
## Overview
I was talking to a developer friend the other day about starting a little side project where you could keep track of the product prices on supermarket websites and trend them over time. This would allow a user to see what’s increasing in price at any given moment. Unfortunately, none of the major supermarkets offer convenient API’s to easily get this information. Tesco’s used to offer a handy API, but it was decommissioned in 2016, sad face.
This left me with a slightly less elegant method of getting the data I wanted, web scraping. This is something I have very little experience in, so it’s time to start at the basics.

## What is Web Scraping?
Simply put, web scraping is your program using a regular old HTTP request to go off to a website of your choosing and grab all the HTML/CSS from the page. Usually, you’d then want to parse the results, only saving the data you’re interested in.
You need to use different methods of scraping for different types of web pages. To start with we’re going to look at how to get data from static web pages.

## Prerequisites
I’m going to be building this in a .Net Core Web Application using MVC. So, if you’re following along, go ahead and create a new project.
![Creating a new .net project.](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/createNewProject.png)
 
I’ll also be making use of the “HTML Agility Pack” which you can find via the NuGet package manager:
![Adding the Agility Pack to the solution using NuGet.](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/getAgilityPack.png)
This package makes parsing the HTML content much more intuitive.

## Retrieving the HTML
Fortunately for us, .Net Core includes native asynchronous HTTP request libraries. Lets get us some HTML!
First step is choosing the web page we want to scrape, as I mentioned we’re starting with static pages, so I’ve chosen a Wikipedia page dear to all our hearts.
![Setting the URL var](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/SetURL.png)
 
As you can see above I’ve placed the URL variable in the HomeController Index() method as this is the default call when you first open an MVC web application.
When using the .NET HTTP library, a static asynchronous task is returned from the request, so we’ll need to build out the code to handle the request functionality in its own static method.
![Building out the code](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/startBuildingOutTheCode.png)
 
I’ve added this to the HomeController class to keep things simple. I’ve also updated the Index() method to call the method on our URL.
![index update](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/call.png)
 
Let’s quickly test that we’ve set things up correctly and are receiving the HTML data. The easiest way to do this is to place a breakpoint on the return View(); line and run the program.
![Checking the HTML](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/CheckingTheHTML.gif)
Looks good! Now to parse the data.

## Parsing the HTML
The first step in parsing the HTML is knowing what we’re looking for. For this exercise I’m happy with just getting all the individual programming languages held on the page. 
Inspecting the programming names in the chrome dev tools shows us that each name is contained in an `<Li>` element. 
![👀 Inspecting the HTML 👀](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/inspecting.png)
 
Let’s grab all the `<Li>` elements on the page and see what we get.
First I’m going to create a new method to parse the HTML.
![Getting all the Li elements](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/gimmeSomeLis.png)
 
While writing the method I used breakpoints to see the structure of the list items, the InnerText property appears to contain the data I want.
![Getting the correct data from the innerText property](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/innerText.png)
 
The problem with this approach is that there are a lot of other `<Li>` elements on the page and I’m getting their values as well, like this.
![Get these Li's out of my face](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/thatsALotOfLis.png)
 
By poking around in the HTML source I was able to get values from the elements, or their parent nodes that I could start using to filter out some of the unwanted data.
![Filtering the results](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/filtering.png)
 
I didn’t sanitize the whole list since I don’t really have any plans for the data here, but you can see the method I used and see how that could be incorporated in your own code.

## Saving the filtered data
It may be more convenient in your project to just save the data and do the sanitizing some other way after the fact. Since we’re keeping things simple lets just write a quick method to export this data to a .txt file.
![Saving this 💩](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/saving.png)

And boom, here’s out output:
![output](/static/images/pages/posts/2022-05-18-scraping-static-web-pages/output.png)
 
## Conclusion
Web scraping is one of the various methods available to a developer who needs to make use of a web page’s content. In this article I covered a basic but powerful implementation, I hope to also cover scraping dynamically created webpages in the future.

Cheers!


Web Scraping static web pages in .Net Core

Educator Mary-Jo Hill explains how YakBit can revolutionise workplace inclusion ahead of her conference speech.

