Friday Post Wrap

We got some much needed rain yesterday. At one point there was a real down poor and authorities warned against travel. We took Youngest Daughter and friend to the Donut. Seriously, it was just a lot of rain. 

We being we, we worried about the sump pump not going off when we thought it should. The sump pump was fine. [You ever think of, I dunno, maybe seeing a doctor about the worrying and fretting?-Ed]. Why? It'd just be us talking about our feelings and a prescription. Hard no. No with extreme prejudice. 

We took in a Somerset Patriots game last night. The oppo had scored 10 runs by the 6th inning. Mrs. Stroock was pleased as the oppo was her Reading Phillies. We counted at least five Patriots errors though the official scorer charged them with only two. At times we felt we were watching a little league game. Still, it was nice to get out to the ballpark. 

'Dad! Dad!' Youngest Daughter said. 'I was looking at your books on Amazon and there's this one reviewer who says how much you suck. He goes on for like nine paragraphs.' 

'I know who that is,' we replied. 'You know when I say I have enemies? This would be what I'm referring too.' Usually we would have resorted to immature name calling with comparisons to Yasser Arafat.  But Mrs. Stroock doesn't like that kind of talk around the house, and it is the wise man indeed who does not unnecessarily antagonize his wife, hell hathing no fury and all...' ['Hathing' is not a word-Ed]. Whatever. We recall the facts of the case and move on. That review is 11 years old and 20[?] novels ago. 

DOGE report. 

Same. 

Right now we have a biker gang showing up at our Berkshire hippie commune, which seems a little trite, tropey even. But the bikers showing up does work. Honestly we can change the bikers to whomever we want. The point of the story is how the hippie commune reacts. Meh, the commune is more of a working farm. 

We're working on the Dublin Airport scene in World War 1990: Thacher's War. We think we'll show the Brit assault from one POV character. FCA battalion commander? We don't know. 

Thursday late Post

Good afternoon, people of Stroock's Books. Thursday is upon us. 

Is the war with Iran back on? We feel like the war with Iran is back on. Okay. We have questions. What is victory and how is victory achieved? Did Trump agree to the original ceasefire to empty the Persian Gulf of bottled up traffic? Do the Israelis join in?

Oyster Fuhrer Graham Platner has dropped out of the Maine senate race. Sorry GOP enthusiasts and optimists. Graham Platner is only an issue if he's in the race. The good news is there are lots of DSA freaks and weirdos running for office. It's like the Mos Eisley cantina up there, yo. 

DOGE report.

We wrote one scene in World War 1990: Thatcher's War.

We began a short story about a hippie farm in the Berkshires. We've lots of good characters and have a good idea of where things are going. 

Midweek and (trying) to Mellow

Good morning, reader(s) of Stroock's Books and happy Wednesday. 

Biopsy appointment made. No one seems to be in any rush. In fact, during our consultation the doctor said if we wanted, we could hold  off the biopsy and just get another PSA in three months. So chill. 

The appointment is made. The lawn is mowed. The rain has come. The new AC passed inspection. The car is lubed and the AC fixed for under $300. Writing is going pretty good. The girls seem to be enjoying themselves this summer. Yet we remain uneasy. We don't know why.

Well this is annoying. from The Jerusalem Post: 'This is a sign of what's to come:' Ehud Barak warns of Netanyahu's next move. The former prime minister told 103FM that the government’s decision not to comply with High Court rulings is a sign of worse to come, and called on the opposition to lead a public campaign.' Ehud Barak tried to give the country away to Yasser Arafat in 2000 and only failed because he couldn't find a way to give him enough territory. Camp David negotiation (2000) transcript follows -

Barak, ‘How many of our daughters would you like, Yasser?’

Arafat: ‘I don’t like girls.’*

It's possible that transcript excerpt may be altered, slightly - or may not even exist at all. 

DOGE report.

We've been saying that we need another foreign story in the 5th nuke novel, but do we? Right now, we've stories taking place in: Ireland, Soviet Salyut station, the BAOR, the Canadian DEW line, the Suez. Still, we'd like a story from a foreign leader(s) perspective. 

We did have another good story idea late yesterday, a hippie commune. We may place the commune in the Berkshires. Write what you know, they say. We're working on it now. 

*Homosexual. Died of AIDS.

Damn the Flemings, damn the Walloons

Good morning, Stroock's Books people, and Happy Tuesday.

Temps will climb into...the low 70s today. Wow. We're enjoying the cold snap. 

The girls are home. In their absence We got used to the house being clean and organized. Everything is back to normal. 

Sports wrap: Not even presidential intervention could save the American soccer team. Belgium dominated throughout. The US looked like it was on the backfoot the moment the match began. Losing to a fake country like Belgium...We're sure the Americans will do the honorable thing. 

We saw the matched at a neighbor's house. Our Chindian immigrant neighbors cheered on their adopted home team. One friend from Ghana explained stoppage time rules to us. We had Indian rose flavored ice cream. 

DOGE report.

Just an excellent all-around day. After vowing to focus on the nuke novel we cranked out two scenes in World War 1990: Thatcher's War and finally have a good idea of where things are headed. Exit question: how to handle the Brit assault on Dublin airport?

