Joe Young

Joined June 2022

117 stories

Bio

Blogger and freelance writer from the north-east coast of England

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Honorable Mention in Absurdist Awakening Challenge

Stories (117)

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Create a Timeline in Excel
While looking through an old documents folder in search of articles that may be candidates for resurrection, I came across a piece I wrote years ago that shows how to create a timeline in Excel. I followed my instructions to make sure the process still works, and I'm happy to report that it does and that the same instructions apply to Libreoffice Calc. I gave the piece a makeover and here it is.
By Joe Young3 years ago in 01
I Got ChatGPT to Finish Ten Limericks
Continuing my investigation into the workings of ChatGPT, I wondered how effective it would be at writing the closing line of a limerick. To find out, I rustled up ten nonsense rhymes that were minus their closing lines. I gave the simple instruction finish this limerick, and then I pasted each one in turn.
By Joe Young3 years ago in 01
Me and ChatGPT Attempted the Same Writing Brief
Embarking on further exploration of ChatGPT, and what it can do, I devised a little exercise to see how my own writing would compare to that generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) when we were given the same brief. Here are the instructions I entered.
By Joe Young3 years ago in 01
Create AutoCorrect Shortcuts for Long or Tricky Words
Spare a thought for poor old Ted, a reporter for a travel magazine. Ted's assignments are somewhat more sedate than those of his fictional counterparts like Lois Lane and Tin Tin; you are more likely to find Ted reporting on a flower show than a political scandal or an audacious crime. But today he faces a real typing challenge.
By Joe Young3 years ago in 01
We Should Be Concerned About New Anti-protest Legislation
Amid the nauseating guff that was spouted all weekend on the news channels vis-a-vis the recent coronation of Charlie Three, there was a side issue that was too big for the news media to ignore. I refer to the police clampdown against those who desired to make it known via placards that the head of state is Not My King, an act of suppression more suited to the regime of North Korea than the free-speech-loving inhabitants of John Bull’s Island.
By Joe Young3 years ago in The Swamp
Two Reasons I'll Be giving the Coronation a Miss
The flags are up. The bunting is stretched across the street. Sycophants are placed in front of microphones and, for those who are still in possession of them, forelocks are ready to be tugged. This is all part of what happens here in Merrie England when any kind of royal event is taking place.
By Joe Young3 years ago in The Swamp
Jeffery Brakelight Breezes Through Life, Part 3
I really hit it off with Sonia. Following the awful incident when Holy Joe vomited all over her at the Horse and Cow, I mustered the courage to call her at work on the following Tuesday morning and we went for lunch together. A trip to the cinema to see Home Alone followed that weekend, and, although she hadn't yet stamped my card, as you might say, I had us down as an item.
By Joe Young3 years ago in Fiction
Your Horoscope Written by ChatGPT
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic in the news recently, since the so-called godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton announced his resignation from Google. The prospect of AI doing jobs that are currently performed by people has been widely discussed on the mainstream news channels and social media.
By Joe Young3 years ago in 01
Billy and the Strike
In February 1972, when the action of this tale takes place, Britain was in the grip of a national coal miners' strike, which had begun on January 9th. To conserve fuel, the government introduced scheduled power cuts, usually lasting between six and nine hours at a time. The strike caused great inconvenience to many, but for some, like thirteen-year-old Billy, there were opportunities to be found in the chaos.
By Joe Young3 years ago in Fiction
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
On the day after the Grand National, Britain’s biggest horse race, one of the more sensationalist Sunday newspapers ran the banner headline NATIONAL DISGRACE, accompanied by a photo of horses competing in the race. What this excitable organ views as a disgrace is not the fact that three perfectly healthy young horses were killed at the Aintree meeting this year, but rather the disgrace lies upon the shoulders of those who would like to see the annual carnage stopped. There were 118 arrests made at the course, as animal rights activists, a vegan mob, as one newspaper put it, tried unsuccessfully to halt the race.
By Joe Young3 years ago in The Swamp
My Encounter With a Mail Order Prophet
Looking back on my youth, one illicit activity I embarked upon was to enter the windowless room that served as a betting shop on Cowpen Estate where I lived, hoping I could pass myself off as being old enough to place a bet.
By Joe Young3 years ago in Confessions
My Top Ten Geordie Song Titles
The Geordie lexicon is rich in words that are unique to the north-eastern region of England. There are those that are regular English words, but pronounced differently, such as oot for out, and there are others that are specific, like divvint, which means don't, and gadgie, which is a man.
By Joe Young3 years ago in FYI