Rwy'n dechrau i gael y cymryd y cyfryd yn ymddangos, mae'r perfyllfa gweithiau. Efallai, ein bod Ymddangos David Torrance ymddangos. Felly hynny'n dechrau i'r wych gwrthwyng y Llywodraeth neu ymddangos ymddangos Ymddangos Ymddangos? Ymddangos Ymddangos Ymddangos ymddangos ymddangos ym 2015-16 erbyn cymryd 53,7 billion pwy, 1,9 billion pwy, oes i gynnydd o'r ddechrau o'r dynnod i gyfryd mewn cymryd yn ymddangos ymddangos, ymlaen i ymddangos 8 per cent o'r unig ddoctr. David Burns. I thank you, cabinet secretary, for that answer. Does the cabinet secretary agree that Scotland's positive economic outlook has been unduly exposed to the threat, as Brexit could see us withdrawn from the biggest signal common market against our will? Cabinet secretary? Yes, I do believe that that is a key risk to Scotland's economy in terms of leaving the EU. Scotland exports £11.6 billion a year to the EU. That is 42 per cent of total international exports. It is increasingly clear that the hard Brexit, as is being described by some in relation to the UK Government's approach, has significant financial consequences for the UK and for Scotland. Given that the finance secretary is a conscientious and diligent soul, I assume that he will have read his Government's own Jerry's report from front to back. Can he therefore confirm that it demonstrates that Scotland's benefit from 1200 pounds more public spending per head by being part of the United Kingdom? I know that Kezia Dugdale will be well aware that Scotland also generates more per head generally than the rest of the United Kingdom. Scotland has strong economic foundations in which we can grow our country to share prosperity and wealth for all our people in Scotland. The union dividend amounts to £1,600 for every man, woman and child in Scotland. 1200 pounds on higher spending is £400 per head because our economy underperforms the rest of the UK. Why does the cabinet secretary want to deprive the Scottish people of the sum of money? The cabinet secretary wants to talk about the constitution. You are obsessed with it in terms of the Conservatives. We are embarking on a bold programme through the programme for government and in due course the budget to grow our economy and build on the strong fundamentals of the Scottish economy. It is decades of Westminster rule that has left Scotland in the economic position that we have found ourselves in, made worse by the threat to remove the United Kingdom and Scotland from the European Union. In view of the record budget deficit numbers announced by the Government last week of £15 billion, how does that reconcile with the First Minister's statement yesterday that the Government will use the strength of its balance sheet to help Scottish business? Bear in mind that that budget deficit is the largest of any Western economy in Europe and even larger than the budget deficit in Greece. I am very surprised that Dean Lockhart, a Conservative spokesperson, does not understand the Scottish budget. The Scottish Government balances its books every year and it is on the basis of that, the strength of our balance sheet, that we can deliver the Scottish growth scheme. I seriously hope that the Conservatives will be converse to our scheme to unlock £0.5 billion support to grow our economy and support businesses through this difficult and turbulent time in terms of the economy. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the cabinet secretary for finance in the constitution has had with College Scotland and University Scotland regarding the forthcoming spending review. As ministers with responsibility for engagement with both sectors, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science meet regularly with representatives of Scotland's colleges and universities to discuss a wide range of issues of interest to the sector, including resourcing issues. The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science last met College Scotland and representatives of University Scotland on 31 August. The recent reports from Audit Scotland into funding of both higher and further education show that both sectors have seen cuts in their budgets year on year. In this spending review, will the cabinet secretary simply make the promise that their budgets will be protected? I think that we have outlined in the manifesto on which we were elected water commitments to the sector, and that includes, very importantly, free education in terms of education and for colleges where maintaining full-time equivalent college places. In terms of the report also referenced, it does say that the report highlights that Scotland's college sector is financially stable overall and that colleges continue to exceed their targets for student learning opportunities. In answer to the question, more specifically, of course, myself and ministers will engage closely with the SFC to consider the financial issues and take forward the opportunities for Scotland. Over the past few months, I had one particularly enjoyable visit to the city of Glasgow at the Riverside campus, a fantastic building and evidence of this Government's commitment to capital in the sector, which I think is transformational in terms of the education system in Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution last met the Treasury and what was discussed. I spoke with the new chancellor on 21 July to discuss areas of common interest, including the need to ensure active engagement between HM Treasury and the Scottish Government on the financial implications of work undertaken in response to the EU referendum outcome. Since then, I have written to the chief secretary to the Treasury welcoming the guarantees so far provided on EU funding but making abundantly clear that the areas that have not been addressed must be revisited as a matter of urgency. I have offered to meet the chancellor in London on 21 September to discuss matters of shared interest around the economy and public finances, the impact of the EU referendum and the need to continue to make progress in implementing the detail of the Scotland Act 2016. The Scottish taxpayer will pick up 60 per cent of the cost of decommissioning the oil and gas industry through tax relief. As the Scottish people are funding those jobs, does the cabinet secretary think that it is fair that we are paying for this work to be done in Norwegian yards rather than in ports like Dundee? I am disappointed that, given the huge opportunities for the economy, the cabinet secretary did not discuss with the Treasury any fiscal incentives for decommissioning when he met them. Can he clarify for me if the Scottish Government has had any discussions with the Treasury over decommissioning tax relief? Can he make it a priority to speak to the Treasury at the next opportunity on how it can work together to keep those taxpayer-funded jobs in Scotland? I think that the member raises a very fair question and a fair analysis of how we could take advantage of the decommissioning work that could be delivered to Scotland. The member's question was very specific about what conversations and what discussions I had with HM Treasury. I have answered that accurately. However, my business and economy colleagues have had discussions with UK ministers on this very subject, so the Scottish Government has been proactive in raising those opportunities. Through Scottish Enterprise, we are working on the decommissioning action plan to try and ensure that jobs and development come to Scotland. I will be 100 per cent supportive of that and absolutely raise specific interventions with the UK Government and add to my very long list of things that the UK Government could do to stimulate the UK and Scotland's economy. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in implementing the recommendations of the commission on the future delivery of public services, chaired by Campbell Christie, calling for a prioritisation of preventative spend and an outcomes focus in delivering more effective and efficient public services. Our approach continues to be rooted in the four pillars of reform laid down by the Christie agenda. We have made substantial progress across a broad range of public services, including in early years, justice, health and social care. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. The cabinet secretary is aware that the Christie report estimates that as much as 40 per cent of all spending on public services is accounted for by interventions that could have been avoided by prioritising a preventative approach. In order to realise those savings, the report recommends integration of service provision, the empowerment of individuals and communities, receiving services, the removal of duplication and the sharing of services where possible. Can you ask what steps the Scottish Government is taking to make progress on the recommendations? That will clearly feature, as we move forward, in the programme for government and our agenda and efforts on public service reform. I think that the Government has made it clear in our approach on early years and education reform and health as well. Those are key parts of the preventative agenda and are certainly part of the next phase of reform. Truly transformational opportunities that we can build upon the successes of the last Parliament around, for example, integration joint boards in the community empowerment act, which is partly about people unlocking the potential in their own communities and being given the tools to do the job. There is a great deal of work to be done around public service reform. That is why I am delighted to be a member of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Public Service Reform. We will look at the issue. The cabinet secretary will be aware that change funds have been one of the principal means of prioritising preventative spending and encouraging innovation in public services. Does he therefore consider allocating something in the order of one per cent of the Scottish budget to change funds is adequate, given the task ahead? Will he reflect on that in the forthcoming budget? I understand why Jackie Baillie would be attracted to change funds. I think that they were successful in part, but what I would expect as finance secretary is that we use the totality of Scottish Government resources to transform our services, to rise to the challenge of the preventative approach in public service reform. I am not immediately minded to create a new plethora of change funds, but to expect public services and Government departments to focus on that and to realise how important it is to both the Government and clearly the Parliament. To ask the Scottish Government what Scotland's deficit is both as a percentage of GDP and in cash terms according to the latest