PODCAST

The Mason Minute

Kevin Mason

Musings From the Mind Of Kevin Mason; a retired radio guy who just won"t give up the microphone.

society & culture personal journals

All Episodes

1:01

Everything Reset (MM #5271)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/27

Let’s be honest, most of us spend too much time on the Internet and on social media. I know I do. Additionally, my job requires me to spend time on social media. So I’m on a variety of social platforms from sunup to sundown, and often late into the night. And yesterday I witnessed something I’ve never seen before. I was on Facebook when all of a sudden, everything on the page reset. It was as if someone had hit a big refresh button, and I wasn’t even scrolling. I was actually reading something, and

1:01

Ground Beef (MM #5270)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/26

I don't do much grocery shopping these days. Years ago, I discovered that staying away from the supermarket helps me avoid buying unnecessary things. I don't know how much it's helped my waistline, but that's what I tell myself. My wife went to the store yesterday and let me know we were switching the cut of ground beef we buy. We always opt for the leanest ground beef, because it's just a bit healthier. But when she came home yesterday, she told me we need to make a change. That's because ground

1:01

Coordinated Threats (MM #5269)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/25

School has begun in many parts of America. Some high schools went back as early as the first of August. And many colleges have also returned. Last week, numerous schools across the country received bomb threats. All were deemed false alarms. These have happened for decades. And more times than not, it’s just somebody trying to cause trouble. One of our local schools had a bomb threat on Thursday, and after investigation, it was deemed a false report. But the interesting part is that many of these

1:01

Reading (MM #5268)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/24

I've long been fascinated with new technology. While I understand the fear that some people feel when accepting something new, I wonder why we tend to embrace everything the way it's always been. Take reading, for example. For so long, we read things like newspapers and books. It didn't matter if those books were hard or soft-bound; they were familiar. It's the same thing with newspapers. But now, thanks to technology, we can do all those things with a tool like an e-reader or Kindle. I think I got

1:01

Brunch Buffet (MM #5267)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/23

I know that I've said this before, but I love brunch. It's the best of two worlds: breakfast and lunch. I've never understood why brunch is better than breakfast, but it's a whole different feeling, and it's just due to the time you eat. Decades ago, there were always one or two big downtown hotels that served a brunch buffet on the weekend. And it didn't just happen in major cities. Cities of all sizes always had one or two swanky hotels that were known for this extravagance. I haven't experienced

1:01

Time To Change (MM #5266)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/22

It’s been all over the Internet for a few days and even made the national news. Cracker Barrel has decided to change its decor as well as its logo. Gone is the old man sitting next to the barrel, and they even changed the shape of the logo, too. People are upset. But these changes have been coming for a long time. Cracker Barrel is struggling. Their clientele is getting older, and the folksy restaurant with the big old gift shop doesn’t appeal to young people. They’ve spent the last few years trying

1:01

Banana Shortage (MM #5265)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/21

I didn’t learn this until the other day, but bananas are the most popular fruit worldwide. In America, they’re neck and neck with apples. I like them, but I don’t enjoy eating them by hand. I prefer them sliced on top of cereal, baked into bread, or paired with ice cream, lots of sauce, and whipped cream. They’re one of the most affordable fruits. But growers tell us we should be preparing for a banana shortage. Climate change is partly to blame. They’re only grown in certain parts of the world, and

1:01

Cement Mixers (MM #5264)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/20

I know I sometimes talk too much about my first-world problems. Yesterday, I was complaining about smelly dumpsters. Today, I'm talking about something that goes hand-in-hand with those dumpsters; that's cement mixers and dump trucks. I've complained about dump trucks before, about my frustration with their signs telling you to stay back 200 feet. Due to the constant construction, there are a lot of cement trucks in Nashville. And this isn't just a Nashville problem. It happens no matter where

1:01

Dumpsters (MM #5263)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/19

Nashville is a town that’s always under construction. Not only are we building more houses, condos, and apartments, we’re also building more restaurants, hotels, and high-rises. And with all this construction comes a constant rumble of dump trucks and trucks carrying dumpsters. I drive to work using city streets, and I frequently find myself behind trucks carrying these dumpsters to the city dump. And while they usually have business materials in them, they still stink. The smell is awful. I would

1:01

Obsessed With Pickles (MM #5262)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/18

I'm not exaggerating, but it seems the whole world is obsessed with pickles right now. Walking through the grocery store, I see more pickle-flavored products than ever before. Fast food restaurants like Sonic currently have limited-time-only burgers, tots, and drinks that are pickle-flavored. For me, pickles are something I throw on a burger or eat alongside a sandwich. But I don't feel the need to have everything pickle-flavored. Like many trends, this could come and go. But I get the sense that

