Devanahalli Dairies

It was our third trip to the new airport at Devanahalli in a week. This time what was different was that we decided to try the public transport system. What we had in our favour was that the flight for which we were traveling to the airport was to take off at 7am for Delhi! After back calculating and after being informed that the bus would take 1 hour and 55 minutes, we planned to leave at 4am. That, as per calculations, would mean that my parents would be in the airport by 6am, just in time for the check-in process. Since there are buses from the airport at every hour, we could catch the 6am bus back home! Simple? Well, heres what happened.

We waited at the Jeevan Bima Nagar Bus stand for the Volvo that was to depart at 4am. There was another Vayu Vajra (non-A/C bus) standing there which was to depart at 3:30. Finally at 3:50, the conductor came to us and said that his bus would depart at 3:30! So we got on, suitcases placed neatly on the seats. The ticket price for this bus is INR 80 per head. There were only 5 passengers in the entire trip. The Vayu Vajra bus went painfully slow. All along the route we were being overtaken by cars from either side. Yet, the bus was traveling at 65kmph!!! We reached the airport in 55 minutes. The airport was alive with the international flights still coming in/departing.

After saying our goodbyes, we searched for the bus BIA-S3 which would take us back to the Jeevan Bima Nagar bus stand. There was a Volvo that was to depart at 5am, so we went and sat in it. At precisely 5:07 the bus left the airport with 6 passengers on board. The ticket price for this bus is INR 150 per head. On the way back, the Volvo bus travelled with immense speed and was at its destination at 5:55 (48 minutes traveling time). We were back home by 6:00am! Not bad I'd say!

For all the information of the BIAL bus routes, on-line booking, offline booking and more visit the BMTC BIAL site. For the route map of the BMTC BIAL service, visit the official BIAL site.

Euro 2008 - Day 1 Results

Today's predictions:

Austria 1 - 2 Croatia

Germany 3 - 0 Poland

Yesterday's results:

Switzerland 0 - 1 Czech Republic

Portugal 2 - 0 Turkey

Random thoughts

I had started this post writing about the messy traffic situation in Bangalore. As I typed out each line, I seemed to raise my own blood pressure. The keys on my keyboard were feeling the effects. Having written about two paragraphs, I gave up. There is just no solution to this mess they call traffic here. Even if the infrastructure is improved, the people here are just so mentally tuned to drive crazily that an improvement is not in sight.

So after a difficult two paragraphs, I selected all the text I had typed out and erased it. It was just not worth it. I was letting my blood boil, when clearly theres nothing that can be done to improve the situation in the next decade atleast. So why let it affect you? So I decided to chuck all that and write about happy things. Happy thoughts for happy people.

The weekend is almost here. The plan is to go to Innovative Film City, Bidadi tomorrow and maybe even try to go see the Sholay site at Ramanagaram.

In football news, there is a controversy brewing about the reason why England was not able to qualify for the Euro 2008. Sepp Blatter seems to feel that because there are so many foreigners in the English clubs, the budding English players don't really get a chance to play and improve. That certainly makes sense to me. Even in the IPL there is a restriction of 4 foreign players per team (and I think that should stay). If this kind of rule comes into effect in England, some budding English players should get a chance to perform.

The Euro 2008 starts tomorrow. I will put up predictions for each match on the day before and results of the matches after they happen. Lets see what kind of accuracy level I can achieve. As with every big tournament, many of the international players who perform well will suddenly find themselves in the transfer market. Big clubs will try to lure the best performers.

Prediction:
Switzerland 2 - 0 Czech Republic
Portugal 3 - 0 Turkey

Euro 2008 is here

From June 7 to 29, 2008 soccer fanatics would get more than an eye-full when the big guns of Europe (sans England) get set to clash in the Euro 2008 to be held jointly by Austria and Switzerland. The finals will be played on the 29th of June (what a way for me to celebrate my birthday!) in Vienna. Lets preview the tournament shall we?