year's figures. Mr Bibby will have heard me say to the Conservatives that, of course, the Scottish Government balances its books. GERS shows that North Sea revenues fell in 2015-16 as a result of challenging conditions faced by the oil and gas operations. However, that decline was more than offset by Scottish onshore revenue, which grew by £1.9 billion, including a geographical share of the North Sea. Scotland's net fiscal deficit, according to GERS estimates, in 2015-16, was 9.5 per cent of GDP or £14.8 billion. The First Minister spoke yesterday of a real battle of ideas, a sense of solidarity versus the ideology of the small state, yet the GERS study confirmed that one of the biggest deficits in Europe, the size of the state in an independent Scotland, would be a great deal smaller. Would the finance secretary therefore acknowledge the vital importance of UK fiscal transfers to Scotland and can he confirm that, according to GERS, those transfers currently amount to £9 billion, money for jobs, services and communities right here in Scotland? No, there is no such transfers. Neil Bibby has got it wrong again. Those are estimates of expenditure. It is not the balance sheet of an independent Scotland, and the Unionist parties do not seem to get that. UK economic policy has failed, but there were positives in the GERS report as well, such as onshore revenues growth, improvements on GDP growth, record rising employment and improved productivity. As I have said before, Scotland generally generates more revenues per head than the rest of the United Kingdom. In terms of output per head, it is higher than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, with the exception of London and the south-east. Why is it that a nation that is blessed with such assets and wealth cannot be allowed to share that prosperity, unlike Norway, a very comparable nation to Scotland that is not in deficit but in surplus? What is the difference? We have a choice. What do we do as a Government and as a Parliament to invest in the economy and secure Scotland's political position in terms of EU membership, grow our economy and support businesses to help to deliver that growth? That is exactly what this Government is doing. To ask the Scottish Government what impact its spending plans for 2016-17 will have on Glasgow and Renfrewshire. The Scottish Government will continue to support the Glasgow and Renfrewshire area through a wide range of programmes. The 2016 local government settlement funding package was firmly focused on the delivery of joint priorities to deliver sustainable economic growth, protect front-line services and support the most vulnerable within our communities. Those shared priorities will improve outcomes for local people. We are also investing in local infrastructure. For example, three schools are currently in construction in the area as part of the national schools for the future programme and are due to open next year. There is also further investment to motorways, subways, hospitals and health centres. Yesterday, the First Minister said that her Government's priority was jobs and economic growth. The cabinet secretary's predecessor, John Swinney, scrapped the Glasgow rail link project. The leader of Renfrewshire council, the leader of Glasgow city council and local businesses have now pressed the Scottish Government to get on and implement that project. That will create 15,000 construction jobs and 30,000 permanent jobs. The First Minister, the transport minister and the finance secretary all represent Glasgow and Renfrewshire. Why will they not stand up and deliver for those cities and communities? I have news for Anna Sarwar. We have signed. I was a signatory to the city deal proposal. Following that discussion about releasing more than £1 billion for that partnership, it was then left to the local authorities to take forward their proposals. Yes, there are checks and balances in place, and you would expect that to be the case. I am just coming to that, which might surprise you that I have written when I was transport minister on 3 February 2015 to the leader of the council to outline our support for the city deal package and, specifically, in relation to Garrow, I said this. We stand ready to work with you to deliver improved surface access to Glasgow airport in the overall city deal. However, I want to make it very clear that the Scottish Government will not be responsible for any additional costs resulting from decisions taken by or investments made by the Clyde Valley partners. With £1 billion to get on with those projects, I turn to the Labour Party and say what is stopping you to get on with the project. If you want to deliver, Garrow, do it with giving you the resources. I would hate to think that the Labour Party was simply indulging in an artificial game of grievance before the council elections. Knowing fine well, having been given the resources with the checks and balances in place, the only people stopping Garrow is the Labour Party in the west of Scotland. Jamie Greene To further ask the Scottish Government what effect the spiralling cost of the Edinburgh Glasgow improvement programme will have on its plans for Glasgow and Renfrewshire, and if the Government could today update the Parliament on the total cost of the project and if it expected to rise further? I think that that helps to make the point that the Conservatives might want to understand that Network Rail is not directly responsible or accountable to the Scottish Government in the way that we would like. If we had devolution of Network Rail to the Scottish Government, maybe they would be able to deliver projects in the way that the Scottish Government delivers major infrastructure projects. It is the case that the proposal for the rail link will make a transformative difference to the rail service in that part of the country, and we would expect it to be delivered to our specifications, but I am afraid that the issues with Network Rail simply suggest that we should have greater control over that operation rather than leave it to the UK Government, who have failed to contain the cost of that organisation. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking in light of the recent GARS figures to ensure that Scotland's deficit does not increase further. The Scottish Government is focused on actions to support Scotland's economic resilience and growth in keeping with the priorities that are set out in our economic strategy. We are taking action to facilitate investment, improve innovation, support inclusive growth and encourage Scottish businesses to internationalise, but the biggest risk to Scotland's economic prosperity is being taken out of the EU. We are taking action to support Scotland's economic resilience, which is why we announced a £100 million capital acceleration programme to provide immediate support to the economy. We will continue to explore all possible means to protect Scotland's place in Europe, in line with the way that people voted here, which is vital for jobs, investment and long-term prosperity. Grim Simpson. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The GARS figures show that Scotland's public spending deficit stood at just under £15 billion in the past financial year. That is 9.5 per cent share of GDP, more than double the 4 per cent figure for the UK as a whole. If anything shows that independence should be off the table for a generation, that report was it. However, yesterday, the SNP left the threat of another referendum hanging over the country that has already rejected it, with all the uncertainty that brings. The Government's answer to set up a growth commission. The best thing that the minister could do would be to take the independence referendum off the table. Will he do that? If not, why not? Cabinet secretary. Presiding Officer, here we go again. The Conservatives obsessed with the Constitution. And what's worse? And what's worse? And what's worse? We're back to the Scotland's two wee and two poor to be an independent nation. We're back to that tired old argument. The reality is that GERS isn't a verdict on independence. It's an indictment on Westminster control of this country's economy. However, let me turn with the limited time left, Presiding Officer, to what we can do about growing our economy. Let's see if the Conservatives will support those actions. Primarily, we could try and secure Scotland's place in the single market. At the Prime Minister's questions today, the Prime Minister couldn't even say whether he supported in or out. We are investing in infrastructure, maximising exports, backing innovation, embarking on house building, accelerating planning, increasing small business bonus, boosting education and childcare, releasing our renewables potential, investing capital stimulus and, of course, half a million pounds in the Scottish gross scheme. That's what we're doing to support Scotland's economy. Can I ask the Scottish Government what steps it's taking to support the Murray economy? We have committed to supporting sustainable economic growth across Murray. We are investing substantial amounts in road and education infrastructure and are ensuring that businesses continue to benefit from support from our enterprise agencies. That helps to create jobs and to stimulate growth in the area. Richard Lochhead The cabinet secretary will be aware that a threat hangs over the Murray economy as a result of the MODZ's stage review that has led to questions over the future of the Kenloss barracks. Indeed, yesterday's meeting of the Murray economic partnership heard that more than 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs in Murray are dependent on the barracks. Does he agree that any threat to Kenloss barracks amounts to a breach of faith by the UK Government, especially after the closure of RAF Kenloss? Will he now demand and support the community from the UK Government that there is a full consultation prior to any decision being taken over the barracks future? That consultation was originally promised but then changed her mind. We also call from the UK Government to deliver the utmost transparency as to what options are on the table at the moment and to share those with the local community. Richard Lochhead is right to describe this as not just a threat but a huge threat to the local economy of Murray. For my part, I have spoken with Mark Lancaster some weeks ago, who is the minister responsible in the UK Government, and made the request of him that, in relation to the defence review, the defence estate review, when it impacts on Scotland, for example, in relation to the Murray local economy or in relation to Fort George, a shared premises of the Scottish Government or even the Edinburgh Castle and other