1:01

Check Your Email (MM #5261)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/17

If you’re like me, you check your email multiple times per day. In a perfect world, we’d only get messages that we want. But a lot of our mailbox is now filled with junk mail and marketing messages. I’m pretty selective about who I share my email address with. So I’m usually interested when one of these stores sends me an email. But I’ve noticed a recent trend. One of my favorite clothing stores will email me to tell me that something I looked at previously is now on sale. But when I click on it to

1:01

Yeast Rolls (MM #5260)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/16

Through the years, I’ve had the good fortune to eat at some fantastic restaurants throughout America. And while they were great meals, some even memorable, most were just expensive. But there’s one memory in life that stays with me, and that was eating dinner at one of those inexpensive steakhouses back in the day. And it wasn’t because the steak was that good, it was that all you can eat salad bar, and those big fat yeast rolls. In my younger days, when I barely had enough money to get through the

1:01

Pure Emotion (MM #5259)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/15

I'm an emotional person. I have always been good or bad. I wear my heart on my sleeve. And while there are times, I wish I didn't show any reaction, it's just not who I am. People who know me and love me say it's one of my better qualities. I'm sure others disagree. We live in a world where people don't ever want you to see their emotions, at least the real ones. But when it comes to pure emotion, there's nothing truer, more real, and more honest than the Little League World Series. You don't have

1:01

Storms (MM #5258)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/14

We get a lot of severe weather in Nashville. Many experts say that it has to do with our climate and where we’re situated amongst the states. And as climate change affects us all, these storms seem to be getting worse. We rarely get simple rain showers; we get severe ones filled with thunder and lightning. And many of them happen overnight. We had some severe weather the other night, and at about 2 o’clock in the morning, something, perhaps lightning, hit a nearby power pole. We lost power. And

1:01

Dial-Up (MM #5257)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/13

I truly marvel at all of the changes that have happened throughout my lifetime. I’m not just talking about a man going to the moon, I’m talking about technology. Advancements like our smartphones and the Internet have significantly impacted our lives. It’s hard to imagine the time before the Internet. Kids today don’t know what life was like before the Internet. A small part of the Internet is going away, specifically the one that once helped get us onto the Internet. AOL announced it’s dropping

1:01

Brush Your Teeth (MM #5255)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/11

Your parents taught you how to brush your teeth when you were roughly two or three years old. And you do it multiple times a day, day in and day out. But no matter how old you are, you’re likely making some mistakes when it comes to how you brush. Most people spend less than a minute brushing their teeth, even though dentists recommend spending at least two minutes to do it correctly. Even though dentists tell us we need to floss, most people still don’t do that. But did you know that there’s a

1:01

Heavy Soda (MM #5256)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/11

Two businesses that consistently thrive, regardless of the economy, are convenience stores and fast food restaurants. But recently, both of those types of businesses are struggling. Experts say one reason is that people aren't drinking as much soda anymore. Both make a lot of money from their soda fountains. That's why you could always get free refills and jumbo sizes for low prices. But some stores and restaurants in the Midwest are trying to combat that, but it's a secret. They're pouring what's

1:01

Jell-O (MM #5254)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/10

I've been under the weather for about a week and a half, and haven't had much of an appetite. And for a guy like me, that's extremely rare. For a few days, nothing sounded good. I had to eat something, but the desire wasn't there. I didn't want chicken soup or even a grilled cheese sandwich. When my wife went to the grocery store, she brought home some Jell-O, hoping it would help. I couldn't tell you the last time I had it. Back in the 1960s and 70s, Jell-O was in every household. As kids, we'd

1:01

Corn Dogs (MM #5253)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/09

I've long been fascinated with cravings. Some people crave sweet, while others crave salty. Some have expensive tastes and only desire the finest foods like steak or caviar. Of course, I'm odd, and I crave things like corn dogs. I loved eating them when I was younger, and you used to be able to find them everywhere. There were shops in the mall, and many fast food joints; they were pretty easy to find. But these days, they're not very common. Outside of the frozen food section in the grocery store

1:01

Quiet Cracking (MM #5252)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/08

It’s an understatement to say the pandemic changed our views on work. This battle isn’t just baby boomers versus Gen Z. Today, everyone’s opinions on the work-life balance have changed. Many companies struggle with the desire to get everybody to return to the office. More people than ever prefer to work remotely. And some are satisfied with a hybrid schedule. But when we’re in the office, there’s a whole new group of challenges we must face. A few months ago, we discussed a new type of employee, the

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