Jordan McGilvray

Building Systems That Empower Minds and Machines with Clarity, Purpose, and Craftsmanship.


Contents:

I’m Jordan McGilvray, a Linux systems engineer, technical writer, and digital craftsman who builds systems designed to be clear, reliable, and useful. By day, I support enterprise storage infrastructure, managing 65–80 support interactions daily while helping customers prepare for upgrades, navigate maintenance, and resolve complex technical problems. Outside of work, I maintain self-hosted services, experiment with networking and amateur radio, publish long-form resources, and create tools that help both machines and people work better.

I created the Middle-Way Method, a personal planning framework that combines systems thinking with intentional living. Through it, I write long-form articles, develop printable toolkits, and design practical frameworks for moving from purpose to projects, goals, and daily action. The project brings together instructional writing, information architecture, publishing, visual design, and the belief that a useful system should adapt to the person using it.

Whether it’s a terminal prompt, a worksheet layout, a radio signal, or a looping lowercase “l,” I believe good design should be both useful and beautiful. I care about doing things thoughtfully rather than flashily—whether I’m building Linux infrastructure, reviving a telnet BBS, refining a publishing workflow, or tuning a .htaccess file until every redirect behaves properly.

Highlights

What I Do

Technology has always been more than a career for me—it’s a craft. I enjoy understanding how complex systems fit together, then refining them until they become simpler, more reliable, and easier for others to use. That philosophy carries through everything I build, from Linux infrastructure and self-hosted services to publishing workflows, educational resources, amateur radio projects, and classic bulletin board systems. I approach each project with the same goal: reducing unnecessary complexity while creating solutions that are practical, maintainable, and genuinely useful. Different technologies, same goal: building systems with clarity, purpose, and craftsmanship that continue to provide value long after they are first built.

Linux Infrastructure & Systems

I build, maintain, troubleshoot, and document systems ranging from enterprise storage environments to self-hosted Linux services.

My current technical work includes:

Automation & Workflow

I use scripting and carefully designed workflows to reduce repetitive work, improve consistency, and make systems easier to maintain.

My automation work includes:

The Middle-Way Method

I created the Middle-Way Method, a synthesis of top-down and bottom-up planning that helps people connect who they are with what they do.

The method combines introspection with practical execution through mission and vision statements, projects, goals, tasks, journaling, regular reviews, and personally designed systems. It is supported by an expanding library of articles, printable worksheets, toolkits, and long-form resources.

Writing & Publishing

I research, write, edit, design, and publish long-form material for both technical readers and people interested in personal development.

My publishing workflow uses:

Skills

My work blends infrastructure support, Linux administration, technical communication, publishing, and systems design.

Linux Systems & Infrastructure

Networking & Security

Web & Email Infrastructure

Automation & Development

Web Publishing & SEO

Content Design & Publishing

Support & Communication

Professional Experience

Technical Support Engineer

Dell Technologies – DellEMC
July 2017 – Present

Server Professional

Bluehost
July 2012 – June 2017

XML Editor

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
January 2010 – March 2012

HomeLab Infrastructure

Internet │ ▼ Fiber Media Converter │ ▼ OPNSense Router │ │ │ ▼ │ Isolated Work LAN ▼ OpenWRT │ ┌──────────┼──────────┐ │ │ │ ▼ ▼ ▼ Main PC Wireless Powerline Network Link │ ▼ Managed Switch │ ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐ │ │ │ ▼ ▼ ▼ Jellyfin Printer Additional Server Endpoints


A modular, multi-network homelab used for practical experimentation with Linux, routing, firewall policy, self-hosting, network segmentation, and infrastructure design.

The network is built around an OPNSense firewall, OpenWRT, managed switching, wireless access points, Ethernet-over-power connectivity, Linux servers, and isolated network segments. It serves as a working environment for testing security policies, documenting network changes, deploying services, monitoring behavior, and planning future VLAN, VPN, and IoT segmentation.

Skills demonstrated: Network architecture, Linux administration, firewall management, traffic isolation, documentation, monitoring, and systems planning.

Web & Email Infrastructure

A self-managed Debian 12 VPS running ISPConfig, Apache, Postfix, Dovecot, BIND, Rspamd, ClamAV, NextCloud, Fail2ban, UFW, Jailkit, and Pure-FTPd.

The server hosts multiple domains and provides web hosting, email, DNS, SSL certificates, spam filtering, malware scanning, file services, and cloud storage. It also supports Jekyll-deployed static websites with canonical URLs, XML sitemaps, JSON-LD structured data, and managed redirects.