Having taught in education for 25 years and worked as an advisor, and then later as a leadership coach. Mary-Jo realised that many in the classroom have difficulty in having their voices heard. She also acknowledged that adults in the workplace, during meetings and other events do not have the courage or encouragement to express their feelings and for sure, many voices shout louder and more frequently than others. Just take a look at Amanda Blanc’s recent meeting experience at Aviva!.

## From school to work

“YakBit evolved through my observation that, in a classroom, I needed to learn what is the best way to engage all in a teaching and listening forum, and how this can be managed to better effect.”

Having completed a MBA at the UEA, and taken part in the UEA Business Enterprise Start Up week, Mary-Jo decided that she wanted to use tech to analyse speech patterns and promote inclusivity in the workplace.

## Tech to the rescue

Those who feel marginalised and are less confident will benefit from YakBit. Research shows that there is a need to measure real time inclusion. This carries through from the educational environment right through to the workplace.

By using speech analytics, AI, and machine learning to increase awareness of how people talk and listen in a meeting space. Mary-Jo stresses that YakBit is still in its infancy but is examining ways to use insight to make meetings more effective. The AI will also be able to register silences as well as speech - who is speaking, who isn’t and then analysis can assess why this is so. The aim is to “ensure that there is core participation and there are structures and systems in place so those who are less confident become more engaged.”

## Testing the methodology

YakBit is now trialling the MVP with a creative agency in Norwich, with AI expertise on the Board. Smart Grant Funding for further R&D is vital to move this forward. By talking at the conference Mary-Jo hopes that members of the tech community will contribute, with their thoughts, ideas, expertise and knowledge.

## The future

Corporations who might wish to adopt YakBit, include those early adopters, “who value equality and inclusion.”’ She is also very aware that companies that, potentially, could benefit from this programme, will be nervous. On the positive side “many industries have a mandate to report on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.” Mary-Jo values all Norfolk Networks and colleagues here to find companies interested in adopting YakBit.



<NorDevCon
  title="To hear more about this intriguing project, come along to Mary-Jo’s talk"
  tagline="The eastern region's biggest tech conference, on 16th & 17th June 2022"
/>

YakBit - making inclusion in the workplace matter


Having got into coding recently there have certainly been some surprises for me. 

Some of it had stemmed from how the code works Vs how I expected it to work. Some things seem counterintuitive until I dive and delve further into the why as well as the what and then it makes sense. 

One of the surprises was the community and how friendly, helpful and supportive they are. I have always heard great things about coding communities but to see it and be on the receiving end has been different. I really see now how much of this is people's passion and it's so refreshing to see how excited people are to see others moving into their industry. 

My biggest surprise though was how much I want to code! 

Now I want to code for a living, I never saw it as a hobby or general past time. It for me was a way to make a living doing something I enjoyed. I always saw people who lived, breathed and slept code. The kind who do it for work, have personal projects on the go, spend time helping others and contribute to open source works too. I always admired those people but I always thought "these are people that live to work" and I am someone who "works to live". 

How wrong I was!

The more I code, the more I want to code. I find myself becoming more and more passionate about it the more I learn and the more I write. 

Just this week I almost cancelled two sets of plans because I just wanted to code or I was in the zone and didn't want to stop. Thankfully the voice in my head reminded me about balance in life so I closed the laptop and socialised like a good boy. 

What I'm getting at is;

- I have discovered that you really can make a living out of something you love.
- I now know how wonderful it is to be part of a community.
- It's a great to have something to feel so passionate about.

I just can't wait to get myself up to speed and contribute to some projects myself.


My personal surprises when learning to code. 


Below are my current thoughts and feelings regarding development as a career.
I wanted to share them publicly because I feel like it is important to show that 
even though I have been a developer for a few years now, it is entirely normal
to feel a little deflated or burnt out.

Anyway, this is a kind of thoughts out loud post, but I feel like it would be 
good to hear other peoples feelings and thoughts as I think only good can come 
from showing some vulnerability from time to time and learning how to deal with
those feelings and thoughts.

