Today's topic: Signs from the Far East!

NBA: I love this game!

NBA : I love this game!

Checkout this video to see why!

Mental health problems...

Here's a great piece sent to me by a friend at MySpace - Props and cheers for the (unknown) writer!!

Recently a friend of mine went a little nuts and had to be put in a state mental institution for a while. Naturally, I was quite worried about him and called to check on his condition. When I called this is what I encountered:

"Hello and thank you for calling The State Mental Hospital. Please select from the following options menu:

If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.

If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.

If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.

If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want, stay on the line so we can trace your call.

If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be forwarded to the Mother Ship.

If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.

If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press, nothing will make you happy anyway.

If you are dyslexic, press 9696969696969696.

If you are bipolar, please leave a message after the beep or before the beep or after the beep. Please wait for the beep.

If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.

If you have low self-esteem, please hang up our operators are too busy to talk with you.

If you are menopausal, put the gun down, hang up, turn on the fan, lie down and cry. You won't be crazy forever.

If you are blonde, don't press any buttons, you'll just mess it up."

My whole problem with this is that there was no option for me. Not one single option started out with "If you are a sexy monkey, press ... whatever!" As you can guess I never got information about my friend! Can you suggest anything?

Another inconvenient truth: Al Gore's Web site hacked

Noone's safe these days...

Another inconvenient truth: Al Gore's Web site hacked
The Web site for Al Gore's film, 'An Inconvenient Truth,' has been hacked.

Robert McMillan (IDG News Service) 27/11/2007 12:24:32

A blog set up to promote former US Vice President Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth," has been hacked and is hosting links to Web sites hawking online pharmaceuticals.

The links appear to have been created as part of a scheme to boost the Web traffic for sites that promote the drugs, security experts said Monday. They contain titles such as "Xanax On Line," "Viagra," and "Buy Valium Online."

Cyber scammers have been using this technique for months now, packing hacked Web sites with links to their products in hopes of bumping up their rankings on search engines such as Google and Ask.com. Another similar tactic, known as "comment spam," involves flooding the comment sections of Web sites with these types of links.

Because search engines give priority to pages that are linked to by very popular pages, adding links from the Inconvenient Truth blog would be a bonanza for scammers, according to Adam Thomas, a malware researcher at Sunbelt Software. The film's blog has "such a high page ranking that they use that as sort of conduit to ... gain a really high Google page rank, and hope that they can find some suckers to buy some medications online," he said.

The climatecrisis.net domain, which hosts the blog, is registered to Al Gore, the star of the 2006 Academy Award-winning documentary on global warming. Not all pages on the site appear to have been compromised, security experts say; just those associated with the blog.

Though the drug-promoting links can be seen by the crawler software used by search engines, most visitors wouldn't even know that they exist. On Monday, they couldn't be seen on the Web page itself, but were visible in the blog's source code -- which only the people who maintain the Web site should be able to alter. The links point to Web pages on a site run by Westmont College, a small Christian college based in Santa Barbara, California. The Westmont College Web site also appears to have been hacked, Thomas said.

The hacked Westmont pages are in an early stage of development, but some of them were hosting blog pages that could ultimately be used to host ads for the drugs or even to link to other sites that actually sold the pharmaceuticals, Thomas said.

Thomas said attackers were most likely able to gain access to the blog by exploiting flaws in the WordPress Web publishing software used by both the Inconvenient Truth blog and Westmont College. Representatives for Al Gore and Westmont College could not be reached immediately for comment.

Once they gained access to the site, criminals could have easily added malicious exploit code to the blog, and that code could have been used to infect visitors' PCs with computer viruses, said Roger Thompson, chief technology officer of Exploit Prevention Labs. "It just shows how tricky it is to secure a Web site," he said. "I think we're a bit lucky it's not shooting exploits."

Linus Larsson of Computer Sweden contributed to this story.

Source : computerworld.com.au

What kind of blogger are you?

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What's your political compass?

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The Importance of Signs!

The following article is an excellent example of how important and how significant are signs in
our lives... if Pt Addis beach had some descent signing no such misunderstandings would occur!
(That's why i have this [bizarre] obsession about signs!!!)

