Wisconsin Neighborhood | Saketh via UnsplashChoosing the best neighborhood in Wisconsin starts with knowing your lifestyle and values. Everyone has unique priorities. They may value a short commute, great schools, vibrant nightlife, or a rural escape.Consider what elements are non-negotiable for you. Young professionals might prioritize lively neighborhoods near business districts. Families could focus on safety and good schools. Retirees might seek areas with good healthcare and a strong community.Art lovers could prefer areas known for their cultural events and galleries. Your daily routine, including transportation needs, is another crucial factor. If public transport is important, choose a location with reliable infrastructure. Evaluate your lifestyle. Will it change in the future? Choose a neighborhood that can adapt to those changes. To thrive, you must first understand your lifestyle needs. Then, you can find a suitable community.Researching Wisconsin Neighborhoods | Using a Real Estate AgentWhen contemplating a move to Wisconsin, thorough neighborhood research is essential to find a place that matches your lifestyle, preferences, and requirements. Start by identifying the key traits you value most. They may include your works proximity, school quality, amenities, or the communitys culture. Wisconsin has it all. It has the vibrant cities of Milwaukee and Madison. It also has quiet rural areas and charming small towns.Top Recommended Realtors in WI to Help Your Family Make the MoveLegendary Real Estate Services Lake Geneva, WIWhy They Stand Out: Known for their deep understanding of the Lake Geneva market, Legendary Real Estate Services excels in matching clients with their dream properties. Their agents are well-versed in handling high-end transactions with discretion and professionalism.KPR Brokers Stevens Point, WIThe KPR Brokers is celebrated for their personalized service, focusing on guiding clients through every step of the buying or selling process. Their team approach ensures that clients benefit from a broad range of expertise, whether its negotiating deals or navigating the complexities of local real estate laws.Turning Point Realty Poynette, WITurning Point Realty stands out for its customer service. They offer a free moving truck to clients who buy or sell through them. They are praised for making real estate stress-free and for their local philanthropy.EXP Advantage Monroe, WIEXP Advantage, part of the EXP Realty network, brings new tech and marketing to Monroes traditional real estate market. Their agents take a personal approach. They ensure clients feel supported throughout their real estate journey.Visions First Realty Ashland, WIVisions First Realty is known for its deep knowledge of Ashland and nearby areas. It is especially good for those wanting lake properties or vacation homes. Their agents are known for their foresight in matching properties with the lifestyle aspirations of their clients.Experiencing the neighborhood in person is invaluable for sensing its atmosphere and gauging its residents welcome. To gain deeper insights, tap into local resources like community websites and social media groups to see firsthand discussions about living conditions and local happenings.Evaluating Education And School DistrictsWhen choosing the best Wisconsin neighborhood for your lifestyle, check the local schools. This is vital for families with kids or those planning to start a family. Wisconsin has many types of schools. They include public and private schools, specialized programs, and charter schools.School Performance: Look at test scores, graduation rates (around 90% statewide), and how many students go to college. Top districts like Elmbrook excel here.Extracurriculars and Class Size: Schools with many clubs, sports, and arts, plus smaller class sizes, offer a well-rounded education and more personal attention.Community Feedback and Investment: Check local opinions, visit schools, and consider how much communities invest in education to see if the environment matches your familys needs.Focusing on these key aspects, you can better understand the educational landscape in Wisconsin neighborhoods. This approach ensures you choose an area where your children can thrive academically, socially, and personally, setting a strong foundation for their future.Talking to local residents and visiting schools during open house events can offer firsthand perspectives and help you make an informed decision about the educational environment in a potential new neighborhood.Exploring Local Amenities And RecreationWisconsin Neighborhood in Milwaukee | Michael Angel Sanz via UnsplashCheck local amenities and recreation to find the best Wisconsin neighborhood for your lifestyle. Wisconsin has diverse landscapes and vibrant communities. It offers many amenities and activities for all tastes. First, find out which recreational facilities matter most to you. These include parks, trails, sports facilities, and aquatic centers. Many neighborhoods have well-maintained parks for outdoor lovers. They offer hiking and biking trails, playgrounds, and picnic areas for families.If you like water activities, check out neighborhoods by Wisconsins lakes and rivers. You can fish, boat, or enjoy the scenery. Madison and Milwaukee have much to offer. They are rich in culture and recreation. Youll find art galleries, theaters, and diverse dining. Plus, theyre near parks and lakes for leisure. Smaller towns and rural areas have a unique charm. They have a relaxed pace of life, local markets, and community events. They foster a sense of community.To know a neighborhoods vibe, visit its community centers, libraries, and schools. These visits can show you the local social and cultural activities. They can help you see how well a neighborhood matches your lifestyle and interests. This comprehensive approach ensures you find a place where you live and thrive.Analyzing Housing Market Trends And AffordabilityIs it a good time to buy in WI Real Estate?In November 2024, Wisconsin home prices rose 10.9% year-over-year. The median price was $317,300. Homes sold increased by 1.9%. These stats suggest a strong sellers market. It may hurt your negotiating power.Wisconsins neighborhoods vary. Urban centers like Milwaukee and Madison contrast with rural areas. Each has its own financial concerns. High property tax rates in some areas can raise homeownership costs.Also, consider how local development will affect future property values. Areas undergoing revitalization or infrastructure improvements could see property value increases. For example, regions like Green Bay, Appleton, and Janesville are forecasted for growth in 2025-2026, potentially offering a good investment opportunity. Good luck investing, and use an Agent for all your WI Real Estate Needs.Additional InformationReal Estate Leave a comment

