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Who Is Lorem Ipsum Anyway?

The Monster of the Blank Page!

  Lorem Ipsum was a once-brilliant Latin scholar, who went to the dark side and became the scourge of all who must write... he's the monster that inhabits every document template until you vanquish him with actual content.

 

     He haunts the lives of web designers, programmers, website owners, bloggers and business people, bringing with him the horrifying reality that no matter how colorful the website... no matter how good the company’s product or how relevant their message...      you have to get rid of him first.

 

     But as soon as you think you've removed him from your screen, a cold lonely chill envelops you. The wind howls with malevolence, through twisted tree-letters and punctuation-shaped shrubs that refuse to make sense of themselves. You’re doomed.

     You'll die a lonely, miserable death, desperate to come up with the words to fill the blank white prison around you. As the deadline for your project marches toward you with demented glee, the thunderous laugh of Lorem Ipsum taunts you from within the hellish depths of the computer screen.

 

     Don't you wish somebody could
        KILL this bastard for you? *

 

* Contact Us 

Who is This Guy?... Part 2: Aviation

Who is THIS guy and how did he ever get to be 47 years old? :: Yours truly holding his first radio controlled model airplane, the Lanier Cessna, circa 1975. Model airplane historians will note the MRC 5 channel radio on the old 'Orange and White' frequency, 72.400 mHz. Fox .25RC power. A lifetime of thanks to my first R/C flying instructor, Colby Evett at Evett's Model Shop in Santa Monica, CA.
The greatest gift of my life was my dear mother Ruth Berle allowing me to pursue my love of flying. From the earliest age, she got me every book on airplanes that I could point to in the bookstore. I got just about any and every model airplane, from rubber band wind-up toys to giant radio controlled gas-powered model planes. Through these incredible gifts, I started learning everything about airplanes at a young age. Being able to identify nearly any aircraft in existence as a kid, then learning how to build and fly models, then learning how to build them and fly them better… the hook was set.

For my 13th birthday, that "showbiz privilege" thing was finally put to a good use. Dad had been one of the stars of the movie “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World”, with movie stunt pilot Frank Tallman. Mom and Dad arranged for me to take a flight with Tallman in any one of his famous “Movieland of the Air” collection of planes! Having just seen the movie “30 Seconds Over Tokyo”, I chose Tallman’s B-25 bomber for the flight. We took off from Orange County Airport (now John Wayne International) for a 30 minute flight that changed my life forever.

Thanks to my parents having the means to provide it, and their generosity of not making me wait or work for it, flying lessons started at age 14 at Gunnell Aviation in Santa Monica. Mom was 100% right, it was a wise investment that kept me out of all the mischief so many others in my 'showbiz-offspring' world got into.
The First of Many :: This is the first aircraft I owned, a Schempp-Hirth HS-7 'Mini-Nimbus' racing sailplane N824T contest number VB, taken at California City airport, circa 1982

Visiting my father in Las Vegas when he headlined the casino showrooms in 1979, I borrowed a casino pit boss' car and took an introductory flight in an un-powered glider at nearby Boulder City airport. Another part of me was set in stone forever on that day. At 19, I managed to talk my parents into helping me acquire a glider of my own.

 

 

Minden ! :: This is my brand new AS-W20 BL at the greatest soaring site in the world... Minden, Nevada... in 1986. I was competing in the first Sports Class Nationals... I placed 9th

My aviation adventures kicked into high gear flying the gliders, where I soon flew in regional and national competitions, set two US National speed records, and placed in the top ten of a US National championship. Another speed/distance record was barely missed after flying well over 600 miles on only the power of the sun and wind. A tragic hangar fire at Barstow in 1987 destroyed my plane, ending the most magical era of my life. (You can slog through my early poetry about soaring and flying, CLICK HERE)

Air Racing in Albuquerque :: Flying the Formula One racer #81 Boo Ray at the 1988 Albuquerque Air Races, held at the then-brand new Double Eagle airport about 15 miles west of the city. Your intrepid author in a military surplus store fireproof flight suit on the left, with crew chief Rob Baker on the right.

Using the insurance settlement money from the sailplane fire, I purchased two powered airplanes and a small powered “Formula One” pylon racing aircraft. This little “midget racer” took me to the famous Reno Air Races, speeding around a closed course at nearly 250 miles an hour less than 50 feet above the ground! My air-racing career ended in 1990 (due to the end of an era in my family life).


Since 1990, I’ve owned approximately a dozen small aircraft, enjoying some incredible adventures along the way. Experience with 60 year old antique airplanes, homebuilt hotrod single-seaters, and funky British artillery spotter planes have all become cherished memories. (for my Aviation Adventure Stories, CLICK HERE)

 

I’m proud to report that I’ve passed on the gift of flight to others as part of the EAA Young Eagles program, an incredible success story that’s making sure there is a next generation of private pilots. ( CLICK HERE for more information on the EAA Young Eagles program )

CLICK HERE for Part 3: Family