Nude beach sex shock

Rebecca Tucker

25Nov07

A NAKED couple having sex at Pt Addis beach shocked a mother walking with her teenage daughter on Saturday afternoon.

Katrina Simpson said she was on the beach about 12.30pm with her husband and their teenage daughter when they came across the indecent act.

She said the couple was in full view, about 30m to the right of the beach access stairs, in the area designated for full clothing.

The Surf Coast beach is famous for its optional dress code, but that does not begin for about 1km to the left of the steps.

Mrs Simpson said the couple was to the right of the steps in the general access area.

But she said regardless of which section they were in, their sexual activity should not have been on public display.

``I'm not a wowser but I have great respect for our community and this is a community beach,'' Mrs Simpson, a nearby resident for the past 25 years, said.

She telephoned the police after witnessing the incident.

Mrs Simpson earlier this year campaigned for better signage at the beach, raising concerns sunbathers did not know where the optional dress area began.

She said at the time that some male nudists used that as an excuse to parade naked in the general access area.

At the weekend she renewed calls to improve signage, beginning with postings on Pt Addis Rd so people were aware of the different zones before they got to the beach.

Mrs Simpson said apart from the couple having sex at the general access area, her family also came across a naked man reading his newspaper.

``He was still in the wrong area but he covered up with the paper, so at least he was being discreet,'' she said.

``We're coming to the start of the summer season and we're going to have the same issues as last year unless something is done about it.

``It's a national park so we have every right to be there and people may have a right to choose not to wear clothing but they don't have to do it in our face, that's what the other area is for.''

But Mrs Simpson said no area was suitable for public sex.

Source : Geelongadvertiser.com.au

Even more hilarious signs!

...and today's winner is...

Wis. man upset over beer shoots goats

What a wonderful world...

Wis. man upset over beer shoots goats

WAUPACA, Wis. - A man who was upset with his wife for not buying beer took vengeance by shooting the family's two pet goats, prosecutors say.

Peter W. Mischler, 48, was charged this week in Circuit Court with mistreatment of animals, possession of a firearm while intoxicated and disorderly conduct with a dangerous weapon.

The complaint said Mischler came home Monday from hunting and became angry with his 22-year-old daughter for letting the goats out and making a mess. While she was talking on the phone to her mother, authorities said, he told her to tell his wife to bring home some beer, but his wife refused because she was already on her way home.

He then threatened to shoot the goats, according to the complaint. After his wife arrived home, she and the daughter heard four gunshots.

"He shot both of them. He killed Flash, and the officer had to kill Chloe," the daughter, Megan Mischler, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "I really don't understand why he shot them — they didn't deserve it."

She said her father had been most angry about the mess the goats made, not the beer.

The family is now grieving the loss of the two goats, Megan Mischler said.

"We took those goats swimming, we took them to Dairy Queen to get ice cream, they were completely leash-trained," she said, her voice trembling. "They were more than goats to us, they were more like a dog. And they didn't deserve this."

Peter Mischler was released on $1,000 bond. When The Associated Press called the home Wednesday evening, his wife said her husband was not available for comment.

Source : news.yahoo.com

Nea Makri's hot Metal act : Tardive Dyskinesia

Some Metal for today... my hometown's (Nea Makri,Greece) best Metal act : Tardive Dyskinesia! Formed in 1997 (as Override) ,playing a unique kind of Metal which is kinda difficult to be described,the best description though could be something like Alternative/Progressive/Death Metal the "Messughah" type... Got only one cd out at the moment ("Distorted Point of View",2005),currently rehearsing for their second coming out early 2008. They're signed in Venerate Industries,an Indie Greek label. They're also unlucky of being Greek, if they were playing in whatever other European country or in the U.S. they would be one of the brand names in their scene...

Here's their videoclip "Accelerated (R)evolution" from their debut cd "Distorting Point of View"

You can download it (mp4,17,49MB) HERE

Tardive Dyskinesia's LINKS

Tardive Dyskinesia at MySpace

Tardive Dyskinesia at Soundclick

Enjoy!