A window is a lightbox of life happening beyond the limits of the interior, offering beauty and wonder regardless of the reality of life withinCredit:Olivia Arthur / MagnumOur familys share of the bedroom is closest to the rooms single window. There is a double bed which my mother and little brother Alex share, as well as a laundry basket, overflowing with clothes, and suitcases, stacked on top of each other, holding our possessions. An entire suitcase is dedicated to important documents, photos, memorabilia and my childhood drawings. This bag stays at the bottom ofthe stack to prevent Alex from turning itscontentsinto toys or a snack. For him, everything is exciting, new andworthy of being soaked with saliva.Surrounding our share of the room are two walls of painted plaster and two curtains, separating my family from another familys life. Alex is yet to understand that living in atwo-bedroom apartment with three other families may not be the norm. Hedoes not know that curtains do not always bisect a bedroom for two families toshare, or that anenclosed balcony is nottypically home toanother family.The rooms single window is a wonder forAlex a lightbox of tiny moving figures. Alexs favourite sight is a young man who arrives across the street with two yellow suitcases full of clothes. He picks up a railing and pallets from somewhere beyond the window frame and sets up between four concrete seats nestled by two large trees that obscure the shops behind them. From the suitcases he pulls out jackets, shirts andbucket hats until his pop-up shop isready for business. Alex always wells with excitement when our mother opens the window, even just acrack. The air outside is always crisper, carrying different sounds: the cars anxious to get on; the tiny people becoming louder; aweird vacuuming sound from the salon one storey below. He often tries to reach out to this little world, but the opening only allows his fingers to enter it.Next to the bedroom is a small living room. This space is primarily for the family of the apartments owners. It has an ornate handcrafted TV wall unit, displaying heirloom teacups, teapots and vintage crystal glassware that only come out on special occasions. The sofas are antique, stillin their plastic coverings, not to be usedcasually by anyone who is not a memberof the owners family.At the end of the living room is the front door, with a silver handle, chain and lock. There is a wooden chair next to the door which Alex once used to reach the handle but could not manage to open with the chair against the door. He gets upset with the number of people coming in and going out, not taking him with them. In his frustration, he returns to the bedroom window, where hehas the whole world at his fingertips. For Alex, this compact space remains filled with wonder. I yearn for his ability toexperience pure marvel. I dont go home too often; there isnt room for both of us.Explore the good rooms series, a collection of domestic spaces made, imagined or described by architects, curators and writers2025-01-16Kristina RapackiShare

