My greatest flaw is my memory. I’d wager that it’s our greatest flaw as a species. Our inability to remember certain things. The stress and hurt and confusion that comes from those lapses in memory.

It’s because of my memory – and in spite of my memory, probably – that I found such affinity with the web: its organization, its structure, its ability to remember everything. Technology has replaced the sticky parts of our memory with a kind of semi-permanent record – a rolodex, a record collection, a calendar, a life connected by data and stored in a mythical cloud.

That’s good, right? Or are we losing something by depending on artificial knowledge like this?

The fine people at Offscreen Magazine asked me to write about something – anything – and this is what I landed on. It’s about photography. It’s about information architecture. It’s about my faulty memory. It’s about organization, its place in our life, and why it matters.

It’s one of the things I’m most proud of, too, this short essay.

You can’t read it online – not yet. When Issue 6 goes live, I’ll post “Life in Folders” for you. But out of respect for the magazine – and because, seriously, this magazine is fantastic and you should just buy it already because Nicole Jones‘ very short but very awesome thank you letter to the web is everything I’ve wanted to say for a long time – you’ll just have to purchase it or wait a bit.

It’s worth the purchase. I hope it’s worth the wait.

Writing is not inexhaustible, just as any creative skill is not inexhaustible. We can run out of words. This is a writer’s way of knowing that it’s time to stop – that nothing else is going to come of this, and that the cup of hot tea is more important than pushing the issue.

Looks like I’ve run out over the past few months.

Yet, there’s nothing that warns us about this. Call it fatigue – the fatigue that comes from writing for work and writing a column and writing about an industry – or call it blind fear – the fear that comes from making deadlines about very large projects. It’s bound to happen.

The words stop.

It’s a battle to make them start again. But they have to start somewhere.

I know. This writing about writing schtick gets tired, but it’s also how some people break out of the doldrums. When every possible post looks like an unscalable wall, the only thing that breaks through writer’s block is talking about writer’s block.

So forgive me for this writer’s block. If you’re still around, your patience will be rewarded – even if only a little bit at a time.

Over the past month, I’ve started a side project with help from the local Argus Leader called Beer I’ve Been Drinking, a more alcoholic version of the old book articles I used to write on this site. Back when I used to read books. Back when I used to read anything, really.

An excerpt from my most recent article about Autumn Brew Review:

Surly Brewing’s line is a two-headed snake, one serving a combination of standard drafts and old favorites, while the other releases special offerings every hour. I skipped their lines the first few times I walked by because I don’t hate myself enough to spend a half hour staring at the back of some guy’s Schell’s hat, but since I now realize I might miss out on the always popular fresh-hopped Surly Wet, I take a chance.

The line’s running smooth. It’s fast. I got some Wet (it is wonderful) and now find myself in the second line, where I finally get to try Surly’s yearly numerical-themed big beer, SŸX. SŸX is also wonderful, except now I’m saying “wonderful” like someone might offhandedly say “sure” to a new car or a million dollars. Syx is beyond wonderful. It’s complex, tart and delicious.

At the Great Lakes booth, I sample the Rye of the Tiger – a rye beer that’s classy and fresh. I love it. It’s getting hot, and I’m impatient. I want to try something they’re tapping at 2:00, so I jokingly ask the guy behind the booth if he could tap it a bit early. He reminds me that the festival’s only been going for 50 minutes.

I realize what this means. I go look for some food.

Between that and a recent design refresh and addition of media queries to make this site look much better on mobile devices, the word flow has been quieted. That will change.

Until then, read about beer. I like to drink it, but I like to write about it even more. For now.