FSOT results, Part 1

I passed!

"Dear THE PRAGMATIC ECONOMIST,

Congratulations! The scores you achieved on your Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) qualify you for the next step of the Foreign Service Officer selection process, which is your prompt submission of a personal narrative for review by the Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP). As you know, the Foreign Service selection process is a series of evaluations that can lead to an offer of employment as an entry-level Foreign Service Officer. Now that you have received a passing score on the FSOT, you must submit responses to five short-essay questions, which are known as the Personal Narrative (PN) questions. You must complete your PN essay responses and submit them before 11:59 PM CST on 11/17/2009. Failure to submit your essay responses by that time will terminate your candidacy.

[...]

Congratulations again. We look forward to receiving your personal narrative submission.

Sincerely,

The Board of Examiners"

I'll post later what my score breakdown is when I get it. Hence, "FSOT results, Part 1". On that note, it's time to celebrate! Here's a link to my blog discussing the FSOT.

(edit: here's a link to my FSOT score breakdown)

Google Voice, Part 3

I've had Google Voice for a month or so now, and it is slowly becoming a staple of my everyday telephony. I do have one big concern regarding the service however which makes adopting GV full-time, well, difficult.

Let's talk privacy. I'm willing to give up a some amount of privacy in exchange for Google products. Information is power and money, and Google makes a lot of money off our information. And they should. Google supplies practically everyone who wants it with absolutely incredible products (the search engine, Gmail, GV, Blogger, Scholar, etc.) and instead of trading them cash for services, I swap information. For example, (in case you haven't noticed,) Google scans your Gmail account to tailor its ads toward your interests (or whatever you talk about in your emails). For example: say you're always emailing people about your kid's little league accomplishments. Well, Google will surely pick up on that and changes your ads so they relates to baseball. "Baseball bats $20 @ www.(whateverstoreGooglechooses).com", etc. You are more likely to click those ads, which by collapsing the entire transaction, makes Google money.I really don't mind those ads or this process, and I am generally able to ignore the fact Google is a benevolent Big Brother.

However, what really bothers me is that my privacy on Google Voice. GV text messages are saved online. I don't like that. It's not that I say anything that bad over text, but I certainly don't want anything sitting around my Google account that was produced by telephone. People don't self-censor over text like they do email. What's more, what other people text you becomes part of the record, and that's fairly creepy.

Google also has a "voice recording" feature with which you can record telephone conversations online with the push of a button (number "4" I believe). I haven't used it, but I certainly hope when you push the record button, a little Google voice comes on the phone to enlighten unwitting parties on the status of their (otherwise private) conversations. As you might gather, the Pragmatic Economist doesn't approve of this information-without-consent free-for-all. This is supremely ironic given I have completed extensive study the effects of information asymmetry... Ha.

Here's what Google should do: your text messages and voicemails (which are also recorded, transcribed, sent to your email, and archived) should have more of an opt-in policy, rather than opt-out or no policy at all. Opt-out already exists for voicemail, but I haven't figured the same for SMS. As for the voice recording nonsense: I haven't used it, but if there is no informed consent from the affected party, I am most likely against it.

Yikes. Google, you amaze me for better or for worse. I do have to say overall I'm happy with the product, but I need to be a bit more comfortable with my privacy before "making the switch". I received some Google Voice invites, so I'm hoping to see how my friends like it (given that I talk about it a lot) and whether they agree with these points. I'll keep you posted.

Personal Statements

On the topic of personal statements for law school admissions:

Can you really have "im-personal" statements? We should rename them to something inspirational like "Documents of Miscellanea".

On a more serious note though, I'm currently writing my personal statements (which need to be finished by the 30th of October) and am stuck. I wrote the first one: well-written, but it's modest and sounds a bit disgruntled (not my intention). The second one is a "diversity" statement that I qualify for. Imagine that, me being diverse. That sounds so offensive. That's kind of like hearing the following (hypothetical) conversation:

Person A: Let's grab some Filiberto's or something Mexican.

Person B: OK, sounds good. I love ethnic food.

