There’s a new technology on the market. Imagine a touch screen tablet with keyboard buttons that pop up on command and then disappear just as fast. Well stop imagining. Tactus, a Silicon Valley startup company has made such a thing. Here’s the June 11, 2012 story and here’s the story from the demonstrations at the recent CES convention in Las Vegas.

It uses a technology called microfluidics, and that’s all I know about it. It’s being referred to as “the tablet that turns itself lumpy,” probably the worst possible way to describe it. Lumpy? That’s a 50-year-old technophobic editor speaking, right there. The one who can’t get his iPhone to put all the things into one folder thingy. But it’s cool technology, nonetheless.

I remember when touchscreens started getting popular, and now they’re mainstream. And when Minority Report came out, with Tom Cruise, he put on those gloves and moved windows around on clear computer screens. That happens now, too, but we don’t need the gloves. And in Total Recall (the first one) when Arnold sits down and the newspaper is just a digital tablet-like device, THAT’S NOW! Man, I’ve got to start re-watching those ’70s and ’80s sci-fi flicks. Otherwise I’ll be left wishing I had three hands, baby.

It’s great that the Marin County Kumbaya Patrol is ready to talk about gun control, and even better that they’ve been ready for quite some time now.
Still, now that the entity that sprang full-formed from the brain of Jon Stewart is a Facebook page, perhaps it could turn its attention to some issues closer to home. True, the hot-tub lovin’ mecca of open space and naked people is always chock-full of love, except when it’s not. Here are four local issues that could use some kumbaya.

1. Stop the Lawsuits!
Central Marin Sanitation Agency and Ross Valley Sanitary District have waged costly legal battles with each other, despite multiple grand jury reports on the pair’s disfunction. The latter has also been associated with a million-gallon sewage spill, an EPA investigation, claims of eco-terrorism, allegation of mismanaged housing dollars and a blog called “Ross Valley Sewer Truth.”

2. Do Something About Eldercare
All you need to start cashing in on the eldercare industry in California is a business license, and in the elderly county, this industry is veering out of control.

3. Address Affordable Housing
We’ve said it before: According to Marin Community Foundation, 60 percent of the workforce commutes in. Of course, someone brought up the helpful point to the New York Times—upping the county’s supply of low income units could turn Marin into Syria.

4. Talk About Domestic Violence
The wealthy county’s number one violent crime, this often-underreported resulted in 800 calls to police, 2,500 calls to local hotlines and 2 deaths in 2009, according to a 2010 Grand Jury report.

Last fall, we covered the debut of The Silent History, an innovative, “new kind of novel” created by a team that includes former managing editor of McSweeney’s (and part-time Forestville resident) Eli Horowitz and Russell Quinn, a talented software developer and designer who lives in Cazadero. A serialized digital storytelling project, designed specifically for the iPhone and iPad, that project has the potential to redefine storytelling as we know it. It’s also addictive, well-written and entertaining.

Eli Horowitz was interviewed last week over at Other People With Brad Listi. This is one of my favorite literary podcasts. Hosted by Brad Listi, founder and publisher of The Nervous Breakdown, at its best, the show sheds insight into the creative process and lives of writers and editors who fall between the traditional margins of literature. The interview with Horowitz should be a good one!

An overflowing lobby surprised Sonoma County administrators last night at the public forum convened by Rep. Mike Thompson (D—St. Helena) at the County Supervisor’s Chambers. Dozens spoke on both sides of the argument, both for tighter gun laws and calling for more guns for protection. Thompson was recently called upon to head a panel of 12 fellow Democrats called the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. Today, Marin County’s District Attorney weighed in with his thoughts on the matter.

In response to the Sandy Hook shooting, Marin County announced a gun buyback program taking place on January 15 and 21. “ I personally believe we are a society with too many guns simply sitting in garages, closets, drawers and who knows where else,” says Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian in a press release. “Let’s take a step to reduce the total number of these weapons.”

Residents of Sonoma County are invited to participate in the program as well, which doles out $200 for each operable semi-automatic gun and $100 for anything else. This is a “no questions asked” policy, according to the DA’s office, and no police investigations will be launched as a result of someone turning in a gun.

Guns can be turned in January 15 between 11am and 8pm at: Novato Police Department, 909 Machin Avenue, Novato; San Rafael Police Department, 1400 Fifth Avenue, San Rafael; Larkspur police facility of the Central Marin Police Authority, 250 Doherty Drive, Larkspur; St. Andrew’s Church, 101 Donahue, Marin City; and Pt. Reyes Substation of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, 101 4th Street, Pt. Reyes. Guns should not be loaded when turned in. Locations for the January 21 buyback are San Rafael and Mill Valley (1 Hamilton Drive, Mill Valley) police departments between 11am and 8pm.

Marin County has committed $10,000 to this program, with additional funds coming from the Marin Community Foundation ($20,000) and the community at large donating another $10,000 to the Marin County DA’s office.

The dates were chosen to commemorate the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., one being on the day of his birth and one being on the calendar-observed holiday honoring him. A victim of gun violence himself, Dr. King was a ceaseless advocate of peaceful protest, decrying the use of violence for any purpose.

The most mind-boggling quote from the Press Democrat’s story on last night’s forum had to be this: “Children need to know how to protect themselves,” reportedly spoken by a self-described grandmother and National Rifle Association recruiter, saying the NRA already teaches gun safety to children. It’s hard to imagine a lack of guffaws from the North Bay crowd after that comment.

The Santa Rosa City Council announced yesterday that in addition to accepting open applications for a vacant council seat, it will offer city residents the opportunity to submit their own possible questions for city council interviews, scheduled to take place on Jan. 28.

In the spirit of civic participation, here are five possible questions for the Council’s consideration:

1. If the Sonoma County Economic Development Board weighs in favorably regarding the economic effect of Russian River Brewing Co.’s Pliny the Younger on downtown Santa Rosa, would you be willing to replace the water in every public fountain with beer?

2. If Guy Fieri offered the City of Santa Rosa $1 million to erect a 50-foot, blazing yellow statue of himself cooking up a batch of Rockin’ Lava Shrimp underneath a banner that says “WELCOME TO FLAVOR TOWN” in middle of Courtyard Square, would you vote “aye” faster than Fieri can chow down an order of PBR Pig Stix, or would you tell the man to go jump in a vat of Donkey Sauce?

3. When passing by the mall, what makes your sadder? That ill-sighted city planning allowed the creation of a brick behemoth cutting off one part of downtown from the other without an easy thoroughfare for pedestrians and bicyclists, or the fact that never again will you be able to pile food on your plate from the Fresh Choice buffet and wash it all down with an old-school Orange Julius?

4. If you had to choose to see one of these items blown up for the sake of raising city tax dollars, which would it be? a) Every Peanuts statue between Fourth Street and Steele Lane. b) The Cyclisk crushed bicycle obelisk on Santa Rosa Ave. c) The Measure O baseline funding levels. d) The hand statue in front of the mall.

5. Walmart Neighborhood Market—a terrific solution to the food desert issue on Santa Rosa Ave., or the worst idea to come along since the Press Democrat begin allowing unmoderated online comments?

Interested in submitting your own questions? The deadline to submit questions is 5:30pm on Tuesday, January 22, 2013. Questions may be submitted in person to the City Clerk’s Office located at 100 Santa Rosa Ave. Room 10, or by emailing them to ci*******@****ty.org.

For more information, contact the City Clerk’s office at 707.543.3015 or ci*******@****ty.org.