This is the end

Well folks, it appears that the State Department uncovered my true identity through their background investigation. My boss asked me very politely today to put the blog on ice and I have decided to honor his request.

To be honest, I hate the idea of self-censorship, but it looks like I have no way around it while I'm a Presidential Management Fellow. I can't have my (possibly controversial) personal views to undermine the credibility of the policy advice I will dispense over the next two years.

I never really imagined sticking with the civil service until retirement. This is just more of an incentive to explore all of my options when my PMF bid is up.

I don't know whether I will need to delete the blog entirely or just let it gather dust until I'm no longer a government official. For now, it will gather dust.

I'd like to end activity on this blog by giving an enormous 'thank you' to my readers. You are what made this blog worthwhile. I will miss our conversations and your always relevant input and criticism.

Update (10/3/2007): Thanks again for all of the support. You've encouraged me to talk to DS about keeping the blog, but refocusing it on my photoshoping and artwork. I can't let this creative outlet completely go to waste.

DISCLAIMER: The following posts represent only my personal views prior to October 1, 2007. They have no bearing on the advice may provide to current or future employers.

Transitions and gifts

Well, today was my last day with the Army. While I'm eager to start work on the nonproliferation projects my boss at State is cooking up, I'm also sad to the organization.

America's soldiers aren't perfect and sometimes they need a little civilian direction, but they're about the only people I know who regularly (and humbly) pull off the impossible. It felt good to know to lend our boys and girls in green a hand during a particularly rough time.

Thankfully, I won't be complete 'out of the green' at the State Department. Many of my coworkers are retired chemists from Ft. Detrick and the Edgewood Chem-Bio Center. Working with so Marylanders will be a bit of a transition, but I can cope.

In other news, I have gifts to offer my readers. I pre-ordered the Orange Box, which is a game package that includes Team Fortress 2, Portal, Half-Life 2 and its two episodes. Since I already own Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2 Episode 1, I can transfer them to another person as a gift.

Valve products are served up the purchasers electronically over their Steam network, so I won't need to mail the recipients anything. If you are interested in receiving either game, please send an e-mail to robot.economist AT gmail DOT com. I will pick the recipients on the evening of October 10th using a method based on a random number generator.

I will try my damnedest to ensure that all of my readers (including those outside of the U.S.) have a fair shot, but be aware that Steam may not extend service to your country.

One down, one to go

I finished my paper for defense transformation this weekend. The only thing left before graduation is a paper for Mike Mochizuki's class next Monday. Posting should pick up once I get this last bit squared away. Check back tomorrow evening for my reaction to Neil Abercombie's announcement that he will slash $800 million from the House's fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill.

Some of my readers have asked me about how the PMF process is going. After four second interviews, I've recieved three "Dear John" letters. Fortunately, I am still on the short list for the job that I really want -- a spot at one of the State Department's offices that deal with chemical and biological weapons. I'd really like to thank everyone for the support they've given me over the last few months, it has been really great.

I photoshopped this image macro on a whim. Figured it is worth a few laughs.

Update Madness - 7 April 2007

I apologize for the extreme lack of content recently, but I have been bogged down with a the combination of finals, job hunting and an impending round of negotiations with representatives from Japan's Technical Research and Development Institute (don't both clicking the 'English' link, a new English website hasn't been put up since they moved to the mod.go.jp address). I do have a few things to report that my readers might find interesting:

PMF Job Fair

The Presidential Management Fellows Job Fair was last week. It was fun. I spent most of the day in interviews with State and Defense Department offices.

The highpoint of the day was when I did an interview in the chair storage room adjacent to the main ballroom floor with guy from the Bureau for Intelligence and Research (INR). Apparently after he came back from his lunch break to find some other State Department office squatting in INR interview booth. The worst interview had to be with the Japan desk at East Asia and Pacific Affairs. The interviewer showed up to the convention center 20 minutes late and the office didn't even arranged for booth space!

The "That's our government" award goes to the Missile Defense Agency. Their description of the PMF job included "Graham cracker duty" -- ensuring that three-star general in charge of the Joint Staff/Service Integration Cell receives his daily ration of junk food. I would have been more surprised if I didn't already have to carry out "Popsicle duty" for my boss when he gets back from his mid-day workout at the Pentagon gym.

"teh funney" and Disruptive Technology

Although the Dresden Files is turning out to be a very watchable show, Acceptable.tv is the show filling the void until Battlestar Galactica starts up again in January 2008. The concept is really amazing -- five shorts are aired on VH1 and on the web then the viewers vote for their favorite online. The two shorts with the most votes are invited to make another episode for the next week.

It is amazing how YouTube has evolved into a media format capable of supporting an entire show in just two short years. If acceptable.tv takes off, the YouTube concept will have fully matured into a disruptive technology. Here is Operation Kitten Calendar, a twist on The Apprentice that has survived two weeks of voting:

I promise to put some more analysis on the blog once I get finals wrapped up in a few weeks.

Big News

U.S. OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
3/19/2007
MID ATLANTIC SERVICES BRANCH NO
FEDERAL BUILDING
200 GRANBY STREET
SUITE 500
NORFOLK VA 23510-1886


Dear [Robot Economist],


Position: 2007 PRESIDENTIAL MANAGEMENT FELLOWS APPLICATION
Series/Grade: 0352-09
Vacancy ID: 117979
Agency: PMF Program Office
Duty Location: Throughout The Nation, US


SUBJECT: 2007 PMF APPLICATION STATUS

Congratulations! You have been selected as a Finalist for the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program's Class of 2007 and are now eligible for an appointment as a PMF (Fellow). While obtaining an appointment with a Federal Agency is not guaranteed, reaching Finalist status is quite an achievement. To become a Fellow, Finalists must be appointed by a participating agency and be brought on board by March 19, 2008.

