available for work
Network Technician & Independent Developer
I keep networks running by day, and build creative things by night. 14 years of IT infrastructure and systems experience alongside a self-learned practice in web design, browser games, automation pipelines, social media content creation, and whatever problem needs solving next. I work well in both a server room and a code editor. I have also published 2 books, The Emerald Signal of Oz and Survival on Sharp Island, with 2 more in the pipeline, and have done extensive research into social media trends and automation to support their promotion.
Work history
Jul 2024 – Feb 2026
Assistant Network Technician
Mexico Academy and Central Schools — Mexico, NY
Aug 2020 – Jun 2024
Senior Computer Specialist
Oswego County — Mexico, NY
Mar 2019 – May 2020
IT Support Technician
Sherburne County — Elk River, MN
Sep 2016 – Mar 2019
Technical Support Specialist
Wright County — Buffalo, MN
Sep 2012 – Mar 2016
Marketing Controller
Giertsen Company — Golden Valley, MN
Things I've built
Charlie DeLong Homepage
Personal creative and development hub featuring self-published fiction, AI-powered web tools, automated content pipelines, and browser-based games built on shared PHP hosting.
Taken Every Seven Days
Have a great podcast idea but don't know where to start? That's exactly what we're here for. Our goal is to help you turn your idea into an actual podcast. We know the infrastructure, so partnering with us will be all that you need to succeed. Also includes the entire backend for an up and coming podcast.
The Joker and the Queen Podcast
A deeply personal, independent podcast co-hosted by Charlie ("The Joker") and Bria ("The Queen"). The show chronicles the real-life journey of a couple, navigating the complexities of modern relationships with a balance of "seriousness and silliness".
Emerald City Casino
Browser-based Oz-themed slot machine game with custom card assets, win logic, and animated spin sequences. E-book version of The Emerald Signal of OZ is a reward for a jackpot.
T-Shirt Design Pipeline
Automated pipeline using the Recraft and Claude APIs to generate and publish original T-shirt designs to Redbubble.
Video Automation Pipeline
PowerShell and FFmpeg pipeline that assembles segmented videos from intro, content, and outro clips for batch publishing via Command Prompt and PowerShell.
Social Media Automation
Research and pipeline for scheduling, formatting, and publishing book promotion content across platforms. Includes CSV-based bulk scheduling and RSS-to-Facebook posting. Working side by side by side with tools like Content360 and Zapier.ai these tools automate the creation and posting of social media content.
Better Analytics Plugin
Custom WordPress plugin surfacing GA4 stats in the dashboard with scheduled email reports and Tasker voice integration. I wanted a custom solution that I could get simple stats on the dashboard, through daily emails as well as through Alexa voice.
Emerald Signal Giveaway
After doing a trial of a few different giveaway software packages I decided to build and publish my own. This was created as a promotional tool for The Emerald Signal of Oz book.
Media Collection Database
I am a physical media collector and I needed a system to track what music or movies I already have while I am out and want to buy something. Has a full front end as well as a full featured back end that has database cleanup and duplicate checking as well as automated album art acquisition.
Christmas List
I was looking for a solution to track my Christmas purchases as a single dad. I created this to manage a people list as well as a list of gifts that need to be purchased and the ability to mark those purchased. It also has the capability of tracking dollars remaining, dollars purchasing and total spent for the season.
Charlie's Bad Dad Jokes
I started a TikTok series of bad dad jokes that uses an animated stick figure to tell jokes. Videos are produced in command line using FFMPEG including random intros and outros as well as music and laugh tracks. Videos are primarily sent to TikTok, but now post to Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Mastodon and YouTube.
Joke Vault
As part of content creation for the Charlie's Bad Dad Jokes series I needed a place to pull joke content from. This is a simple database that displays searchable jokes and has the ability to mark jokes as used.
Recipe Database
I was given a few old family recipe scrapbooks from my grandparents and great grandparents. I wanted a way to add these to a searchable database. I constructed an app that utilizes one of the higher level AI engines to convert the mostly old-world cursive recipe cards to text and add them to a MySQL database for searching and displaying on the web.
Business Tracker
After scheduling multiple book signings and purchasing a slightly overwhelming amount of inventory for these signings I started to worry about tracking my expenses. I created a website with the ability to track expenses and upload receipts. It can also display monthly and yearly reports with the information i will need for taxes.
