Unbelievably, only 46 of 72 people turned in projects for round 1 of Battlefield: Glass III. I reckon that a bunch of newcomers just couldn't handle the requirements.

Voting for this round lasts through Friday so I hope you'll stop by and cast for the big animals crackers box! They won't show names of who made each one until after voting, but it's obvious to me in some cases which projects were built by returning competitors from last year.

Mine got done at the last minute but came out okay I think. Seems to me that there are plenty of worse ones. So how did my predictions turn out compared to the entries? Not too far off, in most cases, except for the number of people not turning anything in at all. But my predictions were based on many more people turning in something on time.

Two people chopped up their camels completely (I guessed only one would), but in both cases came up with a great use for the bits when they did.

No really wacko ideas in this round -- I'd say the pyramid hour glass is the strangest, but not out of place because of all the other pyramids in the various entries.

Certainly a lot of people went with Egyptian and desert themes. I have to admit never having thought of using the filigree for palm tree leaves. Most of those who did so used them well, but some didn't.

Two or three projects did use the filigree angel wings as angel wings AND the camel as a camel AND the jewel as a sun or star: completely unoriginal, don't you agree?

The one person who did the big mosaic egg reports spending $276 and 238 hours to put together 1,900 pieces of glass, plus other components. That's stunning. I hope he/she likes the egg enough to make it worthwhile.

Of all the projects in this contest, I'd say I like #31, the ark, best of all. #36 the kaleidescope / pyramid ranks way up there, as does #35, the mirror, as entries I simply like.