Will/300

Shabbat Shalom Stroock Books kibbutzim, and happy Friday. 

So at the gym yesterday we decided to hit the bench press. We haven't lifted weights since last August. Yesterday we started at 180 (four 45 pound weights), our original mark last spring, and sent the bar up no problem. We added a pair of 45 pounders upping the weight to 270, and sent the bar up no problem. We thought a milestone was in reach and added 30 pounds. Sure enough, we sent the bar up. 

A decade ago we were 270. There once was a time when we thought by 52 we'd weigh 300 pounds. Now we're benching 300.

For the last ten months we've been using tension bands and doing pushups, usually a half dozen or more sets of 20. In that time, we've put on 10-12 pounds. Frankly we were worried. And baffled. Our clothes fit the same. Our pants weren't tighter. But being able to bench 300, well, that means we've put on 10-12 pounds of muscle. Still, we did like weighing 235. Exit question: should we resume weightlifting?

Ceasefire with Iran. Ceasefire in Lebanon. A lot of the panicky types are worried about Lebanon, but this blog isn't. Israel holds all the cards there. We noticed gas prices have dropped around here 10-15 cents. Iran just graciously opened Hormuz and oil is down ten bucks a barrel as we write this. Always trust Trump. Never bet... [Don't get ahead of yourself-Ed]. 

We spent a lot of time this week thinking about and going over old magazine articles. We re-tallied our work. In all we had (as best as we can tell) 85 articles in print between 2003-2022. That excludes a trio of pieces we published in a Ruski online magazine called Art of War [You and the Ruskis again-Ed]. Meh, it was the late 2000s. We might be forgetting a few articles...maybe. Those interested can read 15 of our articles here at the Warfare History Network. 

We've been thinking maybe we should spend the next few years writing articles about the American Revolution. With the Revolution's 250th anniversary, why not? We still haven't heard back about that Nathanael Greene submission. If they like it, we'll offer to do a piece on Trenton/Princeton for this autumn. We'll see.

Classic Post: Nixon's the one.

DOGE report.

We finished the Kenny and Aoife story in The 4th Day. Only the cosmonaut story remains to complete. That will get The 4th Day half way home. 

In World War 1990: The Managua Campaign, the plot advances, as do FDN forces.