Foreign Service Officer Application: Phase 2

As I previously mentioned, I took my Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) first week of March. I now have to wait for 3 months to find out how I did. If anyone wants to take the FSOT, here is a list of recommendations on how to study for it:

• Read the weekly Economist magazine for a year or two (online link)
  
• Also read BBC news every day as time permits (online link)
• Read a US History book.
  (My recommendation is A History of the American People by Paul Johnson (a Brit). Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States is also good but not so much for preparing for the FSOT)
• Read the Congressional Quarterly Desk Reference on American Government. It's a FAQ.
• Read the Consitution (several times until you've memorized all the articles and their subsections, and the 27 amendments - note: this number may change by the time you read this, but not likely).
• Try to create and memorize lists of significant acts of Congress and Supreme Court cases.
• Learn world geography. Here is an interweb game that's useful for that (Scott, you asked for a time waster? You got it).
• The State Department website has a sample test you can download for $20. Highly recommended. The actual test is exactly the same (slightly different questions).

You can find this information and much, much more (a lot of it is repetitive nonsense) by joining the FSOT Yahoo Group.

Furthermore, if you have any foreign language skills, you will be asked to list them on your application and then you will be asked to take a phone test to prove your skills. Since I had put down that I know a little bit of Mandarin, and since Mandarin is on State's list of Super Critically Needed Languages, I have been asked to take a Mandarin test in March. According to the website this means I had passed the FSOT, but I did not receive a formal results letter. Just an email saying I should test for Mandarin ASAP. My test is on April 3 so I have been spending the last week just refreshing my Mandarin skills. I have little confidence in passing this test, but it's optional so hopefuly it won't hurt too bad. Anyways, I wanted to also add a link to the Foreign Service Institute Foreign Language Courses page. They have the study guides and tapes all available online for free!

The RIse of the Machines

I haven't been impressed by a robot since I visited the MIT AI Lab oh so many years ago. Not that much has happened in the field since. Honda has been making biped robots that just look like huge versions of old toy robots. I had seen a pogo stick robot do some amazing balancing tricks, and I have seen robots catch balls thrown at them. There's even a roomba now. But I have never seen a robot getting kicked by a person and not losing its balance! Until now.

Corrupt Politicians

Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer.
You know what, it's not the sex, although I have little respect for that desperate quality in men who need to pay for sex or the company of strange women. It's not the lying, either. We all lie. White lies, lies of omission, lies of ignorance, lies to protect, and well, lies to cheat! Spitzer didn't lie to me, really. But he did make me think that he would never do such a thing. It's the bar. If you're gonna set the bar at some arbitrary point of reference of your own choosing, you better meet that bar, buddy. That's your own standard. Nobody told you to make it high or low, but once you hold other people to it, you gotta live by it too! So, call it hypocrisy or simply not living up to my or his own expectations.
I don't like it when politicians fail their own tests. It's frustrating. They are the role models of society. You want them to do well. As opposed to celebrities like Paris Hilton or Britney Spears. I like to see them get into trouble with the law. If they don't, I would also be disappointed. They wouldn't be living up to their own standards of stupidity and unethical behavior...
Now, I know the Clintons have been implicated in many a scandal. I mean you have Bill's libido for one thing, but that's just icing on a cake of oopsies:

• Whitewater
• Cattle Futures Trading
• Filegate
• Travelgate

As a Hillary supporter, I have to admit that these little scandoodles raise a red flag, and this Spitzer shenanigan is just bringing this issue to the forefront for me. I like to think of myself as a relatively just person, though I am not a saint and would usually not go out of my way when presented with a lite moral dilemma (like finding money on the street). Especially if by ignoring the ethics I get some material benefit from it... I would be just as big a hypocrite if I didn't admit that. So, what about the Clintons? Is their moral compass more screwed up than mine? Roughly the same? Am I the right judge?
I reconcile my moral distaste with the notion that the Clintons live life on the less than savory edge of a Reuben - say the sour edge (from all that sauerkraut) - with the fact that they seem to always get away with it. Well, at least the ones that really matter. Consensual adultery is legal. Lying under oath isn't, but then again, got away with it. There is something to be said about being smart and sneaky enough to make sure nothing you do wrong can bite you in the ass later. And so far it seems to me they use that power for good instead of evil, which is what matters most in my personal moral calculus.
So, I think I would have pardoned Spitzer had he not made himself out to be such a straight shooter. It's like when they catch these fire and brimstone, gay-bashing evangelical crazies in bed with two men and a goat. It's the bar, stupid...

