Time: Mid-late 80's.
Location: Large Conference / Lecture Room
Subject: World Launch of a multi-national's first e-commerce venture etc. (Not that it was known as such at the time.)
Me: Sitting behind screen pushing buttons to put onto the screen the output of different video / slide projector sources at the appropriate moment.
Rehearsal: Very Very Boss says "and now it's the moment we have all been waiting for", (lighting do their stuff and dramatic music etc. plays), and he pulls off a fancy cloth to reveal a computer on a table beside him. I push a button and up on screen comes the computer's VGA/SVGA output and a Junior Boss carries on with the demonstration. Simple.
Later the same day: Very Very Boss says "and now it's the moment we have all been waiting for", (lighting do their stuff and dramatic music etc. plays), and he pulls off the fancy cloth to reveal the computer on the table beside him. I push the button and up on screen comes absolutely nothing! Zippo, Nadda, Black!
Me: Pushing the button again whilst muttering **** **** ****. Give up pushing and start checking the connections whilst thinking about the inevitable no tea no biscuits meeting to follow.
Audience: Laughing and tittering. Not a good sign.
Very Very Boss Man: Leaves the stage, (running the last bit), and starts saying some not very complimentary things to and about me. I was still muttering ****, ****, **** whilst head down in the cables.
Junior Boss: approaches the computer on stage and simultaneously 500 or so people have their first introduction to the PC power-saver function.
Yup after an hour and a half of sitting under it's cloth unused the computer had decided to go to sleep.