Will's Good Idea for the Week of 3/8/26

What the ef, daylight savings time? What the ef?

Okay, wow. Temps to be in the 70s most of the week. We may just wear shorts today. Why not?

Happy International Women's Day - Insert bad joke here -.

We bought a bottle of Japanese whisky last night, The Matsui. It was...decent enough. Later that night we received a warning from the Irish Whisky Police that we'd be interviewed under caution. 

This blog is not entirely certain bombing Iranian oil depots is a good idea. We'll see. 

So the United States and Israel have kicked the ever-living crap out of Iran. No surprise there. Lately the US and Israel are hitting Iranian police and IRGC assets. This blog wonders what's next. More protests? Exit question: does the lack of protests in the Iranian streets mean the protestors are coordinating with the US and waiting for the right time?

Related...gas around here is up 35 cents per gallon this week. 

As of this morning World War 1990: Ireland is #15 in Amazon alternate history. So far sales look like....the Normandy invasion, including the Krauts, + the Aussies. Ireland looks poised to have a big sales day. 

Meh, we're bored with Substack. We looked and see we hit 1,500 subscribers this week. And 41 of them are from Nigeria...Is posting at Substack even worth while? [It's nice to have a place to vent, no?-Ed]. We guess. 

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 3/8/26.

So what we got? World War 1990: Thatcher's War is at 45,000 words. World War 1990: The Managua Campaign is at 32,000 words. The 5th nuke novel is at 20,000 words and 3.5 stories. 

The Grognard really wants us to do World War 1990: Battle of the GIUK Gap, keeping with our old one forward/one back juju. GIUK may be the last novel we write about the war. We got tons of post-war juju and we're going to use it. 

We shall see where things stand on Memorial Day. 

But one way or another, 2026 is the year of the three novels. 

Saturday Updates

Good morning, Stroock's Book aficionados, and happy Saturday. As we write this the temp is 38 degrees, American, and will push on up to the high 40s today. Clock's springing forward tomorrow. Thank the Lords of Kobol and the Many Face God. 

Four days in a row at the gym. Yay. 

One week of war. The war on Iran...continues. There will be no American boots on the ground, Trump says. But what if they drop the 82nd Airborne Division on Tehran? Cool, no? But probably unnecessary. 

Hezbollah is impotent. Hamas is quiet. The Houthis are scared. 

Trump is calling Iran 'a loser' and demanding 'unconditional surrender'. 

Beware victory disease. 

Exit question: at what point does Epic Fury/Roaring Lion reach diminishing returns? Soon, no?

The Things.

World War 1990: Ireland has popped. It's ranked Number 17 in Amazon Alternate History as of this morning. Our strategy of not yet making Ireland available on Kindle Select is working. Two ratings, one review. We know that guy...

The rough draft of the recon force chapter in World War 1990: Thatcher's War is complete. We are mildly pleased. We go from farce to tragedy to, 'Taoiseach, a mob has gathered at the British embassy in London. What do you want me to do?' Do note that Irish protestors overran the British embassy in...1972, we think, after Bloody Sunday. 

We had a breakthrough of sorts yesterday on our nuke novel cosmonaut story. We intend to work on said story today.  

Friday Fook the Farsi Freaks

Happy Friday, dear Stroock reader(s), and shabbat shalom. 

A veritable deluge of rain yesterday. Which is fine. 

Bla-bla Iran, bla-bla Hezbollah. So the US and Israel have wiped out Iranian leadership, destroyed their air defenses, sent the Iranian navy to the bottom of the sea, and inflicted untold damage on their vaunted missile and nuclear programs. The Iranians have managed to piss off everyone in the region. The Israelis are smacking around Hezbollah to boot.

An observation. Not a peep from Hamas. Hezbollah's response to the Israelis aerial campaign is weak and flaccid, like the Jew hating retards we encounter on Substack. And where are the Houthis? 

So what's next? How does this conflict ratchet down? And what was the thing with the Kurds again? Final thought, do we even care who's running Iran if the nuclear program is crippled?

Kristi Noem....meh. Tulsi Gabbard has always struck s as far more effective. Deadlier than the showboat. 

Texas...much political maneuvering about Cornyn and Paxton. Both have serious flaws. Paxton's been impeached. Cornyn's a back stabbing bastard. Meh, again. Cornyn is probably the stronger candidate. If Trump told Cornyn to drop out, would he? Heh ever known a senator to just give up?

DOGE report.

We worked over the opening Thatcher's War invasion chapter. It's really coming together in tone and theme. Farce punctuated by tragedy.

