόν. να έρθετε να επισκεφτείτε, οτσέι?
- Α! έκλεισα 2 χρόνια στο λονδίνο και στη δουλειά εδώ. και νομίζω είναι το περισσότερο που έχω μείνει συνεχόμενα στην ίδια δουλειά ή πόλη από το 1997 ! ! ! μισός χρόνος ακόμη και σπάει το ρεκόρ για τα καλά. ρε λες να φύγω?
- είδα 2 πολύ καλές συναυλίες (ακολουθεί πόστινγκ) τους radiohead (για δεύτερη φορά) και τους bon jovi
- παρακολούθησα ολόκληρο το euro, από αρχής μέχρι τέλους, χωρίς τις υπερβολές της ελληνικής τηλεόρασης, την οποία και δεν έχω στο κεφάλι μου. απλά απογοητεύτηκα από την ελλάδα κ ευχαριστήθηκα το τουρνουά
- πήγα μια βόλτα στις βρυξέλλες για ένα Σ/Κ, όπου και πέρασα τέλεια, με παλιούς φίλους
- ετοιμάζω τον εορτασμό της 30ής επετείου (30 χρόνια επιτυχίες!) στη μύκονο, στο τέλος του μήνα

αυτά. ελπίζω να σε δω σύντομα, ονλάιν ή οφλάιν. για στείλε κανένα ημέιλ!

your favourite office chat

come on now, we've all heard that, and none of us loves it. but you can't avoid it. a few months in a corporate environment and you start talking like that. when i catch myself doing this, i laugh at myself though. here are a few favourites, from an online article on the topic:

1. "When I worked for Verizon, I found the phrase going forward to be more sinister than annoying. When used by my boss - sorry, "team leader" - it was understood to mean that the topic of conversation was at an end and not be discussed again."

2. "My employers (top half of FTSE 100) recently informed staff that we are no longer allowed to use the phrase brain storm because it might have negative connotations associated with fits. We must now take idea showers. I think that says it all really."

3. At my old company (a US multinational), anyone involved with a particular product was encouraged to be a product evangelist. And software users these days, so we hear, want to be platform atheists so that their computers will run programs from any manufacturer."

4. "Incentivise is the one that does it for me."

5. "My favourite which I hear from the managers at the bank I work for is let's touch base about that offline. I think it means have a private chat but I am still not sure."

6. "Have you ever heard the term loop back which means go back to an associate and deal with them?"

read the rest of them and the full article here

nowhere to hide

"Damage to forests, rivers, marine life and other aspects of nature could halve living standards for the world's poor, a major report has concluded."

it seems like it's more than an ecologic disaster being caused by deforestation around the globe.

read the article here

online banking fraud alert

if you thought that you can just report it to your bank when your card has been stolen, and everything will be restored as it was before, you might have it a bit wrong there.

an article on times online suggests differently. due to recent changes in the banking code, you should also do your part in ensuring you're not allowing people to have access your credit card details, and therefore to avoid becoming an online fraud victim.

how?

The minimum requirements
1. Firewall
2. Antivirus software
3. Antispyware

read the full article here, it's probably in your interest!

iceland

ok, so this is not such a recent trip, but the posting has been pending since the end of march when i came back from the extraordinary island of iceland. and i couldn't not post it, since this is one of my best trips recently, and also one that i would recommend if you wanna see a "different" country.

i was of course lucky to go at the end of march, for a few good reasons. the day lasts for about 13 hours, not too short, not too long. it's not too cold at that time, although it's still below 0 degrees, but you can still see all the icy landscapes. and it's considered off season, which makes the sky high prices a bit lower, at least on accommodation.

6 days gives you a good idea, but may not be enough if you want to explore more than the standard stuff. i wouldn't do iceland on a weekend though, since you'd only see reykjavik.

3 stays in the capital, 2 stays in akureyri, with trips from both of them, allowed us to see a good part of the country. major highlights are the golden circle, though not so much the geysir, godafoss, lake myvatn, the blue lagoon (worth doing on your way to the airport, really relaxing), both towns we saw had their own beauty. reykjavik has great nightlife and its unique architecture, invites you to walk around and explore it. people are friendly, art is everywhere, and so is design, which shows from restaurants and cafes to hotels and dorms. akureyri in the north had the beauty of a small place that has everything compact, but still manages to keep life exciting for the 17,000 inhabitants and visitors.

we were unlucky not to see the northern lights (apparently some other people saw them the night before we arrived) and not to have a few more days to explore the west fjords, the little island on the arctic circle, do whale watching or see the glaciers and do a bit of jet skiing on them. but you can't have everything in life now, can you?

all in all, i thought it's an impressive country. having to fight the natural elements, ice, cold and earthquakes and volcanos, the icelanders have managed to turn this country into a modern and exciting place, while preserving its uniqueness and beauty. the natural beauty and wonders you see in this country, and the effort the residents have put in order to live with them, are the things that impressed me the most, and make this place a must see.

hope you manage to set foot there and enjoy it!

i'm back

yes, it took two months - but there will be postings later tonight. some travel in april/may, moving houses end of may and no internet in the new place till yesterday, all kept me away from the ones i didn't meet in person.

more to come later tonight.

άλλη μια ποδοσφαιρική χρονιά τελειώνει...

περισσότεροι βαθμοί μέσα στο γήπεδο
περισσότερες νίκες
περισσότερες νικές εκτός έδρας
καλύτερη επίθεση
καλύτερη άμυνα
πρώτος σκόρερ του πρωταθλήματος

γιατί δεν είμαστε πρωταθλητές φέτος λοιπόν?

the news in this country

is everything in the uk so horrible, or is it just the media that are trying to convince us? in either case this is very, very sad. i caught myself reading the news online today, and couldn't help taking this screenshot. have a look at the headlines for yourselves...

πρόοδος

επιτέλους, το μετρο στην αθήνα θα είναι μόνιμα μεχρι αργά παρασκευές και σάββατα βράδυ! woohoo! μετά από απεργίες (από του υπαλλήλους του μετρό, όχι τους οδηγούς ταξί!), διαμαρτυρίες, και πιλοτική φάση, αποφασίστηκε!!!

δεν το πιστεύεις? ούτε εγώ το πίστευα, αλλά το διάβασα!

the REAL marathon

What would you say if i told you a man walked 42km juggling a football on his feet without dropping it? check this out.



the greek article is here