Rule No. 1: Hide the iPhone from Ballmer at the Microsoft meeting

By all accounts, Microsoft's private company meeting at Seattle's Safeco Field today was a hit -- with a preview of a "Bing 2.0" overhaul, executives demonstrating Project Natal, the unveiling of the first Windows 7 television commercial, comedy from Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers, high-fives from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, free beer and plenty of Microsoft kool-aid to go around.

And then there was that poor Microsoft employee who tried to take a picture of Ballmer with an iPhone.

Apparently, it was all in good fun, but suffice it to say that the person probably won't make that mistake again. Microsoft employees alluded to the incident on Twitter, and I was able to confirm details independently.

As the story goes, it happened when Ballmer was making his big entrance -- slapping hands, running around, and generally whooping things up, as is his tradition at these events. That was when he spotted someone at field level, allegedly a member of the Windows group, using an iPhone to take his picture.

Ballmer grabbed the Apple device from the employee and made some funny remarks as everyone booed. Then he put it on the ground and pretended to stomp on it, before walking away.

The scene was visible on the big screen, so even people in the upper deck could see what was happening. Later, during his presentation on stage, Ballmer referred to the episode again, teasing the person and making it clear that he hadn't forgotten what happened.

All in all, a funny story, and no doubt a memorable moment for one unfortunate Microsoft employee. Going into the office on Friday should be lots of fun.

Of course, Ballmer might do better in the future by making sure that the employee has good reason to pick a Windows-branded phone over competing devices -- but as one of the person's colleagues noted on Twitter, "you just don't pick up the CEO of Chevy in a BMW."