Group A: Switzerland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Turkey
Switzerland -> The team boasts of a stoic defense, so much so, that they did not leak a single goal during the group stages of the World Cup finals in 2006. They even managed to top their group, which had France and South Korea (who can forget their dream run in the 2002 world cup). The team should not be under-estimated at all.
Players to look out for - Phillipe Senderos, Alexander Frei, Hakan Yakin, Pascal Zuberbühler

Czech Republic -> A team which has already lived through it's Golden Age and not won anything of significance. They need to play out of their skin to go through the first round. Certainly an aging team, and with Thomas Rosicky missing things look bleak for them.
Players to look out for - Petr Čech, Milan Baroš, Tomáš Ujfaluši

Portugal -> Certainly one of the favourites to lift the cup, they look strong with an excellent coach at the helm. Christiano Ronaldo has just completed a dream season with Manchester United. The forward line is the only area of concern. However, the team can be sure of an impregnable defence and a very creative mid-field (so chances will surely be created). They should sail through the group stage with ease.
Players to look out for - Cristiano Ronaldo, Simão, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Nani, Deco

Turkey -> A team that blows hot and blows cold, depending on how they feel on the day. On their day, they can take on the best and come out on top, but on their off day they could be simple walkovers. The trick for Turkey would be that they would need to gel as a single unit. With Switzerland, Czech Republic and Turkey vying for a single spot in the second stage, it makes for a mouth-watering contest.
Players to look out for - Nihat Kahveci, Colin Kazim-Richards, Hamit Altıntop


Group B: Austria, Croatia, Germany, Poland
Austria -> There are always those that have argued that the host nation should not have automatic qualification. On this occassion, most of those against automatic qualification would be English! The Austrian team has very little to talk about, and being in the same group as Germany and Croatia they certainly must be sweating now.
Players to look out for - Martin Stranzl

Croatia -> The team that famously prevented England from qualifying for Euro 2008 has a tactically sound manager leading them. The team has done very well as a unit during qualification, ending up the winners of Group E. Having had a good qualification run is one thing, but turning it into a magical Euro 2008 is quite another. Lots is expected of this team, and getting past the group stage is only the begining.
Players to look out for - Dario Šimić, Niko Kovač, Darijo Srna, Ivan Klasnić

Germany - Another one of the favourites to lift the cup. Many pundits have Germany as the top team of the Euro 2008. The team looks strong with most of the young brigade having already gained a lot of international exposure and success. The loss in the semi-final of the World Cup 2006 at home was heartbreak, and the German team is out to correct that. They would need Michael Ballack to be at his inspirational best.
Players to look out for - Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Hitzlsperger

Poland - Surprise winners of group A in the qualifications, but would they be able to sustain their momentum against the likes of Germany and Croatia? With only the top two teams from each group going through to the next round, Poland's chances are bleak, especially having seen their World Cup performance in 2006. However, two years is a lot of time to improve, and lets hope they provide some entertainment.
Players to look out for - Euzebiusz Smolarek


Group C: Netherlands, Italy, Romania, France - The group of death
Netherlands - The Orange brigade is looking strong, with coach Marco van Basten haven buried the hatchet with Ruud van Nistelrooy. The team is on a roll, creating chances and finishing them well. Of course, this group is not an easy one to qualify from. The dutch would have to get past the Italian defence and the French guile to have a chance of progressing.
Players to look out for - Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben,Rafael van der Vaart, John Heitinga

Italy - The World Champs have just had their first shock of the tournament, and it has not gotten underway yet. Their inspirational captain Fabio Cannavarro is out with an injury and will take no part in the Euro 2008. What a loss! Suddenly the much fabled Italian defence does not look so miserly. The strike force still looks good, but the mid field seems to be aging fast. Being in a tough group, means no easy matches and now their chances don't look so good after all.
Players to look out for - Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo

Romania - Certainly the bashing boys of Group C, they must consider themselves extremely lucky if they manage to get a single point. They have no easy match, having to play France, Italy and Netherlands (in that order). Progression to the next round is a dream for them.
Players to look out for - Cristian Chivu, Adrian Mutu

France - A team that has overcome the shock World Cup of 2002 and looks to be playing good creative football again. Their World Cup 2006 campaign was much better, as they peaked at the right time to reach the finals. They are looking good, but some players like Maluda and Henry have had a nightmare season and are struggling to find form. With no easy games in the group stage, their work only becomes tougher!
Players to look out for - Karim Benzema, Thierry Henry, Patrice Evra, Franck Ribéry