World War 1990: Ireland, is getting ready to pop. Yesterday's sales number was good. Today's will be even better. As of this morning Ireland is ranked 63 in Amazon Alternate History. 

Yaaaaaaawnnnnnn

A rainy Thursday morn, Stroock's Books reader(s). Which is fine. Once more, New Jersey needs rain as evidenced by this chart on regional water supply indicators and this chart showing reservoir levels. [What is it with you and New Jersey reservoir stats?-Ed] Meh, it's something to follow. Actually if one looks at the combined Round Valley-Spruce Run reservoir chart (our reservoirs) we're fine.

The campaign against Iran continues...the Israelis are hammering Hezbollah. You know, we're on the verge of becoming bored with this whole thing. At this point Operation Epic Fury feels like the air war stage of Desert Storm, lo those 35 years ago. 

Okay, so the Americans and Israelis are destroying tons of regime infrastructure, but how many regime personnel are they actually killing? Does it matter? And what's the end game here? And what happened to the Kurdish thing that was happening last night? 

This blog admits all trends look positive. Nevertheless, beware of victory disease. 

DOGE report.

Same. This chapter ends with an IRA Active Service Unit attacking the British recon force. It probably starts with those guys being introduced, though readers will have seen their leader in World War 1990: Ireland.

Sales of World War 1990: Ireland are chugging along. As of this morning Ireland is ranked number 82. No reviews or ratings yet. Actually, let's check in on Amazon UK...Phew. Nothing yet. The Brits n Micks are going to hate Ireland [Brits n Micks. Really? - Ed]. Came up with that meself just now. [Don't be fooled, folks. Several times he's tried to 'convert to Irish' - Ed].

Related...rest in peace Lou Holtz.

We paid the formatters yesterday. We should make the expense back in under a month. We'll see. 

Reminder, after Ireland our four most popular books are The Great Nuclear War of 1975 series. We should really get back to that, yo. 

You Sank my Battleship

Baaah...after being up late the night before we had trouble getting to sleep last night and overslept by about an hour this morning. No big deal really, but our schedule is disrupted. We swipe at the air and drink our coffee. 

It seems the Israelis are refocusing on Hezbollah. They've ordered a mass evacuation of Lebanon south of the Litani. This is a big deal. 

Holy Hyman Rickover! A US Navy submarine torpedoed an Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean.

The greatest aerial campaign since Operation Desert Storm, it seems. But how much stuff can one bomb? And what's the endgame here? What can one say? Always trust Trump. Never bet against Trump. And don't get sick of winning. Right? [Right!-Ed]. Also, beware Victory Disease. 

Thirty years on....In 1996 we were attending a non-Jesuit University in Washington DC, and part of a friend group that included recent college grads, all friends because of the College Republicans. At least three had jobs on Capitol Hill, doing scut work in a congressional office for $19,000 a year. We were young, and dumb, and generally without a care. We'd drink on our apartment balconies or the M-Street Fridays, and hang out at the Jefferson Memorial. Heavy T's, we called it. Well, the wife of one of those friends just won the Republican nomination for Texas (08). Congrats Jessica Steinmann. Brandon looks exactly the same. We've all come a long way. 

DOGE report.

Same really. Working on the World War 1990: Thatcher's War recon force chapter, in which a company of Land Rovers are met by hostile and hilariously profane Irish civilians. This includes nuns, school girls, sanitation workers, and the West Dundalk Women's Peace Collective.  The chapter will be completed by Friday. 

When we started we looked at google Earth and saw American interstate-like highways and bypasses around major cities...they're there, but weren't there in 1990. Reminder, in 1990 Ireland was a Third World country with Third World infrastructure. Fixing this hasn't been as big a problem as we thought. 

World War 1990: Ireland is moving and slowly gaining steam. At last check it's 275th in Amazon's alternate history category. Yesterday Ireland was 500 something. Oh look, it's 86th in Amazon UK. We approach this fact with [Great fear and trepidation?-Ed] great fear and trepidation. 

Anyway, keep on rolling. Exit question, when should we enroll Ireland in Kindle Select? We cannot answer this question till we have more coffee. 

Tuesday Grog n Slog

Yaaaaar....up late last night with a sick child. Even teenagers need their parents sometimes. We are tired and groggy. And with a doctor's appointment in the offing, our workday will be heavily disrupted. 

Bla-bla Iran, bla-bla stuff's blowing up. 

From reports it sounds like the US dispatched a whole lot of B-52s to the Middle East. Arclight strikes await? 