premises, there should be discussion between the two Governments and that has not taken place. In fact, that has been refused by the UK Government, who have nevertheless had discussions with local partners in Murray but not with the Scottish Government. In addition to that, the First Minister has written to the Secretary of State for Defence asking that he meets with me immediately to discuss those issues. In the case of Murray, 830 jobs are at least at risk, so I will continue to take those steps and support the work of Richard Lochhead and others in taking the steps that they are taking. What I will not do is support the statement that I have heard was said on social media by a Conservative MSP who said, the battle is over, the base is being saved, lay down your arms. The one step that we will not take in relation to Murray's future is a step back, and we will continue to support Richard Lochhead and those that wish to support him in defending those jobs. Douglas Ross Thank you. I will focus my question on actual events rather than speculation, which has been generated by the SNP. There are no concerns that are more serious than the threat over the lost base, but that speculation has come from a tweet by the local SNP MP and nothing further. The cabinet secretary mentioned in his first response about the roads policy and the roads budget. Can he confirm to the chamber today that the Scottish Government fully supports the campaign by the Murray economic partnership and its chair, Councillor John Cow, to have the A95 improved? Given the importance of this route to the vibrant whisky industry and the local economy, does he agree with me that opportunities for widening the carriageways should be considered as Transport Scotland develops its maintenance programme? In relation to roads and Murray, what we have done is what no previous Government, Conservative or otherwise have done, which is to commit to the £3 billion upgrading of the A96, the main arterial route from Inverness to Aberdeen, which is hugely important for that area. We have also provided substantial support to the local economy, to the local council in order to support their roads building infrastructure. However, the member says that let's talk about actual events. If it is the case that he has not tweeted that the battle has been won, and in fact that Murray defends—I want to talk about Murray defends what their job is here—if he is saying that the battle has been won, if that is not an actual event, and he has not said that, perhaps he could tell the chamber if he has said that, how does he think that representing the interests of Westminster and his colleagues down there is better than representing the interests of the people of Murray? On a point of order, if Mr Brown would like to check my social media history, I'm sure he'll come back to the chamber to correct the statement that he's now made twice. Thank you, Mr Ross. I don't believe that's a point of order, but you've made a point. Question 2, Ben Macpherson. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage employers to pay the living wage and provide secure employment. The member will be aware that the majority of powers over employment remain with the UK Parliament. However, with the powers that we have available, we have developed a distinctive approach to fair work, which, among other objectives, will help to promote secure employment. Building on the publication of the fair work framework, a recently published labour market strategy sets out an approach where fair work is central to improving the lives of individuals and their families. That strategy includes a range of actions, including the work that the Scottish Government continues to undertake with the poverty alliance to increase the number of living wage-accredited employers in Scotland, which now stands at over £585. Ben Macpherson. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. I wondered if the cabinet secretary agreed to work with me on those issues, specifically with regard to the Edinburgh festival. For example, by working with relevant parties to encourage more large venues to pay the living wage and to provide more secure employment. I certainly would commit to doing that. I would also acknowledge the huge economic impact that the Edinburgh festival has, and again a very successful year for the festival and associated other festivals and the fringe. Certainly my officials and I are always happy to meet employers who are paying the living wage, and especially those larger employers through whom living wage accreditation would benefit a greater number of employees. I suggest that the member could usefully get in touch with the Scottish living wage accreditation initiative through the poverty alliance, with the Scottish Government supporting to promote the living wage, and they will be able to bring their invaluable experience of working with a wide range of employers to those discussions. Richard Leonard. In light of that last answer, does the cabinet secretary consider that when there are over 360,000 private sector employers in Scotland that a target of just 1,000 accredited living wage employers by this time next year is ambitious enough? I would never suggest that we are limited to that number, but I think that it is right that we do have to start, and we have made a start where the UK Government has not done this and many other Governments have not done this. I do not know whether what Richard Leonard is describing as a council of despair does not bother trying in the first place. We are trying, and we are having major success. Together, we are lifting the number of people in Scotland paid, which is already one of the highest in the UK—perhaps the second highest in the UK. I am happy to check that. We are having success in relation to that. Of course, it is not just the companies that sign up for the living wage, but it is the impact that they have on other people and the influence that they have. We will continue with their activity, and I would hope that we would have the support of Richard Leonard and his colleagues in that activity. Patrick Harvie. I welcome the measures that have been taken to promote the living wage. Given yesterday's announcement that the Scottish Government intends to provide a programme of loans and guarantees to businesses, can we have a guarantee that that facility will only be available to businesses that pay the real living wage? I think that all businesses, or the vast majority of businesses in the Scottish economy, are well aware of the Scottish Government's approach to the living wage and to inclusive growth. Those companies that we engage with through, as Patrick Harvie mentioned, the Scottish growth scheme, which could be a substantial benefit to companies and employment in Scotland, will also be well aware of our preference and our drive to try to drive up the number of those employees in Scotland to receive the living wage, not just because it is right that they should do so, but also because it helps the economy in general. There is more disposable income with those that have to spend all their income to survive if they are paid the living wage. Neil Findlay One of the ways in which we can advance the living wage is becoming living wage employers ourselves, and I commend the cabinet secretary for doing so, but maybe the cabinet secretary could assist Mr McPherson, who asked the question and encourage him to become a living wage employer. I am sure that Neil Findlay can be encouraging in that regard as well. It is down to all of us who want to see the number of people employed in the living wage to encourage others. I do not know the individual circumstances, but maybe all the employees of MSPs are paid the living wage, but not all are accredited to it. That is perfectly possible, but, of course, like Neil Findlay, I would like to encourage as many people as possible to pay the living wage and to go further and to get accredited for having done so. I am not going to let Mr McPherson back in, although he does want to speak again. 3. Elaine Smith Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government how the Fair Work framework fits into the recently published labour market strategy. The Scottish Government shares the vision set out with the Fair Work convention in its framework through the labour market strategy. We have been clearing our endorsement of the framework and we have set out our commitment to continue to work with the convention to build on the principles that have established. Fair Work is central to our ambitions. We believe that a strong labour market is built in fairness, which will drive inclusive, sustainable economic growth. To achieve that, it is essential that we continue to support the convention in promoting the framework and engaging employers in discussions on how we can work together to champion fairer, better workplaces. Presiding Officer, I thank the minister for his response. I am sure that the minister is aware that Scotland now has the worst gender pay gap in the UK. Given that the Fair Work convention is set up in part to tackle issues such as this, what will the Scottish Government do to ensure that employers close the gap, implement the framework and end what is being called a penalty on motherhood here in Scotland? That is a very reasonable question to ask. The first thing that I would reflect on is that we have seen improvements in the gender pay gap here in Scotland. I readily concede that that has not gone far enough. Of course, the first thing that we are doing through the labour market strategy is that we are committing £0.5 million to support the convention in taking forward its work. I recognise that there is more that we can do in other of the commitments in the labour market strategies to take forward a woman returners project, which I think can also help in that regard. However, I certainly think that it is incumbent on us all to work as an administration through our agencies and with employers to reach out and make sure that we are doing better in that regard. Question 4, Lewis MacDonald. To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish guidance on the implementation of the apprenticeship levy. Minister Jamie Hepburn. Since the announcement of the apprenticeship levy by the UK Government, this Government has been working with employers to develop a response about support skills development and drive economic growth. Over the summer, we consulted with employers and other interested parties to consider the impact of the levy and to explore opportunities for continuing to expand and enhance our successful modern apprenticeship programme in Scotland. The consultation closed in 26 August and we bring forward plans as soon as possible from that