Group D: Greece, Sweeden, Spain, Russia
Greece - The current Euro champions have not had the best time after their fantastic Euro 2004, in which they defeated Portugal and France. Most of the squad has aged and is looking fragile. However, they are in a relatively easier group and so no one can write them off.
Players to look out for - Angelos Basinas, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Angelos Charisteas

Sweeden - Nothing can define their desperation more than their recall of 36 year old, mutiple-retiree, Henrik Larsson to their squad. they have always done well in the qualifications but never done well in the main events. Somehow they manage to get into the second round, and then play like their target has been achieved and nothing else is required of them. This time around, they might want it to be different.
Players to look out for - Henrik Larsson, Olof Mellberg, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Sebastian Larsson, Christian Wilhelmsson

Spain - Another team that has a long history of doing exceedingly well in the qualifications and the first round of big events, but faltering there-after. Spain is so full of talented football players that its quite a rude shock that they have not won a prestigious cup in a long long time. Once again they promise a lot, whether or not they deliver is something else. The forward line looks lethal led by an in-form Fernando Torres. The mid field is as usual silky with the likes of Xavi. The defence is rock solid led by Carlos Puyol. Another contendor for the tournament for sure.
Players to look out for - Iker Casillas, Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fàbregas, José Manuel Reina

Russia - Guus Hiddink is known to work wonders. He took South Korea on that magical run in the World Cup 2002 to the semi-finals. He led Australia to the World Cup finals for the first time in 2006. Now he manages Russia. Being in an easy group, gives Russia a realistic chance of moving into the next round. They would, however, have to work very hard for that to materialise.
Players to look out for - Andrei Arshavin, Sergei Ignashevich

Heres hoping for a fabulous Euro 2008. May the best team win. Cheers!

The Bangalore International Airport - Part II

Well well well. So I had another experience with the much criticized new Bangalore International Airport. I had had my first experience last Saturday and it was a pleasant one. You can read about it here.

Now the experience I had yesterday was going to be a real test because I was to travel to receive dad on a weekday. Anyone who has stayed in Bangalore for even a day would realise the kind of traffic I am referring to when I say that we were to leave home at 8pm. The flight was to land at 10pm, so I thought that would give us enough time to get to the airport.

We went via the Old Madras road route. Thanks to a friend, I learnt of a new route, and avoided the jam at the under-bridge on the Old Madras road. We cut into NGEF colony and went onto join the Outer Ring Road beyond the flyover. From there, even though there was a lot of truck traffic, we were at Hebbal in 45 minutes. From Hebbal the new airport is a cool 23 kms. Since that lies on the National Highway to Hyderabad, we managed to cover the distance in good time and made it to the airport in a total time of 1 hour and 20 minutes! The best part is that the last 8kms is off the highway and in the airport complex, so is very smooth.

I once again found the airport to be very well done up. It looks an impressive structure and the movement of passengers is much smoother than the old dilapidated airport. There are a few things I noticed that could be improved, but then the airport only just opened up so it should be given some time to come up to full steam.

The journey back was even more pleasant. We left the airport at 3 minutes past 11pm and travelled with our windows down, enjoying the cool Bangalore winds. We went straight through Hebbal this time and headed to Mekri circle. Before we knew it, we had reached Ulsoor and then was the home stretch. We managed to make it home (without crossing the speed limits anywhere) in 55 minutes!!!

Now I must point out that the old airport was a mere 2 kms from my house, so if anyone should have a grouse about the airport shifting 45 kms away, it should have been me. But I believe, the new airport makes air travel more comfortable and so travelling an hour to get to the airport is a small price to pay. Lets look at Singapore and Malaysia (the only two countries I have been to outside India) and you will notice that the airport is outside the main city. In Malaysia, the international airport is 50kms south of Kuala Lumpur and it takes over an hour to get to the city. Similarly in Singapore the international airport is 20kms from the commercial center and it takes almost an hour to reach the airport there.

