In June, I wrote an essay about the need for geeks to work directly with their government in order to improve it. Admittedly, it is difficult for industry stars to leap into a government job that fits their career trajectory: an appointment by the president or a cabinet secretary is a long shot, and you deserve better than a desk job at an agency.

There is one other option, and you have until Sunday to apply. The White House Fellowship is an extremely competitive program for mid-career professionals that places you at the highest levels of government. If you're a private citizen with a public agenda, consider applying. If you're accepted, you'll work for a year as a special assistant to the vice president or a cabinet secretary. So if you want the government to adopt open source software, you'd be able to push this agenda each and every day to the CTO. You'd also be part of a very elite alumni group: Colin Powell, Wesley Clark and Dennis Blair were once Fellows, and each class has fewer than 20 members.