Fortune magazine–which never met a list it did not like to make–had a solid group of women tech types on its “50 Most Powerful Women 2009” roster, the annual survey it posted yesterday.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz made the Top Ten this year, clocking in at No. 8.

Other women geek types–many from Silicon Valley–on the list include:

Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox (XRX) at No. 9; IBM (IBM) Global Sales and Distribution SVP Ginni Rometty at No. 11; Oracle (ORCL) President Safra Catz at No. 12; Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Technology Solutions Group EVP Ann Livermore at No. 13; Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg at No. 22; Charlene Begley, president and CEO, GE (GE) Enterprise Solutions at No. 27; Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay (EBAY) Marketplaces at No. 40; HP CFO Cathie Lesjack at No. 42; and, finally, Google (GOOG) Search Products and User Experience VP Marissa Mayer at No. 44.

The conference associated with the Fortune issue, spearheaded by Pattie Sellers, will take place next week, starting Monday, in Carlsbad, Calif.

Fortune is part of Time Inc., which is owned by Time Warner (TWX).

Bartz, Sandberg and others will be interviewed onstage, along with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) chairman and CEO Warren Buffett.

Will BoomTown be in attendance, with my trusty Flip digital video at the ready? Yes, indeedy, so the lady geeks should beware–and I am talking to you, Sandberg!

Until then, here’s a cable television interview Bartz did today on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Clocking in at almost 12 minutes, it’s classic Carol, with sassy catchphrases and jokes about being a really tough lady, but with little new news–except for her saying she would have sold to Microsoft (MSFT) when it was offering $33 a share way back when, because she is not “stupid.”

Indeed not.

Here’s the video:

The investment guru and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has an annual ritual of auctioning a steak lunch with himself on eBay (EBAY) to raise money for San Francisco’s Glide Foundation. Last year’s winning auction tally of $2.1 million broke all previous records.

Despite many predictions that a lunch with Buffett isn’t worth nearly as much during a recession, the folks at Glide say the pace of this year’s auction is way ahead of last year.

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Recently–in the echo chamber that is Silicon Valley–several people told BoomTown quite separately that former Yahoo President Sue Decker had become an executive-in-residence at the Blackstone Group.

Actually, when reached via email, Decker told me she has yet to decide her next step after leaving Yahoo and had simply set up a no-strings-attached desk at the private equity firm’s San Francisco office, but is definitely not an EIR there.

And who says bloggers don’t check?

In fact, a move to join Blackstone formally would have been very ironic for Decker given that the firm–specifically, longtime friend and former colleague, Jill Greenthal–was one of the advisers to Microsoft (MSFT) in its failed takeover battle for Yahoo (YHOO), a fact that was highlighted in a post I did last year.

Instead, Decker has been keeping a low profile since she announced she was resigning from her post the very day new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz arrived.

Decker was also a candidate for the top job, which she sought after sticking by former Yahoo CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang through some very rough times for both.

Her last day at Yahoo, after nine years there, was April 1.

In the email, Decker explained that she has not yet made any future work-related plans, but had simply taken up an offer from Blackstone’s President Tony James, as well as Greenthal, who suggested she could set up a small office there to attend to board work. The three all used to work together at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Even without an executive perch, Decker could use such a desk given that she sits on some very major boards, including Intel (INTC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A).

More than that, Decker–who sounded pretty happy to me–is not saying. Yet.

Among those who’ve suffered grotesque losses: Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates, who ranks first on the Forbes list with an estimated net worth of $40 billion despite seeing his fortune decline by some $18 billion. Just behind him, in second place: Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett, who saw his net worth fall $25 billion to $37 billion. Finally, telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu placed third, with $35 billion, down from $60 billion. Combined losses for the three: $68 billion.

“The world has become a wealth wasteland,” Forbes says in its report. “Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year.”

If seeing your personal fortune slip to $40 billion from $58 billion is disaster, it’s one I think most of us would happily endure.

At least for those following the Microsoft-Yahoo takeover battle, since silence is maybe not so golden in this case.

Right now, even though Microsoft (MSFT) set a Saturday deadline for starting its proxy battle against Yahoo (YHOO), the waiting game continues as Yahoo hopes Microsoft will flinch and vice versa.

So, can a fun-packed weekend with the folksy Warren Buffett save the day?

In an unusual bit of timing, both Yahoo President Sue Decker and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will both be in Omaha starting Friday for the famous annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A), which Buffett runs with his longtime partner Charlie Munger.

Decker came onto the board in 2007, while Gates–a close friend of Buffett’s–joined in 2004.

(Gates and Buffett pictured here together; Decker’s head shot here too.)

How awkward is that, since Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer might be slapping Decker’s boss, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, all around Wall Street next week?

At least, the pair are sure to have fun in Nebraska.

Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting is a beloved ritual for its shareholders, who flock to worship Buffett every year at the Qwest Center in Omaha.

The festivities will begin on Friday evening, include a “Baja Beach Bash” on Saturday and finish up with dinner at Gorat’s Steakhouse on Sunday evening.

And perhaps Buffett, nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha, might be just the kind of power broker who can finally bring sensibility to the situation.

Celebrated as the world’s most successful investor, Buffett’s plain-talking advice about the stock market is widely quoted.

My personal favorite is “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

But maybe this one is more apt, when talking about Yahoo and its value to Microsoft: “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

The question for Gates and company–Is Yahoo wonderful or is it fair?

And until Buffett can work his magic, here’s another unlikely pair–Debbie Harry and Kermit the Frog–singing about making nice in the classic, “Rainbow Connection.”