Here's the thing about Steve Jobs: as far as persuasive mercurial iCEOs go, he's the persuasivest. Yes, he's so good, we're even willing to make up new words to describe him, because the two-word phrase "most persuasive" just doesn't do him justice. It's that Reality Distortion Field thingy, right? The man has the uncanny ability to make everything he says seem like the most reasonable, logical, simple truth-- even if he's telling you that you'd be much happier if you drilled a hole in your head and packed it with lemon zest. And these days he's got a new weapon in his arsenal of persuasiveness: if the RDF doesn't sway you, maybe what WIRED calls his "incredible potty mouth" will.

In an article first pointed out by faithful viewer Pete Hopkins, it's revealed that in a meeting of Apple resellers at last week's Expo, Steve dropped in to discuss a few things, and "every sentence he uttered-- every single one-- contained an expletive." (Note: while Wired didn't balk at printing Steve's exact quotes, AtAT is still a family show. That's why, in accordance with obscure V-Chip broadcasting standards and practices, in the upcoming Steve quotes, we are digitally replacing each instance of the four-letter "f-word" with names of various Sesame Street Muppets.)

Among the choicer quotes by Steve "Hard R" Jobs:

• On the miserable computer retail shopping experience: "At least you can go to an auto dealer and test drive a Kermiting car."
• On Apple's "issues" in the eduction market: "We Elmoed up. We Elmoed up big time."
• On being told that resellers aren't allowed to reproduce Apple's ads in local advertisements: "You're Berting joking!"

For more in-depth (and family-friendly) discussion of the gist of the meeting itself, MacCentral's got some nice coverage. But while we've got nothing against stories about how Steve knows that some Circuit City employees are steering potential Mac customers towards the Wintel department (bash their heads, Steve!), we think the real story here is the language issue. We're unsure whether or not Apple's recent trials and tribulations have led to Steve's saltier vocabulary, but this is definitely the first time we've heard of him using such language in a semi-public setting. Maybe it's just us, but we like the direction this new Steve is taking. Maybe he'll retain elements of this Sopranos-style dialogue during his next keynote address and give us all a little treat. Suppose Quentin Tarantino's available to direct?