That is why his parents insisted he stay in school with kids his age instead of graduating at 12 when he was able to.

Sorry, Evan goes to a public school called Venture. It's an alternative study school because he would be bored in a regular public school, but his high school diploma will come from Venture, which is part of the San Ramon Unified School District, it will NOT be a GED, nor will it come from a private school.

Ok, you are just wrong here. Evan is NOT homeschooled, he attends an alternate study school called Venture because he is so far ahead of his peers, he would be bored in a standard school. Although he was able to test out of high school at 12 years old, his parents insisted that he stay in school with his peers so that he wouldn't have the same social issues that most kids with his intelligence level possess. Evan's parents have ensured that not only is he well adjusted, but he participates in all kinds of activities outside of his incredible level of intelligence. In addition to science, he was the national spelling bee champion, is an accomplished musician, and participates in all kinds of non-academic activities. Evan lives near me, and I am friends with the Principal of his school (Venture), so unlike many who are simply making things up or guessing, these are facts. Not only should we be impressed by his skills, but we should awed by his parents dedication to ensuring that Evan is not only given the opportunity for academic achievement (he recently got one of 200 early admission offers to Harvard), but is given the opportunity to be a "normal" kid and learn how to socialize instead of just being an academic...

I would contact HR immediately. As I've seen posted, HR exists to protect the company, not your or your manager. They will usually cover the manager in a situation such as this, UP TO A POINT, but they will always cover the company. By contacting HR proactively, you are leveling the playing field and putting the company on notice that you don't intend to accept this blackmail. I would also request a copy of your personnel file, or download it if you are a large enough organization where it's kept online and you can immediately get access to it. Although I'm confident they would never give you a bad reference for fear of legal repercussions, you can verify this by having a friend call up after you have left and asking for a reference. I had to do this at a company where I experienced a similarly combative parting also due to an incompetent manager (the worst in a 25 year successful career). Finally, be aware that the one thing your manager CAN do is flag you as "not eligible for rehire" which will bar you from ever returning to that company unless you get HR involved asap and call your managers bluff.

As EVP of the second PTA board I have been on, I can tell you that the technology knowledge of these two PTA's is abysmal (even though we are in the silicon valley). I know we need help with technology beyond what I have time to provide, and if my experiences are universal, which I have no reason to doubt they are, you can do a lot of good. As an added bonus, if you have kids, or will have kids, being involved (PTA or other involvement) is a proven way to help your children succeed. In fact, if you are willing to help us, we need a simple registration/contact webapp written which would be valuable as an open source project to PTA's across the nation. I would love help from the /. community, and have the time to be a project coordinator, but my development skills are rusty and antiquated.

I'm sure many will disagree with me, but I believe that the US is one of the few countries in the world that will leave when there is a fair and stable democratic government, even one that may be hostile to us. As to the previous comment about the "Iraqi point of view", you are totally missing the point. It is not JUST imagining "if Iraqi planes were bombing your town, Iraqi tanks were driving through your streets and Iraqi soldiers were shooting at you and your family", but add to it the fact that MOST people are being shot and bombed by their OWN people. Look at the casualty figures in Iraq, then look at how many of those casualties are caused by US or Coalition troops. My guess is that it's far less than 5%, and probably less than 1%. THAT is what we are trying to accomplish, reducing the number of Iraqi's and insurgents killing Iraqi's and leaving a stable government. I'm a former Marine, and very passionate about our country and our military, but if thousands of Americans were being killed every week by Americans and Insurgents, and the Iraq Army could help, sure I wouldn't want them here, but I'd rather they were here helping than abandoning us!