If Bangalore is to grow practically and expand logically, the citizines have to realise that the airport should not be in the city center. As responsible citizines, we should all give the new airport some time to grow. After all, no new venture is perfect when it is launched, there will be some teething problems which can be resolved with time. It is certainly a better experience than the old airport, where at peak times people would be packed in like sardines, much like the peak time traffic on Mumbai locals!

I would like to end by mentioning that I am not in favour of the UDF (User Development Fees) being levied on the passengers.

Mr. Modi - What do we watch now?

The Indian Premier League तमाशा is finally over! Before the IPL started, there was a lot of debate on whether it would be a success or a failure, or maybe even a moderate entertainer. All those debates and discussions were put to rest on the first night itself. Bangalore Royal Challengers played host to the Kolkatta Knight Riders. It was an entertainment carnival of sorts, with some excellent fireworks (from the bat of Brendon Mccullum). After the first match was over, the voices of the masses were unianimous: The IPL is going to be a runaway success. It's here to stay!

I don't wish to get into a discussion on the monetary aspect, because that has been discussed to death. Instead, I'd like to stick to the entertainment value that the IPL provided to so many households in India and abroad.

For 44 days, every weekday evening from 8pm to mid-night, and every weekend from 4pm to mid-night households in India came to a stand-still. The IPL provided फटाफट cricket to enthusiasts who don't really have the time to labour through 7 hours of boring test match or 50 over cricket.

The tournament provided a lot of entertainment. There were very few of the 53 matches which could be labeled boring. All through the tournament, the teams strived to provide a lot of fun value to viewers in the stadiums and in front of the television sets. Things got so close, that not untill the end did we know for sure who the four semi-finalists were going to be. For that one surely has to thank the cricketers for playing cricket non-stop for 44 days, to entertain us. They surely earned their bread.

Deccan Chargers - Name and fame, but no game
Touted to be one of the best teams of the tournament, everyone already had them in their semi-final line up. Their batting line up boasted of big hitters like Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs and excellent consolidators like V.V.S. Laxman, Rohit Sharma and Scot Styris. Their bowling line up also looked very solid with R.P. Singh, Chaminda Vaas, Scot Styris, Shahid Afridi. However, they never seemed to click as a unit. Rohit Sharma came up with brilliant knocks through out the tournament, Symonds hit one blistering century and so did Gilly. Venugopal Rao came up with some amazing hitting towards the end of the tournament, but all his notable innings came in lost causes. Barring that there was nothing to write home about at all.
Biggest success - Rohit Sharma
Unknown success - Venugopal Rao
Biggest failure - Shahid Afridi

Bangalore Royal Challengers - Suffered a perpetual hangover
They turned out to be what most had expected them to be। A T20 flop unit, right from the start to the very end, they never seemed to have any idea of how to approach the format। Many fingers were pointed, but Dravid chose the team members and all of them seemed to play with his mentality। Nothing was really expected of this team. After all, this team was stacked with aged test players such as Dravid, Kallis, Boucher, Kumble, Sunil Joshi, Wasim Jaffer and Chanderpaul. There were a few exceptions like Roass Taylor, Cameron White, Misbah-ul-Haq, Virat Kohli and Sreevats Goswami who tried to break the shackles, but just did not have the luck to pull it off. Not a single century was scored by this team!
Biggest success - Rahul Dravid
Unknown success - Ross Taylor
Biggest failure - Cameron White/Misbah-ul-Haq/Jaques Kallis

Kolkatta Knight Riders - Korbo, lodbo, harbo
Prior to the tournament, Shah Ruk Khan seemed to be the most active owner in getting in sponsorship for his team. It was a good all-round unit expected to make it to the semis atleast. Their batting line up looked cracking with Chris Gayle, Brendon Mccullum, Ricky Ponting, David Hussey, Ganguly and Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Their bowling line up was equally strong with Ishant Sharma, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Ajit Agarkar, Ashoke Dinda and Murali Karthik. They started off as expected, thrashing Bangalore in the opening match of the tournament. Mccullum's innings of 158* was the defining moment of the entire IPL. However, they struggled the most with the exodus of the Australian and New Zealand players. Shoaib Akhtar never arrived until late in the tournament. Gayle was perpetually injured and played no part in the IPL.
Biggest success - Saurav Ganguly/David Hussey
Unknown success - Laxmi Ratan Shukla/Ashoke Dinda
Biggest failure - Mohammad Hafeez

