Teleprompting for Sir Richard Branson

Wow. Teleprompting for Sir Richard Branson followed by an attemped robbery on the Bart train just an hour later.

Over all though, last night was great! I got called last minute to “teleprompt for a few speakers” at a fundraising gala. It wasn’t until I got to the site that I learned it was about mixing Venture Capital leaders and extreme sports athletes with Sir Richard Branson to benefit MaiTai Global and OceanElders, whose collaborative work to tackle critical issues with other ocean organizations and world leaders have profoundly impacted efforts towards protection and conservation of the world’s ocean and its wildlife.

With multiple speakers of varying heights, I knew that I needed the ability to raise and lower the teleprompter glass without interfering with the show flow. The presidential teleprompter system I initially brought was just static: good for only one basic height. I quickly called Ralph from my team to drive across town with the proper gear: a TeleStepper which my robotics engineering genius brother designed and manufactures. That’s Telestepper.com by the way:)

Ralph and the telestepper saved the night. Now the mirror could smoothly adjust to different heights and also hide out of the way when an awesome ballet couple took the stage.

The auction raised a ton of money for a great cause. I’m in such awe of brilliant auctioneers who can expertly pull dollars through their mixing of entertainment and more than just a bit of psychology and alcohol:)

Afterward, I lugged the (now two) heavy cases a few blocks to the Bart train station. And after getting a few stories underground, I caught the train to my direction within one minute of waiting. Yay, since at late night, the trains run with 20 minute intervals.

On board my train were three people, all looking as tired as I was. One stop before my exit, a guy stood up and made his way to the exit doors. My two cases with laptop were in between me and the door. Right as the door opened, he grabbed the closest case and made off with it. Luckily, it’s a damn awkward and heavy case and in his rush to tug it, it fell to the ground. I was cursing him pretty hard and was able to grab the case before the doors closed on it. Whew.

I made it to the next stop, and the remaining guy asked me if I was okay. He was the same skin color as the bandit and was quite apologetic for the connection he felt people placed on his skin color and theft. I offered that it was just individuals, not races, and we chatted for a bit. I learned he was an out of work contractor. I explained what I did for a living (corporate and political videos) and he proceeded to ask me how to break into shooting porn.

Thank you San Francisco!!!