I am, at this moment in time, the most successful I have ever been. Not just in
this career but any career I have ever had. But at the same time I have
never felt so lost in where to go or what to do next.

I know that I love being a developer, the people I have met and the growth that I
have experienced would not have been possible if I were not in this industry.

My trouble is, I get bored very easily, and I am always trying to better myself. 
I am competitive with myself, and I find it hard to stand still and appreciate 
the moment. Being content is not something I do very well and most recently I 
have found myself infuriated by the most little of things at work 
(not a good sign I don't think), and I think it partly comes down to always 
expecting more or better for myself.

My motivation at the moment seems to come and go in waves, one minute 
I am super into learning or doing something and the next I have no interest 
in doing it in the slightest. This could be burnout and or depression but in 
general, I don't feel depressed as everything else seems to be going really well.

A part of my issue is that I don't really want to work in web development forever, 
or work on products that I don't really care about or believe in. I would 
ultimately like to become an iOS engineer as I am an Apple fanboy deep down 
(haters gonna hate), but I feel so stuck in the sense that changing from web
developer to an iOS developer seems impossible, or at least it does for me at 
the moment.

Is it just me? Or does anyone else feel lost?

Feeling lost is not only for beginners


Ahead of her conference speech, [Katie Fisher](https://twitter.com/pandatwinkles), senior experience strategist at Norwich based, [The User Story](https://www.theuserstory.com/), talked to us about the importance of UX.

## Evidence and psychology

UX is psychology driven. Katie clarifies how user experience or rather, user experience research, is about using human behaviour and attitudes to inform design and the building of products.

> There is a reason behind anything that we design because we understand that there is a motivation behind what people want to achieve by using this website etc.

By speaking to users, Katie and her team try to understand the reasons behind why and how the public use websites. UX designers are approached by businesses that want to understand how people use their products. Without the data, the interviews and the science, it’s impossible to answer these pertinent questions.

## What the user wants

Starting from scratch Katie explained that she wants to comprehend people's problems when landing on a specific website. ”You’re not going to get very far if you’re always asking people something new” is just one of her discoveries.

Technology doesn’t always have to be new as far as the end user is concerned. It just has to work. “People thrive on familiarity, they have mental models for this, the design heuristic is recognition over recall.” You should always recognise something rather than remember. Our memory works like this. If consumers have to work too hard on your website - they’ll leave.

For example, “there are only five icons that are universally recognised by the user.” Introduce a new aspect and the public is puzzled. People don’t always recognise novelty and they’ll have to re-learn things and use a greater cognitive load. The user will have to use more thought to figure something out - they’ll leave the platform.

> To understand if people will understand something, use it and complete a task on the website, we’re looking at behaviour compared to the interview based analysis.

## Developers and UX

Katie feels that there is some misunderstanding about what people who work in UX are trying to do.

> The way that the User Story works is that whatever we’re designing from a really early stage we want to speak to the developers, who are going to have to build it, at this time.

This is the time for compromises. Discussions of time & cost are held during this period. ”This is the time to bring developers on board so they understand ‘we’re not throwing things over a fence at them.’”
“We always want to work with developers, even when they’re constructing the website, as we know that things will come up in the actual build ,that may be either design or the data driven that doesn’t quite work.” Traditionally, this type of collaboration hasn’t always been the focus of either dev’s or UX designer’s minds. Times have changed and all of The User Story projects are collaborative.

“Though some developers aren’t used to having to collaborate, front end developers are better at this way of working than some back end engineers.” Explanations from UX designers can clarify the process. Sharing snippets and video clips is an important step in the collaborative procedure.

## Learn more about UX

<NorDevCon
  title="If you want to discover more about UX, catch up with Katie’s session"
  tagline="The eastern region's biggest tech conference, on 16th & 17th June 2022"
/>


Devs, design & users


nor(DEV): was founded 9 years ago by local software engineer, Paul Grenyer, and we thought it was important to kick off our interviews with speakers and sponsors by talking to him and discovering more about the roots of the conference.

