Since Firstborn went to university we've lost some of our edge, but the Man-in-Charge worked extra hard at half term to compensate and got one of his best-ever ten pin bowling scores.

At about the time of last year's Special Olympics Winter Games, President Obama said on the "Tonight Show" that his low bowling scores were "like the Special Olympics or something."

The book follows the adventures of two high school girls and their teacher as he teaches them statistics using real-life examples such as how to calculate the standard deviation of bowling scores, how to graph ramen noodle prices on a histogram, and how to calculate Cramer's coefficient to determine how boys and girls prefer to be asked out.

What information that is presented to employees--through newsletters and magazines--is about newcomers, retirements, anniversaries, hobbies, vacations, babies and bowling scores.

Everyone went home very happy and pleased with their fantastic bowling scores.

During the day each host employer worked with groups of 30 youngsters, carrying out a range of activities from calculating floor space and concert prices at the NEC, working with Carillion engineers to build bridges with building blocks to calculating bowling scores at the Mega Bowl in Star City.

Most people who have read Street Corner Society can remember little beyond the bowling scores. I was shocked when, rereading the book for a class, I rediscovered its deep investigation of core features of urban society - politics, the rackets, and their connections.

WORCESTER - Not only did President Barack Obama's "Special Olympics" comeback on his pitiful bowling scores bomb, there has been a fierce backlash from those who are (and work closely with those who are) at the blunt end of the joke.

While on Thursday's Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Obama said his recent low bowling scores equated to the "Special Olympics."

You know, the ones who go out and talk to the troops, get the stories, find out what they need to know to do their jobs, then throw in a few bowling scores, births, retirements so employees can see their names in the paper?

More of us are doing a better job of eliminating, or at least limiting, non-relevant information such as brides, babies, birthdays and bowling scores from our formal communication.

Almost gone are the days of news about birthdays, babies and bowling scores.

employee bowling scores, new benefits and the like.