Mumbai Indians - The perfect Sine wave
The Indians started off in the worst possible manner. So bad was their start that they lost to the Deccan Chargers and the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Pollock took over the captaincy after the Harbhajjan-Sreesanth Slapgate controversy. Sachin was still injured. The Mumbai faithful's patience was running thin. One win against the Kolkatta Knight Riders changed the team entirely. They were now a unit, playing so well that many called them unbeatable. That run continued for 6 matches, after which they began losing again. Crucial must-win matches were being lost, even though Sachin had returned to the team. The team now had the most lethal opening pair on paper, Sachin and Sanath. They still could not make it to the semis and had to settle for 5th position.
Biggest success - Sanath Jayasuriya/Shaun Pollock
Unknown success - Abhishek Nayar
Biggest failure - Harbhajjan Singh

Delhi Daredevils - Dared to crawl into the semis
The Delhi team was to be the best all-round unit, with fielding being the biggest strenght. They picked some bits and pieces players to form what most called a formidable T20 side. A lethal opening pair (Sehwag and Gambhir) followed by a strong middle order (on paper) and a very experienced and stingy bowling unit. All this was good for Delhi. However, the middle order never seemed to be there. It never seemed like McGrath was away from the game for a year. He was still bowling that immaculate line and lenght, which most found difficult to get away. The middle order of Shoaib Malik, A.B. DeVilliers, Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwari, Tilekaratne Dilshan hardly put a foot right.
Biggest success - Gautam Gambhir/Fervez Mahroof/Glen McGrath
Unknown success - Shikhar Dhawan/Amit Mishra
Biggest failure - Shoaib Malik, A.B. DeVilliers, Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwari, Tilekaratne Dilshan

Kings XI Punjab - Oye aaja Oye
The Punjab team boasted of unknowns, but the biggest known was Yuvraj. Much was expected of him. It's another point that he did not quite deliver. But it is not everyday that one can hit six 6's in an over. The team gelled well right from the start and played excellent cricket. Whether they batted first, or they chased, they somehow ended on the winning side. It's quite a big dampener for them that they played Chennai Super Kings thrice, and lost all three matches! Yuvraj captained the side well, and they always seemed the have the confidence that they would win. A very dissappointing semi-final brought their campain to an abrupt and sad end.
Biggest success - Shaun Marsh/Piyush Chawla
Biggest unknown - Shaun Marsh
Biggest failure - VRV Singh

Chennai Super Kings - EM-ASS-DHONI, Mind it
Dhoni's captaincy is improving in leaps and bounds, and when a veteran like Stephen Flemming says Dhoni is a superb captain, then he certainly must be! On paper a very strong unit (as Krish Srikanth would vociferously point out) boasting of the likes of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, M.S. Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram and Stephen Flemming. At the start, their bowling looked weak, with only Muralitharan being a bowler of note. But then they posted such huge totals, that the bowlers had little work to do. Once Hayden and Hussey left, Ntini and Morkel joined the party. Manpreet Gony was a real revelation, and a little more domestic exposure would help him get a call to the Indian team. Joginder Sharma got what he deserved, a real thrashing!
Biggest success - M.S. Dhoni/Suresh Raina
Unknown success - Manpreet Gony
Bigget failure - Joginder Sharma

Rajasthan Royals - Halla Bol
Touted as the underdogs of the tournament, everyone expected them to languish at the bottom of the table. People wondered why Shane Warne agreed to play for them and even be their coach. Through out the tournament they played as one single unit and great spirit. Shane Warne did a fantastic job of speaking to each player individually and also gave each player a specific role. Each of his players played their roles to perfection and thats why they did so well. The leg-spin legend returned to the game and proved a champion in a totally new format. The biggest advantage for the team was that they did not lose any player during the 44 days. They played total cricket, always looked like they would win and entertained the crowds very well. Numerous players stood out, especially young indian players.
Biggest success - Shane Watson/Yusuf Pathan/Shane Warne/Shoail Tanvir/Graeme Smith
Unknown success - Swapnil Asnodkar/Niraj Patel/Siddharth Trivedi/Ravindra Jadeja
Biggest failure - Younis Khan/Mohammad Kaif