I don't want to discount diversity in law school, in fact, I openly encourage it. However, the diversity statement prompt makes it sound like just because you can be placed in a minority group, you have certainly faced some unbelievable adversity in life. And on top of that, you triumphed and emerged victorious. Why must people assume I can't leave my house without facing some daily trial or tribulation? Come on, I put my pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of you.

If you've read up to this point, you undoubtedly see the problem I face with my personal statements. I sometimes come off as hostile through the written-word. Oops, I need to work on that.

In other news, tomorrow I have a second exam in my favorite freshman level class: anthropology! Tarsiers and plesiodapomorphs and bilophodonts! Oh my! I did some studying, and intend to study more tonight.

Also, my french onion soup was fairly awesome (read my previous post). But here's what really made it special: I went to the grocery store to buy onions for the soup, and decided I wanted to buy a bottle or two of sparkling mineral water. So I go to the area where they have sparkling water, I grab two bottles (2 for $3) labeled as "mineral water", and leave. It turns out they weren't sparkling (despite being in the sparkling water section) at all, so now I have two bottles of very expensive water. I am slightly bitter because I paid $3 for water that would have cost me $0.03 in my Brita filter. Oh well. Ha!

Pragmatic French Onion Soup

Yesterday, I finally got a crock pot. I'm not sure why I hadn't done so before, but to be completely honest, it's awesome. Being ever pragmatic and efficient, the Pragmatic Economist is not one to cook at length. That, and frankly, I'm not a great cook. I can pull together some wicked vodka pasta or tamale pie, but under normal circumstances my culinary expertise is as extensive as the kindergärtner who makes Play-Doh donuts.

I think I may be selling myself short a bit, I can boil water and turn on the oven, so it's not that I'm totally defenseless in the kitchen. For some odd reason, I've been craving French Onion Soup lately. I finally got the ingredients, and decided to cook (or crock pot rather). I went to the Crepes of Wrath cooking blog and found a nice little recipe. My friend Sydney runs the blog and had a recipe handy (which you can find here). Being lazy, I didn't follow it to the letter, but it worked. So without further adieu:

L'ognion français à l'économiste

(that title took way too long to type)

3 yellow onions

8 cups beef broth

a handful of sliced mushrooms

.5 pound broccoli

.5 pound carrot

dash of salt

1 tablespoon of butter

baguette

mozzarella cheese

1.) Slice onions, saute them in butter until carmelized

2.) Add onions to crock pot, set on high for 30 minutes until onions are hot

3.) Add mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots to crock pot. Keep on high for 1 hour

4.) Add beef broth, set to low heat

5.) Wait a few hours

6.) Taste, add salt if needed

7.) Put French Onion concoction in bowl

8.) Slice baguette, places pieces on top of soup

9.) Top with cheese, put in microwave until melted

10.) Eat

And there you have it, French onion soup. Cheap and easy, just like your local Mill Avenue floozy.

Foreign Service Exam

I've been lazy with the blogging lately. Sorry kids. I'm sure you're not that disappointed though!

The big news for this past week was taking the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT). I took it in downtown Phoenix at Phoenix College. It was a 45 minute train ride from Tempe; a bit long, but not that difficult. There were only a half-dozen or so people taking the exam, which was shocking. Granted, the FSOT is given over a 2 week period I believe, but still, that's not the crowd I was expecting. It was nothing like the LSAT where they practically shut down the entire community college for the duration of the exam.

Before I continue, I have to let you know I can't tell you about any of the questions on the exam, as this would be a violation of the non-disclosure policy you agree to at the beginning of the test. But I will talk in the most general terms, specifically about information posted on the State Department website itself.

To begin with, you have to fill out the application form at least a month in advance of the exam. You have to choose which cone you wish to work in if given the job: Consular, Economic, Management, Political, or Public Diplomacy. I bet you can guess which cone I chose?

