Now you all see just why I was so very upset about Securom and mandatory internet validation for a single player game.
This is the problem we all will have years from now when we want to play Spore for nostalgia, or to show someone what was, or just because we want to. Provided we haven't used up our three installs, and provided that there is even a server left to validate.
This is wrong. Incredibly wrong.
The problems you are having now are only the beginning; this is not a 'slippery slope' but a direct path to a near future where what you own can be shut down on a whim, taken away on a whim, blocked or kept from you on a whim, and you will have no say, no recourse, and no way to even complain about it. In short, you are already only a walking, helpless wallet from which money can be taken, not a valued customer who needs to be respected and provided with working product.
This is why they call you a 'Sporon'. Portmanteau word. Spore + Moron = 'Sporon'. This is your status, your place. Know it.
Welcome to Electronic Arts' vision of a secure Securom future. You will be seeing more of this. A lot more.
Get used to it, submit and shut up, or fight it. Whatever you do, this is what is happening.