Now based on the above, heres my pick for the dream team from the IPL, totally based on performance (without any foreign player constraints):
1. Shaun Marsh (Kings XI Punjab)
2. Sanath Jayasuriya (Mumbai Indians)
3. Gautam Gambhir (Delhi Daredevils)
4. Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals)
5. Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers)
6. M.S. Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)
7. Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals)
8. Shaun Pollock (Mumbai Indians)
9. Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals)
10. Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals)
11. Glen McGrath (Delhi Daredevils)
12. Manpreet Gony (Chennai Super Kings)/Piyush Chawla (Kings XI Punjab)

The Bangalore International Airport

This Saturday, I had my first experience with the new Bangalore International Airport. Now, this airport is no stranger to controversy. Right from the start of this year, the Bangalore जनता has been up in arms about the closing of the old HAL Airport, more than the opening of the new airport. As such, the public wants better facilities but they also want the convenience of not having to travel to much just to get to the airport. However, what people here dont understand is that the HAL facility just did not have any space. Already it was very cramped, and the growing air traffic would just make the pain of travelling a nightmare. So yes, it was prudent to develop a new Airport, outside of the city limits.

There are many positives of this move:
- It eases the traffic congestion within the city.
- If the airport needs to grow more in the future, there should be enough place around for it to do so.
- This is a step in the right direction. If Bangalore has to grow as a Metropolitan, it needs to expand to the rural areas.

Everyone knew about the project, and its progress. But it is only when the Airport was ready to be launched, that people (thanks to the useless media) started raising the war cry, not to shut down the existing HAL Airport. How can Bangalore manage two airports? It makes no economic, practical or common sense to keep two airports open, even if one is just for "short-haul" flights. People, knowing that the launch is near, should have prepared appropriately. After all, an airport, the magnitude of this one, certainly does not come up in a couple of months. People should have planned better.

This by no way exonerates the government. They should have planned and started improving the connectivity to the new airport, months in advance. But they were so busy playing power-see-saw that they did not find the time to improve the roads, and make connectivity to the new airport easier.

So what do we have now?
- We have a brand new international airport (some of it still being constructed).
- Some facilities of the airport are reportedly mal-functioning (ATC being the most important).
- Connectivity to the new airport is a mess.
- Facilities within the airport are much improved, and makes for a more comfortable and relaxing journey for passengers.

We were to pick up my mom from the airport on Saturday morning. The flight landed 10 minutes early, and she was out of the airport within half an hour of landing (in spite of having checked in bags!). We left home an hour before the flight was to land. Oh boy, we were going to be late! We went to Old Madras road, and then got onto the Outer Ring Road, straight to Hebbal. We managed to travel the 41 kms to the airport in 1 hour and 3 minutes, even though we stuck to the speed limits. What a relief. We reached well in time, and even decided to go check out the arrival lounge. The entry ticket costs INR80 per head.

The interiors are plush, and there is a lot of space. Thats a huge improvement over the old airport. There are coffee lounges and even a book store in the arrival lounge. We cant wait to see the airport completely from inside. We will be flying out in July, and hope to reach the airport early and roam around the interiors.

For a person who arrives at the new airport, all he/she needs to do is step out! Inside the arrival lounge are the kiosks of MERU cabs, Akbar cabs (heard bad reviews about this), Taj Hotels and Oberoi Hotels. On exiting the main building, one comes across the Volvo bus stand. Volvo buses run to major parts of Bangalore, with very few stops. To see the map route of the Volvo buses, click here.

On the way back from the airport, we decided to try the Mekri Circle route. This time, we covered the 40 kms in 1 hour and 10 minutes! So far, the experience with the new international airport has been positive for us. Next we go to pick up dad on Tuesday night. That will be the real test, as it will be during peak traffc hours!