Mosquito Mommy

"It's time to go. There's mosquitoes!" said my wife with urgency to my daughter in the woods.

My daughter replied, "They're not biting me. They're smelling me!"

Webcomic drawn by Joe Chiappetta 2009 on HP iPAQ Pocket PC running Windows Mobile, in Conduits Pocket Artist program. Written by Denise Chiappetta.

Disposable Toothpick Innovation

A young entrepreneur says to his partner, "Here's my big idea for a new green-friendly company: we take old business cards, fold them, and sell them as disposable toothpicks!"

Rolling her eyes at such a silly transformation, the partner replies, "But toothpicks are already disposable."

If you want to talk about true spiritual transformation, I preached recently a sermon called "Transformers." It's all about the pull between God and art. You can listen to the Transformers sermon here.

The title of the above comic speaks jokingly of innovation. However, readers of this site might be aware that I try a lot of hopefully innovative and different gadgets to draw webcomics on and am quite pleased with my current find, the HP iPAQ 211 Enterprise Handheld (also known as a Pocket PC). Here is my iPAQ review after one month of heavy usage:

HP iPAQ 211 Pocket PC Review

Despite the fact that this tough-looking black gadget has been out since January 2008, the HP iPAQ 211 is quite an awesome device and even still formidable among the latest devices out now. Long battery life, a massive 4 inch screen and solid build are some of its stand-out features. I use this Pocket PC for managing contacts, calendar, drawing webcomics (Pocket Artist as well as Vectorsoft Draw), writing documents, reading the Bible (Laridian Pocket Bible), listening to music and browsing the Internet via WiFi. Maggot Attack Pinball also plays great on this large screen portable device.

The two things to keep in mind, though, are...

1) It's not a phone. This is actually a plus for me, given that battery life of most Pocket PC Phones don't really last the whole day if you use all the features. However, with my cheap Cricket phone and an iPAQ Pocket PC, both devices can go multiple days without a recharge.

2) There is about a 2 second delay between when you press the power-on button and when it actually comes on. That's no big deal though. I just got into the habit of pressing the button and then getting the stylus out. By the time the stylus is ready in my hand, the device is powered on. So again, no problem.

This is not a device for people who feel the need to constantly live in the cloud. But for workers who want to develop ideas (writers and artists) as well as people who want to read and listen to media offline as well as sporadically online, it is a most excellent choice.

Webcomic drawn by Joe Chiappetta 2009 on HP iPAQ Pocket PC running Windows Mobile, in Conduits Pocket Artist program.

You Being Beautiful--Please Don't Laugh

How a person looks can sometimes be considered a disability, even if such persons have no functional disabilities. That's because we live in a world where people are often treated and judged differently based on how they look. Usually this is sad and unfair, and unusual appearances can be the cause of so many ill-conceived jokes. Laughing at how people look must be used with extreme caution, as people's feelings can be hurt. Such is the case even with the character in this comic.

While browsing through a book that my wife checked out from the library, my friend Jay asked me, "What are you reading?"

I replied, "It's called 'You Being Beautiful.'"

Jay chuckled as he said, "Heh, I hate to break it to you, but you'll need a lot more than a book for that."

Aside from my wife, Jay is the funniest person I know.

Longtime Silly Daddy readers may remember Jay from my 2004 graphic novel. In that epic story, he was minor character with a major impact. Jay is also the basis for one of the main characters in my upcoming science fiction novel. In that story, his name is JJ and he is even funnier than Jay is in real life.

Webcomic drawn by Joe Chiappetta 2009 on HP iPAQ Pocket PC running Windows Mobile, in Conduits Pocket Artist program--now that's beautiful!

Perhaps It's Not Time For A Refill

While having a glass of wine on a fun date with my wife in Brookfield at the Salt Creek Wine Bar, she was rambling on about something amusing when suddenly, she said, "Bla bla bla... I forget what my point was."

My wife is the funniest person I know.

Webcomic drawn by Joe Chiappetta 2009 on HP iPAQ Pocket PC running Windows Mobile, in Conduits Pocket Artist program. The device I use currently to draw has a 4 inch screen.

Better Than A Shower

"You're so muddy from playing outside! It's time for you to take a shower," said my wife to our young daughter.

"No, I don't like showers. Give me a pool," replied our daughter firmly.

I think she meant "bath," but that's OK.

Webcomic drawn by Joe Chiappetta 2009 on HP iPAQ Pocket PC running Windows Mobile, in Conduits Pocket Artist program.

Actual Library Rant

At the library, while looking at new books, we noticed a large number of "green" books about saving the environment. My wife picked up one and said, "I'm so sick of all this green stuff. If we're all going to die, then we're all going to die. You know? If you really want to 'go green,' don't print your stupid book."

Yes, this is an actual rant that my wife had at the library.

Webcomic drawn by Joe Chiappetta 2009 on HP iPAQ Pocket PC running Windows Mobile, in Vectorsoft Draw program.