## Background notes

Back in the dark ages, when working in London as a programmer, Paul joined the [ACCU](https://accu.org/) and appreciated that he benefited from their conference and networking opportunities, he helped them set up local groups with speakers. He also used to attend [Extreme Tuesday](https://www.extremetuesday.com/), an Agile based group which acts as a forum for developers to chat and learn.

## A lively Norwich tech scene

On returning to Norwich Paul felt that this fine city could benefit from similar community based.enterprises and established some [Agile related activities](https://paulgrenyer.blogspot.com/2012/12/agile-east-anglia-short-history.html).

In 2012, Paul got together with John Fagan, Stephen Pengelly, Juliana Mayer & Seb Butcher, who, at that time, were involved in separate groups, and they formed [SyncNorwich](https://www.facebook.com/SyncNorwich/) which, from its inception, was an immediate success. After six months, though, Paul had itchy feet but worked with the team at establishing a conference in February 2013. Estimating that 40 would attend, to Paul’s delight 180 rolled up to the sadly defunct [Open](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEN_Norwich), the event was called Sync Conf.

## Norfolk Developers is born

Recognising the need for a forum for developers -

> “at that time we didn’t know how many tech people and companies there were in Norwich, [but knew that] there was a real appetite for tech in the city,”

Paul aligned with Dom Davis and Ben Taylor and set up nor(DEV): in 2013 of which the annual conference was an integral part, kicking off in 2014, with a healthy 250 attendance. Paul remained as the primary conference organiser until 2019 when he handed over the reins to Alex Scotton & Shaun Church.

## Reflecting on the conference

“Amusingly Paul made the comment, “your ego’s writing cheques your body can’t cash” (Top Gun) which is maybe, one of the reasons that the group has expanded so widely. As well as just addressing solely developer issues, the conference now has workshops, business talks and a whole host of related subjects. At its zenith the conference could boast an attendance of 640 people over 2.5 days. Activities for school children were also included where building and programming a robot was one of the stellar attractions.

## Where it’s going

Talking about the conference, Paul said,”The whole point of Norfolk Developers was to bring good quality technical content to Norfolk.” With world class speakers, engrossing talks and the networking opportunities for the tech community, it looks as if Paul’s ambition continues to be realised.

**We hope you’ll enjoy this year’s conference and look out for Paul’s speech which is the opening keynote on Thursday 16 June at 12.30pm.**

<NorDevCon
  title="Hear more about the nor(DEV): origins with Paul's opening keynote!"
  tagline="Join us at the eastern region's biggest tech conference, on 16th & 17th June 2022"
/>


Where it all started


It’s just two months until the largest tech conference in the east - the Norfolk Developers’ conference - opens its doors. And what a collection of delights are in store for you.

As a result of the pandemic, we couldn’t hold this event in 2021. This year we are back with some very special speakers and workshops.

## Evergreen favourites

We have returning popular speakers, including Jim Marshall, who in 2020 wowed us with his drumming proficiency as well as his invigorating speech. This year Jim will be talking about leadership self awareness. The incomparable Dom Davis will entertain and enlighten us with a talk on the Andromeda strain. And another popular returnee, Paul Grenyer, will divulge the conference origins and why it’s so important for the east of England and the UK’s tech sector.

## New stars

We’re also delighted to introduce a few newbies to our platform. Former software engineer, and current Mindset coach, Richard Donovan, will explain the importance of de-stressing and confidence building and how developers can and should look after their mental health. The User Story’s Katie Fisher will be highlighting the importance of listening to clients through UX.

Watch out for some fascinating talks on crypto, ethereum and Web 3, including a tasty explanation on Blockchain from Cambridge University Bitcoin society.

## Tech in the east

To put the importance of the Norfolk Developers’ conference into context, the 2021 [Tech Nation Report](https://technation.io/report2021/) stated that 2020 figures revealed that Norwich ranks 13th in the UK and can boast £27m investment in its tech sector. Taking the east of England as a whole, the east recorded a £220b investment.in 2020.