Today's top story : Bloc shocked at sex Party

Bloc shocked at sex Party

Bloc Party had to interrupt a gig in Holland recently after they saw a couple in the crowd having sex!

Lead singer Kele Okereke claims that the band had to leave the stage in Utrecht after the rest of the crowd followed the amorous couples' lead.

"There was a couple having sex in front of us in Utrecht," Kele told the Daily Mirror.

"I climbed up into the balcony and they were doing it on the floor. I said something into the mic and everyone started cheering.

"At first the couple looked embarrassed and then they just carried on. Next, everyone just started making out with each other. We had to leave the stage because it was getting so everyone was having sex.

Okereke added: "Apparently there are laws against that sort of thing, but I know there is a lot of latent erotic energy in how we perform so I wasn't surprised."

Source : ananova.com

Ahhh,Holland... Such a great country!!!

Tip of the day : How to Flirt in Church

While surfing wikihow today i came across this very interesting article... Knowledge is power!

How to Flirt in Church
Meeting a crush in school and flirting is easy. When you have a crush that you see at Church, it is not as easy to flirt with them when sitting in separate pews, and listening to a sermon. There are tricks to connect with a crush at school, and also in Church. This explains how to get in the right position between you and your flirt partner.

Steps

1) Make sure you at least some-what like each other. That will make it easier on you, and the flirt partner. You will not be as pressured and nervous.

2) Right before service, sit with your crush. Once they are sitting they will not be able to change pews.

3) Whisper or grab a pencil and paper before service and pass notes. This usually works, but keep them hidden!

4) Make contact with them after the service, you are both walking out of the pew. Smile and wave goodbye.

5) Speak softly and tell him you will see him next week.

6) Try this for a few weeks, until you get the courage to tell them you would like to meet them outside of Church. Hand them a piece of paper with your phone number. If they take it and call, then you know you have connected. If they just walk away without accepting the paper, look around to flirt with someone else.

Tips

* Grab pencil and paper before the service.
* Make sure they like you (even if its just a little bit).
* Make sure notes are hidden from others eyes.

Warnings

When sitting at the pew that your crush is sitting at, remember to whisper. This is a church and not a playground, and people need to mediate and listen to the sermon.

Source : wikihow.com

Today's topic : Mailboxes!

I could never imagine that mailboxes have such fan... Take a look at this site and judge for yourselves! (You can find some really bizarre stuff at Stumble Upon...)

 

CLICK HERE

Pic of the day

A sign outside a Greek Orthodox monastery in Jerusalem : They've forgotten to mention "no explosives" too...

Video of the day

Video of the day : Monty Python's "Mise Organ" sketch (from "The Monty Python's Flying Circus" TV series). When i first saw it i couldn't stop laughing for hours! Enjoy :)

Define:Workaholic

Now that's the definition of a workaholic...

100-year-old told 'take day off'

Buster Martin said he went back to work because he was bored
A man has turned up for work despite being told to take the day off for his 100th birthday.

Buster Martin began cleaning vans for Pimlico Plumbers despite retiring as a market worker three years ago.

Colleagues at the firm in Lambeth, south London, threw him a surprise party and were treating him to a tour of Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge ground.

Mr Martin said the last time he had a party he was in the desert "getting as drunk as a Lord when I was 21".

He said the secret of his longevity could be due to a pint of bitter every day and daily press ups.

The centenarian was born in France, but came to England as a baby and grew up in an orphanage in Cornwall until 1916.

Moving to London he got his first job helping stall holders on Brixton market before joining the Army at 15 and served a total of 35 years before joining the Navy.

After taking up a wide range of trades, he finally went full circle and was working at Brixton market until he retired aged 97.

Mr Martin, who married in 1920 and had 17 children with his wife, said he took up working again because he became bored.

"Working keeps me active, that's the main thing. If you're active it saves you sitting in a wheelchair," he said.

Talking about how the world had changed in 100 years he said: "It's a bit too fast... I've never owned a telephone and I never will."

Charlie Mullins, of Pimlico Plumbers, said: "Buster's a lot of fun, he's quite a character who's got a million stories."