After this, you sign up for a date to take the exam and go to the testing center. I loved this testing center. Like I mentioned, it's a bit out of the way, but there was no line and the process was super quick. So you sit down and take the exam. The exam is as follows:

1) Job Knowledge Section: More or less, it's reminiscent of Trivial Pursuit except a lot more fun. I really enjoyed this portion of the exam because I love all the stuff they question you on (pretty much everything related to foreign affairs and American culture basically). I prepared for this section by reading the newspaper, BBC News, and looking at an atlas occasionally. I felt great after that section.

2) English Section: Do you remember the SAT English section? Well, if you did OK on that the English section will be a breeze. However, if you're like me and do math well at the expense of English, you might have problems. I speak English, but when it comes down to it, I'm not always confident in my use of grammar. I felt OK after this section, but not great. We'll see I guess...

3) Biographical Section: Imagine having a multiple choice exam on your resume. Well that's pretty much what it is. It's not your resume specifically, but you are expected to answer about your life and experiences within the context of your questions. I looked over my resume prior to going in (meaning maybe 4 hours before the exam) and I think it went alright. It seems to be a fairly subjective section though. Don't lie on it, be honest, you'll be fine.

And my favorite part: the essay!

4) Essay: I actually did enjoy the essay portion. I'm not an excellent writer, just give me a computer, a prompt, and half an hour and I'll come up with something persuasive. I wish I could elaborate on the essay topic (I can't.) but I can say it was awesome. You have to argue a position on the topic given to you, reason logically, and write concisely. I was under a bit of a time constraint toward the end, but all in all it went very well.

If you want some good information about the FSOT, go to the following website (or you know, the State Department site, whatever): The Hegemonist.

So what happens from here? I should get my results late October/early November. I'll get an email saying if I pass or not, and I can request a breakdown of my score from ACT. I don't want to seem overly confident, but I do feel like I did well overall. I promise I'll post once I get my score!

In other Foreign Service-related news, I decided I'm going to apply for a summer internship with the State Department. I'm eligible as long as I continue my education the following Autumn (read: law school) so I figure I'll chance failure. Why not? The worst they can say is "no!"

Edit: here's an FSOT update!

My prospect(u)s

So I finally turned in my prospectus a few weeks ago, and due to popular demand I've posted the more relevant parts of it below. I'm very excited to research this topic. Practically everyone I know has chosen a topic they don't like, so I'm fortunate I can do what I want and still fulfill the requirements. In other news, I have some law school prospects I need to apply to, namely Georgetown and Cornell by November 2nd. My personal statement relates to the thesis. I have unintentionally killed two birds with one stone with this post. Yeah! (And kudos me for using a cliche.)

First, the thesis will investigate what characteristics define a transitioning or developed economy. By researching the various methods of evaluating the level of economic development a country has, I hope to identify specific characteristics unique to developing/transitioning economies, and their developed counterparts. For this part of the thesis, I will look at what institutions or government policies are required to foster economic growth. Some intended research points will include economic freedom (as ranked by various international organizations), transparency and corruption, tax systems, and guarantees of private property rights.

Following this preliminary research, I will use data from various governmental and non-government agencies to conduct simple regressions to identify trends within suspected economic indicators. I hypothesize that minimal governmental regulation, except through the protection of private property, creates a foundation upon which developing economies can effectively transition into market economies. Using this data, I hope to statistically identify these processes and regulations.

To test the hypothesis that government regulation hinders growth, I will see if my findings apply to economies that have undergone or are currently undergoing significant economic growth. Potential economies of interest include: China and Hong Kong, the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, India, and Vietnam. By investigating the methods used in the aforementioned areas to stimulate growth, I hope to see if my data and analysis done earlier in the research process apply to real life transition scenarios.

Finally, I would like to see if the economic and social factors I research earlier in the project may be applied to problems the world faces today. Of course, I cannot implement these changes, but I would to see how my research applies to two issues that interest me. First, I would like to apply my results to the economies of Native American tribes in the United States. Some Native American tribes still resist private land ownership which results in a lack of available collateral to spur investment within the tribe. I am interested if any economic factors are absent with Native American tribes which are preventing economic growth. In addition, I would like to see what factors helped certain specially administered regions in China produce such incredible growth and how those economic principles could be applied elsewhere.