Jon F. Zeigler
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jfzeigler.bsky.social
Jon F. Zeigler
@jfzeigler.bsky.social
1.1K followers 740 following 1.2K posts
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
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jfzeigler.bsky.social
Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness 😁
Beckett Mariner and T’Lyn from the episode “Empathological Fallacies.”
October 21, 2025 at 1:59 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
A poster I had on my bedroom wall as a kid? Okay.

This may explain a few things about me, now that I think about it.
National Geographic poster map of the Moon, very detailed, includes explanatory graphics for several aspects of the Earth-Moon system. Published in 1969.
September 14, 2025 at 4:18 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Scene from "Star Trek: Lower Decks," episode 5 of season 4, "Empathological Fallacies." T'Lyn sits at her desk in her darkened quarters, while Mariner leans in from the corridor outside to talk to her.
August 6, 2025 at 2:26 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
My son and I went to see "Superman" today in the theater.

Two thumbs up. It's definitely a James Gunn production - it leans into the inherent goofiness of superhero comics - but it's also a film with a lot of heart. Not to mention the kind of moral center that we really need right now. (1/2)
Official poster for theatrical release of "Superman" (2025). Slightly abstract image of Superman flying upward, overlaid with red, blue, and white vertically streaked. Poster text includes "A James Gunn Film" and the tagline "Look Up."
July 12, 2025 at 12:21 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
I'm sorry, this one frame always cracks me up.

There are reasons why my #fanfiction series centers around Mariner and T'Lyn rather than Mariner and Boimler. Vulcans are *so* much fun to write.
Image from the "Star Trek: Lower Decks" comic book published by IDW (2025). The characters are standing on an alien world, with yellow hills and green sky in the distance. T'Lyn is in the foreground, with a very small but smug smile and a thought balloon: "@$%&ing nailed it." Tendi and Rutherford are silent in the background.
June 30, 2025 at 10:41 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Did some more decluttering today, and successfully got one of my backlog of games to the table for the first time in months.

The game is "Charioteer," and it's a neatly thematic game about (yes) Roman chariot races.

Very fast-moving play. It abstracts a lot of elements . . . (1/2)

#boardgames
Cover image for GMT Games boardgame "Charioteer: Race for Glory in Ancient Rome" (2022). Two chariot teams race in a Roman circus, while a third chariot suffers a disastrous collision and the audience cheers.
May 27, 2025 at 12:26 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Decided to take the day off and play the "Dune Awakening" open beta for a few hours.

Might be an MMO I'll stick with for a while, once the full release hits. Thus far it's basically "No Man's Sky" on Arrakis with plot, which . . . I'm surprisingly okay with. (1/2)

#duneawakening #gaming #mmo
Marketing image for "Dune Awakening" (2025). Three adventurers in the foreground, a panoramic view of the planet Arrakis in the background, with an enormous sandworm and an oncoming sandstorm prominent.
May 11, 2025 at 10:11 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Another game that arrived not long ago. I think this was the last of the Kickstarters I funded a while back. Looks like a nice thematic game set in the Greek Archaic period. Aside from just having fun with it, I might find some creative uses for this one . . .

#boardgames
Cover image for the boardgame "Pillars of Heracles" by Apeiron Games (2025). A woman wearing partial hoplite armor and carrying a spear and shield (possibly the goddess Athena) stands on a wall overlooking a harbor and an ancient Greek city, while soldiers muster and a number of ships sail out into the ocean.
April 26, 2025 at 12:13 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
A small victory.

One of the things I've been working on in odd moments for the past couple of weeks is to get my copy of the Compass Games title "Stellar Horizons" punched, sorted, organized, and reboxed. (1/x)

#tabletopgames #wargames
Cover image for the game "Stellar Horizons" from Compass games (2020). A generic image of a space station against a background of stars and planets.
April 17, 2025 at 12:22 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
So I'm starting to read this series, mostly because @ajfixer.bsky.social convinced me to get off the dime, and it's delightful.

I'm reminded of Larry Niven's "World Out of Time," although once the story gets going it's very much its own thing.

#books #sciencefiction
Cover image for "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)" by Dennis E. Taylor (2016). Generic image of spaceships flying and possibly engaging in combat in an asteroid field.
March 30, 2025 at 9:58 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Bringing this Compass Games title to my table soon, though I suspect I won't have time to do much with it until Retirement Day. Looks like a neat sim of near-future space expansion, a little like "High Frontier" but at a different layer of complexity and thematic appeal.

#boardgames #sciencefiction
March 22, 2025 at 10:59 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Just had a wicked notion.

Get myself a nice, understated IDIC pin. Start wearing that to work every day. Don't call attention to it, don't explain it to anybody, just wear it.