Source : news.bbc.co.uk

WTF?!?! More hilarious signs!

"Meat & Fish Market "The Fresh" - Frozen Food"

"Fishtavern "Sakis" - Our shop has balconies with mosquito curtains"

(Right Sign) "Fishtavern "The Enema" - Andrew"

But for sure the winner is...

MySpace hacked, exploits target Alicia Keys' page and others

MySpace hacked, exploits target Alicia Keys' page and others

By Thomas Claburn
9 November 2007 12:47PM

Avoid Alicia Keys' Web page on MySpace. It's been hacked..

Roger Thompson, CTO at Exploit Prevention Labs, has found multiple hacked MySpace pages, including the page for Alicia Keys, the social networking site's fourth most popular music artist.

In keeping with what appears to be a new trend among security researchers, Thompson has released a video depicting the hack on YouTube. He has also posted details on his blog.

Visiting the page exposes the visitor to an exploit that installs malware unless the user is fully patched against the most recent security vulnerabilities. "They're using an exploit to install software in the background," Thompson explains in the video.

Even those with patched systems are vulnerable. The hackers have found a way to associate their malicious URL with what would normally be a non-clickable background area on the Web page. The result is that clicks outside specific clickable controls get captured and interpreted as a click on the malicious URL.

"If you click anywhere outside a given control, [the malicious URL] will be the default control that it goes to," Thompson explains. "It's a really interesting technique and it's going to catch a lot of people."

"What's not clear at this point is how they're doing it, and how widespread it is," Thompson says on his blog. "Neither Google nor MySpace seems to be indexing the critical bit of HTML. If you search for the exploit site (co8vd.cn), the only results seem to be victims, or people talking about victims."

In a conversation via instant message, Thompson said that social networking sites are increasingly become vectors of attack. "The whole point of browser stuff is that it bypasses the firewall," he explained.

A spokesperson for MySpace was not immediately available to comment on the attack.

Source : itnews.com.au

The Greek ADSL saga continues...

The Greek ADSL saga continues...

THE FACT For nearly 7 hours (between 10:43am-05:38pm) the bigger part of Greece was unable to access the Internet (me included).What happened
this time? As the "officials" of the NATIONAL ISP(!) said some technicians were performing an scheduled maintenance and broke two fiber cables at THE EXACT SAME TIME(!) in TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS!!!
Way better this time,last year FOUR fiber cables were broken at the same time!!! Anyway,nice fairytale, except...

1) All Greeks know that fiber cables SIMPLY DON'T EXIST in our territory! We had our chance 3 years ago at the 2004 Athens Olympics to built
a (really) great network but the money just weren't enough for our enlightened "officials" (this is called "miza" in Greek thus bribing or better "black money").
Our government preferred to buy some more fighter planes in a great bargain price...

2) After about an hour from when the initial incident happened our always-telling-the-truth National channels said that "the damage will be soon fixed" and that "the
problem is accessing foreign ip's and NOT domestic ones!! True - i saw it myself! On the other hand we must be the only country worldwide
with racist fiber cables! Or perhaps they are jealous of the Chinese or Afghanistan's internet policies...

3) Another SLIGHT DETAIL : This EXACT SAME INCIDENT happened TWICE before in the PAST 30 DAYS!!!
Ofcourse it was fixed in a shorter time period than today (1h30min/27min accordingly) but noone mentioned that the problem was "due to the cutting of a fiber
cable"...

CONCLUSION : There isn't a SINGLE MOMENT of boreness in this country...

SUGGESTION : New Democracy's (Government Party) new sign could be something like this...

UPDATE 07:38pm (Greeks only!) Visit this excellent link!!


OTE

CRITICAL UPDATE 08:34pm The majority of Greeks are unable to use p2p programs!!! This must be called THE ULTIMATE ISP THROTTLING!!!

ULTRA MAJOR UPDATE 11:28pm Everything is back to normal again! Until next time...

Nikolas Sarkozy

French President,Nikolas Sarkozy speaking at the G8 press conference last June. The BIG question here : was he drunk or not? Watch the two following videos and judge for yourself...

(Note : French television never played the first video - it's from a TV show held in Belgium.)

