MASTERMIND FIELD TRIP - NAP of the AMERICAS

Last night 5 members of our newly formed Mastermind Group took a quick trip to Miami to attend an event at the amazing NAP of the Americas. I perosnally haven't been there for several years and was quite impressed with how well it has developed staying on the leading edge of technology. I was on the original Information Technology Task Force committee charged with making the NAP a reality. It was a different time (1999-2000) when all thing seemed possible until the infamous "Tech Bubble" burst killing many dreams and stalling many professional lives. The NAP, however, emerged from the rubble managing to navigate the pitfalls that befell many other enterprising projects.
Anyway, our group had a great time first sitting in on an eForensics Roundtable which was both interesting and humorous at times. The highlight of the evening was the tour we took of the facility which was met with a lot of "oohs and aahs" as we traveled from room to room staring starry eyed at the beauty of this technological marvel we were witnessing. I must admit that I did feel a tinge of pride as I reflected on the many meeting we had with the "tech retards" we were challenged to educate on the what a NAP was and why should one be built in South Florida. Whatever adversity we met with was very much worth it as I now stood within its walls.
The secondary benefit of the evening was that I got to bond and share this experience with my fellow Masterminders who were now rapidly becoming my friends. During a few quiet moments on the way home I felt a renewed sense of purpose and vowed to myself to continue to fight for recruiting the best and brightest minds I can find to add to the Group. In addition I also felt even more responsible for not letting our present members slip on their initial commitment they made when joining the Group for my experience has taught me that if they do they then become a cancer that must be removed. Sometimes I need to look upon these responsibilities as "tough love" as it is that rationale that allows me to be OK with making hard choices which sometime makes me the bad guy.
All that aside, I had a great time and look forward to more like it!