Eirik Falckner, Kiosken. All images courtesy of Ceramic Brussels, shared with permissionAt Ceramic Brussels, an Eclectic Array of Works Offers a State of the MediumJanuary 16, 2025ArtCraftGrace EbertFrom Nobuhito Nishigawaras gilded drips to Andrs Anzas spiny forms that could seemingly scuttle away at any moment, an eclectic array of works go on view this month for Ceramic Brussels.In its second year, the annual gathering is the only international art fair devoted entirely to the medium. The 2025 edition will feature works by more than 200 artists around the globe, with a particular focus on contemporary Norwegian makers. Andres Anza, Galleria Anna MarraSpanning myriad aesthetics and processes, the fair presents a wide variety of approaches to and a sort of state of the medium. Some artists, like Eirik Falckner, push the boundaries of ceramic art even further by collaborating with bees to layer thick chunks of honeycomb atop a raw armature.Find some works slated to be exhibited at the fair, which runs from January 23 to 26, below.Nobuhito Nishigawara, Almine RechMarianne Huotari, Holster BurrowsDaphne de Gheldere, Spax ProjectsAndres Anza, Galleria Anna MarraNellie Jonsson, QB GalleryNellie Jonsson, QB GallerySamuel Yal, Galerie Ariane C-YLaszlo Borsody, ACB GalleryNext article

DDN, which made its name in high-performance computing (HPC), has gained investment of $300m from US fund Blackstone, which it says will be used to translate leadership in supercomputing to storage solutions for artificial intelligence (AI).While arrays aimed at the two workloads are similar in being able to keep up with extremely high-performance processing, there are differences. HPC workloads involve reading a relatively small number of mathematical formulations to produce enormous amounts of simulation data.In AI, its the opposite. A massive amount of data is read to produce a relatively small model during training or to generate a response to an application or human prompt during inference.DDN sells its EXAscaler arrays into the HPC market. They use the Lustre parallel file system, which is open source and was first launched around two decades ago. An EXAscaler array comprises a number of disk drives in which one acts as an index to the contents of the others. Compute nodes interrogate that node to find out which of the others to read and write blocks of data to, then communicate directly with that node.To function, the compute nodes must run a Lustre client and have a direct network connection with all storage nodes. That usually means an Infiniband connection, with no packet loss and the ability for the controller to directly copy data in random access memory (RAM) or in non-volatile memory express (NVMe) storage on the host machine.DDN has put this functionality in its AI400X2 arrays, which are aimed at AI workloads. They use the same 2U nodes as in EXAscaler, but use Nvidia Ethernet SpectrumX controller cards. These use a BlueField DPU from Nvidia and bring the same benefits to Ethernet networks as found in Infiniband. Their use of RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) also means no packet loss with writes of data in Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU) memory directly (using GPUdirect).The AI400X2 is primarily intended to communicate as quickly as possible with the GPUs during training workloads. But theyre potentially a very expensive option for storing enormous quantities of data that an enterprise might want to store from models that have already been trained.For this, DDN has had its Infinia arrays since 2023. These provide S3 object storage with the ability to add drives non-disruptively.DNN has offloaded S3 storage functions to containers, such as the metadata server, the storage server, and so on. This means DDN can reproduce in Infinia functionality similar to Lustre when specific S3 containers are deployed on the compute nodes. Infinia arrays can also be equipped with SpectrumX cards to maximise transfer speeds.DNN claims to know better than anyone how intensive storage works. When GPUs write data in parallel and then read data rapidly thereafter, problems of incoherence can arise. Checkpointing regulates this, but its a resource-hungry operation during processing and doesnt produce useful data. DDN says it can avoid such delays by carefully managing data flows and use of caching.DDN already has skin in the AI game, and among its customers is Elon Musks xAI, which has deployed a supercomputer called Colossus with 100,000 H100 GPUs. So, the purpose of the new $300m is not altogether clear.Blackstone is likely positioning itself in a number of AI-focused enterprises, and now has a member on the DDN board. Last year, the fund offered financial support to CoreWeave, a supplier of AI-focused infrastructure as-a-service.DDN promises a significant announcement on 20 February, which it has prefaced with the slogan: Were making AI real.Read more about AI and storageStorage technology explained: AI and data storage. In this guide, we examine the data storage needs of artificial intelligence, the demands it places on data storage, the suitability of cloud and object storage for AI, and key AI storage products.Interview: Nvidia on AI workloads and their impacts on data storage. We talk to Charlie Boyle of Nvidia about data challenges in artificial intelligence, key practical tips for AI projects, and demands on storage of training, inferencing, RAG and checkpointing.

Every Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscription is about to get Copilot AI features, along with a price increase of at least 30%. The global rollout comes after months of testing and is certain to be controversial.

