Thread: Weekend of Coffee, tea, tee shirts, and more battles!

Morning Landrovalrim,

The tee shirts look wonderful. I await mine Delaney, what a wonderful thing you did. /salute

In other news, the company I used to work for is fighting my unemployment compensation. So now lawyers will be involved. I have a hearing coming up. This is so sad. All I ever did was give the best I had left in the tank, and treat people with respect. I just couldnt do it anymore, but now they are saying thats not why they let me go. /shakefist.

Anyway, here is episode II, and I should have called it the Emperor strikes back. Hope you enjoy and for those who dont, only one more day of it to go!!!

Waterloo
Episode II: The carnage continues
　
Right before I ended the edjumication yesterday, I alluded to the fact that some Prussian prisoners had been captured. Here is what happened and why this is important. As the 1^st Corps was massing for the attack, a column of troops was seen in the distance far beyond Napoleon’s right wing. At that distance, no one could tell if the troops were wearing French blue or Prussian blue. But Napoleon, even though he suspected they were from Blucher’s army, had his staff spread the word that Grouchy was coming. This had dire consequences later in the battle.
Where was Grouchy, anyway? Well, if you remember, I mentioned that Marshal Soult, the chief of staff, was ill suited for the job. Before the battle began, Napoleon dictated a letter to Grouchy, telling him of his plans, and instructing him to keep after the Prussians. Soult dutifully drafted the order, but then the Prussian column was seen. Soult added a postscript telling Grouchy to maneuver to the west to join up with the French right wing. Really? Soult basically told him to move north and west at the same time. From the French standpoint, it’s a pity he didn’t suppress the letter and just send the postscript. And Grouchy could hear the cannons firing and was urged by General Gerard to “march to the sound of the guns,” but Grouchy insisted on following orders.
And during the French advance, Quiot’s division had attempted to capture La Haye Saint. But Baring’s riflemen had managed to keep them at bay.
After the remnants of the 1^st Corps made it back to their starting point and started reforming and reorganizing, Ney gathered a few brigades and tried again to take La Haye Saint. Again, the attack failed.

Meanwhile, the Grand battery had begun firing again, and with greater intensity. The allied units on the ridge were taking a pounding, and losses were mounting. In an attempt to reduce casualties, Wellington orders some of his units to move back a bit from the ridgeline. The time is about 3:30 in the afternoon. Napoleon sees this and it reinforces his belief that the British are inferior troops and would retreat if hit hard enough. At breakfast that morning, Generals Reille and Foy, who had fought against Wellington in Spain, tried to tell Napoleon how Wellington kept the bulk of his troops behind a ridgeline, to protect them and to make it hard to spot his deployment, but Napoleon would have none of it. “I tell you that the English are bad troops, and Wellington is a bad general,” he said.
Seeing this retrograde movement by the Allied army, Napoleon summoned Ney and ordered him to take the two divisions of heavy cavalry, the famous Cuirassiers, and charge up the ridge to destroy the retreating troops. Somehow, the Cavalry of the Imperial guard joined up and almost 12000 elite cavalry started to advance. The cuirassiers wore steel breastplates, and were big men on big horses, rather like the knights of old. (I have always thought of Prince Imrahil and his swan-knights being uniformed and armored like these troops!)
But it took time to assemble this huge mass of cavalry, and Wellington clearly saw what was coming. In fact, he wasn’t retreating, and he immediately arrayed all his troops into sixteen massive squares, arrayed in checkerboard fashion. The hollow square was the formation of choice to receive cavalry, and it usually was impossible to penetrate, if the officers knew their business and the soldiers stayed steady. The front two ranks would kneel and ground their muskets at an angle, presenting a solid wall of fixed bayonets….a forest of steel. The remaining two ranks would fire by section. A horse, unless it has blinders on, or is wounded, will not willingly impale itself on a sharp object.
It must have been one of the greatest spectacles in military history, as rank after rank of cavalry began to trot towards the Allied lines, led by Marshal Ney and his staff.