## Even more

Up until the conference itself we’ll be running a series of interviews with speakers and, of course, our wonderful sponsors.

Tickets are going fast but you have until 16 May to grab our Early Bird ticket.

Check out our Twitter feed, [@NorfolkDev](https://twitter.com/NorfolkDev), for further information. To chat with some of our members, take a look at our Discord channel, or catch up with some of the talks we hosted right through the pandemic on You Tube.

<NorDevCon
  title="We’re really looking forward to welcoming you all, in person"
  tagline="The eastern region's biggest tech conference, 16-17 June at Norwich’s King Centre."
/>


Norfolk Developers’ Conference 2022 June 16-17


Most job specifications deliver poor results. Why?
Below are my two top tips on how to put yourself in the lead and beat the competition. 

## 1. Know what you need from an applicant and why you need it. 

How much thought have you given it? Have you had conversations with other stakeholders and advisors to make sure you’re all singing from the same hymn sheet? Have you defined it?  Have you agreed on it?

If you don’t have a distinct idea before your hiring process starts how can you ask the right questions?  Worse still what if you hire someone but you explained a different job to the one they end up doing, and they either can’t do it effectively, or they quit! 

Perhaps you fix the problem early and just waste the first batch of CVs.  Maybe you conduct multiple interviews before finding out everyone is not on the same page, and more time is wasted.  But perhaps worst of all you actually find and interview that Unicorn Poo candidate, but your lack of preparation leads to messy interviews and delays in decision making. Whilst you are scrabbling around to pick up the pieces your perfect candidate decides they are better than this and pull out. Or your rivals swooped in and steal them from under your nose.  

You’ve wasted time and money.  Your employee brand suffers due to poor candidate experience. Hiring managers grow frustrated because their input is bearing no fruit. And if you used recruitment agencies the good agencies have flagged you as a bit of a timewaster.  

So how do you avoid these pitfalls, and what should you do before you write your spec?

- Speak to all decision makers and ensure agreement on the “must haves”
- Gather ideas on the “nice to haves” too
- Write down clearly defined requirements making sure that the must haves are genuinely 100% required
- Once you have it black and white run it past those same decision makers again for final approval. 

Now you’re ready for part 2!

## 2. Know what people want and what you offer

I recently spoke to a CTO who puts together a fantastic job spec, who said “For me it’s simple, I just try to include everything I would want to know”.  If you take just one thing away from this article, make it that.

So ask yourself  “What would I want to know? What could my future employees want?  Why would they want to work here? What can we offer them?”.

That’s what attracts people. 

Start with the basics, the stuff in the benefits package.  Holiday days, remote working, location, flexibility, salary (if you aren’t including salary, ask yourself why.  Many people will never apply if you aren’t including it). 

But that’s easy, now the real work starts. What separates you from the rest. 

Think about your culture. What really keeps your employees engaged (protip:  It’s probably not the free tea and coffee!).  The best question to ask yourself is “what would the employees say they like about working here?”

- Are you the biggest brand? Or have the highest quality products?
- Are you the fastest growing in your sector? Or most stable?
- Are engineers encouraged to create high quality solutions that are only shipped when they are ready?
- What is exciting about your product?  Is it known by the person on the street? Is it an exciting area of tech?
- Are you investing heavily in to R&D?  Or taking existing products to the next level?
- Have you recently won new major clients? Are your current clients well known?
- If you’re a startup, what experience does senior management have in startup success? What’s the funding situation?  Share options? How much runway do you have?
- Do you provide training budgets, or send your engineers to conferences?
- Perhaps one of your senior team is a world renowned authority?
- Have you won employer awards?
- Do you invest in the latest tech?
- Are employees given autonomy to solve problems their own way?
- Do you have social events?
- Do you have examples of positive structural changes based on employee feedback?
- Are you award winning?
- Career progression?  (Make sure to talk about your success stories in interview, it makes it real)
- Flexible hours and remote working?
- General employee happiness?  Can you back it up with a low staff turnover?
- Unusual benefits, like personal development days, or flexible benefits, gym memberships, free fruit  (okay fine, you can talk about free tea and coffee, but only if you have a proper coffee machine… giving people a kettle and a jar of Nescafe doesn’t count, sorry).

