In case you haven’t already heard in the TwitterFacebookLinkedInsphere, for a variety of logistical reasons, we are not holding the Geek Dinner as originally scheduled for this evening.

Instead, and in partnership with RI Nexus, we will be holding a different, equally cool – dare I say cooler – event sometime next week or the following week. It will be announced very shortly, so please stay tuned.

Apologies for any inconvenience this flux may have caused, and as always, thank you for all your support. Brian and I look forward to seeing you soon.

PLEASE NOTE: Venue has changed for September’s Dinner!

Photo Credit: jk5854 on flickr

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2009, 5:30 – 8:30pm
Trinity Brewhouse
186 Fountain Street, Providence, RI Map
FREE

It’s September, and Geeks is back in full-force!

Few folks (even geeks) realize that every day in a renovated mill in Olneyville, hundreds of engineers and designers build some of the world’s most powerful simulation software. At September’s Geek Dinner, we’ll get a look into SIMULIA (formerly Abaqus). Tim Webb, a Director in Strategy & Marketing, will cover the history of the company in Rhode Island, as well as the culture and strategy that is fueling SIMULIA’s long term growth plans. He will share enlightening industry applications of their software, which range from analyzing the physical performance of the human heart to the structural integrity of composites in the Boeing 787 and much more.

Update: Tim has written a blog post about SIMULIA at RINexus.com.

Please RSVP at Facebook (In the interest of making it more “viral”, we’re experimenting with doing our RSVPs on Facebook – and while you’re there please join our Facebook group. And if you want to join our very-low-volume email announcement send an email to Jack Templin, jtemplin at Gmail with your name and affiliation.)

As always, for first-timers here are the details on the Geek Dinners:

• The event itself is FREE! Beverages and food are for sale at the bar


• It’s totally casual. Wear whatever, bring whoever, arrive and take off whenever! And don’t worry about eating or not – come famished or full – eating is optional, and frankly, the least of the festivities (that’s not say the food isn’t good – it’s actually great)


• Topics of conversation will vary as they will at any gathering of geeks, but many of us will be talking about AJAX, mash-ups, start-ups, new devices, innovative business models, interaction design, social computing, digital art, web services, etc. etc. etc.


• There is Wi-Fi so bring your connected device of choice.

Photo Credit: Jim Rizzo

Join us for the last Geek Dinner till September – yes, we take August off. It’s going to be a good one!

Established in 2008, Little Compton-based ThinkBalm is an independent analyst firm dedicated to work-related use of the Immersive Internet — virtual worlds and campuses, immersive learning environments, and 3D business applications. ThinkBalm is breaking the mold in how they perform the work of an industry analyst. Rather than study a technology market from afar, they use the emerging technology themselves every day. And rather than gather information from occasional conversations with practitioners, they founded and operate the ThinkBalm Innovation Community, which has a mission of advancing adoption of immersive technology in the workplace. This community, which currently has about 280 members, has evolved into a mix between a social network, a collaborative laboratory, and a guild.

At the July Providence Geeks dinner, former Forrester Research Analyst and ThinkBalm co-founder and principal Erica Driver will give a live demo of the ThinkBalm Data Garden — a data visualization experience in Second Life, built around a recent ThinkBalm study about the business value of using immersive technology in the workplace.

Update: Erica just posted to the RI Nexus blog – ThinkBalm: Immersed in the Immersive Internet.

Update: Erica was recently interviewed by PBN – Five Questions With: Erica Driver.

Please RSVP at Facebook (In the interest of making it more “viral”, we’re experimenting with doing our RSVPs on Facebook – and while you’re there please join our Facebook group. And if you want to join our very-low-volume email announcement send an email to Jack Templin, jtemplin at Gmail with your name and affiliation.)

As always, for first-timers here are the details on the Geek Dinners:

• The event itself is FREE! Beverages and food are for sale at the adjoining bar and Taqueria Pacifica (delicious and cheap)


• It’s totally casual. Wear whatever, bring whoever, arrive and take off whenever! And don’t worry about eating or not – come famished or full – eating is optional, and frankly, the least of the festivities (that’s not say the food isn’t good – it’s actually great)


• Topics of conversation will vary as they will at any gathering of geeks, but many of us will be talking about AJAX, mash-ups, start-ups, new devices, innovative business models, interaction design, social computing, digital art, web services, etc. etc. etc.


• There is Wi-Fi so bring your connected device of choice.

Shawn Wallace, Director of AS220 Labs, presented at the June geek dinner, and talked about AS220 Labs’ programs, open source hardware, and more. I caught up with him after the geek dinner to ask him a few questions. [Video link]