⚡️ Beginner Soldering: Flashing LED Circuit
2025-11-21 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Iffy Books, 404 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, 19146, United States
In this workshop you’ll learn the basics of soldering by building a tiny oscillator circuit with two transistors and two LED lights. No previous experience needed!
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!

🐍 Python Install Session
2025-11-22 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-11-23 10:30 - 11:30
If you haven’t already installed Python on your computer, join us for an installation session!

🐍 Python Script-Along: Download Podcasts to an MP3 Player
2025-11-22 11:30 - 12:30, 2025-11-23 11:30 - 12:30
One of the reasons it’s hard to leave home without a cell phone is that it’s nice to listen to podcasts while you’re walking around. In this workshop you’ll learn to write a Python script that downloads the latest episodes of your favorite shows to an MP3 player (or a folder on your desktop if you prefer).
If you’re able to install Python 3 and the beautifulsoup4 package ahead of time, you can show up at 11:30 a.m. Otherwise you should join us at 10:30 a.m. for an hour-long Python installation session. No additional registration required!
Bring a laptop (any OS) and an MP3 player or USB drive if you have one. We’ll have MP3 players and microSD cards for sale but they aren’t required to complete the project.
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!

🚧 Make Your First Website
2025-11-26 18:00 - 20:00
Make a home page like it’s 1999! Join us at Iffy Books for a new workshop called Make Your First Website, led by Ragman a.k.a. Richard Green. You’ll learn the basics of HTML and create a static site on the free hosting service Neocities. No experience necessary!
Please bring a laptop if you have one. We’re suggesting a $5–$20 donation for this workshop, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

🪐 Speculative Futures Reading Group
2025-11-26 19:00 - 20:30
The Speculative Futures Reading Group meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m.!

🍴 Closed November 27th
2025-11-27
We’ll be closed on Thursday, November 27th. But we’ll be here on Friday!

⏳ Pico LED Hourglass Workshop
2025-11-29 10:30 - 12:30
Learn to make a programmable game timer and dice with a Pi Pico microcontroller! First you’ll solder six LEDs, two switches, and a vibration motor to the board’s GPIO pins. Then you’ll install and customize the CircuitPython code that makes it work. No experience needed!
You’ll need to buy a kit for $8.50 to complete this project.
• RP2040/Pi Pico board
• wood base w/ pilot holes
• 6 LED lights
• vibration motor
• push button switch
• 4 screws w /spacers
Instructions & starter code
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

📝 One-Time Pad Encryption Workshop
2025-11-30 10:30 - 11:30
Join us for a workshop on one-time pad encryption! We’ll walk you through a technique for sending truly private messages without a computer, using 6-sided dice to generate random numbers. We’ll use an encoder/decoder sheet that fits on a single sheet of paper and can be recreated from memory.
You can find the workshop materials here: Double Dice One-Time Pad Workshop
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

🐧 E-Z Command-Line Encryption with OpenSSL
2025-11-30 11:30 - 12:30
At this workshop you’ll learn to create passphrase-protected files using OpenSSL, a command-line program that’s probably already installed on your computer. With this technique you can send encrypted files via email/Dropbox, then share the passphrase with the recipient on a secure channel (e.g., Signal). Useful for avoiding surveillance & data mining!
Save message:
echo "My secret message ❤️" > example.txt

Encode:
openssl aes-256-cbc -a -in example.txt -out message.enc.txt

Decode:
openssl aes-256-cbc -d -a -in message.enc.txt -out plain-text.txt
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

Photo CC-BY-SA Mark Dickson

✏️ The Writing Room
2025-12-02 17:00 - 19:30, 2025-12-09 17:00 - 19:30
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.

🪐 Speculative Futures Reading Group: 'Planetes Book 1' by Makoto Yukimura
2025-12-03 19:00 - 20:30
The Speculative Futures Reading Group meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m.! This month we’re discussing Planetes Book 1 by Makoto Yukimura. (Illustrated by Makoto Yukimura, translated by Yuki Johnson, adapted by Anna Wenger & Brendan Wright.)

🤔 FAFIO Meetup: Terminal Beginner Night
2025-12-04 18:30 - 20:30
FAFIO is a new meetup for folks who want to learn new tech skills but aren’t sure where to start. Let’s fuck around and figure it out!
This month we’ll be learning some basic command-line skills! Feel free to come and work on something else!

🎲 B-Sides Philly
2025-12-05 11:00 - 17:00
See y’all at B-Sides!

💻 Philly 2600 Meetup
2025-12-05 18:00 - 20:00
> The Philly 2600 meeting is a monthly gathering of local hackers, phreaks, nerds, geeks, activists, tinkerers, developers, infosec professionals, and other interesting people.

🎊 Make a Hand-Coded SVG Holiday E-Card
2025-12-06 10:30 - 12:00, 2025-12-07 10:30 - 12:00
Learn to make an animated SVG file using a plaintext editor and web browser. No fancy tools needed!
Geany text editor
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

🏠 IndieWeb Homebrew Website Club
2025-12-07 18:00 - 20:00
Homebrew Website Club is a growing world-wide network of meetups for everyone who wants to take back their web experience from social media silos, and own their online identities & content, or just want support with blogging!

