The anti-spam plugin works! No comments were in the moderation queue, so I hope this is a sign that it's actually working.
Of course, I never really get legitimate comments on my blog (probably because no one reads it), so I'm not too concerned that the validation word will prevent people from commenting on my posts. 
I just installed a new anti-spam plugin for the blog, because it's becoming quite arduous to have to delete 543 comments in the moderation queue every time I log in. Wordpress provides a spam-blocker plugin, but it only goes so far - you have to specify certain words that will kill a comment before it ever hits the site, but these $#&% spammers keep coming up with new random stuff. For example, I erased about 150 comments that had "shoes" or "baseball" in the comment field.
Anyway, this new anti-spam tool requires a user to enter the word in a box before it will post the comment. Much like any sort of registration or posting process (Ã la Craigslist), it prevents automated spam-bots from attacking your system with hordes of slimy posts.
We'll see how well this works out, and if it doesn't, there are 25 more anti-spam plugins available to Wordpress users.
Oh my.
I missed a whole slew of relevant stuff in the past week or so, starting with this:
Nicco Mele, the CEO at my old company, EchoDitto, recently posted this gem on his blog:
I have long admired Sen. McCain’s work on campaign finance reform and his independent streak. If Sen. McCain runs for president, he’s got my support.
…
I like Sen. McCain — I think he should be president!
Let me just say this. Nicco, who was one of the driving forces behind uber-liberal Howard Dean's internet campaign, is supporting a GOP candidate.
What the hell is this world coming to?
Not just "Oh, well, he's a moderate GOP candidate and bats for the Democrats frequently." No, McCain (who I embarrassingly admit that I once drunkenly said he might be a good alternative if the Dems didn't get their act together for the '08 election and regretted it the moment I said it), should NOT considered to be a progressive, green, Dean supporter's first choice for a presidential candidate. Good god. Especially one who is the CEO of a dedicatedly progressive political/internet consulting firm.
It's like he's giving the finger to the company's core values… because as I remember, when I first started back in June 2005, the issue on the table was whether to boycott Convio because they had recently adopted "Alliance for Marriage" as a client - which is considered to be an anti-gay foundation. But barely a year later, here's our CEO advocating McCain, who SUPPORTS a gay marriage BAN in his home state. Hypocrite, anyone? 
Just because McCain is behind campaign finance reform (one of EchoDitto's passions) doesn't mean he's really a Democrat in elephant clothing. He's still the one who supports Bush's foreign policy. He thinks we should send MORE troops to Iraq. Blah blah blah. This guy does not even remotely represent EchoDitto's values, and Nicco should know better than to piss all over them by supporting McCain… because it sure as hell isn't going to help ED gain new clients.
I once saw a bumper sticker in 2004 that said "Someone else for President." I agreed with that to some degree, because at the time ANYONE would be an upgrade from Bush. But now it's not to the point of where I'm going to vote for someone because they match only some of my values but have a 60% chance of winning the presidency. If people want their elected officials to represent the values they stand for, they should not go for someone who's going to balance on the fictitious partisan fence. But that's another story…