　
There are stories that I have read that allege that the riders were so compacted together that some horses were actually lifted off the ground by the pressure and carried along with the others!
As the French approached the Allied lines, the artillery opened up with canister (tin cans filled with hundreds of musket balls) but the charge would not be stopped. The gunners fired a final round then abandoned their guns and fled to the relative safety of the squares. The French by now realized the Allies were not retreating, but they rode on till they reached the plateau behind the ridge, where they found the entire allied army. Try as they might, they could not penetrate the squares.

Slowly, they retreated, but they reformed and tried again. And again. And again. Some sources mention 7 charges, others as many as 12. The flower of the French cavalry died on that plateau. Incidentally, I have the above painting as a framed lithograph hanging on my wall. I am looking at it now.
The Allies suffered too, but not as much as they should have. In their absolutely mad desire to come to grips with the enemy that some of them had been fighting for 20 or more years, they forgot a few basics, like bringing along some hammers and nails to spike the guns. (driving a special nail into the touch piece of the cannon makes it unfireable until the nail is drilled out.) Had a few of them realized what they were about, they could have disabled as many as 100 of Wellington’s cannon, and that would have won the battle for the French. And had Ney remembered to bring a few infantry and some artillery along, they would have shot the squares to pieces.
When the charges subsided, several hours had passed. The grand battery opens up again, but a new menace appears on Napoleon’s right. Emerging out of the Paris Woods, the Prussian 4^th corps of General von Bulow appears. Napoleon throws his weak 6^th corps under Count Lobau to hold them. Now the only reserve he has is his Imperial Guard.
Yet he can still win the battle. Napoleon orders Ney to do whatever must be done to take La Haye Saint, because it’s the “key to the entire battle.” Ney, hatless, covered in blood, his uniform torn, gathers up the 13^th light infantry, and some engineers and once more charges Major Baring and his brave riflemen.
That’s where this phase will end. On the 18^th, we will see what happened with Ney’s attack, why Wellington was heard to exclaim “give me night or give me Blucher!” and we will find out if Count Lobau and his 8500 men can hold off the Prussian wave that will build unto a torrent.

Dear Doc,

My hubby sends the best of his best regards(as do I) in your struggles with this matter.

Once he gets out of the hospital we will be filing against his Neurosurgeon, as yesterday I saw her rip a bandage off his back that held 46 staples and 82 stitches....OMFG! There was no "sorry, about that" nor "brace yourself". Just a tearing rip from the middle of his shoulder blades to his tail bone as he was screaming.

Do what you need to do. Go boldly. And go for it! Go righteously and justified! As we are going to do the same.

Hugs,

Rita

Originally Posted by Valadilene

Dear Doc,

My hubby sends the best of his best regards(as do I) in your struggles with this matter.

Once he gets out of the hospital we will be filing against his Neurosurgeon, as yesterday I saw her rip a bandage off his back that held 46 staples and 82 stitches....OMFG! There was no "sorry, about that" nor "brace yourself". Just a tearing rip from the middle of his shoulder blades to his tail bone as he was screaming.

Do what you need to do. Go boldly. And go for it! Go righteously and justified! As we are going to do the same.

Hugs,

Rita

/shudder....

what was she thinking... hope your hubby is doing okay. that sounds awful.

Doc - Thanks for the next installment of Waterloo. I'm scanned it, and love the pictures, but I'll re-read it when I have time to digest it all (plus I really need a cup of coffee first!)

As for the continuing woes... Slamfist insisted that he be allowed to do the following to cheer you up. I tried to talk him out of it, but you know dwarves... bull-headed to the end... so, okay Slamfist ... the stage is yours...

