Iffy Books | 404 S. 20th St., PHL

✏️ The Writing Room
2024-04-18 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-02 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-16 17:00 - 19:30, 2024-06-06 17:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
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.

📻 Software-Defined Radio Demo Day
2024-04-20 13:00 - 18:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
On Saturday, April 20th we’ll spend all day scanning through the RF spectrum with a software-defined radio device and a large discone antenna. We don’t have a plan, aside from exploring and listening all day. Stop by any time!
Here’s our zine on software-defined radio.
Image source

🌻 Everyday Futures Fest Block Party
2024-04-21 12:00 - 17:00 | 7th and Catharine St., PHL
We’ll be tabling at the DVAA Everyday Futures Fest block party!

📄 Open Zine Printing Session
2024-04-24 13:00 - 17:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
We’re hosting an open zine printing session on Wednesday, April 24th from 1–5 p.m.! We’ll help you turn your zine design into a print-imposed PDF and print ~200 sheets for free.
(Registration coming soon!)

🪐 Speculative Futures Reading Group: 'The Hard Tomorrow' by Eleanor Davis
2024-04-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Stay tuned for more details!

⚡️ Intermediate Soldering Session
2024-04-25 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-23 18:00 - 19:30
We host an intermediate soldering class on the fourth Thursday of every month. We’ll have soldering irons and solder to share for free, as well as DIY electronics kits for sale. Or bring your own project!
Register for April

Register for May
(coming soon)

🤖 Electronics Faire at the Temple Library
2024-04-26 09:00 - 16:00 | Charles Library at Temple Universiy, 1900 N 13th St., Philadelphia, 19122, United States
Electronics Faire: a day dedicated to radical practices with electronics
April 26th, 2024
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Charles Library at Temple University (1900 N. 13th St., PHL)
lecture series
a/v preservation tours
sit & tinker faire
workshops
More details

👀 How-To Zine Swap
2024-04-27 12:00 - 18:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Stop by on Saturday, April 27th from noon to 6 p.m. for a zine swap focused on DIY skills. Leave a zine if you have one! Take a handful regardless!

💾🌾 Iffy Books Permacomputing Meetup
2024-04-28 13:00 - 15:00, 2024-05-26 13:00 - 15:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
The Iffy Books Permacomputing Meetup is every fourth Sunday at 1:00 PM ET. 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 practice oriented around issues of resilience and regenerativity in digital technology. In a time where computing epitomizes industrial waste, permacomputing encourages a more sustainable approach, maximizing hardware lifespans, minimizing energy use and focussing on the use of already available computational resources. We do this because humans are part of nature and technology is an extension of humans, and we acknowledge that technology has been used to harm nature. We want to find out how we can practice good relations with the Earth by learning from ecological systems to leverage and re-center existing technologies and practices. We are also interested in investigating what a permacomputing way of life could be, and what sort of transformative computational culture and aesthetics it could bring forward. If you want to know more, please start reading about what is permacomputing in essence, and then dive into its principles.
Permacomputing Aesthetics: Potential and Limits of Design Constraints in Computational Culture by Mansoux, Howell, Barok, and Heikkilä (2023)

💬 Comics Workshop with Eleanor Barba
2024-04-28 15:30 - 17:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
This workshop is for every level of drawing skill and is over the age of 16. Materials will be provided but feel free to bring your favorite drawing implements and sketchbooks.
When my grandmother passed away, I found sharing memories of her through comics helped my grieving process. In this workshop, you can represent your grief or share a meaningful memory through sequential art. At the end, you’ll have a simple but significant four-panel comic.
First, we will brainstorm a story or memory. It doesn’t have to be a memorial of a loved one, but it could be the passing of a friendship or a job. We will take time to share and workshop our story. Then, we’ll create a quick storyboard from your story and start with the final pieces, sketching with pencils and detailing with markers.
Before I started creating comics, I felt intimidated. Traditional forms and details in comics are outside my usual practice. This entry-level workshop will demystify the art format in a way that is personal to workshop attendees. Leaving the workshop, you should feel encouraged that making comics, or sequential art, is not complicated and can be a way to journal, process emotions, and capture memories.
As a collective, we don’t grieve enough. Part of resiliency is caring for ourselves and others during valleys so we can be stronger at our peaks. Writing, drawing, or combining both will help people process grief for a more resilient and softer future.
Register:

