Jon F. Zeigler
@jfzeigler.bsky.social
Fantasy and science fiction author, tabletop game designer, amateur artist and cartographer, retired instructor and instructional designer in cybersecurity.
Blog: https://wordpress.sharrukinspalace.com
Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/sharrukinspalace
Blog: https://wordpress.sharrukinspalace.com
Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/sharrukinspalace
Pinned
Jon F. Zeigler
@jfzeigler.bsky.social
· Nov 18
Okay, let's try this. #promosky
- Obscure #sf / #fantasy writer
- Former #fanfiction writer
- Former #gurps & #traveller writer and editor
- #ttrpg designer
- #worldbuilding expert
- #tabletopgames & #videogames
- Classical music
- #hellenophile
- Left-leaning liberal politics
- #stoic philosopher
- Obscure #sf / #fantasy writer
- Former #fanfiction writer
- Former #gurps & #traveller writer and editor
- #ttrpg designer
- #worldbuilding expert
- #tabletopgames & #videogames
- Classical music
- #hellenophile
- Left-leaning liberal politics
- #stoic philosopher
A sharp look at the moral myopia too many of us Americans - most notably *White* Americans - tend to suffer from.
Why, for Too Many, Alex Pretti’s Murder Counted More
We must find sympathy for those unlike ourselves
open.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:27 PM
A sharp look at the moral myopia too many of us Americans - most notably *White* Americans - tend to suffer from.
It's been a few days since I posted a chapter of my current story, so I ended up spending most of today rectifying that.
Back to that mysterious #GURPS project tomorrow. Don't know if I'll have something ready to share by the end of the month, but I at least want to make some progress.
#writing
Back to that mysterious #GURPS project tomorrow. Don't know if I'll have something ready to share by the end of the month, but I at least want to make some progress.
#writing
January 28, 2026 at 11:39 PM
This. Especially since a lot of our current mess is due to a feckless Congress increasingly delegating its authority to the executive, in ways that push the Constitution to its limits.
It doesn't help that one of our two major parties has been cultivating dictatorial tendencies for decades now.
It doesn't help that one of our two major parties has been cultivating dictatorial tendencies for decades now.
The ENTIRE security state created post-9/11 needs to be reevaluated and, in many cases, disassembled, along with the notion of the U.S. President as a unitary executive.
We have more immediate problems to deal with, but this one needs to be addressed eventually.
We have more immediate problems to deal with, but this one needs to be addressed eventually.
January 28, 2026 at 7:34 PM
This. Especially since a lot of our current mess is due to a feckless Congress increasingly delegating its authority to the executive, in ways that push the Constitution to its limits.
It doesn't help that one of our two major parties has been cultivating dictatorial tendencies for decades now.
It doesn't help that one of our two major parties has been cultivating dictatorial tendencies for decades now.
Reposted by Jon F. Zeigler
Hey, that's a neat transit! There's something weird with the x-axis though. Wait, how long was this transit?
*rubs eyes, cartoon style*
*looks again*
EIGHT MONTHS?!?!?!?
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
*rubs eyes, cartoon style*
*looks again*
EIGHT MONTHS?!?!?!?
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
January 27, 2026 at 11:16 PM
Hey, that's a neat transit! There's something weird with the x-axis though. Wait, how long was this transit?
*rubs eyes, cartoon style*
*looks again*
EIGHT MONTHS?!?!?!?
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
*rubs eyes, cartoon style*
*looks again*
EIGHT MONTHS?!?!?!?
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
Slow day today, got some #writing done and spent a few hours #studying mathematics. Got a module checked off my to-do list, which is looking fairly healthy here at the end of the month.
Looks like most of my plans for tomorrow are snowed out, so another quiet day of incremental work, most likely.
Looks like most of my plans for tomorrow are snowed out, so another quiet day of incremental work, most likely.
January 26, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Took it easy today, in part because I couldn't be sure the power and the Internet wouldn't vanish at some point.
Got about 1,000 words down, and now I'm going to go work on other things for the rest of the day. Including some reading in mathematics. Multivariate calculus, yum.
#studying #writing
Got about 1,000 words down, and now I'm going to go work on other things for the rest of the day. Including some reading in mathematics. Multivariate calculus, yum.
#studying #writing
January 25, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Jon F. Zeigler
January 25, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Got version 0.4 of the Cultural Evolution game through its second trial run, sent it to collaborators and playtesters. Which is the last vital check-box for my to-do list for January.