I would like an Greek Prime Minister to be like him...

Greece,Politicians,Police and Drugs

Today's (or to be exact yesterday's) top Greek story is the following

Search Operation Underway
05 Nov 2007 15:14:00 (Last updated: 05 Nov 2007 21:27:07)

Sources: ΝΕΤ, ΑNA-ΜPA

The police have launched an extensive search operation in Zoniana, Rethymno, after a convoy of police cars on their way to the village to search for drugs was attacked Monday by gunmen. Three special guards serving on Crete were injured. Greek Police chief Anastasios Dimoshakis and Police Inspector for Southern Greece Lieutenant General Christos Drakopoulos have already arrived at the crime scene to coordinate the operations. The whole area has been cordoned off, with the policemen scouring the place. Special guard Efstathios Lazaridis, 25, shot in the neck, underwent a surgery at the Heraklion Hospital. The other two special guards, who were transferred to the Rethymnon Hospital, suffered minor injuries. While visiting the two special guards, Dimoshakis termed the incident as unprecedented for the Greek standards, clashing with both Crete’s history and the Greek culture. "The Greek Police will assume its responsibilities. We have to implement legitimacy," he concluded.

Sanidas Intervenes

Supreme Court Prosecutor G. Sanidas ordered the police forces to complete their investigation at Zoniana, asking in parallel from the Deputy Prosecutor in Rethymno to see that the culprits are discovered.

Meanwhile, 75 EKAM (Special Anti-terrorism Unit) men on a C 130 cargo aircraft landed in Crete on Monday evening. Their orders are to keep law and order at Zoniana and search for arms.

At the same time, Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos has contacted the 25-year-old guard’s family and ordered the police to transfer any close members of the guard’s family to Crete.

On the occasion of the attack, KKE (Greek Communist Party) issued a written announcement, pointing out that the organized underworld enjoys the support of strong back up.

SYRIZA (Coalition of Radical Left) also released an announcement, offering its sympathy to the injured police officers, wishing them speedy recovery.
"Police has to place emphasis on issues pertaining to the citizens’ protection from similar attacks and combat the trade in precursor drugs. Such activities do not reflect the society of the Crete, which is bound to stand up to similar violent cases," concluded the announcement.

The Bloody Incident

The case goes back to last Friday, when a 24-year-old man was arrested in Rethymno, while his cousin managed to escape. Both men had in their possession a substantial amount of hashish and cocaine. Heraklion police asked for aid from the police in Rethymno in order to search the homes of the arrested man and his cousin, who is wanted in Zoniana. A police convoy of 12 4x4 with over 40 policemen set off for Zoniana, where about 500 metres out of the village they received a barrage of fire, from Kalashnikof assault rifles by gunmen, who injured the three special guards.

Source : news.ert.gr

Let's look up some interesting facts...

1) Drug-related deaths have been increased by 1800% in the last 15 years. (Source:"Kathimerini" newspaper)

2) Three years ago over 300 hashish trees were found at a field belonging at the University of Rethymnon,the interesting part being that the trees were watered by the University's employees and the water bills were payed by the University.

3) All people know what's happening (all over Greece,it's not just Crete) but noone wants to speak for obvious reasons.

4) The whole yesterday's operation was hold secret,the policemen who took place in the (fiasco) operation were noticed 10 minutes before it started! 'Till then the only thing they knew was that they were about to escort a money transfer! (Apparently the bad guys knew better).

5) After today's fiasco everyone relevant or irrelevant had on opinion to express (most of them telling the obvious for Greece's reality "everyone knows what's going on") except the ones who should have an opinion,thus the Prime Minister and his Government who noone knows where they are onca again... (Notice:Anyone can have his personal beliefs about President Bush but as i (and all of us) have seen it's the first to appear when anything serious happens.I think we're the only country which it's Prime Minister never talks to the public! It's not that he don't want to inform the public,it's that he's busy finding the right solution!).

Conclusion : Another operation with 70 SWAT and a police helicopter is scheduled for today's morning (as all TV channels said).Let's hope it doesn't end up like Bagdad...