Sure healthcare and life insurance are nice.  But it’s the rest of it that matters. ASK PEOPLE who are already doing the job what they like about it (and what you can do to improve).  Once you’ve discovered what makes your current employees excited to come in to work, shout about it!

Tell stories that back up what you are saying, and don’t be afraid to use facts and figures.

Now you are ready to write a better job specification, and every stage of your candidate pipeline will thank you for it. 

Oh, and before I forget, if you’re hiring in to Embedded Software, C or C++ spaces, you can find Sheridan on [The Scoop](https://recruiters.thescoop.co.uk/sheridan-halls).


The 2 things you need to know before writing a job specification (and how to use them)


In a recent interview with [Alpha Inclusion & Communication’s](http://alphaic.co.uk/), Amy Eleftheriades, the importance of LEGO as a means of reducing stress was explored. As so many Norfolk Developers appear to be mildly obsessed with these vibrantly coloured building objects we decided to look at the roots of their passion.

Originally a qualified teacher, Amy also has experience of working in a residential school and has always worked with young people and adults who have problems with communication. She has also spent time in Brazil working with children and exploring means of enhancing their communication skills. 

While teaching, Amy learned about LEGO based therapy that was used in California to promote and encourage communication for those on the autistic spectrum. Following on from this training, Amy quickly appreciated that LEGO has a lot to offer anyone trying to build teamwork skills as well as enhancing communication development. Amy fully believes that “LEGO is a great tool for a logical thinker.” This has led her to apply her LEGO skills to both adults and children.

![The team went on to use their LEGO experience in their workplace.](/static/images/pages/posts/2021-03-22-looking-at-lego/communication-workshops-at-alphaic.jpg)

She’s also shared her knowledge with a group of IT professionals, “Originally, it was incredible to watch these adults behaving in a very similar way in terms of mis-communication” The team went on to use their LEGO experience in their workplace. This prowess has helped Amy in the field of mental health, many adults, find LEGO a useful way of winding down - relieving stress.

## Bussing Blocks

One of the most ingenious tools used by Amy is the block bus - a converted vehicle no less. The bus is filled with all types of games and LEGO to encourage communication and therapy, this resource is beneficial to all.

Sadly, as a result of the pandemic, Alpha Inclusion’s block bus is resting but the team still carry out their training work via - you’ve guessed it, Zoom. But the company has been on a mission to source tablets and other resources  to continue its valuable work. As a Social Enterprise, funds are always tight but Norfolk Developers’ Neil Carroll has come to the rescue by advising what equipment and tech setup was needed to improve the facilities so that clients can still use the block bus and be Covid safe.

## LEGO & Developers

We also talked to Nor Dev’s Dom Davis about why so many devs love LEGO. He agreed that LEGO definitely helps with problem solving, something that most have to do in their daily coding lives, and he added: “this is a creative process but one that doesn’t require a specific skill set, but for painting, drawing or woodwork you have to have a definite skill.”  And musing about the subject, Dom added, “with LEGO you have a predefined set of components that can be combined and with programming you also have a predefined set of components that you have to put together in an interesting way - this does require a skill.” But with some advanced LEGO you will need a skill, a Bugatti hyper realistic model is a point in question. Dom also mentioned that some with dyslexia problems can also flourish with making LEGO constructions, and gain a sense of achievement that may be lacking in other facets of their lives. During his childhood Dom occupied himself with making LEGO models and he has been constructing since he was 4 years old. 

![Dom Davis at NorDevCon2020 with Alpha Inclusion & Communication.](/static/images/pages/posts/2021-03-22-looking-at-lego/dom-davis-and-alphaic-at-nordevcon-2020.jpg)

And, Tom Haczewski of [The User Story](https://www.theuserstory.com/), is another LEGO enthusiast. He also recognises the importance of using the models in helping those with communication problems. Tom also speculated that LEGO might fill the niche in a programmer's brain that wants to build things. “They are pre dispositioned to build things, as a developer everything you do is about building things from little bits to make a larger construction.” 

