Running Numbers

A scholarly look at the digits that matter.

by Nick Norlen

10 Number of employees honored by Morgan Stanley's 2006 Top Ten Volunteer list, which included Philadelphia office financial advisor Cindy Wanerman. Her 2,660 hours of volunteer work earned her a spot on the list for the second consecutive year.

10 Percent decline of Inky advertising revenue for the month of September, as reported by Brian Tierney in a Nov. 13 CNNMoney.com article titled "A PR magnate struggles to revive a newspaper: Is Brian Tierney the Philadelphia Inquirer's savior — or worse than Knight Ridder?" Just relax, everybody. Tierney said he "plans to increase the marketing budget from $300,000 to $5 million." See? Problem solved.

10 Age of children whose birthday photos are being requested by NBC10's "10!" show. Their Web site, www.nbc10.com/10, reminds you to "include the child's name and where you live in the box next to 'photo caption.' Please follow these instructions to make sure the photos can make it on air." Televising photos of kids with their names and addresses, huh? Better keep those pictures handy for the Amber Alert. But hey, if you get involved with some scandal involving underage boys, you can just hire Brian Tierney for PR — he has experience in that area. And it sounds like he could use the money.

115 Final score that could have been attained by my team at Fadó's Pub Quiz, hosted by Rory and Kat every Wednesday from 9 to 11 p.m, given two conditions for the final question: that my team had wagered all but one of our points, and that I had been there to supply the correct answer. I left early. (There are seven branches of the Armed Forces. Duh. Then again, my teammates don't have my numerical expertise.) No worries. We still woulda lost.

115,000 Amount of food, in pounds, collected each year for the 6ABC/Boy Scouts Holiday Food Drive. Be sure to bring canned goods to the Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 23, where we hope some nonperishables will be fed to special guest Kelly Ripa. Girl needs to eat a big sandwich. Oh, and scouts — be wary of any NBC10 photogs out for choice candids.