Think I'm going to stay off the Internet for the rest of the day. I'm suffering serious moral fatigue.
#gamedesign
Think I'm going to stay off the Internet for the rest of the day. I'm suffering serious moral fatigue.
#gamedesign
January 24, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Got version 0.4 of the Cultural Evolution game through its second trial run, sent it to collaborators and playtesters. Which is the last vital check-box for my to-do list for January.
Think I'm going to stay off the Internet for the rest of the day. I'm suffering serious moral fatigue.
#gamedesign
Think I'm going to stay off the Internet for the rest of the day. I'm suffering serious moral fatigue.
#gamedesign
A number of years ago, when I started developing my "Human Destiny" space-opera universe, I had an episode in which a character loosely inspired by Elon Musk had to flee to Mars to escape the American federal government's death squads.
I'm kind of drowning in irony these days.
I'm kind of drowning in irony these days.
January 24, 2026 at 9:33 PM
A number of years ago, when I started developing my "Human Destiny" space-opera universe, I had an episode in which a character loosely inspired by Elon Musk had to flee to Mars to escape the American federal government's death squads.
I'm kind of drowning in irony these days.
I'm kind of drowning in irony these days.
Reposted by Jon F. Zeigler
Was struggling against my own biology for much of the day, but I did manage to finish rewrites to the Cultural Evolution Game, and start a second trial run.
The critters this time are omnivores living on a metal-rich planet that's vulnerable to glacial ages. (1/3)
#gamedesign
The critters this time are omnivores living on a metal-rich planet that's vulnerable to glacial ages. (1/3)
#gamedesign
January 24, 2026 at 1:42 AM
Was struggling against my own biology for much of the day, but I did manage to finish rewrites to the Cultural Evolution Game, and start a second trial run.
The critters this time are omnivores living on a metal-rich planet that's vulnerable to glacial ages. (1/3)
#gamedesign
The critters this time are omnivores living on a metal-rich planet that's vulnerable to glacial ages. (1/3)
#gamedesign
Got a tutor-marked assignment back for my mathematics course. Score of 97, and the tutor said nice things about my presentation. Learning to use the equation editor in Word pays off!
Quite the morale booster, given the course is covering material that utterly defeated me forty years ago.
#studying
Quite the morale booster, given the course is covering material that utterly defeated me forty years ago.
#studying
January 23, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Got a tutor-marked assignment back for my mathematics course. Score of 97, and the tutor said nice things about my presentation. Learning to use the equation editor in Word pays off!
Quite the morale booster, given the course is covering material that utterly defeated me forty years ago.
#studying
Quite the morale booster, given the course is covering material that utterly defeated me forty years ago.
#studying
Still working on revisions to the Cultural Evolution Game. Making good progress, but some of the new ideas I want to integrate are taking a bit more work than I expected. Will probably finish tomorrow, then we'll see about another test run. (1/2)
#gamedesign
#gamedesign
January 23, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Still working on revisions to the Cultural Evolution Game. Making good progress, but some of the new ideas I want to integrate are taking a bit more work than I expected. Will probably finish tomorrow, then we'll see about another test run. (1/2)
#gamedesign
#gamedesign
Had a series of game-design thoughts last night and this morning, suggesting some more improvements for the Cultural Evolution Game. Think I'll implement those in the draft today, then do another trial run tomorrow. Draft might still be ready for my skunk-works team by the weekend.
#gamedesign
#gamedesign
January 22, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Had a series of game-design thoughts last night and this morning, suggesting some more improvements for the Cultural Evolution Game. Think I'll implement those in the draft today, then do another trial run tomorrow. Draft might still be ready for my skunk-works team by the weekend.
#gamedesign
#gamedesign
Reposted by Jon F. Zeigler
Wobbling exoplanet hints at a hidden exomoon so massive it could redefine the word 'moon' altogether www.space.com/astronomy/ex...
Wobbling exoplanet hints at a hidden exomoon so massive it could redefine the word 'moon' altogether
"In our solar system, the most massive moon is Ganymede, which is still extremely small compared to what we are inferring here."
www.space.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Wobbling exoplanet hints at a hidden exomoon so massive it could redefine the word 'moon' altogether www.space.com/astronomy/ex...
I suspect this explains a lot of the behavior I see that seems to regard voting as an act of personal expression with no practical consequence. As opposed to the life-or-death matter it really is, worth taking deadly seriously and putting in the effort to educate yourself about.