consultation. Lewis MacDonald. I am sure that if the minister has read responses such as those from the oil and gas skills body of Peto or from Aberdeen and Grant in chamber of commerce, he will know that they believe that that apprenticeship levy should be fully committed to training and skills. They are very urgently looking for some assurance to that effect. Does he accept that many employers are already planning their training programmes for the next financial year and have started to do that and cannot do that efficiently and effectively until they know what money is coming back into their business from the training apprenticeship levy? I certainly accept that this has been an issue for business, for employers. I would hope that Mr MacDonald would recognise that the implementation of the levy has not been in our hands. It has been a levy that has been taken forward by the UK Government. I, of course, we still seek clarity on the funding that we will secure as a result of this levy. That has not been forthcoming yet from the UK Government. We have engaged in the consultation process. My clear commitment is to move forward as swiftly as possible. Because he does make the fair point that employers are trying to take forward plans and they are looking for that degree of reassurance, my clear commitment is to work on the basis of the consultation that we have undertaken and implement its findings as quickly as possible. I agree with Lewis MacDonald's point and ask the minister to reflect on the evidence that was given to the education committee this morning, in which standard life, among others, made clear that they would see the principle that the apprentice levy monies come back to Scotland but go back into skills and training. Does he agree with that principle? Will he make sure that that happens? I reiterate the point that I have made. I have been spending my summer engaging with a range of organisations, including private sector employers, local government and others, on how we respond to the introduction of the levy by the UK Government. I reiterate the point that we have not got final clarity on the funding that we will receive. We have undertaken a consultation and it is incumbent on me to drive forward the analysis of that consultation and to put in place a framework arising thereof. To ask the Scottish Government what action it and its agencies are taking to promote Eurocentral and Newhouse as a place for business and innovation. We are committed to promoting Scotland as an attractive place for business and innovation. For example, our £500 million investment in the M8, M73 and M74 motorway improvement project will bring safer roads, less congestion and a better quality of life for road users. Those improvements will help to promote sustainable economic growth by improving access to facilities and employment areas such as Eurocentral and Newhouse for communities and businesses in central Scotland and beyond. I thank the minister for that answer. I note with interest that Eurocentral site is nearly 80 per cent of capacity for occupation by business. I therefore ask what further action the Scottish Government can undertake to ensure continued economic growth in this area of my constituency? We will certainly welcome the news of that success and want to support that continued sustainable economic growth in the area. Businesses in the area continue to benefit from the support of Scottish Enterprise and from regional selective assistance grants, worth £1 million this financial year. Through our regeneration capital grant fund, we are investing in enterprise workspaces at Newhouse. In addition, on 1 April this year, we designated Biocity as the sixth site as part of the life sciences enterprise area. We believe that that could see employment boosted by another 180 new jobs by 2020 as the location develops further as a more significant centre for life sciences. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on implementing the recommendations in the commission for developing Scotland's Young Workforce final report. I have taken forward the development of the Young Workforce agenda. We are growing vocational provision for young people in the senior phase of their education, including a significant expansion of modern foundation apprenticeships. In addition, we have established 16 regional DEW employer groups across the country. It created new national standards for work placements in careers education, invested in the early arms production of careers advice, seen over. 300 businesses take up the new investors in young people accolade and refocused activity across our youth employment apprenticeship programmes on young people who need the most support. I agree with the minister's drive on this matter, but he will be aware that the budget for 15, 16 and first subsequent years has now been, as he described, mainstreamed into other budgets. In other words, there is no specific budget for this area that it had in the first couple of years. Given that he has clear targets in the remaining years of this programme to expand activity, how is he hoping to meet those targets that are certainly demanding? Is he also aware of the recent city and guild skills report that shows that some young people in Scotland are not aware of available career paths? Would he agree that that is exactly the kind of issue that Sir Ian Wood's report raised and needs to address? Certainly, on the latter point, I would agree absolutely. I think that what we are trying to achieve in driving forward this entire agenda is a culture shift within the education sector that allows for greater engagement in an appropriate fashion for industry to be involved in opening up horizons for young people. I certainly think that, from the evidence that I have seen, that work is on-going, but it is beginning to bear fruit. That is why it is important that we mainstream it and make it a core part of the purpose of our school environment. Work continues and I think that it will continue to bear fruit going forward. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the establishment of Orkney as a centre for excellence or a living laboratory in relation to energy storage and transformation. The Scottish Government welcomes and supports the wide range of activity under way to harness Orkney's renewable energy resources and to help to overcome some of the impact of grid constraints in advance of seeing a vital investment in connecting islands to the grid. A great example of our support is the Surf and Turf project, which is being assisted by £1.175 million in funding under our local energy challenge fund. The project will produce hydrogen from both onshore wind and marine energy from generation in the island of Edith, which will then be used, can be stored, transported and converted back into electricity for use in buildings and berth ferries at Kirkwall harbour. As with many other projects that we are supporting in Orkney, Surf and Turf involves working with a range of partners on a significant level of local expertise. In that case, that includes the European Marine Energy Centre, or EMEC, and Community Energy Scotland. The project has been the catalyst for further investment of €5 million in Orkney by the European Commission in support of the big-hit hydrogen project. In February 2014, the Scottish Government provided a £3 million grant to EMEC to address the problem of grid constraints at its tidal site. The investment enabled EMEC to carry out initial scoping work and then purchase an electrolyser to convert power generated at the tidal site to hydrogen fuel. Scotland's wave and tidal energy resource is almost unparalleled. It represents a quarter of Europe's tidal stream and 10 per cent of its wave energy potential. A large part of Scotland's wave and tidal energy is available in the northern and western Isles and along the west coast. Those are areas that offer considerable challenges when it comes to feeding this energy back into the main grid. Programmes such as Local Energy Scotland allow communities to produce large amounts of renewable energy to use that energy locally. What progress has been made by the Scottish Government to help communities to make the most of their renewable energy capabilities? I will try to be brief, Presiding Officer. Certainly, we are very pleased with progress on community energy roll-outs. We have achieved 508 megawatts of community and locally-owned renewable energy capacity by 2015, which achieved our target five years early, and we are delighted with that. However, the member, Marie Todd, is absolutely right to highlight some of the key constraints, including the grid. I was pleased to meet her and renewables operators in Orkney last week. We heard clearly that the importance of the investment in connecting the islands to the mainland to allow local projects such as those that are delivered by communities in Orkney to access the market and, obviously, maximise the economic opportunity for the islands. Thank you. The next item of business


And in business news now, Acquire Bomb State female youths are perhaps in for a great future. As the wife of the state governor, her excellency, Dr. Mrs. Martha Udom-Emanuel, has flagged off a get-a-skill initiative with a view to empowering the young generation of women with entrepreneurial skills. The event which held at the Ibom Hall, who yoked the theme building a sustainable future through skills acquisition, had an attendance over 2,000 female youths from the 31 local government areas of the state. Speaking shortly after flagging off the event, Dr. Emanuel hinted that the program was aimed at showcasing Acquire Bomb female youths as well as tapping into the reservoir of talents for a sustainable future. The beneficiaries took turns to appreciate the organisers for giving them the opportunity to be trained. So immediately you meet people, your mind should start working like a business person. Who am I? What am I? What am I selling? What does this person need? What can I offer? It is also the abundance of a person's heart. So you read the Bible, apply that to everyday living. If you don't have anything to give, you don't, nobody can also receive anything from you.  In future, what I would really like to see is that young women rise above sex, being sex slaves, rise above being second fiddle in the society, but will be women that can also take decisions in Nigeria's economy and are able to put food on their tables tomorrow. I'm so excited, I'm so happy that Iceland has been able to put this together to encourage the female youths to give us the hope and confidence and what and how valuable ourselves. I want to be self-dependent, to be to be confident and to know that I can be anything I want to be in the future.


