Personal Information and a few Interests

Welcome to my personal interests section which is new and under development. Here I will publish a few details about the various disciplines and pursuits that have captured my imagination and interest. Life is a wonderful journey. I believe we should make good use of the precious time and talents we have been given. We should look at the world around us, as well as the mysteries within us, as we seek for understanding and harmony with self. The gift of thought is more than I can bear, and I am elated in gracious joy for each moment I have in this beautiful and painful experience called life.

My Wife & Daughters

I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people in the world. I have had what seems like a never ending succession of "good luck" and fortuitous circumstances grace my life. Endless opportunities seem to avail themselves to me one after the other in the form of friendships, learning experiences, business, finance and family. Every time I trun around something good happens to me. I have had enough lucky things happen to me for 50 lifetimes, and the one event I consider greatest of all, is the meeting of my beautiful wife Rachael.

I cannot say enough fine things about my wife's character. I will say in brief that she has always been a person of the highest caliber and class. Always a dutiful and loyal daughter and sister to her parents and siblings; a clean living youth who valued her dignity above the pressures of the day; a sterling student with 4.0 grades, on the honor roles and recipient of innumerable recognitions for academic achievement; a seasoned and magnificent vocalist who is always active sharing her talents, a well balanced person physically, mentally and intellectually, and above all, as time would come to reveal that which I always suspected, a strong and devoted mother and wife. No man can have true success unless his wife is supporting his efforts one-hundred percent. My wife is such a woman; a woman of unfathomable talent and character.

My wife and I have been togeather for ten years and have two children: Sierra Rose McGill (left) and Savannah Dawn McGill (Right). My children are my greatest joy and treasure. As nature so impels those who love one another deeply, my wife and I sought our children's creation as the most meaningful fruition of our warm and tender feelings for one another. I remember in vivid detail the moment each of my darling girls were born into life’s keeping. In every way, with their births came my birth into the wisdom of my greater purposes and a christening into the bonds of a forever unity for our family.

I am a contemplative person by nature, and as it is such, there has seldom been a period of time that has gone by wherein I did not reflect back to the moments my children were born. What I remember most; having had a true lasting impact on me are two things. Of the two, what I consider most awe-inspiring was their first breath. I have thought intently about it over the years; about its profound implications on my understanding of the mysterious world around us, and ultimately about its paradoxical beauties. There I stood in each case as they came into the world, and I witnessed their very first, amazing and miraculous breath. With that breath came the animations of life and their helpless, compelling cries. The second thing that has continued to impact me is as this happened, in that instant of their springing to being, their mother and I helplessly collapsed into an embrace, and together wept tears of utter and absolute humility and joy. Each time I think about the moment of their births, it poignantly reminds me that I have, continue, and wil forever cherish each and every breath and beat of their precious hearts.

As Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), the famous Lebanese Poet, philosopher, and artist once said of children, "Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you, for life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable."

Art and Drawing

I am very interested in art of all forms. While I am an accomplished digital artist, I am but a rank amature at traditional medium art. I have been trying to teach myself how to draw and create traditional medium works but have made little progress. I have spent about thirty hours teaching myself and need to invest some real time into learning and practicing. I lack natural talent but will continue try to develop this form of creative expression. Below are a few examples of my drawings.

Precious Opals

Opals are simply astonishing creations of natural wonder and beauty. There is an almost magical spirit imbued into the cacophony of brilliant color shifts they release. I mine, collect and cut opals as a minor hobby. Below you will find a few photos of Dr. Allan W. Eckert who is one of the world's leading experts on precious opals, and myself on an opal mining expedition. I am standing there in front of the open mine where one of the world's largest opals was mined which is now in the Smithsonian museum of natural history. We were able to mine for several days in this very exclusive location. I have also included a few photos of opals found at this mine, and an interesting juxtaposition I created of a scenic opal and cosmic imagery.

An excerpt from my journal, "You will always remember the first time you hold in your hand the queen of all gemstones; a brilliant precious opal. Beauty in nature will seldom speak more clearly or boldly to you as the first moment when you peer spellbound into the magnificent luster of the opal's kaleidoscopic inferno. One must think it would be God's own vision if he held in his hand the Earth itself to gaze at the heavenly fires of her aurora borealis. Seduced, as you gaze into the opal's labyrinthine nebula of fires and color, you will know that were the expanses of the universe ever to be contained they would abide in the effulgent opal's blaze."

"Resplendent hues of unfathomable color and fire leap from its form. Your eyes and entire being will satiate with visual harmonies of color. There are greens that leave jealousy without color; greens with depths that pale rich emeralds to light jades. Opulent blends dance before you in infinite shards of light infused with a cosmos of motley infinitudes of reds, like blood red roses; deeper than any crimson, ruby oxblood red. The intense blues shift from sapphire and turquoise and cerulean to cobalt salted glass with depths like the heart of the ocean; azure visions crisp as any October sky and as sullen as the most beautiful blue eyes love's envy has ever known. It will only take one gaze, and you too will be forever in love."

