Bloomberg screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

Some people, when they change careers, change their act.

They mellow, they become more mature, more relaxed, and generally happier with the state of the world.

You might expect, therefore, that when Steve Ballmer took the reins of the Los Angeles Clippers and presented himself to the fans, he would offer a more measured corporate self.

You might expect there would be nothing of the "Developers! Developers! Developers!" type of shrill excitement.

You might also expect that the members of Congress would decide to live on the moon.

For Ballmer stood on stage and presented all the relaxed gentility of a preacher on ecstasy.

And yes, he screamed.

"We're going to be hardcore! Hardcore! Hardcore!" he offered, with a menacing mien.

He added: "We're going to keep coming and coming and coming and coming and coming."

It's remarkable how phrases from one Hollywood industry can prove useful in another.

Still, some might observe that Ballmer didn't seem to jump all around the stage, so there's plenty of room for more performance art.

I very much look forward to the first time a referee's call goes against the Clippers. The new owner leaps from his courtside seat, ululating in a tone far off the right-hand end of the piano.

He storms up to the ref and goes nose-to-nose, eyes-to-eyes, arms waving like a Russian conductor's, before declaiming the error of the ref's ways.

Somewhere, another tech investor, Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban, will look on and mutter: "I've got nothing on this guy."