The Invisible Sun Black Cube contains 30 pounds of magic. Everything you need to play like books, ... [+] charaters, cards dice and even artifacts to make your game feel more real.Monte Cook GamesThe folks at Humble Bundle have become a great resource to help players build electronic libraries full of tabletop games. They make it very easy to explore games outside of Dungeons & Dragons that appeal to different genres and player types. Plus a portion of the proceeds benefit a charity selected by the publishers who put their games on offer.Right now they have an offer for one of the most unusual role playing games on the market. Invisible Suntalked about this game before but now the barrier of entry is at an all time low.What Is Invisible Sun?Invisible Sun proposes that the so-called real world is an illusion. The vislae, beings who know the truth of reality, come here to forget about their troubles and take up simple lives full of worrying about mortgage payments instead of a spell they cast centuries ago is still out there looking for revenge on its creator. Some vislae never shake off the lie while other occasionally return to the strange city of Satyrine.Every player in the game has access to some sort of magic. Much like its Cypher System sibling, characters are defined through a sentence with specific elements unlocking game mechanics. These are powerful beings from the start and the game offers plenty of suggestions for strange quests they can attempt with the help of their friends.Invisible Sun Humble BundleThe Humble Bundle offers a huge collection of PDFs for a very low price. The PDF of the core set alone is normally $99. The bundle offers that core set, plus several expansions to the game, for $18.MORE FOR YOUThe core set contains all the materials needed to play Invisible Sun. Rules, characters, story suggestions, printable props and more come in the main set. Its a great experience for a dedicated group of role playing game fans in a surreal setting that someone like David Lynch or David Bowie would love.The supplements burrow deeper into the Acuality and expand the stories the game can tell. Secrets of Silent Streets offers more information on the heart of the game called Satyrine. The Nightside provides a look at powers, beings and spells that even the powerful vislae might consider to be too far into the darkness.The game suggests that sometimes the vislae can bring pieces of the Actuality into the real world. The bundle contains prop documents that can be customized to players stories. Printing them out at home can make the game seem even more real.Invisible Sun Black CubeFor gaming groups who get this bundle and fall in love with the game or for ones who prefer a fully physical experience. I recommend checking out the Black Cube. It can be an investment for gamers used to paying $50 for a Players Handbook but it has one of the most unique presentations I have every seen. The folks at Monte Cook Games sent one home with me after attending GameHole Con this past November.The cube has slots for all the books, cards, dice to go securely rather than rattle around like many boxed sets. Opening the box gives the game an amost ritualistic moment that signals to everyone that the time for ordering pizza and sharing memes is over. The artifacts within the box get players into the mood for their intrigues.This era of gaming offers luxury priced experiences for those who can afford it. The Black Cube stands with things like the Legendary Edition of Curse of StrahdThe Invisible Sun Humble Bundle runs through January 30th. Sales of the bundle benefit Direct Relief which provides medical benefits around the world.

Something to look forward to: China accounts for nearly a quarter of the world's energy consumption, with fossil fuels playing a significant role. However, the Asian giant is exploring a different approach to energy harvesting capturing clean, essentially endless solar power where it is most abundant. Chinese researchers are working on a new power station project that could gather and convert solar energy directly from space. The station would be 1 kilometer wide and capable of sending solar energy back to Earth in the form of microwave radiation. According to proponents of the project, the energy collected by this new orbiting installation in one year would be equivalent to the total amount of oil that can still be extracted from Earth.One of the leading scientists behind the new energy plan is Long Lehao, a rocket expert and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Lehao is currently working on Long March 9 (CZ-9), a Chinese super-heavy carrier rocket that was recently updated to be reusable and capable of lifting at least 136 metric tons off the planet's surface.Beijing plans to use the CZ-9 and other rockets in the same series to send its taikonauts to the Moon. However, it would also be capable of transporting solar panels into a geostationary orbit around Earth. Energy collected in space would have 10 times the density of solar power reaching the surface, as clouds and the atmosphere can significantly affect the harvesting process.Lehao said that the new project is as significant as moving the Three Gorges Dam to a geostationary orbit 36,000 km above Earth. The Three Gorges Dam, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, is the world's largest power station. The hydroelectric station became fully operational in 2012 and can generate around 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.China is not the only country interested in building space-based solar power (SBSP) projects. US-based contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, the European Space Agency, and the Japanese space agency are investigating the feasibility of such projects, though they are still in the proof-of-concept phase. // Related StoriesLehao's team hopes to solve some of the issues related to SBSP by leveraging its own reusable space rocket technology with the CZ-9 project. China has big ambitions for its space exploration program, as it plans to use Long March rockets to build an international research station on the Moon's surface by 2035.