Gem Cutting

I am deeply fascinated by colored gemstones. I mine, collect and cut these precious minerals. I find it very enjoyable to find a rough stone, devise a unique three-dimensional design and cutting the stone. I was trained in gem cutting by a very famous master gem cutter, but am myself only an amateur. I am fascinated by the longevity of these creations and by the inherit and imposed geometrical structures of these wonderful creations of nature.

Every gemstone is a natural work of art, each one having a distinct and separate personality. Like flowers, colored gemstones come in every hue, tone, and saturation. But unlike a flowers beauty, which fades almost instantly, the beauty of colored gemstone is nearly everlasting. Gathered from all corners of the world, every colored gemstone is a unique creation that brings with it a rich history that blends the mystery of nature with the skill of man. Throughout all civilizations, gems have held a fascination - sometimes even a legendary power over the minds of man.

In this section I have included a few photos of gemstones I have cut and will be adding more soon. I will also be creating a small section of recommended links and some information of the equipment I use.

Sculpting with Clay

Photography

Growing up, my father was a professional photographer. I have been around photography and cameras since I was a small child. I have worked with medium format, 35mm and digital. My favorite type of photography is landscape and street photography, but I want to move more into photo journalism. Here are a few samples of my work. I will be placing more online as time permits. More Photographs Here...

Programming & Computer Science

McGill has been working with digital telecommunications and content delivery since he was 10 years old when he ran and developed electronic bulletin board systems. He has 25 years of experience in the telecommunications/Internet industry working with leading edge technologies. He has worked for, supported, and written software used by hundreds of fortune 1000 companies and government agencies.

McGill has filled the role of a Chief Technology Officer for a number of cutting edge companies. He is a Researcher for INFOLOGY, the private research association of Multi-disciplinary and Theoretical Computational Studies, and is a lifetime member of the International High IQ Society.

McGill is a former engineer from industry-respected Borland International software company in Silicon Valley, where he consulted regularly with two sitting Chief Executive Officers and the Vice President of Business Development offering guidance for Borland's business strategies in the developer community. While employed at Borland, McGill had the honor of serving for a short time as the President of the Delphi Developer's Guild, whose board consisted many industry leaders. McGill was educated in computer science in the military, and is a former government-certified data systems specialist, where he worked at the Navy's top-secret hardened facility for the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) developing ancillary systems for the Department of Defense's Worldwide Military Command and Control System.

Currently, McGill's own scientific research interests cover such areas as linguistics, information management, artificial intelligence, compression, numerical theory, neural networks as applied to pattern recognition, self improving code, learning machines, complex systems and cybernetics, as well as neuroscience and perception theory as it applies to speed-reading, memory, learning and creativity.

Rare Collectibles

I am a collector of rare artifacts, natural wonders and articles of the strange and unusual. Contemplating history is one thing, but holding a piece of it in your hand is altogether more satisfying. I have listed here for your viewing a small portion of my private collection of items. More Collectibles Here...

Fractal Geometry & Natural Patterns

To understand the mysteries of life you must look around and within. You will see patterns everywhere; patterns that seem to manifest themselves over and over again. These patterns exist intertwined within nature and man bridging the gap between the enigma of self and universe. You see them in spiraling galaxies and the Mandelbrot fractal of fossilized Ammonoidea; growing from the unknown to atoms to molecules to solar systems to galaxies to the paradoxical expanses of the universe with origins and destinations unknown; just like us in birth and death.

The similarities of tree branches, rivers and blood veins. The power of cellular division and nuclear fission, the patterns of finger prints like endoplasmic reticulum, or a black opal's play of fire like the nebula of supernova. Moon shots are like protoplasmic lurches, while simple thoughts and observations of the nature around us take us beyond the unknown. The clues to the great mystery are all around us and deep within us.

Scuba Diving & Horseback Riding

As a child, we had acreage and horses. I do not get to ride as much as I would like, but there is always tomorrow. I also, spent much of my life either in or around water. Below are some photos of me diving off of the Hawaiian Islands and riding horses in Santa Cruz, California on the beaches.

Ventriloquism

When I was young, I dabbled in ventriloquism for many years. My friend had been a ventriloquist for most of his life. He first got me interested and we ended up doing dual performances together. I was never very good, at least compared to my friend. My dummy's name was Jack, and he was a handful! I have never been more embarrassed than I was when he would open his mouth. Here are a few photographs of Jack.

My Office Where I Work and Write Poetry

A Few of my Favorite Things

Other Sections Not Finished