OK, apparently the spam shield that I installed was having some issues. It has been updated. If you’ve tried to leave a comment in the past and quit in frustration, please try again. And don’t hesitate to email me if it still doesn’t work (I’ve tested it, but then, I tested the older version too.) That’s: david. at. edery. dot. org.

If it keeps causing trouble, I’ll simply waive the white flag and suffer the spam. Until I find another solution (curse of being a geek… I simply cannot resist new WordPress plugins!)

PS. On a barely-related note: I’ve been told that good things might happen if people add this blog as a “favorite” in Technorati. OK, I’ll bite. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, as well as user of technorati, please consider adding me. If you’re registered it takes seconds. If you’re not registered, it takes a few more seconds.  ;)

• Educational games at the forefront this week:
• Whyville (dubbed a “MUVE”, or “multiplayer virtual environment“) has 1.6M members and offers instruction in multiple subjects, including pathology (i.e. players can catch a virus from other players, which they then must learn to cure.) Unclear how many members are actually active users.
• Sonica Spanish is being used in the UK to teach Spanish to primary school kids; it includes 240 activities, such as dance and karaoke games, matching games, memory games, and target shooting.
• Google Earth is being enhanced with higher res graphics, which has more people than ever buzzing about its video game-related potential.
• The DS Lite is expected to sell 500K units in its first ten days on the market.
• Another excellent Lost Garden article; this time on the subject of reducing development costs and avoiding the uncanny valley by focusing on evocative images, rather than across-the-board realism. Just one of many good quotes: What is more erotic? The half glimpsed form in the flickering firelight or the full on frontal nudity of a Playboy / Playgirl photo shoot? …for most casual situations, the former is quite effective.