Latest news with #CraigRussell
CNET
15-05-2025
- CNET
AI Can Analyze Every Aspect of Your Writing. Here's How to Implement It
I have always loved storytelling, regardless of medium or platform. However, learning the "rules" of grammar — and how they shift depending on use or context — felt like a headache in the otherwise wonderful world of narrative and world-building. I believe writing can always be strengthened, and I also learn best from direct, blatant feedback. Basically, I was determined to learn about my writing process and the writing of those I am inspired by. With a couple of clicks, I ran across Slick Write, an online writing tool founded in 2002 by Craig Russell that released AI-focused features late in 2023. With so many AI companies having launched merely months ago, it's refreshing to come in contact with a company that has longevity. What is Slick Write, and how does it use AI? At its core, Slick Write was made to help its customers gain knowledge and understanding around grammar, style and readability. Over time, it's evolved to add AI capabilities like real-time feedback on its tools. The platform also offers precision analysis for potential grammar issues, down to nitty-gritty details like punctuation, sentence structure and phrasing. In an odd, Black Mirror-esque way, I can't help but wonder what Slick Write would think of AI-generated content, using its AI tools to identify areas for improvement. (Without touching on the seemingly never-ending em dash debate.) How to use Slick Write for grammar and tone Slick Write is one of the easiest platforms to try out due to no cost, no signup, no subscriptions and no installation. But do you get what you pay for? Head to Slick Write's website, and on the landing page, you can try the demo for a full deep dive into every aspect of the site. You can also select Start Writing or Check Your Own Document. For writing, copy and paste your content into the text box in the Editor tab. You can now run a check by clicking the green Check button at the top right of the editor. Slick Write will generate results based on the types of edits you ask of it: Structure, Critique, Grammar & Spelling, Flow and Stats, which come together to create a document of edits reminiscent of your (least-)favorite professor's colorful pen grading, all over your document to the point of illegibility. Each editing tab will explore feedback in detail to provide explanations or suggestions, as well as a breakdown of writing stats and tips for improvement. You have the option to revise your work or run a new analysis as needed. To kick things up, access the Features tab for writing tools like associations and related words, a rhythm tool and word frequency. Once satisfied, you can copy the revised text over. Heads up: some aspects of Slick Write still operate like it's 2002, including no download option. There is the option to autosave text to your browser's local storage under Settings — though it's unclear where it goes from there. (Maybe stick to copy and paste for now.) Should you use Slick Write? Slick Write's examination of a piece of writing from Arthur Conan Doyle. Slick Write / Screenshot by CNET Slick Write's AI tools primarily allow its target audience to streamline and create more concise language for various writing styles, objectives and formats. They make for a useful student resource but also benefit bloggers, writers and those who want to elevate their writing quality with a different type of AI output. As far as tools go, I think capturing your first draft with creative writing tools like Sudowrite and then asking Slick Write for feedback is a powerful pairing to home in on creative style and rule-oriented grammar. (Or the reverse, if you're seeking writing education and then want to build worlds around your language.) But it's hard to gauge if Slick Write is best for you without comparing it with its competitors, newcomers (in comparison) Grammarly, ProWriting Aid and Hemingway Editor. The key difference for Slick Write isn't necessarily in its features, but in its ease — Slick Write leans into longevity, simplicity and a detailed educational experience across grammar and readability checks versus fancy enhancements. Though I do believe product evolution is necessary to some extent in an ever-changing world. Even though its competitors have a different target audience, I believe that Slick Write, when used in conjunction with other writing tools, can hold its own in a fast-paced market, without overcomplication or overstimulation.
