Top 10 signs you have a Rising Star on staff

The annual Rising Stars awards, which honor up-and-coming information technology professionals who work for government agencies and contractors, were recently announced, causing craziness in the cubicles, pandemonium in the parking lots, and euphoria by the espresso makers. But now that the confetti has been swept up and the rented tuxes returned, all thoughts turn to next year’s awards. Could a future Rising Star be among us? Awaiting change from our vending machines? Surfing the web on our Wifi? Swiping their smart cards on our security systems?

The following list offers a few clues that one of next year's Rising Stars may, indeed, be in your midst:

10) His suit coat matches his cargo shorts.

9) He asks what the high score is in systems integration

8) She delivers all white papers in 140 characters or less.

7) He sleeps in the office to ensure that the coffee maker goes on at the correct time.

6) When running a meeting, she presents all attendees with an iPod "meeting mix" playlist.

5) She creates a Facebook group called "People who want to be in a Facebook group with a Rising Star."

4) He single-handedly ports the agency financial management system to a Wii format.

3) He expresses the desire that the first Bush administration had "taken out PowerPoint when they had the chance."

2) She shares her fantasy of becoming Secretary of State in a Jon Stewart administration.

1) She wants to know why they can't text the award to her.