I was standing in the Species front office futzing around with an electrical connector from the video studio next door and trying hard not to accept the fact that I can no longer see things up close. I know... I know... I need to wear glasses.

Dave walked in the door at the far end of the office. As he came up to me he realized my plight and made some crack about how far away I have to hold something in order to see it.  For some reason, my advancing age and the foibles that come along with it - such as blindness - are a constant source of amusement for the Whack Pack.  Dave shot me that 4 x6 grin of a car salesman and he said, "you need glasses."

Free weights aren't the only thing that's hardcore....

Some compare him to Phil "The Gift"; some are just in awe.  Others can't understand why Roelly Winklaar is not in the top row.  Most of us never saw him before and don't know who the hell he is.  The latter notwithstanding, the other rants are common in big bodybuilding shows about any number of competitors who seem like they didn't get a good enough look or don't get compared to those who undeservedly finished well above them.  This is sometimes blamed on the pregame hype that usually focuses on a the few guys who placed well at the last show, or who hold a title or two, and of course, the rumors that fly before each show about the guys we "hear" are looking "incredible".

Steve Weinberger just called to tell me there's an update to the IFBB Pro Card allotments at this year's Optimum Nutrition NPC Team Universe Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini Championships and Met-RX National Fitness Championships.  This year's event will be held on September 18-19, 2009 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, in the best damn city in the world (NYC).

Welcome to the first in a series where we take a closer look at steroids and peptides via an exclusive series of interviews with one of the head scientists at a major production laboratory.

First in line is Human Growth Hormone.....

So, first of all, why is Growth Hormone such an attractive drug to bodybuilders?

I know I bitched a lot about the heat and humidity and the mosquitoes.  Yes, the conditions could have a been a bit more comfortable, but I have to say that the landscape was about as beautiful as it gets.  I couldn't imagine a more serene a and picturesque place.  During the dry season, the falls are but a ribbon that flows rather uneventfully.  This time of year it was a thundering monstrosity. By the time the water hit the deck 2,700 feet below, it had crashed and bashed against the rock face enough to turn most of it to mist, which would blow sometimes for miles downwind.   Below the main falls, the water that hadn't been atomized into mist flowed over several smaller falls, and sometimes into a small lagoon.