Social Divider, Political Uniter

I know people have moved on from the actual candidate race to the more alluring debates over super-delegates, Florida and Michigan re-dos, and the value of popular vote vs. delegate counts. So this might seem like really outdated material in this dynamic primary, but I am still stuck on why so many Democrats have fallen for the change rhetoric. I mean, if those Democrat voters wanted change so badly, why not agitate for Nader and support the Green Party with millions of dollars instead? I know the Green Party is more radical than Obama, and with enough support (votes and monetary contributions), they too can get a shot at the podium in the general election.
The reason they would not go for the Green Party is that they are not really voting for change. They are voting for the youngest, slickest man in the room. You might call this Democratic primary season Political Idol. Obama represents youth, charm, and a great vocal range (just kidding!). Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll. You can see that by looking at the cult-like following and the screaming, fainting masses at his rallies. So, while people accuse Clinton of being a polarizing figure, they cheer Obama for his unification theory (I will reach out, and people will unite around my cause... What is my cause? Who cares!). But is he really a uniter? That remains to be seen.
Hillary, on the other hand, IS a polarizing figure when it comes to social issues. Because she stood by her husband during a sex scandal. Because she changed her hair styles too many times for some folks out there. Because she is a powerful and power-hungry woman (how dare she?). Because she can play the game as good as the boys can. In fact, by playing the game well, Clinton has proved she can be a force for bipartisanship when it matters. See the different bipartisan legislations she has co-sponsored with Republicans (Immigration, Health Care).
So what do you want Democrat Obamaites?
You want change? Go Green.
You want new politics? Go Dream.
You want Rock & Roll? Go Obama.
You want a strong, efficient, and wholly different Democratic president? Go Clinton...

BBC News - Jihadist Cyber Attack?

Is it just me or is the entire BBC website down? I'm not just talking News, I mean everything.
Do you think it has anything to do with the launch of the BBC Arabic TV channel??? Hmm...
Well, I apologize for any inconvenience if the 3 of you reading my site actually use the BBC News Radar links on the right-hand side :)

Dress Rehearsal For Robot

I've been really lazy downloading pictures and videos off my camera, so here is a month-old clip from the high school where I was volunteering with the FIRST program, building a robot. Since then the robot has been packed and shipped off for holding until the NY regional competition in April. I have not been going back to the school but I do sometimes get calls from the team asking me to help with some programming question; they are practicing with a similar robot they built and programmed (with my help) for last year's competition.

What We Do For Good Eats

Connie and I are going to California for a wedding in May. We plan on driving around a bit after the event - Yosemite, San Fransisco, Napa. The best rated restaurant in the states is The French Laundry in wine country, so we wanted to make sure to hit that. We've been to Keller's Per Se in NYC, but it's never enough with us... So this place has limited seating and you have to call exactly 60 days before the date you want. We're going with a couple who just moved to Cali, and they reminded me that today was the day to call. At 12:57pm EST (3 minutes before the reservation office opens) I started dialing... with 3 phones (2 cells, 1 land line). Connie and I rang furiously for 21 minutes. Then, I finally got through and was put on hold for another 10 minutes - a nail-biting, stressful moment. Finally, I get a reservationist, only to find out there was a private party that evening (line of bullshit?). So I get a table for lunch, at 11:15am :) Oh, and as if my nut-sack wasn't black and blue already, I'm reminded that, if I dare not show up or let them know 3 days before the date that I am not coming, I will be charged $100 per person!

For Sale By Owner... Another Mission Accomplished

We closed on the Brooklyn apartment today, finally. We sold the place without any middlemen (except for the lawyer, and the lending bank). Just put an ad on craigslist (not too aggressive, once every week or two) and a put a sign on the street-facing window. We showed the place about 20 times or so (1-2 times a week for about 3-4 months). It's a great deal: save ~%6 of sale price for no cost (except the sign we bought at Lowe's to hang in the window) and a few weekend afternoons hanging out with wackos for 30 minute tours.

Mission Accomplished... "What's Next?"

After two and half years of thinking about it, I finally took the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) today. The long anticipation for the test date has instantaneously turned into an anxious wait for results (10 weeks). Even if I pass the test, it will be another 10 weeks before I know if I passed the review process (test results and personal narrative submitted during registration). Then another 3 months before I can do the next test (FSOA or FS Oral Assesment). I feel cautiously optimistic about my chance to make it to phase II, but we'll see. I know a few questions I got wrong, and I felt extremely pressed on the essay writing part. I can't say much more because I signed an Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). I probably broke the NDA just by saying I signed it, so 'nough.

The real question (thanks for voicing it on gtalk, Scott) is "What's next?" I have no test to study for so no excuse to stay home. I do have 3 papers to write for my classes and I need to do well in case it's back to school. But I definitely need to start doing something to find employment (paid or not) to further my goals of going into public policy research. I will report more on this development as I regroup this week.

Before I go, I just want to give my wife a big shout-out for supporting me so far in my craziness (and a bit of lazyness).

Tuesday is the New Thursday!

Holy Jebus, what a fighter, hey? You go get him, girl...
Well, Obama had a rough week. First, Clinton came at him with knives during the Ohio debate. Then, SNL tore him a new one on a sketch of that debate. The news cycle was still rehashing his wife's unpatriotic line, when his campaign got pooped on with the NAFTA-gate debacle. These hampered his chances to win in this Fantastique Mardi set of primaries. Of course, deluded voters in Vermont (the "Freedom and UNITY state") begged to differ, but who cares about them. Ohio, a major swing state and a renowned predictor of primary winners (like New Hampshire), has gone big for Hills.