The back of the coffeehouse is dark, suddenly cut by a single tight spotlight on the curtains. The crowd is hushed, expectant. The curtain parts and the spotlight captures the face of the burly dwarf - the emotion is clear on his face, his focus is pure. He lifts his face to the light, to the audience, and clears his throat... As he begins to sing, the light softens and widens slowly revealing the whole dwarf... "ahem Wilson?" murmurs one member of the audience, "is that the blue azure strapless spring dress..." Wilson squeaks his confirmation... "oh my..."

The country strumming and soft percussion fill the stage, and in his rich baritone, the tune rolls out...
" I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance"

The spotlight fades and the curtain falls... as the audience wonders whether they will ever be able to fully remove the disturbing images from their minds, as well as whether Lee Ann Womack has grounds for a suit against the dwarf...

Good morning all! With one hand wrapped up I am feeling better and not having to be zoonked out on meds.

Doc, I am most sorry that Lawyers have become involved. Things get dangerous now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your edumacation is always enlightening, allow me to share a bit with everyone:

Does anyone know what today is?
That's right! Bloomsday!!!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsday


To James Joyce, one of my favorite authors.

'Morning, Landrovalingas!

I started playing Civilization V again yesterday evening, which was super fun. Unfortunately, "super fun" meant that before I knew it, it was 4:00 am. Good thing I didn't have to get up early today!! I was playing as Egypt (got inspired by all the Stargate I've been watching recently) and, with the help of Japan, took over the United States. I'm in the middle of conquering Japan now.

I feel an evil laugh coming on...

Originally Posted by Docargyle

Morning Landrovalrim,

The tee shirts look wonderful. I await mine. Delaney, what a wonderful thing you did. /salute

In other news, the company I used to work for is fighting my unemployment compensation. So now lawyers will be involved. I have a hearing coming up. This is so sad. All I ever did was give the best I had left in the tank, and treat people with respect. I just couldnt do it anymore, but now they are saying thats not why they let me go. /shakefist.

Originally Posted by Valadilene

Dear Doc,

My hubby sends the best of his best regards(as do I) in your struggles with this matter.

Once he gets out of the hospital we will be filing against his Neurosurgeon, as yesterday I saw her rip a bandage off his back that held 46 staples and 82 stitches....OMFG! There was no "sorry, about that" nor "brace yourself". Just a tearing rip from the middle of his shoulder blades to his tail bone as he was screaming.

Do what you need to do. Go boldly. And go for it! Go righteously and justified! As we are going to do the same.

Hugs,

Rita

Good luck to the both of you. Rita, I cringed just reading that! And Doc, I hope you catch your former employers out and give them a right good kick in the pants. I never really shopped at that chain before, but your story has convinced me to avoid them entirely in the future.

Originally Posted by Elessar2007

As for the continuing woes... Slamfist insisted that he be allowed to do the following to cheer you up. I tried to talk him out of it, but you know dwarves... bull-headed to the end... so, okay Slamfist ... the stage is yours...

Originally Posted by Anarionadama

Does anyone know what today is?
That's right! Bloomsday!!!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsday


To James Joyce, one of my favorite authors.

Well, I've learned something new this morning.

Glad you're feeling better!

hey folks, did Del ship you packages via Fedex? i got something in my email from "fedex" alleging that they cant ship my package because a fee wasnt paid. I thought it was bogus and am afraid to open the attachment. But if she did, I will open it and see what they have to say.

Slammy , thanks for the, erm, umm, wonderful performance. (thats not exactly the word I was looking for) It really picked me up. thanks again.

Originally Posted by Docargyle

hey folks, did Del ship you packages via Fedex? i got something in my email from "fedex" alleging that they cant ship my package because a fee wasnt paid. I thought it was bogus and am afraid to open the attachment. But if she did, I will open it and see what they have to say.

Slammy , thanks for the, erm, umm, wonderful performance. (thats not exactly the word I was looking for) It really picked me up. thanks again.

I am pretty sure it was a fedex box.

That said.

I highly recommend NOT clicking attachements in emails EVER!
Unless u know them and talked to them prior.

