Running Numbers

A scholarly look at the digits that matter.

by Nick Norlen

4 Number of firearm-related ordinances that are scheduled for second reading and final passage at the City Council meeting on Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. — including those pertaining to acquisition, transference, licensing, and sale and transfer of ammunition. Let's see some decisive unanimity, OK, CC?

11 Maximum age you can be to gain free admission to the 2009 Philadelphia Pen Show, Jan. 23 to 25 at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center hotel, 17th and Race — otherwise you have to pay $8 per day. Organizers promise "more fine writing instruments than ever seen in Philadelphia" and note that "exhibitors may only show pens, knives, watches and related materials." Since when did knives become related to pens? Somebody tell City Council to start drafting some more ordinances.

$28 .40Amount of money you could save by buying a promotional four-pack of tickets — compared to four individual admissions — to the "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" tour at the TLA on Jan. 29. Provided, of course, that you can find three other people who have as weird a sense of humor as you do. Visit timanderic.com for tickets.

3,000 Approximate number of murals that people will have virtual access to starting on Jan. 29, when the Mural Arts Program launches muralfarm.org, an interactive geographic online Web application featuring images and information that can be searched by artist, theme, date, location, neighborhood and other key terms. I'm also hoping for a mural artist nomination feature. I'd love to see what Tim and Eric could do with the side of a building.

23,000 Number of hours of video that medical Webcasting Web site or-live.com streams to visitors each month. An hour and a half of that time, 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 22, will be devoted to a live webcast of a case review on a robotic anterior pelvic exenteration. Dr. Thomas Randall, chief of gynecologic oncology at Pennsylvania Hospital, and Dr. Daniel Eun, assistant professor of urology in surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and at Pennsylvania Hospital, will moderate the event and answer e-mail questions from viewers. I was kind of hoping the robot would answer the questions. But I guess I should be content with watching a live Webcast of robot surgery, shouldn't I? Now there's a mural idea!

Hey ... can I get your digits? I want to hear about the numerals you need to see. Let a number-runner know at runningnumbers@gmail.com.