The First Monday of the Second Part

We had lots of much needed rain here last night and this morning. Right now a light drizzle is coming down. That's four days in a row with at least some rain. 

The fam returns this afternoon, thank the Lords of Kobol. And so begins the second stage of summer. 

Let's just try to stop worrying and relax. 

We watched a lot of World Cup yesterday. Don't FIFA shame us. 

Norway was playing the refs as well as the Brazilians. Brazil is obviously the Kansas City Chiefs of FIFA. We watched the officials do everything they could to give Brazil a chance at a game tying goal. 

Mexico vs England was the best soccer game we've ever seen, which ain't sayin' much. During the last 20 minutes, England's goal was under siege. The limeys made a heck of a defensive stand. We were impressed. 

Overall, were we not entertained?

At The Times of Israel, a profile of Netanyahu's chief electoral rival, Gadi Eisenkot. The headline and subhead: 'Gruff and unpolished, Gadi Eisenkot is becoming the face of the anti-Netanyahu movement. The plainspoken ex-IDF head embodies a shift from the PM’s slick style, which has come to define Israeli politics. But after surging in the polls, he now faces a brutal campaign as Netanyahu’s chief foe...' This is very interesting*. 

Polls remain where they've always been, Bibi's Likud leading followed by Bennett, Eisenkot, and Lapid. At the moment an election would probably result in a hung parliament. But beware Netanyahu enthusiasts, the Bibi fatigue is real. [How would you vote?-Ed]. We'll put it this way, if one wants to make the case for Bennett or Eisenkot, we're listening.  

DOGE report.

Okay, we have a vague outline of the first part of the Dublin op. At least we know what we're writing this morning. 

We spent a good chunk of yesterday working on the details of the DEW line story. The prot-a-gon-ist (IYKYK) is a nerdy kid from Cincinnati who likes electronics and is obsessed with baseball. And he's really disappointed that his beloved Reds were destroyed with the rest of Cincinnati. If you know your baseball history, you know what the Reds were up to in 1975. 

* Yes! 'In terms of one of Israel’s most intractable and urgent issues, integrating its growing Haredi population into mainstream society, Yashar proposes two initiatives: First, expanding national service for all Israelis, including Arabs and Haredim, the vast majority of whom do not currently enlist, with a particular emphasis on military service. Second, mandating the study of a core curriculum (generally including subjects such as English and math) in all schools, including ultra-Orthodox ones that eschew secular subjects.'

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 7/5/26

Happy July 5th to all you Brits out there tired of hearing about America 250. Canadians too. 

The heat has broken and temps will only reach the high 80s today. We got some badly needed rain last night. More rain is expected tonight and tomorrow. 

Yesterday we mowed the lawn and cleaned the house, mostly because we were bored. We remain morose. The girls return tomorrow. 

We caught some of America 250 last night and watched part of Trump's speech. It was fine, but we've seen the schtick before.

What Will's Watching: Project Hail Mary. We've about 20 minutes left. But so far, 'Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!' IYKYK.

Furthermore, this blog believes there are only three important space/NASA movies: The Right Stuff (where we've been), Apollo-13 (where we're trying to go), and Interstellar (why we stopped). These all show the evolution and eventual stagnation of the Space Program. When NASA launched the shuttle in 1980, school stopped so we could all watch. When was the last time that happened because of NASA?

This blog morphed into Will's Diary so gradually we hardly even noticed. 

Well have some in depth and cutting edge political analyses this week [Um....yay?-Ed].

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 7/5/26...Throughout July we'll be working on World War 1990: Thatcher's War. But this month we'll be prioritizing the 5th nuclear novel. This is the big push to finish the rough draft by the end of the month. We gotta get another book out there. We've eight finished stories and 40,000 words. This blog believes it needs 2-3 more stories and 20,000 words. DEW line this week and lay the groundwork for another story. 

Patriotic Saturday Updates

Good morning, Stroock's Books reader(s) and happy July 4th. 

At about 7 PM last night the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning promising 70 MPH winds and nickel sized hail. We tracked the storm on the Weather Channel ap, a band of yellow and purple sweeping down southeast from the mountains. We sat on the deck and watched the ominously low and dark clouds roll in. Some places got slammed but we only got some much needed rain. We felt very let down. 

100 + yesterday. Temps won't be quite as bad today. But as we write (9:37 AM) the temp is 87 degrees, American. Heat breaks tomorrow. 

It's America's 250th anniversary.  We've been around for 52/250, huh one fifth of America's history. Look, what could we really add? What can we really say except happy Fourth of July. 

On a personal note, we'll say again, there has never, in three thousand years, been a better place for Jews than America, and that includes Israel. It is worth recalling President Washington's letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island: 'May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.'

With the fam still gone we'll treat today like a normal work day. We write this from the Donut which is seeing spritely business this morning. 

DOGE report.

An excellent week, especially so given that we had two dentist and a doctor appointment. 

We've done most of what we wanted to do with World War 1990: Thatcher's War up to the Dublin attack. We've really no idea how to handle the Dublin attack. And now idea what happens after. World War 1990: Thatcher's War is 56,000 words. 

We wrapped up the Soviet Salyut story and began the DEW Line story. We've still no idea what this is about. The 5th nuke novel is 38,000 words.