Innovative writing

Some really innovative writing for today as the title suggests... the TOP 3 Personal Ads!

And the winner is...

About Condoms...

While reading today's news i came across this interesting story...

Ethiopia tackles Aids with coffee-flavour condoms

David Batty and agencies
Saturday November 3, 2007
The Guardian

Doctors have long argued about the health effects of coffee, but its reputation seems likely to receive a boost thanks to a flavoured condom that aims to encourage safer sex in Ethiopia.
Around 300,000 of the coffee condoms were sold in a week when they were launched in September, according to the US charity DKT International.

It hopes to tap into Ethiopia's coffee mania as a means to tackle high rates of HIV in the country, which is said to have invented the drink.

The charity said that with 2.1% of Ethiopians infected with Aids - and more than 7% in the capital, Addis Ababa - the flavoured prophylactic was more than a novelty. "Everybody likes the flavour of coffee," said a spokeswoman.
The condoms are sold in packs of three for 1 birr, or about about half the price of a cup of coffee in Addis Ababa's cafes, and much cheaper than most other condom brands.

The dark brown condoms are made to smell like Ethiopia's popular macchiato, an espresso with a generous amount of cream and sugar.

"It is about time to use an Ethiopian flavour for beautiful Ethiopian girls," said Dereje Alemu, 19, a university student.

The product was developed after complaints by some users about the latex scent of plain condoms.

DTK has introduced flavoured condoms in other parts of the world in an attempt to appeal to local tastes.

These include condoms scented with the infamously stinky durian fruit in Indonesia, and sweetcorn-fragranced condoms in China. The charity's latest condom has attracted some criticism in deeply conservative Ethiopia.

"It's inappropriate," said Bedilu Assefa, a spokesman for the Ethiopian Orthodox church, whose millions of followers are encouraged to abstain from sex outside marriage. "We're proud of our coffee."

But even those not sold on the idea of coffee condoms recognise the importance of safe sex. "I hate coffee-flavoured condoms," said Tadesse Teferi, 37, a mechanic. "But I use ordinary condoms when I have sex with ladies other than my wife."

Source : Guardian.co.uk

...which made me wonder : has anyone ever thought of an alcohol flavoured condom? A possible question in a drugstore could be...

"What's your favorite? Martini,Absolut or Jim Beam?"

The Allmighty Greek ADSL Adventure

Let's begin with a listing of some useful info and stats...

-I live in Nea Makri which is a city 32Kms away from Athens,Greece's capital and host of the 2004 Olympic Games.

-DSL (we only have ADSL to be accurate) arrived in Greece in May 2003; As a completely new technology for the Greek standards it had to overcome some serious (technical) difficulties... Luckily it arrived at my small town in Jan 2004.

-I was one of the first (Feb 2,2004) to have a "fast" internet connection with the lightning speed of 384/128 kbps... (real speed approx. 290/100 kbps based on over 10 different ADSL speed tests) paying the incredible small amount of 61 Euros ($78) per month.

-Things were always going smooth with a slight problem lasting for over 45 days (Jun-Jul 2004) when the actual speeds went down to Pstn dial-up level... Nothing extraordinary happened,as we learned 3 months later (!) some innovative men had put 120 ports where the maximum limit was 60... No apologies from my ISP,no refunding,no comment...

And after some other slight problems not worthy mentioned here,we came to last week...

Thu Oct 25 : At about 5:30 pm i discover my router's led flashing... Got ADSL ok but the router couldn't get an IP,thus i don't have internet connection...

Step 1 : Called my ISP since i thought it was a common malfuction at their end (not that something serious has happened,in the last 10 days it occured only 3 times). Told me everything was fine at their end,it had to be something at mine,so i must call the "ADSL Help Desk" (that's NOT a translation,it's how we call it in Greece!) to inform me about the status of my line...

Step 2 : Called the "ADSL Help Desk" which informed me that i should wait it out,such things are common (!) but just to be sure i must call the telephone company and inform them about my line's malfuction.

Step 3 : Called the telephone company and informed them about my problem.

