September 10th, 2026 – “Short Circuits, Fire, and Slag: A Recovering Welder’s Guide to Melting Metal”

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined again by Drakespirit, who will be presenting their talk “Short Circuits, Fire, and Slag: A Recovering Welder’s Guide to Melting Metal”:

Before I traded cracked and burnt knuckles for a terminal, I made a living using ungodly amounts of current to liquefy steel. Laying a clean bead is just applied physics, and chemistry (while trying your hardest not to start your pants on fire.) In this talk, we’ll tearing through the god like powers of how the world gets glued together. We’ll talk about why Stick is still the dirty field king, why MIG is just an angry hot glue gun, and what those cryptic rod numbers like 6010 and 7018 actually mean. From there, we’ll talk basic joint geometry and safety straight into the heavy stuff: Dual-Shield, Sub-Arc, pulsing waveforms, and the fun, wild processes like friction-stir and plastic welding. Whether you want to fab a custom rack, build a battlebot, or just understand the violence happening inside an electric arc, pull up a chair and let’s talk shop.

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.

Talk starts at 6:12 PM U.S. Central, but feel free to hop in early and chat.

— TactiFail

2026 Toxic BBQ – Saturday, September 12th!

Hello hackers!

We have exciting news: The 2026 DC612 Toxic BBQ is on!

Big thank-you to Marie for purchasing the permit two three years in a row!

• When: Saturday, September 12th from 4PM to 10PM Central
• Where: Minnehaha Falls Regional Park, Wabun Picnic Shelter F (map here)
  • 4655 46th Ave South, Minneapolis MN 55406
  • NOTE: This is the same site from the last two years, and we’ll be sticking with it going forward if possible.
• What:
  • Food! Bring food and we will grill it, or just show up and eat.
    • No frozen grilling items please – they take forever to thaw
  • Hackers! We have been told there may be hackers in attendance.
  • Music? Games? Prizes? Stickers? Whatever you bring!
• Cost: Zero days Cool dollars!
  • Nobody is required to bring anything or pay anything to attend and eat, but keep in mind that our official budget is also zero dollars, so we will only have what we all contribute.

This is a group-led event, so it is only as good as we make it. We have a sign-up sheet here to track what everyone is bringing, please fill it out if you plan on bringing stuff or want ideas for what’s missing. We always need food, but paper plates, plastic utensils, and napkins never go out of style. If someone wants to bring musical entertainment, or games, or a vulnerable WiFi spot, all the better! This is also considered a “family event” so alcohol is not allowed per the permit (I will not be checking contents of personal bottles however).

A quick note on weather: Last year we had some heavy rain toward the end. I’ll be bringing a portable grill to move things under the pavilion if necessary, but barring a literal tornado we’re planning on keeping this going rain or shine.

For those of you keeping score at home, this will be our sixth year running:

• 2021 at the Lauderdale Community Park
• 2022 and 2023 at Minnehaha Falls Picnic Area, Wabun G
• 2024 at Minneahaha Falls Picnic Area, Wabun F
• 2025 same as 2024

and we’re hopeful to keep this tradition going for even longer.

See you all there!

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July 9th, 2026 – “How to become your own cell carrier for fun and profit”

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined again by Lozaning, who will be presenting their talk “How to become your own cell carrier for fun and profit”:

This talk represents the culmination of two years of research and development into how to legally own and operate Lozaning-Tel, my own cellular network. We’ll cover the entire software and hardware stack that makes this possible for relatively cheap by using FOSS and rescued e-waste, as well as how to get the proper certifications and spectrum access grants so that we don’t go to radio jail. 100% human generated presentation!

Bio: I am the reigning Holland Neighborhood Association Jell-O sculpture champion. I like baking and am starting to get pretty good at gel nail art. I’m a sucker for a glittery bath bomb. Sometimes do embedded RF stuff too

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.

Talk starts at 6:12 PM U.S. Central, but feel free to hop in early and chat.

— TactiFail

June 11th, 2026 – “Bypassing Subscription APIs by Printing Shit”

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined again by Macros, who will be presenting their talk “Bypassing Subscription APIs by Printing Shit”:

Every now and then you run into a problem where the official answer is “pay more money.” In this case, I wanted access to a large number of malware analysis reports, and the available options were an API tier or a threat intelligence subscription. Rather than doing that, I opened my terminal and started poking at the website.

Bio: Macros. Most know who I am, if not feel free to say hi.

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.

May 14th, 2026 – “Fascinating(ly Fucked) Fabric Facts”

Hello Hackers!

This month we are joined again by floofinfried, who will be presenting their talk “Fascinating(ly Fucked) Fabric Facts”:

Do you want to know what’s on your body, and what that material contains? Me too! Tonight, I’ll give you a quick tour of fabrics: the basic types, the processes they go through, what is and isn’t fucked about it, and how you can make better choices for your body and the planet when you get dressed.

Bio: Floof is a blue teamer by day, an exhausted lump that sometimes does some sort of craftwork by night, and an aspiring NPC at all times.

Meeting will be on Discord. If you need an invite, look no further.