For branded coffee maker deals, you really cant find a price lower than the deal weve spotted at Walmart. Right now, you can buy the Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker for just $35 instead of paying the usual $59. The deal is only available on the red variety, but it looks stylish and is worth checking out. It could end up saving you a lot of cash on buying coffee while out and about. Lets take a look at it.The best Keurig coffee makers are a great addition to any kitchen and home. The Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker is a particularly accessible entry point for all things coffee. Its compact in its design so you can easily fit it in your countertop. From there, it offers super simple coffee brewing in a matter of minutes. It has a 36-ounce removable reservoir so you can easily brew a second cup without having to wait for reheating.The Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker has simple button controls, and all you need to do is insert any K-Cup pod and let the coffee maker do the rest for you. Its energy efficient as well thanks to an auto off function that automatically turns the brewer off five minutes after the last brew. If youve been on a quest for the perfect coffee maker, youre in luck here. The Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker also works with travel mugs. It has room for a 7-inch mug if you remove the drip tray or 6-inches with the drip tray. The drip tray keeps things a little cleaner, but the Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker is generally very simple to clean up after.RelatedWhile the best coffee makers may offer more features, the Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker is still a great starting point on your coffee maker journey. It looks great, is super simple to use, and will save you money on takeout coffee over time.Normally $59, the Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker is down to $35 for a limited time only at Walmart. The Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker is proving incredibly popular, which means that only the red variant is still available at this price. Its unlikely to stick around for much longer given how popular it is, so if you need a new coffee maker buy it now before you miss out.Editors Recommendations

In a crowded stone cellar he left unlocked, Jeff Joseph kept a world-class collection rich in blue-chip Burgundies. Our columnist and others lucky enough to visit it found rewards far beyond great wine.

Gemini Google increases Workspace plan base prices while adding Gemini features New plans will be cheaper for those who want Gemini, pricier for those who don't. Samuel Axon Jan 16, 2025 3:15 pm | 0 The Google Gemini logo. Credit: Google The Google Gemini logo. Credit: Google Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreGoogle has added AI features to its regular Workspace accounts for business while slightly raising the baseline prices of Workspace plans.Previously, AI tools in the Gemini Business plan were a $20 per seat add-on to existing Workspace accounts, which had a base cost of $12 per seat without. Now, the AI tools are included for all Workspace users, but the per-seat base price is increasing from $12 to $14.That means that those who were already paying extra for Gemini are going to pay less than half of what they wereeffectively $14 per seat instead of $32. But those who never used or wanted Gemini or any other newer features under the AI umbrella from Workspace are going to pay a little bit more than before.Features covered here include access to Gemini Advanced, the NotebookLM research assistant, email and document summaries in Gmail and Docs, adaptive audio and additional transcription languages for Meet, and "help me write" and Gemini in the side panel across a variety of applications.Google says that it plans "to roll out even more AI features previously available in Gemini add-ons only."This perhaps not-so-coincidentally follows a recent announcement from Microsoft that Copilot Pro AI features would be baked into the base cost of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions.As is often the case with these enterprise software suites, the fine print is complicated, with varying terms for different kinds of users.As a top-level summary: customers will be on this new pricing scheme immediately, while existing Workspace accounts begin on March 17. Those who've been shelling out $20 a month per seat for Gemini for Workspace won't be charged for that subscription anymore starting on February 1, but they'll retain access. These changes don't yet apply to small-business customers, thoughbut Google suggests that's temporary. Likewise, these changes aren't happening right now for education and nonprofit accounts.Google outlines the various edge cases in detail in its blog post, if you care to dig in.Up until recently, LLM- and deep learning-based features were generally treated as an extra or separate service by SaaS companies, but we're seeing a recent shift to baking them right into the core offerings like any other feature, and this is part of that trend.Samuel AxonSenior EditorSamuel AxonSenior Editor Samuel Axon is a senior editor at Ars Technica. He covers Apple, software development, gaming, AI, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and heis a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development. 0 Comments