The Meerkat Muse: 20th of May, 2026
I know you’re excited, because I’m excited! The Meerkat Muse is back!
Quiet Days
Following a few tricky days at work, I entered into a couple of much-needed days off, with the hopes of getting a lay-in at least once. The first such hope was dashed by the cat, who chose to occupy my wife’s half of the bed, which consequently meant she squeezed me into the wall. It wasn’t an amazing night for either of us, and I had to set an alarm to make sure I was up to deal with the bins. Still, I didn’t have to be up quiet so early as usual, which was a plus.
I also awoke to some interesting gaming news. I have always loved the Star Fox franchise, and now it appears that following from Fox McCloud’s well-received appearance in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Nintendo have have decided now is the time to re-imagine Star Fox 64, remaking it and releasing it for the Switch 2. StarFox, as it is shall be known, features some… let’s say interesting re-designs of the characters, which I am on the fence about, but it looks like the core game-play experience is largely the same, with improved graphics and cut-scenes. I may have pre-ordered it the moment I became aware of its existence…
Local Election Day
The 7th of May was the day of local council elections across the UK. I had seen a lot of social media content endorsing Reform, but as Reform are anathema to me and my political views, all I could urge people to do was to vote for anyone but Reform. Tactical voting sites suggested Labour were the best shout at keeping Reform at bay in my area, so despite my misgivings over Labour, they got my vote. The big concern was whether enough people in my local vicinity would see through Reform’s plans, and help keep them away from any form of power.
I am dismayed, dear ‘kats, that so many people have been so duped by the rhetoric of Reform. Remember, Reform have struggled to run local councils, and yet for some reason we have collectively decided to grant them control over more local authorities. The media bears some responsibility for this, simping for the likes of Farage without a second thought to the damage he will do.
The Latest Split
As referred to in prior Muses, my colleagues and I have been looking to leave our employer. One of my colleagues has achieved success in that aim, and I wish them well. I don’t think the news has gone down entirely well with my other colleague, but in the end we must all look out for ourselves and our loved ones. My priority in all things is my daughter and my wife. If I am better-placed to serve their needs by moving on, regardless of whether my remaining colleague has found their way out, so be it. It’s not about being awkward or malicious; I have responsibilities to my loved ones that drive my decisions.
Alas, I am still searching. The right opportunity remains elusive, at least as per the 8th of May.
Banoffee Pie
In a bid to distract from political and employment woes, and also because I told my daughter I would make one, I whipped up a banoffee pie. This simple dessert is one of my favourites, incorporating caramel, biscuits, bananas and cream. It is easy to make, especially if you buy the pre-made caramel (I doubt I could make it from scratch!). It is also quite satisfying to take a rolling pin to a bag of digestive biscuits and turn them into a fine powder.
Was it delicious? Well, I thought so, and I think my wife and daughter agree.
A Sting in the Tail
Yes, my use of ‘tail’ rather than ‘tale’ here is deliberate, though it’s more a nod to the meerkat theme than anything else. It turns out the laptop I had sent off for repair did not fall under the remit of the extended warranty. Why you ask? Well, Dell would make me wait to find out, and make me wait to find out what costs would apply.
I did a bit of research, in the aim of seeing if this was a cut-and-dry situation where I would have to pay, or whether there was any scope to appeal, so to speak. Subject to Dell’s answer, and what costs they wanted me to pay, would it even be cheaper to get a new laptop? I hadn’t banked on such a move, and the timing sucks, but needs must and all that. I can use the old laptop to write with, and I can use the Chromebook we have, but neither of these handle Office particularly well. I kinda need a good, reliable machine with reasonable performance across the board.
Xenomorphs are no match for Lightsabers
You may be thinking ‘eh?’ I wouldn’t blame you, but this sort of summarises a recent dream. For a brief time I played a video game called Alien: Isolation. The concept is that you have to hide from/escape from a xenomorph from the Alien franchise, and find a way off a delerict space station. The game was bigged up as atmospheric and tense, but to be honest, I found it to be a bit dull. Still, I think it inspired a dream. In the dream, I was on said space station with my wife and daughter, and in particular looking to defend my daughter from this creature. Somehow, I acquired the Dark Saber, a lightsaber of particular note, and in the process of fighting off the xenomorph with my daughter, I sliced it in half, then proceeded to cut it up into tiny chunks.
I feel there’s definitely a metaphor within all of that, one of protection. I will do whatever it takes to protect my daughter, even forcing lightsabers into a completely different franchise to kill an alien.
