Deborah La Torre

@deblatorre.bsky.social

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Research Scientist & Ph.D student @UCLA w/ expertise in STEM, afterschool education, and measurement. Musician. Art lover. Italian American. Foodie. NCAA hoops. SoCal native. Cat parent to Chloe and Lila. Photos my own.

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In honor of Lila cat turning three on March 21, here are a few of her baby pictures. Lila is goofy, playful, purrs like a Harley, loves sleeping on her humans, and loves kisses. I’m so lucky that I was able to adopt her as a baby from Kitten Rescue!

A male Lesser Goldfinch outside my home in Los Angeles. What a beautiful yellow!

The view from the vote center near my house in Los Angeles. Vote Blue on Super Tuesday!

I’ve decided that it would be good to share some of my academic work on this site, so to start, here’s a link to a paper I cowrote with other grad students and postdocs, who do work in measurement, on the standards for educational and psychological testing.

(PDF) Statement about the New Edition of the Standards for Educational & Psychological Testing. April 2023www.researchgate.net PDF | In October 2021, the Graduate Student Issues Committee at NCME called their graduate students to create a study group about the current edition of... | Find, read and cite all the research you n...

A good thread about higher education.

Take off the table the idea that this is an empirically sound and responsible argument (it's not). Instead, let's focus on where this way of talking about universities comes from and who it serves, based on recent historical precedent. A Thread . . . 1/10

It’s not a Christmas movie exactly but since I received all of my Barbie dolls as Christmas presents I hereby declare it to be a Christmas adjacent movie!

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Love Songs xkcd.com/2870

This one has learned (on her own) to pick up Greenies with her paw and bring it to her mouth. Lila kitten is way too smart. #itsacatworld

Depeche Mode last night in Los Angeles

Lila cat investigating the “cat proof” tree. I wonder what she and her sister will do if I get a real one this year!

My dad (at center) who is now buried at Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego. #VeteransDay

Adopting my beautiful Chloe (aka, Muffin, Goofy Cat, Research Cat, and Breaker of Chains) almost 10 years ago was one of my best choices ever.

Why take a photo of one landmark when you can capture two: the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

Cheating and using a filter rather than buying a costume for Halloween 🎃

I’m proud to be one of the coauthors of the Statement about the New Edition of the Standards for Educational & Psychological Testing from the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) Graduate Student Issues Committee (GSIC). osf.io/preprints/so...

osf.io

My FB Memories reminded me today that I really am a math and stats nerd.

Janet Jackson is getting me through a Friday of coding data. music.apple.com/us/album/got...

Got 'Til It's Gone (feat. Q-Tip & Joni Mitchell) [Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge Mix] by Janet Jacksonmusic.apple.com Listen to Got 'Til It's Gone (feat. Q-Tip & Joni Mitchell) [Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge Mix] by Janet Jackson on Apple Music. 1997. Duration: 3:46

One of the best things about living in Los Angeles is getting to see live music in a place like the Hollywood Bowl. Last night we saw Ben Gibbard’s two bands: Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service. Ben still has an amazing voice and the show was pretty great, too.

My camera’s view of the partial annular eclipse (with me looking away and just snapping away) in Los Angeles right now.

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Research finds that ChatGPT consumes 500 ml of water (about 16 oz) for every 5-50 prompts it answers. Microsoft’s global water consumption ⬆️ 34% from ‘21-‘22 to 17 billion gl. 🗣️We are actively draining our resources for survival in the midst of climate collapse.

Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of waterapnews.com As they race to capitalize on a craze for generative AI, leading tech developers including Microsoft, OpenAI and Google have acknowledged that growing demand for their AI tools carries hefty costs, fr...

Every morning when I wake up and have my coffee I read the newest letter from @hcrichardson.bsky.social. Even though I write a lot as a researcher and PhD student, I still look to her for inspiration. Getting to see her talk about her newest book this week was such a thrill.

For those of you in K-12 education, an opportunity to explore computer science.

On the shelf in my office at UCLA…my Bruin Bear wears a button saying that a “woman’s place is in the House and in the Senate.” This felt fitting to share since our newest senator in California will once again be a woman.

I really love this essay about Star Trek over the years by Rebecca Wanzo, which @jbouie.bsky.social shared in his weekly newsletter. www.publicbooks.org/fixing-nosta...

Fixing Nostalgia: “Star Trek” Boldly Goes to Less Utopian Futureswww.publicbooks.org “Picard” is perhaps the least utopian of any “Star Trek” media. But’s that because its political pragmatism shows how to build a better reality.

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President Biden joined striking autoworkers on a picket line in Michigan, in an extraordinary show of support by a sitting president. The United Auto Workers must negotiate separate deals with General Motors and Stellantis on issues, including pay. nyti.ms/3taFgwV

Today’s adventure in Sydney, Australia was a five mile coastal hike from the north of Bondi beach to the south of Coogee Beach, with a gazillion stairs, and four other beaches in between.

I’m just going to say this once… I currently have free WiFi on a Qantas flight to Australia. 😍 In contrast, WiFi costs a small fortune on American Airlines. 😟

Last night’s inflight sunset over Singapore

Watching the sunset over the Andaman Sea in Phuket, Thailand.