Undersize me, please!

Does size matter?

Many Americans think so. In fact, in our great and wonderful country, big has beome synonymous with better and soon will be appearing in our friendly thesaurus. Professional athletes keep getting taller and bulkier. Fifty years ago, a professional basketball player at 6' 9" was considered tall. We now have players 7' and taller. Yao Ming, the great Chinese bgasketball player for the Houston Rockets, measures 7' 6" and weighs a whopping 260 pounds of solid muscle. When Rocky Marciano was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, he barely made 5' 10" and weighed 180 pounds. The current champion, Vitali Kitischko, measures 6' 7" and weighs around 260 pounds. When "Refrigerator" Perry was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1985, he amazed the world by weighing more than 300 pounds. He was considered the biggest lineman ever at the time. Today, he would be undersized against many pro linemen.

As Americans, we proudly announce to the world that our world-class athletes are taller, stronger and faster than ever before -- thanks to improved nutition, better healthcare, and more sophisticated training methods.

As everyday Americans, we don't just eat anymore. We supersize it.

If you happen to be an alien who linked to my Web site by mistake and don't know what supersize means, please climb into your silver spaceship with multiple jet engines and shuttle to earth to visit a McDonald's. All you need to say when you place your order is, "Supersize it." When you see the mountain of French fries, you'll understand the term.

As for me, undersize me, please. Think about all the money we'd save if we really did live in a less is more world. Do you know what a billion is? That's right, 1,000 millions. And a trillion? Right again, 1,000 billions.

It used to be that $1 million was a hefty sum. Now a scam artist like Bernard Madoff does a convoluted Ponzi scheme and cheats sophisticated investors of $65 billion or 65,000 stacks of million dollars. Did you get a hold of that number in your head? Try this one. Put in a bank at 6% simple interest, $65 billion would generate 3,900 million dollars a year. Mind boggling isn't it?

I don't need that much to live well. Do you? I'd be happy with $1 million.

Undersize me, please!

I'm counting the days till my new book is published. I thought I would offer a sneak preview and also ask your opinion along the way. If you'd like to sound off, click here. Thanks!

Judging a book by its cover

I just received the cover art for my forthcoming book, Havana: Top Secret. Like any proud father, I couldn't wait to show off my baby's picture.

This is the first in a series of mystery thrillers I've written that are set in the intriguing city of Havana, Cuba.

I'm eager to know what you think of the cover.