Porn Valley- [Wirednews.com]- Sex-tech engineer Kyle Machulis has been dropping hints about what he’s been building and what he soon plans to do with it in public. At least two new sex machines will be on display at the Adult Entertainment Expo, http://blog.wired.com/sex/2006/12/a_few_things_we.html along with the usual assortment of gadgets.

I know you’re out there inventing things, too. Last week’s column inspired a few readers to share their homemade masturbation toys with me. (Stay tuned; I’ll be blogging those, with their permission, next week.)

Creating sex props is not new, but being able to reveal your creations to all of creation is. And bringing that stuff out from under the bed, sharing our creativity about what gives us pleasure, is a powerful way to help each other realize we’re not alone in our desires. And when we realize we’re not alone, isn’t that when the understanding begins and the fear lessens?

I want 2007 to be the year when the populace put its beautifully pedicured foot down and says, “That’s it, no more panicked television hosts whipping up furor about What Everyone Else Is Doing (and How Can We Stop Them)?” I’m hoping in 2007, no one will really care What Everyone Else Is Doing as long as it’s informed, consensual and they aren’t hurting anyone else.

Even if it involves the internet, a cell phone or a manatee costume.

In 2007, I want to see greater compassion for those who hold different viewpoints about sex — in every direction. Can we build bridges between those who share “San Francisco values,” which Violet Blue so elegantly describes in her Open Source Sex column, and those who don’t? Between people who think bonk-chica-bow-bow ringtones are hilarious and those who think they’re Satan’s siren call?

OK, maybe not bridges, except for the kind that one lowers to allow friends to cross the moat. But how about tolerance? Or maybe just a willingness to ignore each other for a while — a consensual timeout — and see what happens when we focus our energies on more important projects than molding other people’s sex lives to fit our own?

Several erotic games and virtual worlds are scheduled for launch in 2007. This is an opportunity for curious souls to take that plunge into the realm of the adult internet and enter a period of sexual self-discovery. These immersive environments can help us learn what we want in our relationships, and what we don’t; and if we refuse to succumb to the lure of excess drama, we can reap the benefits without breaking our hearts.

And I want to join more conversations in which we open our minds to the vast spectrum of human relationships, and start developing vocabulary to describe the range of our connections. If the internet teaches you anything, it’s that “online buddy” and “just friends” and “Second Life spouse” are among the least adequate phrases in the English language for describing what someone means to you.

As one of my more Boolean friends says, “I think it will be a huge breakthrough when we start changing from OR to AND. So that we stop deciding whether Jim is gay or straight. Whether Sally is a friend or a lover.” It’s all a continuum, and the internet has certainly been a catalyst for moving people around in the continuum in ways they never expected.

After all, they were just logging on to search for free porn. Right?

Honestly, I don’t know why I’m feeling so optimistic about the new year. I’ve just started reading Marty Klein’s latest book, America’s War on Sex, which so far is brilliant and looks to remain so ’til the end; but a basis for “oh yay it’s going to be a good year for sex ” it is not.

Or maybe it is. Maybe the book’s existence marks a turning point. Maybe what I am sensing is the beginning of lightening up.

Certainly I would not be surprised if more tolerant sexual attitudes filter into the culture from technology. Where else are they going to come from, if not us?

If it weren’t for geeks, we’d still be looking for Dad’s girly magazines in the bottom of his sock drawer. We’d still think that Vaseline is lube, and we’d never be able to bring one another to orgasm across 3,000 miles of land and sea.

Speaking of which. Today is Global Orgasm Day, which may or may not be a hoax but is certainly a good idea. I think this is a wonderful way to mark the last Sex Drive column of 2006, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to slip out and do my part for a more peaceful, accepting world.

And then let’s get to work and start shifting some paradigms.