Our current book for the Neo-Luddite Reading Group is The Human Use of Human Beings by Norbert Wiener (1950, revised 1954). On Tuesday, December 5th we’re meeting to discuss chapter 8 through the end of the book. Meetup link After this book we’ll read Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin (could maybe pair it with […]
Iffy Books is moving to a storefront! Very exciting! Starting on Wednesday, December 6th we'll be at 404 S. 20th St., half a block from Rittenhouse Hardware. For the rest of December we'll be open Wednesday–Sunday, 12–7 p.m. See y'all in the new space!
We'll be at BSidesPhilly 2023 on Friday, December 8th! Stay tuned for more details. ➡️ Call for Speakers
On Saturday, December 9th from 1–3 p.m. we're hosting an informal meetup at Iffy Books for Meshtastic users. Stay tuned for details! Meshtastic: An open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power devices
Does your kid have a toy that’s so loud it’s driving you up the wall? Are you just curious about electronics and sound? Join us Sunday, December 10th from 1–3 p.m. for a hands-on workshop on how to quiet or silence kids’ electronic toys. Bring an electronic toy to modify and we’ll walk you through […]
On Sunday, December 10th at 3:30 p.m. we’re hosting a darning workshop and mending session. Total beginners welcome! Here's our darning how-to zine. Register:
On Wednesday, 12/13 at 6 p.m. we're hosting a workshop on how to make glitchy, distressed images using the command-line program ImageMagick. We'll be using Ubuntu Linux for the workshop, but it's also available for macOS and Windows. We'll provide computers. If you've never used the command line before, that's OK! This workshop series is […]
On Thursday, December 14th at 6:00 p.m. we’re running a soldering workshop for beginners! Anyone can attend for free, but you’ll need to buy a circuit board with components for $6 to complete the project. Here’s what’s included in the kit: 1 x Weevil-shaped PCB 2 x LEDs 1 x 47k Ohm resistor 1 x miniature photocell […]
Some filmmakers from out of town are stopping by Iffy Books on Friday, December 15th. Stay tuned for details!
The Model Internet Club meets again on Saturday, December 16th, 1–5 p.m. Newcomers are welcome. The network is up and running! We now have a DHCP server, a DNS server with custom domain names, and handful of websites running as virtual hosts in Apache. There’s a local bulletin board in the works, and we’re considering our […]
Our next permacomputing meetup is on Sunday, December 17th at 1:00 PM EST. You can join us in person at Iffy Books (404 S. 20th St., PHL) or via Jitsi Meet. ➡️ Meetup Link From Permacomputing.net: Permacomputing is a more sustainable approach to computer and network technology inspired by permaculture. Permacomputing is both a concept and a community of […]
Does your kid have a toy that’s so loud it’s driving you up the wall? Are you just curious about electronics and sound? Join us Sunday, December 17th from 3:30–5:30 p.m. for a hands-on workshop on how to quiet or silence kids’ electronic toys. Bring an electronic toy to modify and we’ll walk you through […]
Come co-work with other writers in three 40-minute units of silent writing. Writers and projects of any type welcome. 10-minute breaks and accountability check-ins between units. BYO coffee, water, computer chargers, notepads, etc.
On Friday, December 22nd at 6:00 p.m. we’ll play a round of the tabletop storytelling game Solarpunk Futures.Solarpunk Futures is a storytelling game where players imagine the pathways to a desirable world from the perspective of a utopian future. Players use a deck of cards to remember Ancestors and work together using Tools and Values to overcome a set of real-world Challenges. Through dialogue and […]
On Wednesday, December 27th from 3–5 p.m. we’re running a workshop on the basics of recording audio. We’ll discuss mic technique, audio hardware, recording conditions, and software options. Everyone will get a chance to make a recording with Audacity and start editing with Reaper. Register:
Join us from 1–3 p.m. on Saturday, December 30th for the first meeting of the Direct Solar Power Working Group. (We can change the name if people don't like it.) Our plan is to discuss & experiment with methods for using solar energy without batteries. We're starting this group in response to the article Direct […]
Does your kid have a toy that’s so loud it’s driving you up a wall? Are you just curious about electronics and sound? Join us Sunday, January 7th from 1–3 p.m. for a hands-on workshop on how to quiet or silence kids’ electronic toys. Bring an electronic toy to modify and we’ll walk you through […]
On Friday, January 19th from 6–9 p.m. we’re hosting a meetup run by the Philadelphia Chapter of the Open Organization of Lockpickers. > Come join us for our monthly open pick night at Iffy Books! Whether you’re a novice who just stumbled upon LockpickingLawyer, a seasoned safecracker, or somewhere in between, come join us for a evening of […]
On Wednesday, January 31st at 7:00 p.m. we’ll meet to discuss the novel The Obelisk Gate (2016), the second book in N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy. Hope to see you there! Get the audiobook on Libro.fm The season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night. Essun -- once Damaya, once […]