Changing the Family Tree
Another strange dream took on the concept of my personal family history, and discovering that my grandfather was not in fact my grandfather. This was a dream that came out of nowhere, and to be clear, it has no basis in fact. For whatever reason, my subconscious created a scenario where my grandfather was in fact a different guy, who by quirk of fate happened to still be alive. My father and I shared a beer with him, and then the alarm went off and punctured the dream.
I wish I knew what my brain was up to.
Strange Expectations
Earlier, I referenced the laptop repair, and a few days later Dell came back to me with a list of what they concluded needed fixing, and confirmed it was liquid damage. They listed what looked like virtually every component, and then advised it would cost £546, plus tax. Needless to say, I was non-plussed by this, especially since I had paid to take out an extended warranty! The laptop has not, to my knowledge, suffered serious liquid damage. I asked for evidence of this, and sent Dell pictures of the laptop that I took just prior to sending it away, but I concluded they were unlikely to budge.
After all, they will have ‘evidence’, be it correct or otherwise, showing liquid damage. There’s little I can do to dispute it, but given the cost, I decided it was easier to get a new laptop. Indeed, I was able to order another one that was at least as powerful (perhaps more), and whilst I was in the process of doing this, I held out hope that perhaps Dell would recant their position and repair it anyway, without an extortionate charge. If they did, then great, two decent laptops, if not, I would leave it in their hands to do whatever they deemed fit.
The new laptop is a Samsung laptop, much like my phone. With luck, the two devices will get along quite well!
Strange Takes
I have been doggedly ignoring a few of the, let’s say, provocative sites of late. I have found no satisfaction is to be had in arguing with brick walls, especially when said brick walls are heavily invested in peculiar narratives and quite happy to ignore swathes of evidence. That said, when I read one commentator remark about the alleged love of lawlessness from Democrats in America, I could not help but be reminded how, based on evidence, Republican states are considerably more dangerous. Of course, evidence is optional to MAGA worshippers, who cannot see beyond any notion their dear leader hasn’t spoon-fed them…
Remember when Trump joked that he could shoot someone in the middle of the street and not lose voters? Well, after dragging America into a war that’s caused global economic turmoil and cost thousands of lives, all to distract from both the Epstein files and a disastrous domestic performance, and with none of that making a dent in how his worshippers feel about him, I have to seriously ponder the truth of that joke. He probably could kill someone in cold blood, and his worshippers would find a justification for it. They’re prepared to overlook and justify just about anything else.
Downfalls
UK PM Keir Starmer is having a rough time. In the wake of local elections that went very badly for Labour, he has faced calls to resign, and suffered the resignation of four ministers, as of the 12th of May. Whether he will fall on his sword is one thing, but what is certain is that Labour need to change course. Trying to woo Reform voters was always doomed to fail, and all Starmer’s done is alieniate traditional Labour supporters in the process. If he wants to recapture the left from the Greens, Starmer needs to remember Labour’s roots. He needs to galvanise the political left, instead of dragging Labour away from it.
If Starmer is unwilling to do anything other than pander to the safety of the middle ground, Labour will cede more ground to both Reform and the Greens. There’s little point in even discussing the Tories; everyone remembers how shambolic they were in the Boris Johnson years, and meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats seem to have made small gains, but not nearly enough to influence proceedings, at least not yet.
Perhaps this is the end of the old guard of UK politics. Instead of the Tories vs Labour, blue vs red, it’s now light-blue vs green, Reform vs the Greens. Whether Starmer is still Prime Minister by the time we reach the next general election to observe this fight is doubtful at best.
Regurgitation
You’ll be pleased to know that I do not mean that literally! I refer instead to an email I received that was aimed at offering book promotional services. A part of me strongly suspects that whoever wrote it fed details of my Amazon bio into an AI filter to spit back out and back at me. To quote:
I read your descriptions. I read the reviews for Book One. I read your author bio. And here is what I know about you that you did not write down. You were born in the 1980s and moulded by the 1990s. You love Nintendo. You have introduced your daughter to Pokemon and Super Mario. You grew up in Stevenage. You have moved to Essex. You work in retail sales. You dabbled in fan fiction. You love Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, David Weber’s Honorverse, and Peter F Hamilton. You are an avid Liverpool FC fan. You like to mention that you lived in the same town as Lewis Hamilton. Ben, you are not a full time author. You are a fan. A dad. A retail worker. A sci fi enthusiast who wrote two books. And Book Two has zero reviews.