Administrative work includes security hardening, service configuration, log review, backups, upgrade planning, troubleshooting, and scripted maintenance.

Skills demonstrated: Linux server administration, web hosting, email infrastructure, DNS, security hardening, technical SEO, scripting, and service integration.

Cyber Sword BBS

Cyber Sword BBS is a Linux-hosted Synchronet bulletin board system built to preserve classic online culture while extending it through modern infrastructure.

The system includes message areas, file libraries, classic DOS door games, locally hosted doors, Linux and Unix shell games, and Z-Code interactive fiction with per-user saves. Classic programs are integrated through DOSEMU2 and custom wrappers, allowing software designed for older environments to operate within a modern Linux-hosted BBS.

The project also includes menu design, ANSI and text interfaces, scripting, automation, service management, remote access, and long-term preservation of classic computing experiences.

Skills demonstrated: Linux administration, Synchronet configuration, DOSEMU2 integration, scripting, networking, service management, interface design, and software preservation.

The Middle-Way Method

The Middle-Way Method is a personal planning and self-development framework combining systems thinking, structured reflection, and practical execution.

The project includes more than 120 published articles, printable worksheets, multi-part toolkits, long-form guides, and an ebook. Resources are written and designed to help people connect personal values and purpose with projects, goals, tasks, reviews, and daily action.

The complete publishing environment uses Markdown, Git, Jekyll, SVG graphics, OpenOffice and LibreOffice tools, Pandoc, PDF production, and EPUB workflows.

Skills demonstrated: Systems design, instructional writing, information architecture, editing, visual layout, branding, publishing, and long-term content strategy.

→ Learn about the Method

→ Explore the Toolkit

Technical Writing & Publishing Platform

I maintain two Jekyll-based websites using custom themes, Markdown content, Git version control, structured metadata, responsive layouts, and accessibility-conscious design.

The publishing environment includes reusable templates, category and series archives, automated feeds, canonical URLs, structured data, social metadata, redirects, PDF resources, and long-term content organization.

Skills demonstrated: Static site development, technical writing, content architecture, Git workflows, SEO, web standards, and publishing automation.

Amateur Radio

I hold a General Class amateur radio license and am developing a portable radio system focused on HF, VHF, and UHF operation.

The project brings together radio equipment, portable power, antennas, a Raspberry Pi, Linux-based radio software, digital-mode interfaces, and modular field equipment. Areas of interest include portable operation, emergency communications, digital modes, packet and data communications, propagation, and the intersection of radio with Linux and networking.

The station is still developing, but it extends a longstanding interest in communication systems beyond wired networks and the internet into radio-frequency experimentation.

Skills being developed: RF fundamentals, antenna systems, portable power, digital communications, Linux integration, troubleshooting, and field deployment.

Writing

I regularly publish long-form articles across two specialized websites, with more than 230 articles published to date.

Middle-Way Method

124 articles exploring personal development, systems thinking, intentional planning, goal design, journaling, reviews, productivity, and printable planning tools.

The site documents the continued development of the Middle-Way Method and supports it with practical frameworks, article series, downloadable toolkits, and long-form resources.

Excalibur’s Sheath

106 technical articles covering Linux system administration, networking, self-hosting, open-source software, cybersecurity, homelab infrastructure, command-line tools, retro computing, and related technologies.

The site combines practical technical instruction with detailed records of systems, tools, experiments, and projects.

Together, these websites demonstrate sustained technical communication, independent research, instructional writing, editing, publishing, and maintenance of a complete version-controlled content platform.

Testimonials

“Jordan’s patience with customers while dealing with their technical issues is incredible. I was always relieved when he answered the phone because I knew he would stay with me until the issue was resolved.”

Thomas Raef
Owner, WeWatchYourWebsite

“Jordan is a skilled XML editor and industrious computer programmer. He finished his work quickly and thoroughly and dedicated whatever time remained to learning new skills and computer languages.”

Reece Hanzon
Managing Editor, Jolly Fish Press

Education

Interests & Hobbies

When I’m not working behind a terminal or designing systems, I tend to gravitate toward crafts, technologies, and stories that reward patience and close attention.

In all things, I value thoughtful design—where form follows function and beauty follows clarity. Whether I’m maintaining enterprise infrastructure, publishing an article, building a radio system, restoring classic technology, or designing a planning tool, I try to create systems that are understandable, maintainable, and built with purpose.