See whether that gets me fired before Retirement Day.
Image of a Vulcan IDIC pin against a blue background: a metal disc with an off-center circle cut out, with a small gemstone at the center of the circle, and a metal triangle set to one side with its apex under the gemstone.
March 3, 2025 at 2:10 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
There was also this one, which seems more apropos . . .
Cover image for "Minuteman" (1976), a tabletop simulation of a Second American Revolution. Image portrays an abstract American flag apparently erupting in flames before a backdrop of the text of the Declaration of Independence.
February 16, 2025 at 9:08 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Well, this is looking awfully damn topical. Time to add to my P500 list for @gmtgames.bsky.social.
Banner ad for the upcoming GMT Games title "Tsar." The image portrays a number of Russian soldiers and officers on horseback in the last years of the Czars. Banner text reads: "Tsar reimagines the reign of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. Players occupy the center of his regime, advising and influencing him while competing to advance their own factional goals. The game captures the interplay of public opinion, war, diplomacy, culture, internal order, the economy, and the personal traits of Tsarist leaders and the imperial family. Through this simulation, Tsar explores the inner workings of autocratic regimes, with a realistic portrayal of official corruption, the cult of personality surrounding the Tsar, the violence of oppression and resistance, and the conditions that led to revolution."
January 28, 2025 at 10:40 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
In other news, this was a recent purchase that arrived in the mail today.

Going to see if I can use it to generate (e.g.) adventure seeds for the "Human Destiny" material, or for stories set in that universe.
Image of a box with "The Story Engine" printed on the cover, also includes text reading "One Deck - Endless Stories" and "The Deck of Endless Storytelling Prompts." In the background is the image of an eight-toothed gear, which appears to be part of the logo for the Story Engine product.
January 14, 2025 at 12:22 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
"You've been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who is coming to save you?"

I'm feeling good about my chances. Especially if they let the Mistress of the Winter Constellations take point.
Still image of the main characters from "Star Trek: Lower Decks." From left to right, T'Lyn, Tendi, Mariner, Rutherford, and Boimler.
January 4, 2025 at 8:49 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers!

Day 20

#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Cover image for "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson (1992). A montage of images suggesting the exploration of Mars: a spaceship approaching the planet, astronauts in full environment suits on the Martian surface, a domed settlement with greenery as well as buildings inside.
December 30, 2024 at 2:41 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Current reading. In part because I've been binge-watching "Lower Decks" again, but also because I'm developing a Star-Trek-like universe that has a lot of the same post-scarcity assumptions. When #worldbuilding, it's always nice to see how other people solve the same problems.

#books #StarTrek
Cover image for the book "Trekonomics" by Manu Saadia (2016). The image is abstract and nonrepresentational.
December 30, 2024 at 12:57 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers!

Day 19

#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Cover image for "A Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge (1992). An abstract-looking space station or spaceship against a background of deep space.
December 29, 2024 at 3:04 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers!

Day 18 (Note: I appear to have missed incrementing the day count once, so here's a correction.)

#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Cover image for "The First Man in Rome" by Colleen McCullough (1990). Image appears to be from a broken and weathered stone carving, representing a number of Roman men, wearing togas and participating in a procession.
December 28, 2024 at 4:49 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers!

Day 16

#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Cover image for “The Boat of a Million Years” by Poul Anderson (1989). A futuristic spaceship in flight against the background of a spiral galaxy.
December 27, 2024 at 2:17 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Lots of work today, no major milestones, as often happens. Got half of a lesson finalized, got a few hundred words down on the sigma Draconis writeup.

Also began reading this, on a recommendation from @ddwardiswriting.bsky.social after I mentioned being fond of "Promethea." If you know, you know.
Cover image for "The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic," by Alan and Steve Moore (2024). Before a brightly colored field of five-pointed stars, a smiling boy wearing a suit and tie brandishes a Tarot card in his left hand, and a Golden-Dawn-style wand with serpents and a winged disk in his right.
December 27, 2024 at 1:33 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers!

Day 15

#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Cover image for "The Earth Book of Stormgate" by Poul Anderson (1978). A winged alien rescues a helmeted human from a stormy sea.
December 26, 2024 at 3:40 PM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
More productive today. I finished my planetary map for Tianlong (sigma Draconis II) - have a look below - and made good progress on the overall writeup. I may be able to finish that tomorrow, although I do need to get back to work on course development.

#cartography #sciencefiction #worldbuilding
Planetary map in icosahedral projection for a fictional planet in the sigma Draconis star system.
December 26, 2024 at 12:46 AM
jfzeigler.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers!

Day 14

#Books
#BookSky
#BookChallenge
Cover image for "The Silmarillion" (1977). Lightning crashes over a mountain pass at night. A path snakes up the right side of the image, passing an open cave mouth.
December 25, 2024 at 4:04 PM