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[humbert]

Here in San Antonio so far we're experiencing a cooler than usual summer. There has been much more rain than usual, and so far I have yet to see the temp rise above 33°C. Normally this time of year 38° to 40° is the norm. California, by comparison, is hot as hell with temps reaching 46° in the northern part, away from the ocean.

Scarface - how does it feel inside your tiny apartment when the temp reaches 42°? You must feel like a pizza baking.

@Harkaz - That Greece would default and miss its first (and future) payment was a sure as sunrise. The deadline was due and they did not have the money. All we can do now is wait and see what happens. BTW do me a favor - if Drachma notes (paper bills) reach denominations of [for example] 10⁷ or higher, save me one of those notes, I want to buy it from you. I got the idea from a TV interview - one guy who was heavily into Bitcoins had in his wallet a Zimbabwean note for 10¹² (or higher) Zimbabwe dollars.

[Shadow.97]

26C in my hometown today. Expected to get over 32 on thursday/friday.
This is torture for me.. How do you all survive..?
Currently sitting in my cold basement.. It's really nice after being in the hot sun/shadow but not in the cold, for 12~hours.

[harkaz]

@humbert I really hope we don't get to such inflation. It depends, of course, on how many Greeks are willing/capable to work for (almost) nothing to rebuild the economy. Greece has much more assets than Zimbabwe, so it's reasonable to presume that the economy will recover after some time.

Still, my basic scenario for the Greek referendum is that voters will say yes by a small majority.
After that a new government will be formed and try to negotiate the new bailout terms. Since we'll have only 14 days before the ECB bond matures, the new goverment will blindly accept the new measures, which will be much harsher due to the financial collapse caused by capital controls. The banks will not open until negotiations are over.

I believe this will cause civil unrest and a collapse of the government due to violent protests.
Greece will then default to ECB and will be kicked out of the Eurosystem, permanently.

[scarface]

I agree with mr Fuj, it is better to be in the countryside when it's very hot.
Tonight it's 32 degrees here despite the open window, have only slept for 1h.

[humbert]

@Scarface - I asked about your "tiny" apartment based on your posts about the size of dwellings in Paris. This is why I was under the impression it wasn't much more than a small box. Honestly it's pretty nice. There's more than enough room for just one person, and the rent you pay is reasonably priced given your location. And yes I'm aware of the fact that many people in underdeveloped countries have to cram like sardines into a small space. It's also true many of these people breed like rabbits. In the example you gave (Phillipines) I'm thinking the Catholic church makes birth control difficult. They have a stranglehold on that country.

I'm not too clear what the Youtube clip you linked is all about. While we're on the subject, if you're on Firefox I strongly urge you to download and install "Youtube All HTML5" and in the settings click "Disable Flash on Youtube". It does what it says and it works great.

@Harkaz - Regarding the referendum in Greece, does "Yes" mean stay in the Eurozone and tough it out, and "NO" means reject the creditors demands and leave the Eurozone? Did Tsipras promise to resign is the "No" wins?

As for the heat, do you guys have air conditioning at home? My question isn't so much based on whether or not you can afford it, but rather on the fact that these heat waves are the exeption and not the norm, so I'm thinking there might be no A/C. Did you at least run out and buy a fan?

[harkaz]

@humbert Greferendum is about who has control over Greece, in my opinion. If we vote no we choose that our government has full control and must ignore any requests/decisions made by creditors against our country interests.

This, of course, has many risks but the Greek people may be willing to take them.

Many Greeks of course think about austerity which is wrong.

On the other hand, a yes vote would certainly be marginal and an anti-EU revolt cannot be excluded shortly after the referendum, due to the financial collapse.

Tsipras is nothing more than a populist and can't promise anything for real.

[Shadow.97]

@humbert Greferendum is about who has control over Greece, in my opinion. If we vote no we choose that our government has full control and must ignore any requests/decisions made by creditors against our country interests.

This, of course, has many risks but the Greek people may be willing to take them.

Many Greeks of course think about austerity which is wrong.

On the other hand, a yes vote would certainly be marginal and an anti-EU revolt cannot be excluded shortly after the referendum, due to the financial collapse.

Tsipras is nothing more than a populist and can't promise anything for real.

If you're in need of supplies, money or anything really. Tell me and I'll do my best to help out. Assuming that the mail still works..?

[harkaz]

Thanks for your offer Shadow.97. The situation will be very difficult here rather soon.

(However, I may not have an Internet connection in a few weeks).

[Shadow.97]

Thanks for your offer Shadow.97. The situation will be very difficult here rather soon.

(However, I may not have an Internet connection in a few weeks).

If you need any support, mental or anything. I'll be reachable by phone or anything that you can possibly reach me on. Best of luck brother!

[harkaz]

@humbert The Yes/No(ΝΑΙ/ΟΧΙ) answer essentially boils down to debt viability. ΝΑΙ means that Greeks accept the debt "as is" and no haircut is required. The referendum's question states not veyr clearly: Do you accept the Eurogroup debt viability analysis?. If we choose No marginally, the spotlight will be on the European political leadership to find a solution.

A marginal ΝΑΙ vote has the advantage of calming our creditors down and probably enables them to sell a possible debt restructuring to their audience, although the Greek people would have voted that the debt is viable (paranoia). However, Greeks will not accept any further austerity measures under the current political elite.

The only way to get forward: let the politicians fail as badly as possible. If YES/NO percentages are around 50/50, no matter which answer prevails, the political pressure will be huge. Failure is imminent.
It is going to be very painful but parasitism will be hopefully dead, once and for all.