A.J.
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ajbalatico.bsky.social
A.J.
@ajbalatico.bsky.social
61 followers 140 following 45 posts
Science teacher interested in education and healthcare access, the environment, and urbanism.

New Orleans | Seattle
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ajbalatico.bsky.social
I stumbled upon a "game jam" reflection from a Fall 2021 class about a training simulator called "Corporate Hiring RPG." You and a team narrow down an applicant pool for deepfake/mock interviews, and you also have to write offer / rejection letters, competing against others to make great teams.
A graphic describing "Corporate Hiring RPG" that uses an AI generated avatar, lists of names, and resumes for groups to say YES/NO/MAYBE for an interview, and then create a Deepfake Interview for another YES/NO/MAYBE. There's also a chance to write rejection letters. Player and global stats persist based on previous choices. Later there is a plot twist. Discuss outcomes of hiring on Reddit.
April 15, 2025 at 10:10 PM
ajbalatico.bsky.social
Driving through stroads and HOA suburban hellscapes w/ back-to-back traffic lights that should be stop signs made me want to play Cities Skylines. I've had a decent no-shop streak but had to pick up my parents' medicines. It took about 45 min; in Seattle, it would be a 5 minute Link ride both ways.
A screenshot of Cities Skylines at night in-game. A high school, botanical garden, and Japanese garden on a four-lane street lined w/ trees. Pedestrian paths are present.
April 5, 2025 at 5:51 PM
ajbalatico.bsky.social
I'm looking for free, easy-to-use online data tools for a high school biology and chemistry course for high school students at a 6-week School of Medicine summer enrichment program. Sleep, diet, and exercise would be fun to explore and seem to have tools available.

www.gkbrk.com/wiki/caffein...
A graph of caffeine half-lives for an energy drink and soda in the morning. End result of 7 mg by 10:51 p.m.
April 3, 2025 at 1:35 PM
ajbalatico.bsky.social
For fun, I looked at voting in the Louisiana parishes w/ the largest cities. Only Orleans voted significantly differently from the state average. East Baton Rouge, Caddo, Lafayette, and Calcasieu voted slightly more "No" but still like the rest of the state. Walk Scores included bc I was curious.
Results of the March 29, 2025 Louisiana Election where Governor Landry proposed 4 amendments. None of the amendments passed. The table has five parishes with Louisiana's five largest cities by population. Orleans parish voted 9.2% Yes, and 90.8% No. East Baton Rouge, Caddo, Lafayette, Calcasieu voted between 26.2% and 37.5% Yes and between 62.5% and 73.8% No. Walk Scores for the five largest cities in those parishes are provided. New Orleans has a Walk and Bike score of 124, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, and Lake Charles have an index between 68 and 89.
March 30, 2025 at 12:34 PM
ajbalatico.bsky.social
My April reads: Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, Pulse of Perseverance (biographies of three Black doctors from Xavier University, a Catholic HBCU in New Orleans, Louisiana), and Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Two are health research adjacent, and DD for fun.
A.J.'s April Reads: Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, Pulse of Perseverance (biographies of three Black doctors from Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Catholic HBCU), and Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
March 30, 2025 at 12:36 AM
ajbalatico.bsky.social
The deliberate weakening of science in the United States is so tough to witness. Science funding was already extremely competitive, and the list of terminated NIH grants documents so much lost potential, especially in community and clinical work impacting the most marginalized.

tinyurl.com/ycym5eue
A table of terminated NIH grants as of March 2025. Screenshot focuses on University of Washington grants.
March 28, 2025 at 12:51 PM
ajbalatico.bsky.social
During my spring cleaning, I found a binder of old Pokemon cards. It affirmed how influential Pokemon has been to me for the past 29 years. I picked my favorites from over 1000! Here are my favorite Normal Type, Fire, Water, and Grass Pokemon.

ajbalatico.wordpress.com/2025/03/25/m...
Collage of my favorite Normal Type Pokemon from Generations 1 through 9: Kangaskhan, Blissey, Zangoose, Bidoof, Braviary, MegaKangaskhan, Bewear, Wooloo, and Maushold. Collage of my favorite Fire Pokemon from Generations 1 through 9: Arcanine, Entei, Blaziken, Infernape, Victini, Mega Charizard X, Alolan Marowak, Cinderace, and Ceruledge. Collage of my favorite Water Pokemon from Generations 1 through 9: Gyarados, Suicune, Mudkip, Gastrodon, Keldeo, Greninja, Ash Greninja, Inteleon, and Tatsugiri. Collage of my favorite Grass Pokemon from Generations 1 through 9: Bulbasaur, Celebi, Sceptile, Torterra, Sawsbuck Fall, Chespin, Decidueye, Rillaboom, and Meowscarada.
March 26, 2025 at 1:51 PM