**IMPORTANT NOTICE! I forgot to mention that i use the internet for the needs of my work too!**

-1st call 6:30 pm : "Thank you for informing us,we forward your problem to our digital center,if it's something that can be fixed by them it will be fixed shortly".

-2nd call 8:30 pm : Same as above.

-3rd call 9:45 pm : Same as above plus "we're closing shortly (yes,they close at 10pm!!),unfortunately you must wait 'till tomorrow".

Fri Oct 26 : -1st call 9:15 am : "We have no newer information from our digital center".

-2nd call 4:00 pm : "Our digital center reports that your problem was fixed in 3:15pm!"
"But it isn't!!"
"Ahh,it isn't? This things happen,no problem,we'll report your situation again at our digital center".

-3rd call 7:30 pm : "We don't have any further notice from our digital center".

-4th call 9:35 pm : "We don't have any further notice from our digital center,unfortunately we're closing shortly"
"And what shall i do now???"
"If it's done until our closing time OK,otherwise you must wait 'till Monday.Someone from our digital center will call you to fix a meeting (!) inside the next two working days (if the problem can't be fixed from our digital center)".

Sat Oct 27 : No calls were made - as well known nothing works in Greece during the weekends...

Sun Oct 28,Greece's National Holiday : 10:53am (Still asleep since i work at nights and since i'm a night type of guy) : First my cell rings (ignored it),then my standard phone (again ignored it), then my cell again (decided to take it since i thought something serious has occured)
"Hello,we're from the digital center,is your problem fixed?"
"Just a minute to take a look,unfortunately no"
"Ahh,OK no problem,we'll check it out" (!)
"And what happens next?"
"If it's something that can be fixed from here OK,otherwise someone will call you to arrange a meeting in the next two working days"

**IMPORTANT NOTICE** How come they work on a Sunday which happens to be a National Holiday too? Simple... working overtime is payed double!

Mon Oct 29 : 9:15 am called the telephone company : "We don't have any updates from our digital center".

9:45 am : At a moment of despair i decided to call again my ISP since i thought my problem (perhaps) was due to my router (despite i checked it about 97 times 'till then)

"Hello,has anyone ever reported having problems with his connection due to his router?"
"Ahh,many times,it's a rather too common problem"
"OK,thanks,i'll try buying a new one,you never know,i'm desperate"
"It's better to wait for the techs to see it,why spent your money for no reason?" (words of wisdom as i discovered later...)
"I don't care about the kind of money i'm about to spent,i want my connection!"
"I understand,what can i say,all the best"

11:00 am : Bought two (!) routers : One from the "official" shop of my phone company (never heard of that brand before but it was the only one available, right after it made a great gift!!) and an ADSL2+ (despite we don't have ADSL2+ in Nea Makri!) expensive one just for my testing purposes (for the records: i kept it - hope i'll need it in the near future,thus before 2100...).
A total expense of 90,80 Euro ($130) for nothing as it proved so a little later...

12:30 pm : Returned home and found out that my connection (and router) were working fine!!! (Ofcourse noone called me from the "digital center"...). I must be the only Greek who had an 832/224 kbps connection (the standard is 768/192 kbps)!!! Must have been a reward for my patience...
**NOTICE** As i've seen in my router's log various connection attempts (done & failed ones) were made before "stabilizing" to this speed...

1:10 pm : In my extreme happiness of being able to use my connection again after 4+ days i decided to upgrade to 2048/256 kbps,which is the fastest speed available in my area (for only 29,50 Euros ($40) per month,a major progress considering it had about 70 Euros ($100) not so long ago...). So i called my phone company,gave my personal info etc.
"Ok, when you'll upgrade my connection then?"
"In 10-12 days max"
"I don't want to think that we'll have any issues with my connectivity,eh?"
"No sir,your connection will be down for about 3-5 hours max (!) for our technicians to perform the necessary upgrades"

Wondering what happened? My connection upgraded on Thu Nov 1,9:12 am and the whole process took 1:47 minutes...

**IMPORTANT NOTICE** A good friend of mine (also living in Nea Makri) is still waiting for his connection to upgrade after 9 days...

CONCLUSION

One thing's for sure about ADSL in Greece : You'll NEVER get bored...