Emphasis mine, for that particular line is very curious. Apparently I did not write down that I was born in the 80s and moulded by the 90s (even though I use pretty much that exact phrase in my bio). I didn’t write down that I’m a sci-fi fan across various genres, and nor did I mention that I work in retail, that I love Nintendo, etc. Oh wait, I did write all of that down, only for this person to virtually copy it all and repeat it back to me, in the aim of…. ??
They go on to reference the low number of reviews I’ve received for my books. I am aware of that. Would I like this to change? Of course I would. Can I afford the services being offered? No, I cannot, and I do not trust these unsolicited messages. I’m even getting them via WhatsApp now.
Not that I expect this post to change things, but to anyone who is considering sending a marketing service email my way, don’t call me, I’ll call you.
Agent Pursuits
Whether anything is likely to come from it, and whether it’s a good idea or not I don’t know, I reached out to a literary agent, in the hopes of procuring their services and assistance. Having an agent would, with a bit of luck, greatly help in getting my books out there. We’ll see if they are even interested in helping, and what the terms will be if they are.
Job Pursuits
What with one colleague leaving and the other getting interviews, I’ve decided I need to do less hand-wringing and more applying, even if the roles that I feel best suited for are also not at locations I particularly want to work for. Time is not on my side, so it’s a case of taking steps, being a bit less fussy, and pushing on.
The Forest
The latest update from my publisher places The Forest, my next book, into an August release window. Watch this space for more…
Throbbing… Knees!
Hands up if you thought I was gonna say ‘throbbing loins’? You should all be ashamed of yourselves! Though let’s face it, those of you who know my humour know it was a possibility…
Anyway, lately I’ve had the oddest sensation in my left knee. It keeps throbbing, and I have no idea why. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t look bruised, or swollen, and yet it visibly throbs. It’s one of those things that I should probably get checked out, though it’s probably a mark of aging. I am not a spring onion anymore.
The Eurovision Scourge
At the weekend, I had to endure pain and suffering, in the form of Eurovision. This annual music contest has an eclectic mix of songs, and the quality varies wildly. There’s usually around 25-30 songs, some of which are painful, some of which are bland, and then maybe one or two are catchy. The show starts too late, and goes on for far too long, and all I can think is ‘please let this end’. It doesn’t help that the UK tends to do very poorly, regardless of the quality of the song. Eurovision is a horribly political vote. You can guarantee Greece will give Cyprus 12 points, and you can guarantee Cyprus will give Greece 12 points, among other inevitable alliances.
Alas, I had no alcohol in the house with which to combat this scourge. I must do better next year. Oh, the UK got one single point and came last. Between what can best be deemed political voting and a frankly strange, rubbish song, I am not surprised.
Having Some Fun
Not for the first time, I’ve been contacted by someone pupporting to offer book marketing services, this time in the form of an invite to appear on a podcast. When this email came through, I did what I sometimes do, and searched for details. It turns out that this podcast is real, but the person who emailed me was running a scam. One quick check of the actual podcast website revealed they would never ask for money to appear on their show, whereas the reply I received via email talked about fees.
I decided to play along for a bit, mentioning that the website of this podcast does not speak of costs. What sort of reply would I get, if any, to this information? Well, their aim was to suggest there were different services at work, but based on the info available via the podcaster’s website, it would seem this too was a deception. I decided not to waste any further time on it.
Exit, Stage left
One of my most recent dreams was definitely a signal about my desire to escape my current employers. I was getting ready to leave for the night, but my colleagues were too keen, and set the alarm before I had clocked out! I had to shout that I wasn’t ready, then I had to quickly grab my stuff. We then all left together. I guess it’s metaphorical, as one of my colleagues is leaving and the other is having interviews. I don’t want to be left behind, I want to be out the door at the same time. Let’s hope I hear back from the places I’ve applied for. Indeed, with my manager’s interview seemingly going well, I have a renewed sense of urgency to escape, lest I be left behind.
Drawing to a Close
The end of this Muse cycle is approaching, and it seems that it will go out with a whimper. I don’t have a massive problem with that. If it is to go out with a bang instead, can it please be a lottery jackpot win? Alas, whilst I have a ticket for Tuesday (it’s an £80 million jackpot), and also a ticket for Monday (£10,000 a month every month for 30 years would do nicely), I suspect such luck is not in my destiny.
If by some miracle I do win either prize, I may write my next Muse from a sunny beach, or a luxury hotel.
So we conclude this Muse. I hope you’ve enjoyed it! Until next time…
‘Kat Comments