I am sure there is a number u can call or go to the fed ex site yourself, NOT through email links.

I'd also wait for a response from Del, herself, she can prolly track her shipment on her end.

Take care! Im on my phone and yes, it blows loging in on this :P

Originally Posted by Docargyle

hey folks, did Del ship you packages via Fedex? i got something in my email from "fedex" alleging that they cant ship my package because a fee wasnt paid. I thought it was bogus and am afraid to open the attachment. But if she did, I will open it and see what they have to say.

Slammy , thanks for the, erm, umm, wonderful performance. (thats not exactly the word I was looking for) It really picked me up. thanks again.

Ours were priority mail, Gombur. She used flat rate boxes for almost all, if not all of them, I believe.

Hey Doc,

I'm not trying to derail or hijack your thread but I'd like to respond to Elessar and Alditha.

Hubby is doing much better today as he was moved off this sadistic demon heifer's floor early this a.m. and into physical rehab. This doctor's rep as a Neurosurgeon on the east coast is like teflon. The hospital she sends her patients to back her to the hilt.....they make money off her big time and her rep. Every time I complain to Admin or the Director the hubby pays for it. Or so it would seem.

So once he gets out---Game On!!! Watch out, Imma a redhead. And by God this witch makes a turn and I'm gonna be there.



And Doc, you give those people utter, absolute and uninterrupted hell....sorry, I'm a bit perturbed right now.

G is prolly right,..i am not home to check, i just remember it was a white box, had some blue

Still, do not open attachements! Hehee
And a big 'ugggg' to the lawsuit scenerio,...wish u luck there.





Valad, that sounds horrid,..a scenerio from a bad tv drama..it saddens me that anyone can be so malicious,..

With that,..

Fight the good Fight!

=========

I have multi-quotes selected, I really do. They even appear briefly in the text field when the editing box appears, then they vanish. It's so exceedingly lovely to know that there's apparently a never-ending array of new and intriguing forum behaviors to surprise and delight.

[belated sarcasm alert]

Ahem.

I'll try again later, because I would actually like to reply to some posts.

For now, though, there is one important reply. Doc, the FedEx email has nothing to do with me. I sent everything USPS priority mail. Please check your PM's.

for anyone around at the moment, Weatherstock has been going for 3.5 hours and there has been some amazing music so far. Still going so come check it out!

Originally Posted by Valadilene

Hey Doc,

I'm not trying to derail or hijack your thread but I'd like to respond to Elessar and Alditha.

Hubby is doing much better today as he was moved off this sadistic demon heifer's floor early this a.m. and into physical rehab. This doctor's rep as a Neurosurgeon on the east coast is like teflon. The hospital she sends her patients to back her to the hilt.....they make money off her big time and her rep. Every time I complain to Admin or the Director the hubby pays for it. Or so it would seem.

So once he gets out---Game On!!! Watch out, Imma a redhead. And by God this witch makes a turn and I'm gonna be there.



And Doc, you give those people utter, absolute and uninterrupted hell....sorry, I'm a bit perturbed right now.

Valadilene - this is a coffeehouse thread - it can't, by definition, be derailed. Thanks for sharing. And i know a few feisty redheads in my time - glad I'm not on the other end of that!

gotta run! Weatherstock was awesome and now my girl has her piano recital tonight. SHe's super nervous (Dad, everyone else is so much better than I am..) so I'm in big time encouraging mode tonight.

Good night folks.

(Doc - glad you were able to smile!)

Originally Posted by Elessar2007

Valadilene - this is a coffeehouse thread - it can't, by definition, be derailed. Thanks for sharing. And i know a few feisty redheads in my time - glad I'm not on the other end of that!

Thanks for telling me about coffeehouse threads.....I just wasn't sure and wanted to make sure I did not offend.

That is terrible Doc. Best of luck in the legal arena. That just seems horrible on their part.