Iran is taking on everyone in the Middle East. This is fine. Attacking the Gulf Arabs makes enemies of them, and it means fewer missiles and drones aimed at Israel. As they say, bold strategy, Cotton. 

We watched Benjamin Netanyahu on Sean Hannity last night. Meh. We will say the prime minister has lost a lot of weight since 10/7.

Israel conducted an as yet unspecified commando raid in Iran. Cool.

Israel is hammering Hezbollah in Lebanon and has sent elements of 91 Division across the border. 

Hot Air says, 'George Will Bows to the Inevitable: Trump Was Right...' Geroge Will has certainly been no fan of Trump's and he's been writing Constitutional bromides while Barry Soetoro and the Biden Regency shredded the Constitution. For a long time, Will hasn't known the time. He still writes for the Washington Post, afterall. Will is certainly out of fashion with the MAGA hats. But we are a lot less hostile to Will than the author of the above article. before times Will was the most important conservative writer/pundit out there. Will was a huge influence on us. We'll write more about that at the time of his (ahem), demise. The man is 85 years old, so...So don't be a fool, when the end comes, Geroge Will will be missed.

Other important political influences on Young Will include...

PJ O'Rourke, who's Give War a Chance we picked up (by chance heh) in August of 1992. This is a collection of articles from the end of the Cold War/Desert Storm era. O'Rourke was the first to challenge our conventional center/center left ideas. Also, Give War a Chance is hilarious. 

Rush Limbaugh, introduced to him in the fall of 1992 by a new friend in college, still a dear friend. We'd listen to Rush while playing Madden '93. We were still a Conservative Democrat and Bill Clinton fan. And while Rush bashed Bill, he also bashed the Looney Left. Rush influenced a lot of our political thinking. And in the spring of 1996, he had an open caller forum where people talked about pulling themselves up, restarting their lives, taking risks, etc, etc. That broadcast has always stuck with and sustained us. 

DOGE report.

We moved some copies of World War 1990: Ireland yesterday. KU will come in due time, but for now readers have to buy the Kindle or the paperback. We've sold copies in the US, UK, men's Olympic hockey silver medal nation, and....the Netherlands. We've only announced publication here and on FB. Substack is next. Probably tomorrow. 

We spent yesterday revising the Thatcher's War opening invasion chapter, making events farcical, even comic, like Ireland. We shall do more of the same today.

We also did a little work on our 5th nuke novel cosmonaut story. Why? We'd been down on the project. But looking at sales numbers, there's every reason to crank out books in the Great Nuclear War of 1975 series. We need other ideas. 

How do you Say 'FAFO' in Urdu?

Purim Sameach, everyone. They tried to kill us. They failed. Let’s drink. For an explanation of Purim, which is basically a Hebrew drinking game, click here. Ironic, no?

Middle East...too much is going on. Reader(s) will get no recap from us. Though it looks like Hezbollah has decided it wants Israel to kick its ass, again. Okay, boys. The Israelis have hit weapons storage facilities, political and military leadership. Looks like Iron Beam is in action. 

In Karachi, inbred Pakistani morons stormed the US consulate...and ran into the Marine security contingent, 22 dead. Note to Pakistani fuckwits: Jimmy Carter is not the president. Barry Soetoro is not the president. Joe Biden is not the president. In the age of Trump, attack the US, and you will max out your FAFO score. 

Reminder, four Americans and nine Israelis are dead. And beware Victory Disease. 

Yesterday was the 14th anniversary of Andrew Breitbart's death. He was 44, we were 39, and not entirely positive we'd outlive him. And so we have. Anyway, here's what we had to say on the tenth anniversary of Andrew's death. Oh, dear lord. In that 10th anniversary retrospective one of the panelists is....Charlie Kirk. Dear Dems, if you could please stop trying to kill us, that'd be great. 

DOGE report: we worked yesterday on the Thatcher's War opening invasion chapter, which is mostly just Brit recon guys running into pissed off and jocular Irish civies. Lots of good doings are transpiring. This scene is both tragic and farcical. Like Ireland.  

World War 1990: Ireland is out!

World War 1990: Ireland

The Third World War is over and the West has won

But the world is not at peace.

From Yugoslavia to Iraq dictators plot their moves in the post war world.

A communist insurgency rages in Cuba.

In Moscow, the new and uncertain premier struggles to hold the fraying Soviet Union together.

An exhausted President Bush ponders his political future while members of the administration battle to be his successor.

When a rogue IRA agent makes an attempt on Prime Minister Thatcher’s life, chaos engulfs Northern Ireland and threatens the Republic. While Washington urges restraint, Whitehall prepares for war.