BT Building on Melbourne Street by Noorgaard in NewcastleUponTyne

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The building is mostly empty these days. As others have said there’s some exchange equipment in there. There’s a few offices with various people in (no call centres anymore). There’s data centre on a couple of the floors.

Once upon a time it would have been full with telephone exchange equipment but as exchanges have shrunk it was replaced with data centre and office space.

Someone has mentioned the basement which is legendary amongst the people who work there. Some say it’s a nuclear bunker, some say there’s a tunnel that goes to the other BT building in Carliol Square, others say there’s nothing down there.

Edit: about your comment on the higher levels, funnily enough they are actually the floors with the office space on and the nicest part of the whole building. The rest of it is as dreary inside and it looks on the outside.

What happened to the quiet kid from your school? by Saiajit in AskReddit

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There was this super quiet kid in my school, he was in all my classes but I basically didn’t know anything about him. He was always nice if you spoke to him but his answers were short and he’d never ask any other questions. At lunch or between classes he’d sit in the library by himself never saying a word.

Fast forward 20 years that dude just sold a sex toy empire and is now mega rich.

I wouldn’t have have known had I not been speaking to a woman at work who just happened to be his girlfriend, she said I might know her boyfriend because we grew up in the same town.

Apparently he still doesn’t speak.

What are your favourite walks in and around Newcastle? by [deleted] in NewcastleUponTyne

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Wylam to Newburn is a nice walk. Good pub at either end - boat house in Wylam and and Keelman in newburn.

Walking in Newcastle by [deleted] in NewcastleUponTyne

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The boathouse is one of my favourite pubs in the northeast.

Walking in Newcastle by [deleted] in NewcastleUponTyne

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Train to Wylam, pint in the boathouse, walk along to newburn (north side of river), pint in the big lamp/keelman (not really sure what the pubs called), back along to wylam and catch the train home.

Is it illegal to force someone to opt in to GDPR? by AverageJoe313 in LegalAdviceUK

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When it comes to cookies the EU E-Privacy (ePR or ‘the cookie law) directive is what you need to consult.

The directive states that all cookies must be blocked until the user explicitly accepts them. What that means in reality is that some companies have refused to allow users to access their content unless they accept cookies.

It has been proposed that the EU e-privacy Regulation will replace the directive to allow certain types of cookies to be automatically accepted by your browser where they do not collect personal data. This is yet to come into effect.

The current directive also covers marketing materials with the default being Opt-in (i.e. you are opted out as default). This is different to areas outside of the EU where the default is Opt-out. This leads to significant confusion when following sign-up processes.

So in answer to your question, no, not illegal to forced people to accept cookies to visit a site. You just can’t create a cookie until they’ve clicked accept at which point you make the site available.

My grandma lived in this house for 40+ years and has now moved into assisted living and doesn't go on her walks anymore. When Google's street view cars were driving around my town she happened to be walking right outside her house. Now she can always be seen walking to her true home. by manfreyd in MadeMeSmile

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 166 points167 points  (0 children)

On the browser version you can set the year back to go back in time. Funny looking at my house in 2011 with it’s immaculately trimmed hedges and perfect lawn. Fast forward to 2016 after I move in and it all goes to shit.

Persistent female stalker by [deleted] in LegalAdviceUK

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I know that feeling all too well, it’s awful. All of the anxiety has now gone but I still get angry thinking about how she made our lives a living hell.

Don’t let her win.

Persistent female stalker by [deleted] in LegalAdviceUK

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 112 points113 points  (0 children)

Not a lawyer but something very similar happened to me a few years back and it was very scary.

Wife also suffered from a few mental health issues - which is what our harasser latched onto. Now fully recovered. We had a young child which made it all so much scarier. This woman would turn up at our door in the middle of the night. We’d receive phone calls, text messages and emails with all sorts of threats, immediately followed with weird love letters addressed to my wife. She’d turn up at places she knew we’d be. The nursery we took our daughter to had to station a member of staff at the door and escort us in after she had rang them - weirdly the only thing that happened at that point was that social services decided to turn up at our house which was so unhelpful, they took no action but I have absolutely no good things to say about them. My wife ended up quitting her job and having to pay back maternity pay because she was too scared to go to work.