Hello everyone, my name is Omrath. I am a federal KDA SIG member and I'm also working with other Session of the federal including mindshare. I'm doing packaging for Fedora as well also helping to federal websites and apps teams Today I would like to share about the idea of the plasma mobile in Fedora Basically what we want is we want to bring all the plasma mobile and mobilities into the Fedora zone And so we can have more devices can work on that or Try it able to use plasma mobile in Fedora. So a little bit of about us Fedora has a team called Federal KDA SIG team Federal KDA SIG team is a special interest group. There are groups of federal contributions that maintain KDA packages as well as KDA SPIN and also federal Kinoite as well And our our mission is basically to provide an high-quality packages and also a KDA software is Developers and users can able to use it and also support maintaining those packages. So KDA team as a KDA SIG team member we do have meetings every single Monday Based on UTC-18. It's about an hour and it's placing in the big blue button in the KDA instance So they are discussing What we can we do for KDA and also plasma mobile and federal Kinoite as well What is plasma mobile? So first things first we need to explain. What is the plasma mobile if anyone doesn't even heard of it yet? Plasma mobile is offering a user-friendly Privacy-enabled platform with the custom Customizations also included in mobile devices. It's a bit different distribution right now with post-market OAs Manjaro and Opensuse and hopefully we want to see if it right in our list as well. It can run Devices are supporting distributions. So basically it's not just these distributions It can be anything distribution if they want to do compatible. So it provides fully open source Which base can others can help and develop themselves in their product. So it's also using heavily The plasma was that sorry is developed heavily with the Kirigami Of course this question is going to be comes up. So what is Kirigami then? well Kirigami is it's KDA's powerful lightweight user interface framework for mobile and Conversion applications. It's not just for mobile. It's also compatible with desktop applications as well So when you have an application in Kirigami You can actually make it compatible very easily in Plasma mobile because the reason behind it is Kirigami giving you the flexibility like we do in responsive web applications and When you scale the application higher Or bigger or smaller. It will also scale based on that So that's what we want in Plasma mobile because we need an application He's able to use this cute quick control tool to have this Flexibility and also lightweight application Speed as well and which is very important and this philosophy is also later on kitty human interface guidelines So this is very important piece in Plasma mobile because when we Developing an application. We want to make sure that that application should be compatible Will be that small screens and we want to also make it scalable in bigger or smaller. That's very important That's why Kirigami is very nice way to do it in TV So how many Plasma mobile apps we have well we have a lot I mean there are many applications already in the place in Plasma mobile list And there are many more and maybe I didn't put them all on the list But I would just just share like a fair share of that list to have like There's a lot of application is already in the place in Plasma mobile and we're trying to bring them all into the federal and Try to make it compatible But there's one more thing I would like to get an attention Some applications are is actually in in federal in KDA desktop. Actually, I'm speaking KDA desktop like ocular Because like neo chat Also some other applications, but So that means when you make an application in KDA or generally for Qt or Kirigami You can still able to make it compatible with mobile as well if you know how to develop it but that's an that's a nice thing because some of the application we already have is also already is in the Have this nice ability to use on Plasma mobile And we are really happy to see this change is morally happen in other applications because Once we get this more flexibility and more user-friendly Application in KDA Plasma generally speaking it will be also have more application in mobile as well also for of course We're not just talking about Plasma mobile So when we say mobile it everybody thinks like just the phones, but we don't want to do that We want to also think a little bit bigger than this like we have We want to think about all the mobile Devices like tablets small laptops like some key keyboard and Screen is detachable laptops some model some some of the models In industry is already have this and we want those also be Play nice with Plasma mobile in in federal as well. So what have we done so far? Well, also, what do we want to do in the future as well that's going to be the both section So we want to do packaging all the Plasma mobile and bring them into the federal as we speak finding the packages and sub packages Whatever needed like some packages is not in not directly in developed by Plasma mobile It could be some library. We want to think about it and Find out where it is and of course we were working with the mobility team in Fedora Because we want to make sure that hopefully in the future. We want to bring Maybe pine phone on other phones into the in the Plasma mobile realm as well I mean that was a talk happened also in the nest early on and So I don't want to get into the too much of a detail, but I would like to say that It will be really nice to have Key Fedora mobile edition in Plasma mobile as well, which is would be an amazing so of course We are not just targeting our phones or Like second the architecture. We also as we speak targeting every architecture. We want to create Iso far Iso's for making it installable for all the more Mobile devices and embedded devices and also other Laptops and tablets, of course, and we want to have this GSM integration touch screen on keyboard support and other Finger gestures and whatever is necessary is also if they can happen in Plasma mobile Interface, we of course you want to make sure that that will be also smooth and nicely working in Plasma mobile So as we speak early on we have some use cases. We are as we said, we are not just targeting phones only we want to target more devices than that because These pipe when we are packaging Something for Fedora, we are generally targeting all the architecture like a normal x86 normal arm Army arm 84 and some other X as like other platforms on power PCs and as 290s and architectures and etc So when we do this that means we are bringing all the packages into the old architecture That means it could run in any machine In theory and if the hardware and everything is is in the place Why not it works? So our use cases is what we're thinking of some small laptop as we speak before and we want to have keyboard detachable laptops also Could be another use cases and if there's any tablet out there, which has x86 architecture or arm 64 if it is compatible, of course because There are many hardwares are is could be incompatible Which because of the drivers and other closed source issues So we when it's come to this problem, you know, we cannot just Bring them directly into the Fedora so easily it needs to be coming from the upstream as well and as we as we fedora we try to of course push this Ideas to bring them into the upstream but sometimes Not everything is so much so much easy or still be similar It happens, but when it's happen, of course, we want to bring it into the our Fedora kernel or whatever is necessarily be done And of course we have some plan support if it is possible because we want to see that since this is a tablet or mobile devices. It is basically much more Mobile mobile because you can bring them anywhere easier than your laptop Of course today's laptop is also easy to carry about when it's come to the forms on your other devices like lighter than laptop Of course, you want to have the accessory support as well, but it's also up to the plasma mobile as well but like there are some devices has The vacuum support on the screen and this is actually supported in red at not sorry in fedora, sorry and the federal channel so Normally it just works out of the box if nothing is wrong if there is the if they have this some really special devices And if of it will be have it In I mean it could it would not work if it is going if it needs to be work, of course it needs to be Have the driver as well for quick interruption to answer the question If That's up to the federal mobility team as well because pine for us Some drivers needs to be included in further about technically Uh, once we have all the plasma mobile packages in fedora As I said earlier on, uh, of course it will be possible to use And in future definitely because we are definitely looking into it to have Our operation system with the plasma mobile and then bring them all into the pine form to use Just like just like a normal well experience. They already have in the other operation system and sort distributions as well So What do we have some future plans? well, uh, of course we want to bring All the packages and bring them all the gesture support and more devices like pine phones and maybe Of course, uh, this is all a possibilities. I'm not saying that they are all certain But there are some plans is certain. There are some plans to be hoping for but sometimes not everything that Uh, so much easier Because also in this Presentation, I would like to give and show people what are we doing and want to show that okay We are working on on plasma mobile And we are bringing them all the packages and trying to get Mobile device support as well. Well as also with including the other devices like Uh, the devices doesn't just a normal x60 x86 Architectures and all also others as well as we speak earlier So while our target is basically as we said bring them all the packages and make the Compatibilities with the devices we are planning on it and make them work Nicely and possibly also smooth Of course, we want to get an advantage of the valent and the pipe wire and