🏴 One Book, One Philadelphia: Anarcho-Curious with Wooden Shoe Books
2024-05-01 19:00 - 21:00 | The Skyline Room, Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine St., Philadelphia, PA, United States
Slash and his friends in True Biz present an image of anarchism rarely seen in the news. For those who want to learn more, Anarcho-Curious at the Free Library expands the Anarcho-Curious program periodically hosted by Wooden Shoe Books. The event includes three speakers, all based in Philadelphia: Kim Kelly, author of Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor; Andrew Lee, author of Defying Displacement: Urban Recomposition and Social War; and the abolitionist educator and organizer Felicia Teter. Kelly, Lee, and Teter will share their stories and an outline of what anarchism means to them in a panel conversation moderated by Wooden Shoe volunteers. Then, attendees will break into conversation groups to ask questions and discuss. Curious about anarchism? Join us!
This event will take place in the Skyline Room, on the 4th floor of Parkway Central Library. ASL interpretation will be provided. Masks required.
Click here to register.
Official event page

💻 Philly 2600 Meetup
2024-05-03 18:00 - 20:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
> The Philly 2600 meeting is a monthly gathering of local hackers, phreaks, nerds, geeks, activists, tinkerers, developers, infosec professionals, and other interesting people.
Philly 2600 has been meeting since the early ’90s, and was one of the first 2600 meetings started by 2600 Magazine. 2600 meetings are open to all technology enthusiasts who want mingle, teach a topic, learn something new, or hang out with like-minded people. We meet in a completely public and open area to keep things as safe and accessible as possible.
Code of Conduct

🚂 Model Internet Club
2024-05-04 13:00 - 17:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
The Model Internet Club meets again on Saturday, May 4th, 1:00–5:00 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. We now have a wi-fi access point and a chat server.
We’re looking for websites to run on our local network. If you have an idea, email iffybooks@iffybooks.net or join us for our next meeting. If you’ve never created a website with HTML before, here’s a guide to get you started.

📚 Philly Socialists Reading Group: 'Logistics, counterlogistics and the communist prospect' by Jasper Bernes
2024-05-05 16:00 - 18:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Continuing on journey into logistics after Hinterland, we are reading Logistics, counterlogistics and the communist prospect by Jasper Bernes. This group is open to anyone committed to collective learning and liberation whether they are a member of Philly Socialists or not. We aim to tackle challenging theoretical texts together. Rather than finding ‘the correct reading’ of a text, the goal of group is to collectively find tools from texts for creating a better world. Philly Socialists is a political organization committed to creating a just and sustainable future for ourselves and our planet. As socialists, we believe in freedom, democracy, and the right to basic human dignity. Capitalism denies us all these. Only revolutionary change that ends capitalism will win us the future we deserve. And only a massive, organized force can get us there. If you are interested in finding out more, please find us at our reading website or email us admin@phillysocialists.org

📝 Poetry Reading with Phoebe Light
2024-05-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
welcome to this poetry reading all about celebration and honoring. doors at 7:30, reading at 8!
there will be two or three openers and then one long poem read by phoebe.

⚡️ Beginner Soldering Workshop
2024-05-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
On the second Thursday of every month we run 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
1 x 2N3904 transistor
2 x 220 Ohm resistors
1 x CR2032 coin cell battery
1 x 20mm coin cell battery holder

Register for May:

