The Insider: How to call Amazon; reconsidering ANWR

The Insider, a new feature in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is the P-I business staff's weekly compendium of quips, quotes, observations and asides, tidbits, weird facts and gossip.OVP TAKES FLIGHT: OVP Venture Partners has placed dozens of bets on software, Internet, biotechnology and wireless companies in the past 19 years.

But the Kirkland venture capital firm has passed over one of the Pacific Northwest's biggest industries: aviation. Not anymore. OVP, Alexander Hutton Venture Partners and Buerk Craig Victor are announcing a $7.8 million investment in Max-Viz Inc. today.

The 18-month-old Portland start-up has created an infrared system and cockpit display that allows civilian pilots to navigate through fog, mist, darkness and mental confusion. The device, which costs between $100,000 and $300,000, will be installed in its first Bombardier Challenger jet next month (a plane owned by a Hollywood celebrity).

Although the investment marks a change in direction for OVP, managing partner Gerry Langeler said the multibillion-dollar market could not be ignored.

"This is a very big opportunity," Langeler said. ". . . We did the math and said, 'This is a bigger market than we usually ever see.' "

DISAPPEARING ACT: There's something missing these days from the Elliott Grand Hyatt Seattle hotel. And no, it's not those little bars of soap. It's the hotel's first name.

The hotel quietly began dropping the "Elliott" over the summer, referring to itself as simply the Grand Hyatt Seattle. The property was known during its development and construction as The Elliott Hotel. It was renamed the Elliott Grand Hyatt Seattle when Hyatt Hotels Corp. bought into the project in March 2001, a couple of months before its opening.

The dropping of the Elliott after a transition period has been part of the plan since Hyatt came on board, said Doug Sears, general manager of the downtown hotel. "We think it clarifies the brand a little more to the folks who come in from out of town to visit us," he said. "Clearly, Hyatt is the recognizable name."

DISAPPEARING ACT 2 -- THE MISSING PHONE NUMBER: Amazon.com prides itself on customer service. And its online ordering system is second to none. But sometimes it does get things goofed up. In those cases, when only a human being can help, customers will find themselves searching the otherwise splendid site in vain for a phone number. There are scads of e-mail addresses and links to help sites. But dig as you might, you won't find a phone number. Why not?

"We designed the site to answer most questions electronically, and e-mails are responded to pretty quickly," spokesman Bill Curry said. The other day, one urgent e-mail -- asking for the customer-service phone number -- hadn't been answered within an hour.

The customer-service number is 800-201-7575. Write it down. You won't find it anywhere else.

FAST CARS, LITTLE PILLS AND SEX?: Eli Lilly & Co. may be revving up the marketing engines for Cialis, the impotence drug that won European approval last week and is being touted as a challenger to Viagra. The Indianapolis company, which jointly developed the drug with Icos Corp. of Bothell, signed a sponsorship deal with Brazilian race-car drivers Christian Fittipaldi and Cristiano da Matta earlier this year. The cars, driven on the race circuit in Europe, North America and Australia, currently sport Lilly's red logo. But some believe that will change next season as the company uses the male-dominated sport of race-car driving to promote Cialis.

Lilly isn't saying much about its marketing plans, although spokeswoman Carole Copeland said "as new products are introduced, the look of the car may change."

Cialis will have a long way to go before it catches up with Viagra, which since being introduced four years ago has created buzz with endorsements from Nascar driver Mark Martin, politician Bob Dole and baseball player Rafael Palmeiro.

QUICK QUOTE: Oregon economist William Conerly, commenting on a chart tracking gross domestic product and the U.S. economy: "We're still performing below potential (sounds like my old report cards)."

NORTH TO ALASKA: The proposal to open a part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge didn't make it through Congress, but the change of control in Washington, D.C., has some in the other Washington, and in Alaska, looking at trying again. Arctic Power, an organization that is pushing for approval of ANWR drilling, held a breakfast fund-raiser in Seattle earlier this month; the invites went out from U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. In a bit of propitious timing, the breakfast was held Nov. 7, two days after the election, although it had been planned well in advance. In economic terms, Seattle is an Alaskan city, anyway, what with the supplies and shipments flowing from ports such as Seattle and Tacoma to the Last Frontier. A release from Arctic Power quotes Stevens as saying that "opening ANWR is important to national security and good jobs in Alaska and throughout the lower 48."

Among the sponsors of the breakfast: the Teamsters and Operating Engineers, several maritime companies (Holland America, Crowley Marine Services and Tote), the Port of Tacoma, Tesoro Refining and Marketing, Alaska Airlines, Alaska Crab Coalition and Seattle public relations and lobbying company Gogerty Stark Marriott.

This report includes information from Todd Bishop, Dan Richman, Bill Virgin and John Cook. E-mail: billvirgin@seattlepi.com.

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