To hear the city's spin, Seattle's road crews are making "great progress" in clearing the ice-caked streets.
But it turns out "plowed streets" in Seattle actually means "snow-packed," as in there's snow and ice left on major arterials by design.

"We're trying to create a hard-packed surface," said Alex Wiggins, chief of staff for the Seattle Department of Transportation. "It doesn't look like anything you'd find in Chicago or New York."

The city's approach means crews clear the roads enough for all-wheel and four-wheel-drive vehicles, or those with front-wheel drive cars as long as they are using chains, Wiggins said.

The icy streets are the result of Seattle's refusal to use salt, an effective ice-buster used by the state Department of Transportation and cities accustomed to dealing with heavy winter snows.

"If we were using salt, you'd see patches of bare road because salt is very effective," Wiggins said. "We decided not to utilize salt because it's not a healthy addition to Puget Sound."

By ruling out salt and some of the chemicals routinely used by snowbound cities, Seattle has embraced a less-effective strategy for clearing roads, namely sand sprinkled on top of snowpack along major arterials, and a chemical de-icer that is effective when temperatures are below 32 degrees.

AP

A United Airlines pilot was arrested in a jet’s cockpit minutes before take-off Sunday on suspicion of being drunk.

Hundreds of stunned passengers watched police march the 44-year-old American first officer off the Boeing 777.

The United Airlines flight to San Francisco was delayed at Heathrow for almost three hours while a replacement co-pilot was found.

Cops swooped after a tip-off from ground staff, who suspected the airman was boozing before the 5,300-mile flight.

One stunned passenger said: “We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. The pilot was frog-marched off the aircraft.

“A couple of police officers stormed on to the plane as we were all sitting down and went straight for the cockpit.

“We didn’t have a clue what was happening and we were kept waiting on the plane for hours.

“It is horrifying to think we were apparently so close to being flown thousands of miles by somebody who could have been drinking.

“It was a horrible start to our trip but if it wasn’t for the person who called the cops, our dream holiday could have become a nightmare.”

The pilot was arrested at 9am on board flight 955 after failing a breathalyser.

He was bailed and ordered to return to Heathrow airport police station in January.

Dead Goldfish Offered the Vote in IllinoisVoter registration material was sent to Princess Nudelman, a dead goldfish

AP
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The only "agent of change" Princess ever supported was the person who freshened the water in her fishbowl.

So election officials in Chicago's northern suburbs want to know why voter registration material was sent to the dead goldfish.

"I am just stunned at the level of people compromising the integrity of the voting process," said Lake County Clerk Willard Helander, a Republican, who said she has spotted problems with nearly 1,000 voter registrations this year.

Beth Nudelman, who owned the fish, said Princess may have landed on a mailing list because the family once filled in the pet's name when they got a second phone line for a computer.

"There was no fraud involved," said Nudelman, a Democrat who supports Barack Obama. "This person is a dead fish."

The paperwork sent to a "Princess Nudelman" likely came from the "Women's Voices, Women Vote" project, which sent nearly 1 million mailings to Illinois households in August using a list that mistakenly included some pets, said Sarah Johnson, a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit group that encourages single women to vote.

The mailing list, purchased from a vendor, included names from warranties, magazine subscriptions and other sources, Johnson said. The group attempted to screen out obvious pet names.

"Fido's not going to be left on there, but if a cat is named is Polly, she may be," Johnson said. Princess could be a person's name, she insisted. "I went to high school with two Princesses."

Nudelman said the only address on the registration card was the Lake County clerk's office. She said she wrote election officials a humorous note explaining why the fish was ineligible to vote.

The Illinois mailing generated 63,500 returned voter applications, Johnson said. Applicants were instructed to fill in a driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number so election officials would be able to validate their identity.

"We obviously don't want to add more work for any election official," Johnson said. "At the end of the day, our goal is same as theirs: To give as many people as possible the chance to make voices heard in our democracy."

Steve Sturm, legal counsel for the Illinois State Board of Elections, said the mailing generated numerous complaints from residents throughout the state.

Lake County election officials contacted Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office Monday afternoon, said spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler. The sheriff's office and state's attorney's office were "already working on it," she said.

P.O.D.: The Killer Sales Question

The customer says to you, “We are also interviewing [or “working with”, or “buying from”] ABC company. They are a good company, and their prices are better than yours.”

The customer is actually saying, “Tell me why I should buy from you.” The customer already knows ABC is a good company. The customer already knows ABC’s prices are better than yours. The customer knew this before he agreed to see you! So why did the customer agree to see you? The customer agreed to see you because there is something about ABC that makes the customer uneasy. You must underscore that unease.

Because you have preplanned the call, you are forearmed with how you and your company differ from ABC.

You answer exactly as follows: “Yes, that is a good company. Would you like to know our points of difference?”

This is a killer sales question.

Your response does not knock the competitor. To do so would be to impugn the intelligence of the customer. In fact, you do not even repeat the customer’s name.

The customer will always answer yes because this is precisely the question he wants answered. He wants to know the difference between you and ABC so he can decide to go with you.

Your answer, your point of difference, will be forever what the customer thinks about you vis-à-vis the competitor. You will own that position.

Your point of difference (P.O.D.) should be an offset to the competitor. It need not be better or worse than what the competitor does –just different. Your P.O.D. should be information –or a new slant– that the customer doesn’t know. With new and different information, the customer can change his mind without the loss of face or criticism.

“Me too” marketers are lazy, or noncreative, or have an inferiority complex. Rainmakers always find a difference. Rainmakers always invite customers to evaluate a point of difference. And the point of difference is just that –a difference. It need not be “better.” The customer needs to see a difference, new information, so he can change his mind or change the minds of his colleagues. Some people like blueberry pie and some like cherry. Each is different from the other, not necessarily better. So when the pie customer says to the blueberry pie salesman, “I like cherry pie,” the salesperson responds, “Fine, would you like to know our point of difference? Unlike any other kind of pie, this pie is made with fresh, wild blueberries. Would you like to try a piece?”