🏠 Host a Website at Home
2024-05-11 13:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
▶ How-to zine on GitHub
Join us on Saturday, May 11th from 1–4 p.m. for the workshop Host a Website at Home. You’ll learn to run an Apache web server on a single-board computer, letting you host a website from your home internet connection. Then you’ll register a domain name (or create a subdomain for a domain you already own) and set up Dynamic DNS, letting folks access your site even if your home IP address changes.
We’ll have home server kits available for $49, which include an Orange Pi Zero 2W single-board computer and all the hardware you’ll need. If you prefer, you can bring your own single-board computer (e.g., a Raspberry Pi) with Ubuntu Server installed. If you have questions, email iffybooks@iffybooks.net.
Here’s what’s in the kit:
• Orange Pi Zero 2W single-board computer w/1 GB of RAM
• 32 GB microSD card
• microSD card reader
• 2 A USB power supply
• USB-C power cable
• Mini HDMI to HDMI adapter
• USB-C to 2x USB-A adapter
• USB-A to Ethernet adapter
• Ethernet cable
Register:

🩹 Bleeding Control Basics (*canceled this month!)
2024-05-15 18:00 - 19:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
This month’s Bleeding Control Basics class is canceled. Sorry for the inconvenience! We’ll host another one on Wednesday, June 12th.
Face masks required!
Presented by Untitled Medical Collective in association with Philly SRA, Bleeding Control Basics will go over first aid as it applies to severe bleeding. We will cover scene safety, injury assessment, basic bleeding control, and tourniquet application. This class doesn’t provide any kind of certification, and is just meant to provide essential information to as many people as possible.

🔓 TOOOL Lock Picking Meetup
2024-05-17 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
The third Friday of every month from 6–8 p.m. we host 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 fun as we pop some locks.

🏠 Host a Website at Home
2024-05-18 13:00 - 16:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
▶ How-to zine on GitHub
Join us on Saturday, May 18th from 1–4 p.m. for the workshop Host a Website at Home. You’ll learn to run an Apache web server on a single-board computer, letting you host a website from your home internet connection. Then you’ll register a domain name (or create a subdomain for a domain you already own) and set up Dynamic DNS, letting folks access your site even if your home IP address changes.
We’ll have home server kits available for $49, which include an Orange Pi Zero 2W single-board computer and all the hardware you’ll need. If you prefer, you can bring your own single-board computer (e.g., a Raspberry Pi) with Ubuntu Server installed. If you have questions, email iffybooks@iffybooks.net.
Here’s what’s in the kit:
• Orange Pi Zero 2W single-board computer w/1 GB of RAM
• 32 GB microSD card
• microSD card reader
• 2 A USB power supply
• USB-C power cable
• Mini HDMI to HDMI adapter
• USB-C to 2x USB-A adapter
• USB-A to Ethernet adapter
• Ethernet cable
Register

🎤 Audio Recording Basics
2024-05-24 15:00 - 17:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Join us for 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

🎵 Open Cassette Mixtape Session
2024-05-29 13:00 - 17:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Bring a playlist on your phone/computer and we’ll help you record it to an audio cassette tape. We have plenty of tapes!
We’ll host two sessions, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. This event is free/by donation.
Register for 1 p.m.

Register for 3 p.m.

🪐 Speculative Futures Reading Group: 'The Mountain in the Sea' by Ray Nayler
2024-05-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
On Wednesday, May 29th at 7 p.m. we’ll meet to discuss The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. See you then!

📚 Philly Socialists Reading Group
2024-06-02 16:00 - 17:30 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
Continuing on journey into mutual aid after Hinterland, we are reading After the Flood: Perpetual crisis and recovery in Eastern Kentucky by Tarence Ray.
This group is open to anyone committed to collective learning and liberation whether they are a member of Philly Socialists or not. We aim to tackle challenging theoretical texts together. Rather than finding ‘the correct reading’ of a text, the goal of group is to collectively find tools from texts for creating a better world.
Philly Socialists is a political organization committed to creating a just and sustainable future for ourselves and our planet. As socialists, we believe in freedom, democracy, and the right to basic human dignity. Capitalism denies us all these. Only revolutionary change that ends capitalism will win us the future we deserve. And only a massive, organized force can get us there. If you are interested in finding out more, please find us at our reading website or email us admin@phillysocialists.org

💻 Philly 2600 Meetup
2024-06-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
> The Philly 2600 meeting is a monthly gathering of local hackers, phreaks, nerds, geeks, activists, tinkerers, developers, infosec professionals, and other interesting people.
