There is also just a hint of that kind of testosterone-enhanced rivalry that makes women everywhere roll their eyeballs, whip a ruler out of their pockets and send the men in question down to the Men's to measure it, and sort out questions of superiority once and for all. Size clearly matters, and in the absence of this direct measure, other things serve as a proxy. The size of one's fan club, for example. The number of hits on one's blog. Perhaps, even, the number of _comments_ on one's blog.
And here, quite possibly, lies the rub. Within mere hours of erecting his Town Hall blog, Martin Hall had received a sizable number of comments. These may or may not have been the comments he sought, but, as the blog was titled something to do with getting people talking, it certainly achieved its purpose. People were talking.
In Carnivorous Cow's office, Mr Sunshine lounged back in the sunniest chair and spread the love. "I think it's great that Martin Hall has taken to blogging!" he enthused. "I hope he gets really taken with it. The more time he spends blogging, the less time will be available to him to find still other tasks to inflict on beseiged academics!"
Carnivorous Cow had her doubts. She thought that if anything had to give, it was unlikely to be his enthusiasm, and more likely to be his sleep.
MAMA = Middle Aged Male Academic
SNAG = Sensitive New Age Guy