I sat down with a Vet at the best local animal hospital. She explained a few things to me, and veterinary school looks like much more of an option now! One does not need a bachelors degree to get into veterinary school, simply a set of coursework. The minimum courses only take two years to complete. The majority of prospective students take many more courses because of the competitive nature of the admissions process. The vet I spoke with said that because of my life experience I have a very good chance of being admitted with the minimum.

She also reminded me that the Army recruits very aggressively at the vet schools. Assuming that I get back into shape, and that I am not too old by then, I would consider letting them pay for the school (tuition for years 1-3 is $21,434/year, while the fourth year is a very reasonable $22,262).

Another important thing to consider is the volunteer hours needed for admission. Apparently they are looking for more than walking dogs at the humane society. The general consensus is that if I get a job at an animal hospital, or at a research facility, I would start working cleaning kennels. I don't mind starting at the bottom, but apparently if I were to volunteer with these same people I would walk into the type of duties that will build the experience that I need.

Much to think about and to arrange......

'Morning, Landrovalingas!

And Happy Father's Day to those males among you who have successfully passed your genes on to the next generation.

So today is exciting. Garaf is driving up here today and should hopefully arrive in a few hours. Then we're all going over to my parent's place for dinner... and cake! Om nom nom. Hope everyone else is having an equally nice Sunday.

Originally Posted by Valadilene

Thanks for telling me about coffeehouse threads.....I just wasn't sure and wanted to make sure I did not offend.

There's a new thread almost every day, so feel free to drop in anytime! Just look for the word "Coffee"... yum.

Originally Posted by bdrogers2000

That is terrible Doc. Best of luck in the legal arena. That just seems horrible on their part.

I sat down with a Vet at the best local animal hospital. She explained a few things to me, and veterinary school looks like much more of an option now! One does not need a bachelors degree to get into veterinary school, simply a set of coursework. The minimum courses only take two years to complete. The majority of prospective students take many more courses because of the competitive nature of the admissions process. The vet I spoke with said that because of my life experience I have a very good chance of being admitted with the minimum.

She also reminded me that the Army recruits very aggressively at the vet schools. Assuming that I get back into shape, and that I am not too old by then, I would consider letting them pay for the school (tuition for years 1-3 is $21,434/year, while the fourth year is a very reasonable $22,262).

Another important thing to consider is the volunteer hours needed for admission. Apparently they are looking for more than walking dogs at the humane society. The general consensus is that if I get a job at an animal hospital, or at a research facility, I would start working cleaning kennels. I don't mind starting at the bottom, but apparently if I were to volunteer with these same people I would walk into the type of duties that will build the experience that I need.

Much to think about and to arrange......

22k a year in tuition?! Good grief! Scary fees aside, it sounds like you have a pretty good plan of action there. Good luck!!

Originally Posted by Alditha

There's a new thread almost every day, so feel free to drop in anytime! Just look for the word "Coffee"... yum.

Thanks Alditha. I certainly shall check the Coffeehouse more often....as I feel like I need a place to just blurt out and vent about the stuff going on here at this end. Anywho, let me go check on my 4, four legged kids cause I hear 'em barking at something.....and ewwwwww, one of the cats brought me an offering this morning. Um, like in the form of a foot long Copperhead snake.*faints*


Said snake was biting at my flip flop when he saw me, so I immediately thought of my hubby's neurosurgeon. Popped it on the head briskly with a tennis shoe several times, picked up said offender with the tips of tennis shoes and ran it down to the lake for proper disposal....hehehehehe.

Originally Posted by Alditha

.



22k a year in tuition?! Good grief! Scary fees aside, it sounds like you have a pretty good plan of action there. Good luck!!

And that is because I happen to live in Virginia, if I were "out of state" the tuition is around $46k/year.

Originally Posted by Alditha

'Morning, Landrovalingas!

And Happy Father's Day to those males among you who have successfully passed your genes on to the next generation.

