This image was lost some time after publication.

An informant reports that high-energy Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's early morning razzle-dazzle outpaced one reporter:

They [the Associated Press] ran the story on Ballmer this morning, got the facts all turned around. Did you hear his talk? He used an the analogy of MS Search being a 3 yo basically playing basketball with the big kids, the 12 year olds. Great analogy, really worked for him and got big laughs. Rachel Konrad printed it the other way around and ran a photo that made Ballmer look like a cackling demon. OUCH. MS people were fried and demanded a "reprint". Worst part was she demanded video to prove her wrong.

Also missed by the AP's now-corrected report: Ballmer's Starbucks beverage was a grande iced tea, the last third of which seemed to have gone warm in his sizeable right hand. He uses the long green Starbucks straw, not the short black one. Details, people, details! (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)