I think most of my fellow whites look at voting as a game or a sport because we literally have no skin in the game. We can't conceive of anything ever touching us, so the consequences of bad action or inaction don't matter. It explains a lot about horseshoe theory.
January 22, 2026 at 2:24 AM
I suspect this explains a lot of the behavior I see that seems to regard voting as an act of personal expression with no practical consequence. As opposed to the life-or-death matter it really is, worth taking deadly seriously and putting in the effort to educate yourself about.
Spent the day doing a test run of version 0.4 of the Cultural Evolution Game. I wouldn't say the game is all *that* much lighter, although I think I've reached my objective of "each round needs to be meaningful." I was also able to accelerate the process quite a bit by the end. (1/3)
#gamedesign
#gamedesign
January 22, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Spent the day doing a test run of version 0.4 of the Cultural Evolution Game. I wouldn't say the game is all *that* much lighter, although I think I've reached my objective of "each round needs to be meaningful." I was also able to accelerate the process quite a bit by the end. (1/3)
#gamedesign
#gamedesign
Got up early and sat for my astronomy exam this morning. Finished, double-checked all my numeric results, hit the "submit" button, all by 10 AM. Another item checked off the monthly to-do list.
#studying
#studying
January 20, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Got up early and sat for my astronomy exam this morning. Finished, double-checked all my numeric results, hit the "submit" button, all by 10 AM. Another item checked off the monthly to-do list.
#studying
#studying
Progress report: I got another chapter of the current story finished and posted today.
I had planned to sit for my astronomy exam, but I was feeling a bit under the weather this afternoon and didn't think it would be wise to make an attempt. Might get up early tomorrow for that.
#studying #writing
I had planned to sit for my astronomy exam, but I was feeling a bit under the weather this afternoon and didn't think it would be wise to make an attempt. Might get up early tomorrow for that.
#studying #writing
January 19, 2026 at 10:26 PM
I spent my entire adult life, 35+ years, working to support US national security. Which very much included the Atlantic alliance.
At the end of that time, 69% of the American public decided they were okay with throwing all that on the trash heap.
Yeah, I'm a little salty about that.
At the end of that time, 69% of the American public decided they were okay with throwing all that on the trash heap.
Yeah, I'm a little salty about that.
January 19, 2026 at 10:24 PM
I spent my entire adult life, 35+ years, working to support US national security. Which very much included the Atlantic alliance.
At the end of that time, 69% of the American public decided they were okay with throwing all that on the trash heap.
Yeah, I'm a little salty about that.
At the end of that time, 69% of the American public decided they were okay with throwing all that on the trash heap.
Yeah, I'm a little salty about that.
Okay, there we go. I think I have a mechanics-complete version 0.4 of the Cultural Evolution Game.
I also have a roaring headache, so I think I'm going to hang it up on #gamedesign for today. (1/2)
I also have a roaring headache, so I think I'm going to hang it up on #gamedesign for today. (1/2)
January 18, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Okay, there we go. I think I have a mechanics-complete version 0.4 of the Cultural Evolution Game.
I also have a roaring headache, so I think I'm going to hang it up on #gamedesign for today. (1/2)
I also have a roaring headache, so I think I'm going to hang it up on #gamedesign for today. (1/2)
Spent most of today struggling with a new mechanic for the Cultural Evolution Game, but I think I've figured it out. Still need to work out a couple of minor mechanics, but I may be ready to start a private test run as early as tomorrow. (1/2)
#gamedesign #studying #writing
#gamedesign #studying #writing
January 18, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Spent most of today struggling with a new mechanic for the Cultural Evolution Game, but I think I've figured it out. Still need to work out a couple of minor mechanics, but I may be ready to start a private test run as early as tomorrow. (1/2)
#gamedesign #studying #writing
#gamedesign #studying #writing
History is what happens to a nation while it's busy making other plans.
January 18, 2026 at 12:51 AM
History is what happens to a nation while it's busy making other plans.
Spent the day going out on an expedition with my ladies, then came home to bang on the Cultural Evolution Game some more. Progress on that is *very* good - I may have a mechanics-complete version to test privately within two or three more days.
#gamedesign
#gamedesign
January 16, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Spent the day going out on an expedition with my ladies, then came home to bang on the Cultural Evolution Game some more. Progress on that is *very* good - I may have a mechanics-complete version to test privately within two or three more days.
#gamedesign
#gamedesign