all the goodies and Coming into the back scene, but they're also giving you the more performance As a fedora, we already bring valent into the qda's text up zone and we are working Very hard on it as well as as the qda upstream is also working on it to make it through to nice experience and past experience as well and after the recent changes we have this The nice graphical improvement as well happening and this improvement some of them is could be useful for our mobile sections as well, hopefully And how do you get involved to the our team? I mean we we need more If and we need help as well like we are working on it and of course sometimes we may Missing something and we you may have a new idea and this idea maybe Could be an amazing and awesome So how do you find us? well, if you you can just say Hi and in matrix and irc and also you can join us in our weekly meeting You can help the qda projects on for plasmon related project or qda itself as well Because we are bringing the packages into the fedora. That means if you help the upstream directly So that means you helping us and everybody else as well and which is that's very important pieces because Some of the projects is we're trying to maintain it Uh as a packageer, but the upstream also doing the bug fixes and other stuff as well I mean if you know how to solve it as a packageer and if the packageer has a time and knowledge to do that, of course He will he or she will help it help it out Uh, you can also help the hardware side the team mobility team because as we speak early on Uh, there are some hardware issues And also some kernel problems on the pine phone, especially and we need more help on that as well because If we don't have a proper hardware acceleration and hardware support that like like some one of the example Let me give it like let you say we cannot use gsm That means we can do calling and that's a bad thing because we want to call people with the with our open-source system as well Also, if you find any issues and problems and features and Etc you can of course open a ticket in our pager slash qda six side and also try to send a pull request in our packaging packages and Whatever is it necessary? Also, as I said early you can join our meetings and say hi and listen and share your ideas and thoughts as well Because we want to hear about you Maybe you have some amazing idea and thoughts And to of course, we're going to listen to you as well And other than that, I I'm going to say thank you for everyone who's listening my talk and If you want to join us, please come and this is our Matrix channel and of course the same as course for the libero chat And if you want to just send us a mail, uh, here's the link Over there as well and let me type it in the chat very quickly And of course for IRC another metric channel It's the same goal for everything So I think I'm just finished a little bit early. So I'm trying to answer a question as of my power and my knowledge So Let me see. Do you have a question? Uh, I uh, will qd plasma be on in pine phone? I just answered this already. So as I speak once we Package everything and create isos all scores of if the pine form upstream problems has been solved. Of course, we want to have it in our uh We want to have our federal plasma mobile, you know in the pine phone Uh, can one get involved in contributing the plasma component without much of a knowledge see and cute how of course You cannot you can involve the plasma component without much of a knowledge because he's a team Uh, you don't need to know coding. You don't need to do acute as well. You can help us and help the plasma mobile with translation designs documentation and also other non-technical stuff could be also welcome as well because uh, once when we are We are not just doing coding and Just creating application all the time and as same score for the qda upstream team as well They're also working on the translations and designs and other stuff as well and documentation as well And they are the they are the pieces make this make this project and every project is great as well because Without the documentation a new commerce can contribute it and without the design It will be not appealing to user interface and it will be nice Not nice to people who wants to use it. So they are of course very important pieces as well Uh, okay. Here's another question. I just see I probably miss it But can you call and as it is with qda mobastak or is it going to be done in the future? well, uh It's a I I'm not going I don't have any certain decision on that Uh, I don't know maybe maybe not Uh, but oh all the plasma packages Uh, is going to be controlled by qda sikting In qda sorry qda, yeah qda sikting yeah in fedora so I think of course they are going to be have their own Uh packages in the list as well, but all is going to be controlled by Uh, qda, but if you're asking for creating some meta packages like Uh, installing all of them as once Yeah, that will going to be happen in the future, of course Okay, I'm going to wait a couple more minutes If you have any if you have any other question, uh, please ask If it doesn't I'm going to say of course Thank you everyone who's joining this, uh, talk It was really nice and pleasure to share with you about Plasma mobile in fedora Okay. Here's another question Kirigami is mostly using a Qt quick It's it's on top of the Qt quick. So it is using it's a UI framework So technically you can use with other languages as well, but It depends on the integration you have but mostly in the documentation They are using Qt quick slash c++ mostly I think that's all about it Again, uh, thank you so much everyone for this for this opportunity and for this for this talk Thank you for listening and have a nice Have a nice an amazing day. Thank you so much. Bye. Bye


What do you think we've got going on? Um, I'm not exactly sure. I can't see what you're holding. I see a radio. What do you think is the control thing? Oh my gosh. That's a whole drum. Oh. OK, this is awesome. I know! What was your first video game experience? Like, what was the first console? It was an Atari 2600. What is that? Because I am old. I did not get an NES for the longest time. I would have to go over to this other kid's house so I didn't really like and pretend to be his friend so he would play NES with me. So I had this goal. I had this crazy idea that I wanted to be able to control a drone using a retro arcade controller. Oh my gosh. Basically, you've made these switches. Be these switches. Right, so actually, because the switch is just like a switch. The stick inputs I didn't actually touch. What I did is I hooked up the buttons to the switches because on this controller. And then you map the switches to the outputs. Right. So I used a mixer so that when you hit, say, left on the D-pad, it gives a set amount of left yaw. Because there's no analog. Right. But it's going to be like throttle on a switch, but also it's in roll on a switch. Right, because no matter, I know it felt otherwise, but no matter how hard you hit the button, it didn't make Mario run any faster. You know, it was always just on or off. Stop it! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! How do you usually control a drone? So with the drone, we have four types of controls. So we have your throttle. Throttle essentially makes the drone go up and down or makes it go faster or slower. We have our roll. This is basically our side to side on the drone just like that. We have our pitch, which is forward and backwards. So when we pitch the drone forward, the drone increases speed. We pitch the drone back. It tilts the drone backwards. And that decreases speed. And then finally, we have yaw, which is our throttle stick, side to side. Our yaw is essentially it turns the drone side to side like this. We have to use all four of these controls in unison together in order to control the drone and be able to fly it nice and smoothly around, say, a bunch of trees or around a racing track. So normally when we fly these drones, we put the drone at an angle and it stays at that angle. So with this drone, if you want to turn your pitch forward, you need to both yaw and roll to accomplish a right turn. Not going to be able to do that. We limited it amount of input. So we're going to use an auto level. Pitch, stop, turn like, ah, this is going to be fun. So if you use an auto level, then all you have to do is be flying forward. And as you yaw, the drone will compensate for you. Is this like a legit original? Where'd you get this controller? I got it off eBay, so I don't know if it's legit original. It could be. I mean, I can't tell. Our cameraman is an avid video game aficionados. He really knows. He saw this, and he was like, not original. Like, how do you know? He's like, well, Drew, the original buttons. Let me tell you, the original buttons had a slight concave to them, and these have a slight convex. No, you're right. So anyone that might be cringing that we were destroying an original, we would never do that. I mean, I would if I could get one. I had so many different theories on how to make this happen. And I had, at one point, gone so far down this rabbit hole of figuring out how to decode the signal from these pins. I actually ended up talking to my friends at Spectrum, and we were down this rabbit hole. I had all these Arduino and stuff. And then Miguel, I won't pull it. I was like, wait, why don't you just hardwire to the inputs of the circuit? This was so simple, so it shouldn't be too hard. Drew was an engineer at GM. A lot of people think he's just a pretty looking, excellent FPV pilot and charismatic leader of the Rotorite Colts. Look at this. He, like, soldered all this junk up. It looks really neat.  Thanks, Bart. Well, no one ever says nice things about me on the show. We got a new face here. I'm Conrad, also known as Ferati. I'm known as a racer. I was in the first season of DRL. Not so competitive anymore. Now, FPV is just super fun. Let me know when you're ready. So it is just throttle. And so you're going to have to, like, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. No, I got it. And then you got to hold forward and then just steer. You're armed. Yeah, just start tapping. Tap and hold forward. Oh my god. Oh, god. No, no, hang on. You have to always. I'm yawing, but it's not changing direction. Because you're not holding forward enough. Because you yaw, you have to hold forward. I really thought I pushed forward. I feel like this is a terrible place for this. Or maybe it's the best place for this. It's the best place. He's out in the open field now. OK, so now he's just cheating, basically. I'm coming back. Oh, my god.  