The PMF Program provides you with an incredible and unique opportunity for your career. During this era of change in the Federal Government, the need for talented, highly energetic PMFs has never been greater. Please note that competition for PMF appointments can be intense. To be successful in the appointment process, you need to be active, persistent, and flexible in your job search efforts. You may wish to keep your options open to all potential job offers.

Your selection as a Finalist is a testament to the unique contributions that you can bring to the Federal policies, activities, and programs that impact all Americans. We hope that you share our enthusiasm for the PMF Program and choose to be among those who will help shape the future of the Federal Government.

We have assembled additional instructions on the next steps in the selection process and posted them on the PMF website under "Memos to Fellows". Please review these instructions as they contain details about the upcoming Job Fair (April 4-6, 2007, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC), how to update your online resumes, and general program information.

---

Be on the look out for a celebratory Photoshop.

Update Madness February 20, 2007

New digs for Noah Shachtman

For those who haven't heard, one of the kinds of defense technology reporting has moved on to greener blogging pastures at Wired.com. We had a chat earlier today and frankly I'm excited about his prospects at Wired. It is a huge step up in terms of market share and Wired will probably let him cast a wider net in terms of defense topics. John Robb or I might even be able to crosspost some of 'crazy' ideas about fourth generation warfare and defense transformation.

Other stuff

I should received word about final selections for PMF by the end of next week. I'm a bit nervous, but the kind e-mails and comments I've received from readers have been encouraging. To be honest, I'm still dithering between the PMF and staying at GWU to complete a PhD in public policy. My proposal to explore how counterinsurgency theory translates into practice has apparently raised some eyebrows among the National Security Policy program's faculty.

Oh and Happy Birthday to my girlfriend Mary. She has apparently figured out my secret identity and has become a reader herself. What a nerd...

PMF exam

The deed is done and it only took 4 hours. I feel like Photoshoping something when I get home. Check back tomorrow morning.

I think the theme will be: "MC Ahmadinejad seyz the rims keep spinnin' even after the centrifuges stop."

Update: I just realized that I don't have any webspace to host a picture. Nevermind then...

Second Update: J pointed out that I could use Flickr. Smart guy. Too bad its Super Bowl weekend or I'd have time to upload a few of my concepts.

As promised: (I fiddled with the size a little)

Note: It appears 23 is giving me too many broken links. I have opened up a Flickr account (after setting aside initial suspicions that Yahoo! wouldn't hide my real name). I've also taken to uploading my picture directly to the blog. We'll see what works.

Update Madness - 29 January 2007

Three days until the Presidential Management Fellows exam. In between now and then, I have 80 pages of reading to complete, four hours of class, 16 hours in the office and an all-day conference hosted at LMI's corporate headquaters.

Needless to say, I will be busy. I'll be back sometime Thursday afternoon. Wish me luck.

Update: I know this George Washington video is a little old, but it is still hilarious.

Update Madness - 16 January 2007

Today was the first of class for my final semester as a graduate student at GWU. Its a class about defense transformation being taught by a former Army colonel with a PhD from John Hopkins and it is shaping up to be pretty boring. Reading list is good though... Willitblend.com has a slew of new demonstrations. My favorite is the cassette tapes smoothie, but the ballpoint pens demo is also an instant classic. Two weeks until my PMF examination. Not sweating just yet.

Update Madness - 12 January 2007

I have a few personal updates:

1) I received my Presidential Management Fellows exam date today. The big day is 1 February in a federal building over in Foggy Bottom.

2) I played around the color scheme (read: hit the "shuffle blog colors" button for a few minutes) so my blog has a more distinct look at is easier on the eyes.

3) If you're planning on seeing The Black Dahlia, don't bother. The acting is fine, but the plot is disjointed and the screenwriters obviously misinterperted the idea of a 'twist ending' as 'revealing all of the key plot points in the last 15 minutes of the movie.' If you're into movies with really flourid, poetic dialogue, see History Boys (if not, don't bother). See The Illusionist if you haven't already. It is conclusive proof that Edward Norton is Generation X's greatest actor. If you're thinking about a career in the CIA's Clandestine Service, go see the The Good Shepard and if you're thinking about it afterward, you're a better man than I.

Update Madness - 3 January 2007

So the Office of Personnel Management folks handling the President Management Fellows program finally did something on time for the first time in a year: I received my PMF nomination notice today via e-mail. For those not graduating from a graduate program in spring of '07, OPM delayed the start date and deadline for the PMF application by twice this fall. This has effectively pushed back the entire PMF application process by about two months. It looks like OPM is hoping to make up some of the time by replacing the entire oral assessment component that is used to determine the PMF finalist pool with a longer written assessment (read: more multiple choice questions). I don't know how to feel about this development because I have a notoriously mixed history of test taking - like the 400-point (downward) difference between my first and second crack at the SAT. Or the 790 I scored on the math portion of the GRE, even though I couldn't even crack a B in Elementary Statistics back in undergad. Hopefully this test will turn out more like the latter than the former...