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August 31, 2007

Walter Mossberg, Mark Cuban coming to R.I. for innovation conference in October; Mp3s: Sinatra; No more 'Roanne from...'

Providence Geeks reports (BIF-3 Conference to Feature Alpha Geeks; Five 50% off “Scholarships” available for Prov Geeks),

October 10th – 11th in Downtown Providence, the Business Innovation Factory is holding its third annual conference – the BIF-3 Collaborative Innovation Summit. They’ve really outdone themselves this year. Among the event’s amazing collection of “Storytellers,” there are some major Alpha Geeks, including:
Walt Mossberg, Technology Editor, The Wall Street Journal, and co-founder of AllThingsD (BIF-3’s host!)
Mark Cuban, billionaire serial tech entrepreneur
Jason Fried, 37Signals CEO & Co-Founder
Steven Johnson, Ghost Map author and co-creator of
outside.in
Richard Saul Wurman, information architecture pioneer & founder of the TED Conference

Mossberg, the dean of tech journalists, is a West Warwick native, so he'll be coming home.

Mark Cuban is a maverick -- his current blog leads with The Internet Is still Dead and Boring, and he's just been announced as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars -- so this should be fun.

Alas, the cost is $1,000, so even half-price is still too much for those who don't routinely write these things off.

If you can swing it, details about the "scholarships" are at the link.

Maybe we can watch the fun later on YouTube.

Weekend crooning: Frank Sinatra Live in Hong Kong 1962, at BigO:

The performance itself is less than sterling with Sinatra appearing far too casual for comfort. Perhaps he was unfamiliar with the Asian audience, or the humid weather, but he does sound tired and lacklustre.

Nevertheless, a rare recording of 20 live Sinatra tunes is nothing to sneeze at.

No mo' Ro! For decades, southern New Englanders watched local commercials featuring "Roanne from Off-Track Bedding." I don't watch much TV in the summer, so I hadn't noticed her absence.

But Lynn Arditi reports today (Sleep Concepts, formerly Off-Track Bedding, turns off the lights) that the firm that bought the company from Thomas and Roanne Barron in May has closed its stores and "filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors in federal bankruptcy court in Providence."

Losing Choo-Choo Vine of Railroad Salvage was the first blow. Now Roanne...

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 2:19 AM | Permalink