🚧 Make Your First Website
2025-12-10 18:00 - 20:00
Make a home page like it’s 1999! Join us at Iffy Books for a new workshop called Make Your First Website, led by Ragman a.k.a. Richard Green. You’ll learn the basics of HTML and create a static site on the free hosting service Neocities. No experience necessary!
Please bring a laptop if you have one. We’re suggesting a $5–$25 donation for this workshop, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. We'll offer it again soon!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

🎊 Make a Hand-Coded SVG Holiday E-Card
2025-12-11 14:00 - 15:30
Learn to make an animated SVG file using a plaintext editor and web browser. No fancy tools needed!
Geany text editor
Sublime Text
Happy Birthday example file
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

⚙️ Neo-Luddite Reading Group: 'Technics and Civilization' by Lewis Mumford (1st half)
2025-12-11 18:30 - 20:30
➡️ Virtual Meetup Link
Discord: Email neoluddite@victorgom.es for an invite!
Full schedule: victorgom.es/neoluddite
If you’re joining for the first time, I’d suggest you read this before anything else for brief context: What the Luddites Really Fought Against by Richard Conniff.The only expectation is that you read the chapter(s) of the book that’s listed for that meeting. You’re still welcome to participate if you haven’t done the readings as long as you are mindful. For each chapter, I’ve also noted some optional readings for context, so I’d suggest checking those out rather than reading ahead in the book. And remember, if you ever find yourself struggling with any of the readings or concepts, reach out! Either directly to me over email or to the entire group over discord.

⚡️ Beginner Soldering: Flashing LED Circuit
2025-12-12 13:00 - 14:00
In this workshop you’ll learn the basics of soldering by building a tiny oscillator circuit with two transistors and two LED lights. No previous experience needed!
Register:
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

🚂 Model Internet Club
2025-12-13 10:30 - 12:30
The Model Internet Club is back! Join us every second Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for an informal meetup focused on building small-scale computer networks.
No registration needed for this event! If we run out of space we can expand into our back yard area.

🐢 Draw with code! An intro to turtle graphics using Python
2025-12-14 10:30 - 13:30
Drop in any time from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and learn to draw cool geometric pictures using Python! It’s just like Logo, the turtle drawing program that introduced a generation of kids to computers in the ’80s and ’90s.
☀️ Draw with code! An intro to turtle graphics using Python
☀️ Screen reading PDF
☀️ Print-imposed PDF
▶️ Project files on GitHub
No registration needed for this one! We’ll have lab computers set up, or feel free to bring a laptop.

✏️ T̶h̶e̶ ̶W̶r̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶R̶o̶o̶m̶ (canceled this week!)
2025-12-16 17:00 - 19:30
We’re canceling the Writing Room this week due to the freezing weather, and we’re taking the next couple weeks off for the holidays. We’ll be back in January!
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.

🔄 Solder & Code: Pico Power Cycler
2025-12-17 13:00 - 15:00
In this workshop you’ll build a gadget that turns power on and off for a USB-powered device. Useful for rebooting solar-powered radios, making decorations blink, etc. No experience with soldering or programming required!
You’ll need to buy a kit for $11.50 to complete this project. Here’s what it contains:
– Pi Pico board with USB-C port
– IRFZ44N MOSFET transistor
– 22 AWG stranded wire pair (4″)
– USB-A port board
– twist tie wire (3″)
– 1″ heat shrink tubing (3″)
– 1/12″ heat shrink tubing (0.5″)
Instructions
Example code
Register
Registration for this event is now closed. Sorry.
Here's a link to future workshops in this series!
This workshop is now full. We'll offer it again soon!

👁️ Intelligence History Reading Group: 'The Achilles Trap' by Steve Coll
2025-12-17 19:00 - 20:30
This month we’re readingThe Achilles Trap Saddam Hussein, the United States and the Middle East, 1979-2003 by Steve Coll
🎧 Get the audiobook on Libro.fm
The Achilles Trap masterfully untangles the people, ploys of power and geopolitics that led to America’s disastrous war with Iraq and, for the first time, details America’s fundamental miscalculations during its ruinous, decades-long relationship with Saddam Hussein.
Beginning with Saddam’s rise to power in 1979 and the birth of Iraq’s secret nuclear weapons programme, Steve Coll traces Saddam’s motives through understanding his inner circle. He brings to life the diplomats, scientists, family members and generals who had no choice but to defer to their leader – a leader directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, as well as the torture or imprisonment of many more. This was a man whose reasoning was impossible to reduce to a simple explanation, and the CIA and successive presidential administrations failed to grasp critical nuances in his paranoia, resentments and inconsistencies – even when the stakes were incredibly high.
Using unpublished and underreported sources, interviews with surviving participants, and Saddam’s own transcripts and audio files, The Achilles Trap is a remarkable picture of a dictator who was convinced the world was out to get him and acted accordingly. A work of great historical significance, it is the definitive account of how corruptions of power, lies of diplomacy and vanity – on both sides – led to avoidable errors of statecraft: ones that would enact immeasurable human suffering and forever change our political landscape.