It rolled slightly. I was trying to get it back here. Let me see if I can get it back. Turtle it back. Can you fly it back through? I'm going to try. Land it under the tree. Sounds better. Land it under the tree. OK. OK, I'm starting to get the feel for this. OK, you ready? My thumbs are off the sticks. It's all you. It doesn't just come together. It's not trimmed out quite right. Oh. Oh, fire. Oh, fire. Fire. For real? Oh. Yeah, I saw a motor or something smoke. The motors were super hot on the bench the other day. I think that was my turn. The motor just burned up. I think that was my concern is all that on and off of the throttle. Just real aggressive, like 0 to 100, 0 to 100. It is slightly trimmed to the right. OK. So it was pulling to the right. So we could try to trim that out, or you did that in real time. The other thing that's weird is that you cannot input both yaw and pitch at the same time. The D-pad doesn't allow. You can. I guess you could diagonal. Yeah, you just have to hit the diagonal. Because you're constantly going da, da, da, da, da, da. Come on, man. You can fly it, Mara. So it's kind of like, it's kind of like, well, let's see if Van Over can do it. But for me, it was kind of like, yaw, yaw, yaw, yaw. Pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch. It was pretty sketchy. Let's see how it looks to us. All right, you ready? You're on. Now he's got it. Oh, he's a natural. Oh. Now he's a shootout. Oh, wow, I didn't think I had a gas. Ah! All right, let's warm it up. You can just hold pitch forward even as you're like, you don't have to tap pitch. You can hold pitch. You know? Right. Oh, man. It's so hard for me not to, I'm not touching anything. These are off the sticks. This is all you. All right, hold on me. Try and get back in. Oh, it died. It died. Again? It died again. Dude, they're dead. It says core 76 degrees Celsius. That's the flight controller. Ignore that. That's a real. Why is the flight controller heating up? I feel like 76C is really hot. That's really hot. I know. Some flight controllers just run hot, and I don't know why, but it's just. I think a motor smoke. What the? Oh, this is the field. Yeah, they're really hot. Same motor or different motor? Ooh, they are smoking hot again. Let's try another quad. What's the deal with the battery? I don't. I don't do. Is it dead? Can we test it? I just said I have no idea. I have no idea. I'm trying to help. Do you have a multimeter? I have a multimeter. That's why I'm trying to help. 184 millivolts. That's not enough millivolts. So Drew moved the receiver to a whole other quad so that now we can fly it. And then his spectrum battery just was like nah, not today, friends. And went, just died. Huh. Serenity now. Serenity. Serenity now. I just want to play my video game. So we took my Fat Shark 18650 pack. We cut the battery connector for his spectrum off it and put it on my balance lead. And now. You got to do what you got to do. I took my beautiful DIY project and put red tape all over. Oh, and a new quad. And we have a new quad. You ready, Drew? I'm ready. I want to hold it. Oh my god. Oh, wow. That is hard. OK, there we go, there we go, there we go. We're going really fast. I'm holding the quad all the way. I think it's just the XL-1. I want more input. I feel like I'm just not getting enough. So he's basically giving himself more end-throw. So by doing so, let's say he was at 30% of control. Now he's going to go up to like 60% of the control. So you're going to increase your throttle, too? No, no, throttle's perfect. Rudder was pretty fine. I just couldn't pitch forward enough. It just sounds like you're playing Street Fighter, dude. There you go. What are you after? Oh, that. Oh, not having any. Oh! Oh, it went out. It went out. You went for the gas. Watching it in the goggles, it seems like it makes sense that it keeps catching on fire. It's like, it's so violent. Not having any roll is really, really difficult. So you turn and you just drift backwards. I think I need to go in there and add more mixers so that when you give it left and right, it banks the turns. That dude, it's awesome. I'm jealous. Count right. He's going to go when it's best. This is pretty good. OK, it's already. Yeah. Oh, it's so much better with the mixers. It looks way better. It looks way better. It looks way better. Oh, we're going nuts. While the throttle is going punch, punch, punch, punch, punch, the stick movements, the pitch and the aileron, all that stuff, you should hold. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's a weird mind.  Right, right. At least now I can see the quad coming straight at us. There you go. That's awesome. Conrad's doing best for sure. What do you think about the, oh, look at that. That was a nice spin. Oh, god. Yeah. That's looking pretty good. Yeah. OK, well, I think we should set a course. What? We should set a course and race. You set the track because you're racer number one. One pavilion and one tree gap. Right, yeah. Nice. Nice. Oh, my gosh. He's doing it. Oh, my gosh. This is so crazy. This is so crazy. Yeah, it's different when you have to actually do a, oh, god. Do a task. The V is going to be crazy. There it is. That's it. That ahead. That ahead. That ahead. You did it. Oh, my gosh. And you hit the pavilion. You're going to be first lap when you do it. You're doing it. You're doing it. Yes, first lap. What was that Conrad? 25, 34. That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. I'm going to wreck it. You can actually get a little speed going. Do you want to try it better? Let's let somebody else have a try. This is really hard. Oh, god. This is horrible. Yeah, hold forward. Reminds me of playing Flappy Bird. Yeah, Flappy Clash. All right. Oh, my god. One minute, four seconds. OK, let's call it. Given longer punches, it won't dip like that. Yeah, in my opinion, that's what you want. Get a hold forward. I know, I know. He's getting ready before he starts the clock. The clock started. He finally found a way to beat Ben over. Yeah, I haven't beat him yet. Oh, I see where you added roll. That helped so much. Oh, that moss near hit. So hard. Through the bee, through the bee. All right, finish the lap. Oh, no, finish the lap. What's his time? It's time, 55. I'm still in the lead. I'm in moss. I got it. All right, we'll just reset it, then. OK, two more laps. Your arms. Oh, see, now he's got it. Start. Oh, yeah, he's way better now. God darn it. He was just trolling us on the first lap. No, he's got it. Oh, he's doing so good. Gosh darn it. No. I'm so excited to win. You could still win. No, this is about to be a crazy good lap. Oh, my gosh, are you? Go! I went through it. It's not through. OK, he's through. That was a 22-48. Yeah! Oh, my gosh. I'm not even going to do the next one. You're just calling it a call. You just done? I trolled you guys so hard that first run. Were you trolling? Yes.  Everyone's going to hate me after watching this. Alex, give me your fingers. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Stick him rolling, he's got the eye of the tiger. Got it. Like, it is so hard to be lined up for anything. There you go, all right. Nice turn. Yeah, I was proud of that one. There you go, there you go. Focus, focus. Ooh!  Send it, send it, send it, send it.  We don't care. Oh! You made it, you made it. You made it. This arm, this arm. Please, this arm, please, this arm it. What was the time? What was the time? What was the time? 29. Damn! 29-9. That was good. That was everything I had.  It doesn't count, but let me just finish this pack. Just for fun. Oh. Good at this. That was a time.  You got the timer, Conrad? Yeah. Okay. Skip through, skip through. What was it? 21-8. Oh! 21 seconds. I'm proud of that, even if we don't count it. Yeah. It counts after you did six blocks from the track. It's fun. All right, so what impressed me most was that Alex was able to do better than all of us on essentially the second or third lap or whatever. Really his first lap, because he sandbagged the first lap just to make us look like chubs. Pretty much. I'm proud that after many tries I was able to beat that time, but I'm aware that if you got that many attempts, you'd be running 17-18. You never know. It is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Yeah. And I think what I explained to Joshua earlier is, you're a really good racer. Yeah, but I don't ever play console games. I think that got you. Give me like a mouse and keyboard. Oh! What would you guys want to see? So Conrad wants to do mouse and keyboard, apparently. I just want to see some other game controllers. I want to try out the Super Nintendo, because then we have shoulder buttons. Comment down below what game controller would you like to see us try tomorrow. And big thanks to our buddy Farahdi for coming all the way from some part of the western United States here. Yeah, thanks for having me out. Link in the description of his channel, of course, so you can check out more of his actual racing with a real controller because he is super talented. If you really liked this episode, be sure to give it a thumbs up, guys. Let us know that you loved it. And if you're not subscribed already, it's your first time watching WorldWrite. Well, thank you so much for joining. We hope you subscribe for more awesome content like this. Be sure to go check out our store because that's how we are able to even make these episodes for you guys. We always appreciate you guys shopping because it helps us keep doing crazy things like this. We hope you enjoy it. Anything? I also hope you enjoyed it. We both got a haircut today. We did. Whose looks better? Comment down below. Your haircut looks better, mine or Alex's. I actually have a haircut. Not whose face looks better. Well, no, I actually have a haircut, so I went by default. Let's... No, okay.


