Time
Out with the old and in with the new.
The calendar will soon turn from 2024 to 2025 and it has me thinking a lot about time. It started a few weeks ago with a memory of the old, 1970s holiday TV special, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year. Why Rudolph’s Shiny New Year should be taking up the brain space of a 60-year-old is anyone’s guess, but there it sits.
Time is on my mind.
Gerald England / Guildhall Clock
More specifically, I’ve been thinking about the passage of time and how we spend it.
2024 has been odd and loaded with distractions, detours, and dramas. For me, 2024 has been an odd creative year during which time management has been a struggle. I’ve made creative progress this year but it’s been slow and in new directions. As many have experienced, new creative directions often start with the enthusiasm of a New Year’s resolution but become a slog by February. Like in the classic Rankin and Bass animation, I feel I’ve lost Baby New Year and need to find him to get this creative adventure rolling again.
I need a time jolt.
I need some funny to fuel 2025.
I need… Dad jokes!
Dad Jokes + Time = 2025 Creative Kickoff
That’s the answer! The perfect equation to get 2025 and the STEM Tuesday New Year off to a rollicking start. A good laugh is needed. As a reformed smart-ass and class clown, I know comedy has power in diffusing tense situations and turning that frown upside down. A smile is a powerful thing. Even from a STEM perspective, humor can be a soothing balm or a kick in the backside to fight the creative struggle.
Isabelle Grosjean ZA, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The STEM Tuesday 2025 Time Philosophies, Told Through Dad Jokes
What do you call a tense clock?
All wound up
Time can be stressful—schedules, deadlines, etc. Plan ahead and stick to it. Also, don’t beat yourself up if you miss a target or two. Keep in mind the statistical possibilities are pretty good there will be a tomorrow so don’t get all wound up when a little wound up will do. Get back on track at your next opportunity.
Why shouldn’t you tell secrets when a clock is around?
Because time will tell.
Communication time! Communication is a skill, and it needs to be practiced. We have so many ways and means to communicate in modern life, but interacting with other human beings seems harder than ever. Watching an animated special from 1975 about a luminous-nosed reindeer’s problems traveling through time islands searching for the Baby New Year and observing students struggling to interact makes me wonder if IRL communication is becoming a forgotten skill.
Why did the man throw the clock out the window?
He wanted to see time fly.
It’s time to “see” the facts flying. It’s also time to use our work to help young people recognize and identify facts and truths in a sky that’s chock full of misinformation.
What animal keeps the best time?
A watchdog!
Stay vigilant and protective of our creative time.
Why did the girl sit on her watch?
She wanted to be on time.
Be on time! Keep to the plan and the schedule.
Don’t stress if you miss a day or don’t complete the task on the schedule. Recalibrate and move forward at the next opportunity.
What do you call a grandfather clock?
An old timer.
Celebrate surviving to be an old timer, especially as a veteran creator.
If your watch is broken, why can’t you go fishing?
Because you don’t have the time.
Always have time to fish for new ideas. Charge your idea watch with life experiences and observations, including taking the occasional break. Ideas are the currency of the creative life.
What kinds of bugs live in a clock?
Ticks.
Hahahaha! I don’t have any timely wisdom to share on this Dad Joke (although I could probably come up with something about parasites…) This one just makes me laugh.
What time does a duck wake up?
At the quack of dawn.
When the time comes for the duck to quack, it’s time for us to get to work and make something. Whether it’s the crack of dawn, a lunch break, or burning the midnight oil, saddle up because it’s time to do what you do. There’s a reader out there who needs your book.
Why did the man buy so many clocks?
Because time is money.
Time is money. Enough said.
That appears to be a good time to spare you any more dad joke humor so let’s wrap up this STEM Tuesday New Year’s post and 2024. Whatever 2025 brings, may it include plenty of satisfactory smiles, abundant laughs, and barrels of joy. Thank you for supporting From the Mixed-Up Files and STEM Tuesday!
From the STEM Tuesday Team and the entire crew of the From the Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors blog group, we wish you a joyous and prosperous 2025.
Time to fly in 2025!
By Rankin/Bass Productions, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52788658
Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal-opportunity sports enthusiast, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/life/training-related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101, are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming the social media landscape at Bluesky under the guise of @mikehays64.bsky.social and @MikeHays64 on Instagram.
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