Though consoles have their Red Rings of Death and Wiimote straps breaking and Playstation Home, there’s really a special sort of hell that PC gamers go through.

My video card fan had been making weird noises for a week – louder than usual. It sounded like maybe the fan was loose, scraping the housing. Whatever it was, the thing started quitting for a few seconds at a time yesterday and that’s never good news.

So I ordered a new one on Newegg and it will be here on Monday morning. Until then, I have my netbook which means I can still do the important things – write, use Facebook, chat on IRC and, of course, plan.

1) The Decade series has not been forgotten, but Bruce Geryk is a little slow at this for obvious reasons. Since we still have 2010 and I’m not exactly married to the calendar, you are all likely more anxious than I am about getting it done. Could I just continue with me and Rob Zacny? Sure, but Bruce has chosen some really interesting games that I want to see written up. So I ask for your patience. There will be a podcast episode about the series once it is complete, as well.

2) Beginning in 2010, my book/film column for Crispy Gamer, Print Screen, will be on hiatus. Not enough traffic to justify the cost, so I understand the decision. Maybe sometime in the future we can try it again either back at CG or at another site. So you may see more stuff on those topics on this blog, since I’ve gotten hooked on to the whole idea. And these Dragon Age books aren’t half bad.

3) While I’ve been building TMA, the podcast has almost overwhelmed this blog, which I regret. Rob Zacny and I were chatting last night, and we agreed that this seems to be the pattern with podcasts. There will be more blogging, though. There’s a Russian RTS about the Afghan War that could probably keep me going for weeks.

4) Speaking of the podcast, I’m starting to plan it more weeks in advance so that everyone can be on board with what we are talking about. TMA is still very much a living document, so any changes or ideas you might have are appreciated. We have some exciting and interesting topics coming up. 2010 will be a big year for strategy gaming, I think, if only anyone paid attention to it.

5) Most importantly, expect a site redesign some time over the next few weeks. I’m a good enough critic to recognize ugliness when I see it, and my mess of banners, ads, icons and links has reached the point where I can’t even stand the look of my front page. I’m also wise enough to know that I can’t make it look good, so I have given a friend admin access so she can try to fix it – for a fee. (Always pay your friends.) If you come here and it looks like a storefront for the Toronto Maple Leafs, you can blame her.