So today is exciting. Garaf is driving up here today and should hopefully arrive in a few hours. Then we're all going over to my parent's place for dinner... and cake! Om nom nom. Hope everyone else is having an equally nice Sunday.



There's a new thread almost every day, so feel free to drop in anytime! Just look for the word "Coffee"... yum.



22k a year in tuition?! Good grief! Scary fees aside, it sounds like you have a pretty good plan of action there. Good luck!!

Those are scary fees!

enjoy the cake and thanks for the Father's day wishes Alditha!

Originally Posted by Valadilene

Thanks Alditha. I certainly shall check the Coffeehouse more often....as I feel like I need a place to just blurt out and vent about the stuff going on here at this end. Anywho, let me go check on my 4, four legged kids cause I hear 'em barking at something.....and ewwwwww, one of the cats brought me an offering this morning. Um, like in the form of a foot long Copperhead snake.*faints*


Said snake was biting at my flip flop when he saw me, so I immediately thought of my hubby's neurosurgeon. Popped it on the head briskly with a tennis shoe several times, picked up said offender with the tips of tennis shoes and ran it down to the lake for proper disposal....hehehehehe.

Val - you are a redhead to beware of!!! I hate snakes! /shivers....

Originally Posted by bdrogers2000

And that is because I happen to live in Virginia, if I were "out of state" the tuition is around $46k/year.

you would have to really want to be a vet!!!

We've got our t-shirts! And yours too, Slammy.

Originally Posted by bdrogers2000

And that is because I happen to live in Virginia, if I were "out of state" the tuition is around $46k/year.

*faints*

I got my whole six years for less than that. o_O

Even after two power outages this afternoon, Owed's Father's Day dinner got done. Country style pork ribs, anyone?

Originally Posted by Alditha

We've got our t-shirts! And yours too, Slammy.



*faints*

I got my whole six years for less than that. o_O

Woohoo!!! And I will profer my thanks again Delaney (even though I know I'll send thanks again when I actually physically get them!) - awesome!

Originally Posted by GweannDarkslayer

Even after two power outages this afternoon, Owed's Father's Day dinner got done. Country style pork ribs, anyone?

Yes please!

oh wait, we're going out for Greek tonight... (well maybe just a small pork rib..)

Busy Father's day weekend, last night was Slamgirl's piano recital (she did marvelously!), today was Slamboy's soccer game (they lost - but they rallied in the second half!) - and tonight is Slamteen's dance recital (followed by Greek roast lamb)!

For those who put on Weatherstock yesterday - well done folks, really well done!

Hello Landrovalrim,

Well, Hopefully tomorrow will start a better week for me. I will be talking to attorneys and loan officers and gosh knows what .

Val, thanks so much for your kind words. I hope everything works out for you and your husband. That business with the md reminded me of something that happened to me in High School. In a football game, I caught a helmet below the ribs. It knocked me out and a few minutes later, i spat up a bit of blood. They sent me over to the emergency room. Now I am in full football gear, with a possible diagnosis of broken rib (s) with a punctured lung. So instead of cutting my jersey off to get my pads off, the nurse sits me up on the exam table, grabs both my arms and pulls them above my head, while another nurse or orderly starts trying to pull the jersey over the pads! I saw Venus, Mercury, the rings of Saturn, and about 15 other planets that no one has discovered yet, and what came out of my mouth wasnt very nice.

To all the fathers out there, happy fathers day. Gweanne, save some ribs for me, and slammy, enjoy the slamkids accomplishments.

The final installment of Waterloo is ready. I hope that I enlightened everyone. I wish the forums would allow more than 4 pictures, because I have at least 4 I wanted to put in that I had to cut. I really enjoyed doing this.

Finally, thank you, all of you, for giving me a shoulder to lean on. I am very very down right now, my sister is in the hospital , I am 200 miles away, and everything I touch seems to turn sour. But tomorrow is a new week, and we will see what the new day brings.