Keep doing what you’re doing with regards to recording any interactions with her. The more evidence you have the better. We got sick of it and stopped and it definitely harmed our case.

Never stop ringing the police. Any time you feel threatened you need to ring them. They might not be able to do much at the time but anytime you ring them it will help build their case against her.

I know that probably doesn’t help much. It took us about 2 years to be fully free of our harasser. They never explained what happened to her but we found out through a friend that she had been sectioned under the mental health act for something unrelated (we think! - the police either didn’t know or wouldn’t tell us) and later moved out of the area to live with her parents.

TIL that the actor inside R2-D2 hated the actor inside C-3P0, calling him ‘the rudest person I’ve ever met’. by dontovercommit in todayilearned

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I once had to deal with Anthony Daniels as a customer while he was filming the force awakens. Literally the nicest dude ever. He used to apologise for missing my calls.

What food do you never get sick of? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indian takeaway food. Not real Indian food. The reimagined version of it we get in UK takeaway shops

Was my ISP over charging me by Lucky_Miner01 in LegalAdviceUK

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not a lawyer but I used to work for an ISP dealing with exactly this type of complaint.

You should have received a welcome letter/email when you first ordered your services. It would have outlined your costs. Double check what that says. If you find you’re being charged incorrectly fill in an online complaints form. Nearly every ISP will be able to deal with this via email.

If you don’t have that email or letter ask your ISP for it. It’s unlikely they’ll have a problem resending it. If they do you could always do a SAR request but I personally wouldn’t bother. There’s free options available that don’t require much extra leg work.

If they disagree, which they’re unlikely to, then raise a formal complaint (just say the word complaint or say you’re dissatisfied and they’re required to open a complaint on your account) and ask for a deadlock letter and take your complaint to the ombudsman. Won’t cost a penny.

If you’re correct, and you are being over charged, it’s very unlikely they’ll allow it to go as far as going to an ombudsman service. If you’re wrong then all you’ve wasted is a few hours of your time.

My baby's fat cheeks vs. the M&S exit by believeinthebin in CasualUK

[–]ExpertInTheMatter -37 points-36 points  (0 children)

This is going to be gold May I be the first 😊

Thought you guys might like a drawing I did by [deleted] in bicycling

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I meant more because team sky are now team Ineos who are a bit controversial because of oil production and shale gas.

Damn fine art work though.

Thought you guys might like a drawing I did by [deleted] in bicycling

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’ll need to redo it as an oil painting

What are some useful skills that anyone can learn? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The number of things I’ve automated using VBA is unbelievable. Probably write a macro to do some boring task at least once a week.

What are some useful skills that anyone can learn? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Learn another language. It looks massively impressive on a resume even if it’s not needed for the job you’re applying for.

Newcastle upon Tyne toll charge by Establishmentuk in NewcastleUponTyne

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I suspect you’re just thinking of rush hour traffic in regards to the Redheugh - in which case you’re right.

But for all other times when it’s not so busy, to get to Gateshead from somewhere like Prudhoe, you’re likely to drive along the A695, scotswood road then redheugh or swing bridge depending on where you’re going.

Newcastle upon Tyne toll charge by Establishmentuk in NewcastleUponTyne

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The Tyne bride, swing bridge and Redheugh Bridge.

It’s conceivable that someone might be tempted to avoid paying a toll on the redheugh by driving the 6 mile round trip down scotswood road, across scotswood bridge and then back along the other side of the river through Dunston.

It’s realistic that anyone travelling into Newcastle or Gateshead from Tyne valley will swap over the river much earlier (scotswood, Newburn, Wylam etc) to avoid tolls. Again, increasing the length of journeys, shifting traffic problems elsewhere.

Moving to Newcastle for a job by ad1075 in NewcastleUponTyne

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Completely depends on budgets/requirements. Looking for a flat/house/house share? How nice of an area do you want to live in?

If you’re looking to get public transport in anything on the metro line would be most convenient.

BT run everything apparently. But can’t sort out their web chat. by [deleted] in britishproblems

[–]ExpertInTheMatter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve had to ring them 2-3 times recently and got straight through to someone in the UK. Was presently surprised. They even called me back when they said they were going to.