How long you've been with night? How long you've been with night? Um, it'll be two years next month. Oh, alright. First time you've been in the truck? X used to drive trucks. Oh, okay. And he used to work for night. Oh, really? And that's how I kinda ended up here. Four months, actually yesterday. It was my year and four months. Happy anniversary. Thank you. Did you go through our school? Did you go through school somehow? I did go through Squire, yes. What made you quit night? A lot of researching. I have really highly recommended from a lot of people to come to night and I was like, well, let me check it out. And I actually called a recruiter and talked to Summer. Summer, okay. And Summer, um, she bent over backwards to do everything she could to get me in here and she did an awesome job. And here I am. Oh, like, did you enjoy it or was it boring? Oh, I enjoyed it. I loved it. I've always loved trucks, mechanics, everything. And it was a little warm. I went during the summertime. Oh, out here? Out here. Out. Yes. So, uh, besides that, it was really knowledgeable. Everything was good. The instructors were awesome. What made you get into trucking? I wanted to do something I love, you know, and that goes back on. I've always loved cars and mechanics and being on the road and, how do you say, uh, vacationing in all different places. And what's better to do it in here, you know? Yeah. You not only get to, this is my office, is looking out these windows. I get to, in a sense, vacation and get paid for it. So I just kind of put them all together. I wanted a career and I knew I had to work hard for it. They weren't just going to hand you a CDL on a truck. So you actually were a mechanic before? No, no, no. My father was a mechanic. And he retired, but growing up with him, you know, working in the shops. My first job when I was 16 years old was actually busting out tires, diesel tires, like changing them out. So that was my first job out in Vegas. So I learned mechanics from him and started building cars and building trucks. So did he just wave at you because you stopped all the way back here? Right. This corner, we can't make it with these big traders. You need at least two lanes to turn into. So as you saw, he came into our lane. Now, if I was stuck up here at the stop line, he either would have had a weighted or I would hope he wouldn't try because you see that pole right there has been hit numerous times. So I actually learned this through Squire is they have, you know, we park back here so other trucks can get through. Just being courteous to other drivers. I was wondering why we were so far back for a moment. Yeah. Yeah, those traders are long. So did you crash? Did you hit anything when you were training? No, I was real close. My second day, though, I remember with my new trainer I almost, you know, you get complacent.  And I'm glad he was paying attention and knew what he was doing because I came into a corner and think, goodness, I was in a parking lot. But I was this close to getting my trader and taking off in front of a truck. And he told me, he's like, turn to the right, turn to the right. And I'm like, of course, okay, so I turn to the right and he's like, I look in your left mirror and I look to my left mirror and I see that I'm clearing the trader. And I started thinking in my head, like, if he wasn't paying attention, you know, I was nervous.  That was awesome. Other than that, no, I haven't hit anything. Nothing's hit me. Besides a couple little birds and stuff. I don't know. Yeah, I know it's bad. I feel sad when I can dump them out sometimes. Dump them out? Dump them when they eat. Yeah.  The story is about new drivers at other companies. They have so many accidents and their trainer is sleeping in the back and they didn't know what to do. They were backing up and their trainer was there and they just hit whatever. I'm sure that's really discouraging because you're supposed to be learning from these people and they can't even catch. That was really awesome that your trainer did. Yeah. He knew it just by... He could even see my mirrors. He knew it just by the angle. But those type of trainers, it comes in everywhere. I mean, I guess, trucking company. But you can't be a trainer if you're not there for your trainee to help them learn. And I've heard that in other companies that, yeah, guys are sleeping in the back and on their first week, second week, it's like, well, don't take the job because you're not here for the money. You're here to teach these individuals that's never done this before. Yeah, you don't leave them out there on a limb and say, hey, go for it, figure it out. It's hard. I'd rather drive my shift, let them drive their shift and I'll sit right there in that seat and, yeah, I'm dog-tired. But at least I'm aware and I'm active to help them out of doing what they're doing. I sleep like a baby at night. I'll tell you that. It's always a little difficult at first because you don't know who you're bunking up with, you know? Right. And I'm okay with it. I'm used to it. I've learned and worried about what they're feeling and what they're thinking. So I try to make it as comfortable as I can for them. But at first you never know. You don't know if they're going to snore all night. You don't know their feet steep. You know, you don't know any of these things. I mean... Are you not really quick? Yeah, you find out real fast. I've been blessed. Luckily, I've been blessed with who I've had on my truck and I haven't had to worry about any of that. But you learn each other real quick.  Usually I'll do about two weeks out, 13 to 14 days, come in, let them have their home time to see their family and do whatever they need. And then we'll go out for the last, you know, 13, 14 days. Do you have kids? I do. I have four little girls. Oh, wow. Four little... 10 years old, 7 years old, 4 years old, and coming up September 1st, a one-year-old. September, oh!  Do you FaceTime on the lot when you're gone? Yes, I try to video time every night if not definitely sending text messages for the night before or for that night and the following day. Please make a right on 21st week. Safely. I felt like I was alone all the time by myself. I was gone. You couldn't keep up to me. That was practicing. She was practicing. She was good. I don't know if you've seen her coming around the corner when the guy pulled out the black and white flag, so we're pretty sure that means Kevin's the winner. A lot of signals out here. The flashers, the floorways are good for multiple things. Not only, you know, if you need to let someone behind you know that there's something going on ahead, like for instance, being in a truck with a trailer, you have a truck with a trailer behind you, they can't really see what you can see. So when you're coming up, say to traffic like this, so we're coming up doing 55, 60 miles an hour, and traffic's coming to a pretty, pretty fast stop. You put your floorways on, everybody behind you, and this is not just for truckers, this is for, you know, four-wheelers as well. They can see that you got your cautions on this in an emergency situation or somewhat or hazards. They're most likely, and I haven't had an issue yet, but they're gonna slow down and then, yeah, right? No wooden here. Just trying to give the people behind you a heads up. Those are always a good way to have the four-wheelers for, or like you saw earlier when we were driving down that really tight street because those trucks were parmed off of the curb. Yeah. But I had a four-wheeler coming at me.  So I put my four-wheelers on for the people behind me and know like, hey, I might be coming to a stop to let that pedestrian go by and, you know, we can continue on. I shouldn't do anything. So, CBs aren't utilized like they used to be anymore. Sometimes you can get on certain channels on the CB and you can listen to people and they're more of on there just to, I guess, kind of talk mess to each other. So sometimes it gets pretty hilarious. It's pretty funny. But the only time I ever turn my CB on is when I am stuck in traffic and I can't basically see how far the traffic is. So you could jump on the CB and, you know, always find your mile marker where you're at, what direction you're going and, you know, what highway or interstate, et cetera that you're on and call ahead, you know, like anybody ahead of so and so where I'm at, like, does anybody see anything and you always get somebody on response that's going to let you know.  So you kind of get an estimated time of what you're doing, but... Does every truck have a CB? Yeah, you could buy it if you want, you know. I get them for certain reasons. Like, for two reasons, traffic and sometimes when you're driving you're out in the middle of nowhere. You don't have... Signal? Yeah, signal on your phone or on your Zonar or others use quell coms as well. 10-4 means, like, okay, like, you've acknowledged it, it's good to go. Same as, you know, copy, copy that.  Means they're headed towards your location. A Smoky? What's a Smoky? Do your speed limits when you pass a Smoky. What's a Smoky? That's funny, you ask. Smokies are law enforcement. They're law enforcement set. You know, the ones that are sitting out on the side of the road.  So we try to help the other truckers out so they don't get tickets. I don't like to listen to my CV. It annoys me.  I like just listening. It sounds corny, but I like just listening to my truck, listening to the road, singing to myself. You don't get sleepy? No. If you get sleepy, you know, you can always shut down for an hour to take a nap, keep going. But you get used to it. I got a question for you. Tell me, athlete. What is the most exciting thing about your job or what makes you feel good about your job? After they're hired and they're having fun, but just to know that I would attain their goals. Makes you feel good, feel good? Yeah. That's cool. It gives me the tingles. Isn't that sweet? It's true. It's called dedication to a good job, man.