NZ Herald
12-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Far North news in brief: Reserve feedback; rural roadshow and te reo champ
The Far North District Council wants feedback on Rangitoto Reserve, on the Hihi Peninsula in Doubtless Bay. Reserve feedback Far North District Council wants feedback about Rangitoto Reserve, on the Hihi Peninsula in Doubtless Bay. Rangitoto Reserve was classified as a historic reserve in October 2024 to recognise its cultural and historical importance. The site includes an impressive pā with visible features such as terracing and kūmara pits. The name comes from rangi, meaning 'day', and toto, meaning 'blood' – understood to signify a 'day of blood'. It may have been the location of a battle, adding to its historical and cultural significance. The council is developing a Reserve Management Plan, with input from local hapū, to ensure it is protected. The council also wants to understand the natural environment and other values connected to the reserve. Submissions can be made via email at submissions@ in person at any FNDC service centre or library, or by mail, by June 2. Rural roadshow Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Rural Health and Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey will be going to 12 rural locations across the country on a Rural Health Roadshow, including Kaitāia. The Rural Health Strategy was published in 2023 and sets the direction for improving the health of people who live in rural communities. The rural health road show is an opportunity for me to hear from the public and those working in rural health about how well the strategy is being implemented. The roadshow will be in Kaitāia on August 7. To register, go to Te reo champs wanted Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission, is calling for nominations for Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025 – a celebration of those who are championing the normalisation and revitalisation of te reo Māori. Nominations are open until 11.59pm on June 29 and can be made via First-home buyers back CBRE valuers are reporting a steady lift in buyer activity across Northland, with first-home buyers and lifestyle seekers driving much of the momentum. The latest Residential Valuer Insights report shows improving sentiment across the region – particularly in coastal and lifestyle locations – and ongoing appeal for recently renovated properties. The quarterly report, which gathers sentiment from 44 CBRE valuers who collectively assess and value over 850 properties nationwide every month, provides an independent and data-driven view of the market. It found first-home buyers are active across Northland and other regional centres, helping lead market activity in 2025. Craig Russell, CBRE's national director of residential valuations and advisory services, said the presence of first-home buyers in nearly every market is one of the most encouraging signs for 2025. 'In Northland, we're seeing a healthy number of first-home buyers back in the market – part of a broader national trend that's seen around 25-27% of sales going to this group.'
New York Times
18-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why I Joined The Athletic: From falling in love with Sunderland to the fascinatingly messy world of football finance
On the face of it, my first game of football was a roaring success. Sunderland won 1-0 and six-year-old me watched the match without getting distracted. My dad had been clear that if the proceedings were of no interest to his son, he'd not be trying again for a few years. He needn't have wasted his breath. Advertisement My memories of that trip to Roker Park are blurred, a mixture of my own and those embedded in me through endless rewatches of that season's end-of-year review on VHS. That I just about wore out the tape chronicling a season in which Sunderland got relegated should be evidence enough of how strongly this new obsession took hold. I loved football instantly and, looking back now, I loved the sport's embrace of something that leads me to this very piece today: numbers. That was a time before digital scoreboards, and discovering the half-time scores in matches being played elsewhere required a little extra effort. On the back of the first matchday programme I ever held were that day's selected games, each one assigned a letter. On the manually updated scoreboard were those same letters, the half-time scores appeared on little cards next to them. I couldn't now tell you the other games happening that day, much less the half-time scores, but the memory of excitedly working out the various scorelines — then immediately dictating them to my dad — has never left me. It was probably around then that he realised he'd created a monster. Never having taken the slightest notice of football before, now I was smitten. Ten weeks after that home game in 1996 came a first away trip: Everton 1-3 Sunderland, Craig Russell and a Michael Bridges brace. A first defeat at Roker then followed a week later — another brace, this time from Wimbledon's Efan Ekoku — and with it came the realisation that, actually, Sunderland might not go unbeaten until the end of time. No matter. I was in it now, hooked for the long haul. This new obsession manifested itself in strange ways. I'd go to my grandparents' house armed with little more than a dice, a notepad and a pen, running through entirely made-up tournaments with glee (who knew there were so many 6-6 draws at the World Cup?) I gorged on results on Ceefax, waiting patiently for the page to flick over to the next set of scores. An uncle of mine christened me 'Statto' on the way home from that Everton trip. I'm in my thirties now and it's a nickname that still gets used today. Advertisement Life events are remembered by their proximity to key footballing dates. I'm not going to say I'd ever forget my anniversary, but it helps that Sunderland signed Jack Clarke on the day we got married (thankfully, the marriage has lasted longer than Clarke's time on Wearside did). On at least one occasion where a break was needed at an old workplace, my future wife (first meeting: two days after a 3-1 home win over Stoke City) and I 'entertained' a colleague by her throwing out fixture dates from Sunderland's 1996-97 season for me to respond with the opponents and result on that day and, more often than not, the goalscorers' names, too. Craig, if you're reading this, I promise we don't pass the time like that anymore. Please return our calls. Football was an early love, numbers alongside it, then writing sidled into view at a point I can't really remember. I'd always been a reader and at some stage, I turned my hand to jotting down my own stuff. Naturally, football was the first port of call. Efforts at converting it all into a serious venture were stilted; I opted instead for the security of an accountancy qualification, getting myself chartered and picking up scraps of scribbling where I could. In 2017, I wrote a book on Sunderland during my fleeting spare time (rather hurriedly, if I'm being honest) and that reignited the flame. Since then I've sought to marry the two worlds as best I can. It helped that interest in the finances of the sport has never been greater. PSR's march to join the likes of HT, FT, OG, xG and MOTD at the top of football's abbreviation stakes continues untrammelled. I found myself once more obsessed, this time with the money swirling around the game (though certainly not at every level of it), and set about building a database chock-full of financial facts and figures. I spotted a job opening at The Athletic, applied and, lo and behold, here I am, ready to serve as our first designated football finance writer. Advertisement It's a huge career shift for me. It's not without risk. It's also one of the easiest decisions I've ever made. It was in an article I read recently, lamenting London's lack of a daily newspaper now the Evening Standard has moved to weekly publication, that I stumbled across the perfect anecdote for why — and I say this without ego or hubris — I could only have made this shift to a small array of publications. In that piece, the author highlighted an instance of a single writer at a well-known daily in another British city filing '29 stories in two days for the paper's website… a story every half an hour'. That struck me as both a crying shame and wholly unsurprising. The number of outlets that invest in both their writers and their audience is slim and thinning. As a reader of The Athletic, you'll already know they are a staunch member of that dwindling group. Joining the staff means joining a publication that commits time and effort to bringing you the best of modern sportswriting, with insight and a level of quality only achievable through giving writers the best resources available. It means being able to hook into a network of journalists who excel in their field. And it means being able to give you, the reader, the detail and nuance a hurriedly written sliver of clickbait could never hope to achieve. When writing about the increasingly messy topic of money in football, there's little scope for dumbing down. These are, at least in a sporting context, increasingly important matters. On that note, this isn't just an opportunity for me. There'll be a necessary adjustment period as we figure out what works in this new area of coverage and what doesn't. That's where you lot come in. If there's something in the burgeoning field of football finance you can't believe nobody is looking at in sufficient depth, tell us. If there's anything — anything at all — that you think is a story in need of telling or investigating, let us know. You can do so in the comments below or you can send an email to cweatherspoon@ Advertisement We start this week with deep dives on some of England's largest clubs. There is intrigue to be found across the board, from Manchester United's much-publicised financial woes to Manchester City's seemingly unstoppable growth, from Arsenal's return to the game's top table to Liverpool's attempts, liked or loathed, to be as sustainable as possible. All of it will be covered in the coming days. Beyond that, the world really is our oyster. The 'top' clubs get plenty of eyeballs but in football, where money is involved, there are stories aplenty. Many of them are tales of woe, though not all. Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford are the Premier League's good news stories, but there are plenty more below and beyond. Nor will the focus fall solely on individual clubs. We'll look at the lot, from FIFA on down, reaching into the often murky depths of football finance and pulling out the stories that matter, the ones that help shape the sport we all know and, for better or worse, still love today. I can't wait to get stuck into it. I hope you'll enjoy the journey with me.