Published works
The Emerald Signal of Oz
"The Emerald Signal of Oz is a mesmerizing fantasy that reimagines Oz as a dreamlike world of memory, myth, and living technology, inviting readers on an unforgettable journey where every mystery deepens the wonder and every choice could reshape reality itself." – NewInBooks The Emerald Signal of Oz is a mythic, atmospheric reimagining of the land of Oz. A world where memory is a map, technology hums with intention, and the boundary between worlds thins with every pulse of static. In the quiet lakeside town of Maple Hollow, strange glitches ripple through hallways, murals, and dreams. Eli Granger, a reserved tech specialist who sees patterns where others see coincidence, begins noticing signals buried in the school’s nervous system: fractals, spirals, and a pulse that feels almost alive. When the anomalies spread into students’ dreams and the air itself seems to listen, Eli realizes the world is shifting around him. Mara, a counselor with a gift for sensing emotional resonance, becomes Eli’s anchor as the two uncover a hidden thread connecting their pasts. Their memories echo with shared moments they never lived, and dreams that feel like warnings. When an impossible balloon appears in the forest, alive, and waiting, they cross into Oz_Alpha, a breathtaking but fractured world built from memory, circuitry, and myth. Guided by TKTK‑7, a damaged Archivist who remembers more than he should, Eli and Mara navigate forests that rearrange themselves, cities that loop their fears, and Nodes haunted by corrupted echoes of themselves. At the center of the unraveling lies the Witch of Unmaking, a being woven from static and forgotten stories, determined to overwrite both worlds. To save Maple Hollow, and Oz itself, Eli must become the Weaver, Mara the Bloom, and together they must restore the Emerald Thread before the Witch crosses fully into their reality. But every step forward demands a memory, a truth, or a piece of themselves. The Emerald Signal of Oz is a cinematic blend of wonder and dread, where nostalgia becomes prophecy and every heartbeat is a choice between remembering and being rewritten.
Survival on Sharp Island
Science created them. Strategy might stop them.When a secret memory-enhancing serum is tested on students at an isolated island university, the results are catastrophic. The infected—known as “Sharps”—gain intelligence, strength, and a terrifying hunger for control. Dr. Mara Ellison, the scientist behind the serum, must protect her son and a dwindling group of survivors as the campus descends into chaos.But the Sharps aren’t mindless. They’re evolving. Coordinated. Ruthless.Trapped with no way off the island, Mara must rely on chemistry, observation, and sheer grit to outthink the predators she inadvertently created. Every chapter escalates the tension, from eerie lab discoveries to tactical counterattacks, culminating in a high-stakes battle of survival and moral reckoning. Perfect for fans of The Andromeda Strain, 28 Days Later, and The Last of Us, this thriller blends scientific intrigue with relentless suspense. Survival on Sharp Island isn’t just about escaping monsters—it’s about outsmarting them.
Nothing But The Blood
He was living the loneliest life imaginable. Then a stranger handed him a Bible and disappeared. Nate is thirty-two years old, invisible, and going nowhere. Data analyst by day, couch by night. His biggest ritual is buying the same brand of popcorn when the silence gets too loud. He is not chosen. He is not special. Or so he thinks. When a scarred man appears in a grocery store parking lot and presses a white Gideon's Bible into Nate's hands before vanishing without explanation, Nate's quiet, isolated world begins to crack. The Bible carries a carved symbol. A voice that does not come through his ears delivers a message that lodges in his bones: through this you will be saved. Nothing But the Blood is a fast-paced supernatural thriller about spiritual warfare, hidden bloodlines, and the cost of power. Nate soon discovers he is a bloodline carrier, one of a two-thousand-year line of awakened believers marked by a cross-in-circle on his palm. The mark makes him valuable. It also makes him a target. An ancient demonic entity called Malachai hunts the bloodline, and it has been waiting a long time. What Nate cannot yet see is that he has never been alone. Behind the scenes, a network of nearly seven hundred carriers and awakened believers has been protecting the city for generations. Fighters, healers, scholars, and priests who understand what he carries and what is coming for him. Among them is Kayla, who has been researching his bloodline for years, and Tobias, the scarred man from the parking lot, who will become the mentor Nate never knew he needed. As Malachai's forces escalate from reconnaissance to full coordinated assault, Nate must learn that spiritual power carries a real cost, and that the strength to face ancient evil does not come from standing alone. Perfect for readers who love supernatural thrillers, spiritual warfare fiction, paranormal mysteries, occult horror, or urban fantasy with Christian undertones. Nothing But the Blood is a story about what happens when the lost get found, and what they are willing to fight for once they are.
The Emerald Wedding of Oz
A sequel set in the Oz universe. Currently in progress.
What I work with
Networking
Systems & IT
Web dev
Tools & automation
Book Writing / Publishing
Soft Skills
Let's talk
Open to IT, networking, sysadmin, or web-adjacent roles. If something you're working on sounds like a fit, reach out.