## Unwinding through construction

Many Devs also use LEGO to unwind, they can take time away from the screen and find satisfaction in physically constructing something. Rockets, model towns, even pink ‘girl LEGO’ can all be made and there are many levels of technical ability to suit even the most demanding of LEGO builders - the range is huge. There is even a LEGO mindstorm, which is programmable.   

Dom also suggested that one of the many reasons programmers enjoy unwinding by constructing is that “with LEGO I use the same bits of my programmer brain but not in such an intense way.” Even looking for a missing piece of LEGO entails a logical process, but Dom does feel that the building aspect is cognitively intense whereas the search for missing pieces can prove to be cathartic. Over a week Dom can indulge his passion for up to “tens of hours.” He also stressed that this is a wonderful way of engaging with his children.

![Dom Davis demonstrates LEGO Mindstorm Spirograph.](/static/images/pages/posts/2021-03-22-looking-at-lego/dom-davis-demonstrates-lego-mindstorm-spirograph.jpg)

## The spectrum

It is widely recognised that many children on the autistic spectrum excel at coding. Carrying this skill forward to adulthood helps them find their place in a world that’s often very confusing and noisy. Talking about this to Tom, he suggested that “many on the spectrum like order and predictability and LEGO gives people the ability to be creative through using a specific set of parameters ” 

Tom also agreed with Dom that LEGO does act as a tool for relieving stress. “By following the LEGO instructions, you have to concentrate on these and then your mind is diverted from some of the problems you mightn’t necessarily want to think about.”

LEGO isn’t just a toy or plaything, it really can enrich and enhance your life..

***

Amy Eleftheriades joined us last week to discuss Emotional Regulation and her Top Tips for being ok. Catch it all on the
YouTubes, and don't forget to give us a like and subscribe whilst you're there 😉

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Looking at LEGO


## A community, for the community, by the community. That's the philosophy!

I'd like to take some time to talk about this. To get the ideas out there and share the aspiration with the community.

It's been said before, but it bears repeating: When Shaun and I grabbed the reins from Paul it was in ignorance, it took us some time to get up to speed and the Conference was a much needed deadline and a baptism of fire. It served as a very quick introduction to sourcing talks and organising events for the community.

It was stressful, but unbelievably rewarding! The feedback we received and seeing everyone, together, exchanging their stories and experience was great. The network that this community creates is phenomenal and immensely powerful, not only bringing together people working in the industry to help and learn from each other, but also inspiring those cursed with the ever present [impostor syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) to take the leap and apply for both their first role and their next!

We followed that into lockdown with another learning exercise: Virtual Events. In 2020 we've been physically distanced but we have aspired not to be socially distanced, ensuring that no-one was too far away from help, support, or a friendly face. Increasingly over the course of 2020 it became clear that Norfolk Developers could not only serve as a place to exchange knowledge but also be the watercooler around which an increasingly isolated community could come together.

Over the course of this year our idea to make the community more and more decentralised has taken fruition!

Looking forward to how we get there, you may have noticed the @nordev-event-bot yelling occasionally on Discord. Or, the fairly pre-formatted Social Media posts? We have been making strides towards the automations required.

![Let's Go Build a Bot](/static/images/pages/posts/2021-02-15-decentralise-all-the-things/lets-go-build-a-bot.jpg)

Dom spent January’s #WednesdayStreams building the foundation of @nordev-event-bot#v2. This was extended into February to kick off 2021 with a focus.

Let's build those Tools together!

Behind @nordev-event-bot is some software driving the social media posts and the bot’s occasional yells. It also holds a catalogue of our events and a schedule for posting about them. It’s a foundation. Next we need a Member system and a way of enabling those members to subscribe to custom notifications and publishing their own events. Seen something that interests you? We want you to have the autonomy and tools to bring it to the wider community.

### TL;DR: We're increasingly moving toward a self organising community. We're building the tools we need; enabling any member of the community to add an event to the calendar and automatically publishing to social channels.


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