Monthly Archives: November 2010

computers, life in general

Saving Streaming Video

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Most of us have probably seen videos on YouTube that we wish we could save to our computers. I’ve also seen streaming bondage videos on other sites and wished I could save them. Well, probably the owners of these sites don’t want you to do that, and I’m not advocating any questionable behavior (I would never do that!), but actually in most cases it can usually be done with a minimum of hassle. If you’re on YouTube, for example, usually all you need to do is make sure that the entire video buffers completely (make sure that little shaded red bar at the bottom extends all the way over to the right). Then if you’re using Windows Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Browsing History > Settings > View Files. Clicking on “View Files” will open up a window showing you all those temporary files that get downloaded when you surf the web. Make sure the files are listed by “Last Accessed” (check out those tabs along the top of the page if you need to) and look for a recent file that is relatively large in size. YouTube videos often start with the word “videoplayback?” and then a bunch of letters and numbers. Just right click on the file and go to “copy.” Then using Windows Explorer go to a folder on your computer where you store your ever-growing collection of bondage videos and right click and “paste.” Then you’ll have to right click on the file and go to “rename” and change the file’s file name extension to .wmv and you should have it.

I probably shouldn’t be discussing how to do all this, although with a quick Google search you could find out the same thing on numerous sites. I just think it’s always a little ridiculous when a site is set up so that you can’t save pictures or videos. If it’s on the web there’s a way to save it. Now for a shameless plug, I have a very small Clips4Sale Streaming Video Site, and really I would recommend that if anyone joins it they should definitely go to the trouble of saving the videos that are there, as I’ve always felt that if you can view something, and especially if you’re paying to view it, you should be able to save it. Of course, a much more cost-effective option would be to just join the main site, where you can download all the videos and many more and all my still pictures too. But I know a lot of people do like Clips4Sale. I sometimes even buy things there myself from other producers whom I like a lot.

Fetlife has also recently set up their site so that you can no longer download the pictures that people upload onto their profiles. This shouldn’t stop anyone. If I absolutely have to have a picture, I just use Firefox and go to Tools > Page Info > Media and there you have a listing of all the elements on the page, with options to save any of them. I know there’s also a quick javascript fix to disable the “no right clicking save as function” but I haven’t figured it out yet. If anyone knows that solution, feel free to leave a comment. I’ve read a few descriptions online but they weren’t easy to follow.

So, again, I’m not encouraging anyone to do anything “wrong” but there are ways around these limitations if you choose to go there.

life in general, websites

Social Networking Sites

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I almost feel sorry for the folks at MySpace, what with their recent redesign of the site, which frankly is completely unextraordinary and still as slow and sluggish as it’s ever been. I only log on there a few times a month to quickly answer some emails and click on friend requests, but it’s always an exercise in frustration. You click on something and the site churns away for ten seconds before it replies. Facebook, while it has its own negatives (and the recent David Fincher movie is fabulous!), does seem to be much peppier and responsive.

My favorite is still Fetlife, which has become THE site for kinksters. There’s another one that I also feel sorry for, MyDungeonSpace, which has just been blown away by Fetlife, with good reason – not to be rude, but it is stunning in its lameness. Then there’s Alt.com (where I actually met a very close friend) and Bondage.com (rarely ever check it anymore) and CollarMe. I’m on almost all of these sites, except CollarMe, but Fetlife is the one I use the most. If you’d like to look me up on any of them just search for Sandra Gibbons or my old kitty_friend_99 (I think I use that on ALT but my profile may be turned off at the moment – Yeah, I check it that often). They’re all major time wasters but we seem to be stuck with ’em. You won’t however ever find me playing “Farmville” on Facebook. Even I have my limits ;-)

life in general, los angeles

Pics from L.A. Visit

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I had several fun photoshoots during my recent visit to L.A., including a few with my friend Chainguy. Here are a few preview images of things that will be showing up on the site in the future (sometimes it takes a while, since I’ve been shooting so much lately!) There are also a couple shots of two cute new girls on the site – my friends Nina being handgagged and Kaitlynn in a frame from some HD video that we shot. I had a great time shooting with both of them and hope we’ll have a chance to do it again on a future visit. Enjoy!

life in general, los angeles, music

Back to Denver

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I had a delightful time in L.A. and hope to be back in the springtime, if not before. I had several photoshoots and even shot with two cute new girls, Nina and Kaitlynn, who’ll be appearing on the site in the weeks ahead. Last night I went to the Threshold Munch and had a really nice time dining with friends from the club. It’s funny, now that I no longer live in L.A. I sure do appreciate it a lot more, though the place can still be a hassle at times. I could almost picture living here again someday though it’s really the kind of big city where you’d want to be making a six figure income to really make it work. All in all though the visit was a total success and far more enjoyable than I expected. My friend has a pleasant house in the Valley in a good neighborhood, which made it very comfortable and easy. I tend to spend most of my time in the San Fernando Valley, where the clubs I like are located, and although some parts of the Valley can be pretty tired and sketchy it’s generally a bit nicer than where I used to live in L.A. proper.

So I’m just hanging out at the airport, and when I get home it’s back to the computer and editing some new pictures and videos, and a real winter coming up just around the corner.

life in general, los angeles

Last Weekend in L.A.

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It turned out that Skid Row wasn’t so bad after all. I met Heather down at a friend’s loft, which turned out to be a super-cool place with a white leather sofa and we got some really nice pictures. It was weird that down below on the street there were probably two hundred people on the nearby sidewalks camping out in tents and boxes and sleeping bags. They estimate about 8000 to 10,000 homeless people in the area. Not to get into a political rant but I always wonder what’s so offensive about public housing in this country. We just have that cruel “You’re on your own, suckah!” mentality here. Wish we were more like the Scandanavian countries but it ain’t never gonna happen. But not to get into that, the shoot was lots of fun and afterwards we went up to the roof and enjoyed the fabulous view of the downtown L.A. skyline which was right there before our eyes. It was really a memorable moment all lit up like that.

I’ve got the Club Fantasy party tomorrow night and probably three more shoots over the weekend and then it’s back to Denver on Tuesday. It’s probably getting to be time to leave but it’ll be hard saying goodbye to friends again. I’ll have to come back again maybe in the spring.

life in general, los angeles

More Shooting in L.A.

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I’ve been having a really nice time here visiting in L.A. and did another fun shoot with Chainguy and a couple friends yesterday lounging out by a friend’s swimming pool. I’ll try to post a few preview shots when I get back to my desktop computer in Denver next week.

I also got to go back to The Oxwood Inn for Club Shine last Saturday, and it was really nice to see so many familiar faces. We got boxed in with parking though so had to stay much longer past when it was fun anymore. As I’ve written before I have the kind of personality where I get overly stimulated very easily, so after an hour and a half at a club I’ve usually had enough. When I have to stay till closing time it can get pretty miserable.

This evening I’m off to shoot some pictures of another CD girl, Heather Cross, whom I’ve known for years. It looks like we have access to an office in downtown L.A. to shoot in, and I just looked it up on Mapquest and apparently it’s right in the heart of Skid Row, also known as The Nickel. Yikes – wish me luck! This sure ain’t Colorado anymore…