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

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1:01

Bad Teeth (MM #5288)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/13

I often wonder what percentage of today's kids get braces. If you look closely at my picture, you can see I didn't get them as a kid. My two bottom teeth in the front are crooked, and there's a gap between my top two front teeth. I really don't think that much about it. I'm not that bothered. But something has changed throughout the years, and I noticed it the other night while watching some YouTube videos of some old rock bands. I saw how many of those musicians had bad teeth and needed dental

1:01

Return To Office (MM #5287)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/12

If you work in the 9-to-5 world, you likely hear people tossing around buzzwords like office culture and return to office. Every company is still dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been over three years since many people returned to what some called the new normal. But working from home, which was the norm for a few years, became the preferred way to work for many employees. And while many companies put up with it for a while, they now want business to get back to normal. But

1:01

More Hatred (MM #5286)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/11

Some are saying that we are experiencing more hatred right now than at any other time in the history of America. I haven't been here for nearly 250 years, but I sometimes wonder if it's true. It's challenging to compare how everyone truly felt during the civil rights era, World War II, or even the Civil War. With yesterday's killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, some say this proves the point. I just look at the calendar and think back 24 years. It was a time when Americans came together

1:01

High Speed (MM #5285)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/10

For most of us, things like electricity, water, and gas are some of the most essential things in our lives. Over the last few decades, many of us have added high-speed Internet to that list. We've reached the point where the speed and stability of our connection are most important. With all the devices and all of the streaming we do, we need something dependable and very fast in our neighborhood. We've had a few options over the years. Some are good, some not so much. But for the last few years,

1:01

Step Off The Curb (MM #5284)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/09

It's hard to believe that Nashville has been a part of my life for so long. I made my first trip to Nashville about this time, 46 years ago. And I never thought I'd end up here full-time. But soon I'll be looking at 20 years here in the Music City. And while I'm not a lifer, I've seen a lot of change here in the city as it's grown. I spent some of my formative years in Virginia Beach, so I know a little bit about tourist destinations. And that's what I've seen Nashville become. As I drive to work

1:01

What To Pack (MM #5283)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/08

I don't travel as much as I used to. And these days, when I do travel, it's usually for family functions. So, fortunately, there's not a lot of dressing up. But I'm still challenged figuring out what to pack on a regular basis. I've always been envious of my friends who travel for a living, and I have no problem sticking a week's worth of clothing into an overnight bag. That's never been an option for me because of my size. And when the weather starts to turn and the clothes get heavier, my

1:01

Red Zone (MM #5282)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/07

It’s the first Sunday of the NFL season, and pretty much like I do every Sunday, I’ll have one of my TVs on the NFL Red Zone. But it may be the last time I do it. ESPN has entered into a partnership with the NFL to claim a stake in the NFL Network and its associated properties. And while the ink on the paperwork isn’t even dry, ESPN has already announced they’re going to be running ads during the Red Zone. I understand advertising pays the bills, but when ESPN already has 35 different channels,

1:01

Floppy (MM #5281)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/06

My wife and I've been together a long time; a little over 30 years at this point. We're coming up on our 28th anniversary. And at this point, there's not much she doesn't know about me or doesn't understand. I like to think it works both ways. Early on, she quickly learned that even though I'm fair-skinned, I often forget sunscreen when I'm in the sun for long periods of time. For years, she's been wanting me to get a floppy hat to wear when we're outdoors in the midday sun. It took a long time, but

1:01

Just Getting Started (MM #5280)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/05

The college football season is just getting started. The NFL begins this weekend. Some say you can feel fall weather in the air. That’s just wishful thinking, at least for now. I saw something online the other day that bothered me, and it had nothing to do with politics. It was ESPN predicting the matchups for this year‘s bowl games and 12-team playoff. It came out a day or two after the football season started. Are we this desperate to get people to pay attention to us? Did they write these things

1:01

Good Value (MM #5279)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/04

For many of us, times are tight. The cost of everything is going up, but our wages aren't going up at the same rate. Nobody knows how this all plays out, but it's not just affecting people. It's affecting businesses, too. Many of our favorite restaurants have been in the news lately. Naturally, Cracker Barrel comes to mind. But there's been a lot of talk about the success of Chili's over the last couple of years. Many restaurants are responding to our pleas and seeking ways to generate revenue while

1:01

Verification (MM #5278)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/09/03

As you know, I spend much of my life online. All of us do. It's hard to believe I've been living online for over 20 years. And the more time that we spend online, the more advanced bad actors become. Because of that, we have to have secure passwords, pass phrases, or passkeys. But wait, there's more. You also need to have two-factor authentication set up for all of your logins, too. Plus, some websites or apps also require verification codes. Now, it's not enough to have just two steps; there has to

1:01

Neanderthals (MM #5273)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/29

Growing up, I excelled in my science classes in school, but I never truly enjoyed them. I could handle the memorization, but I never understood why some people are so concerned with some parts of science. The fascination that some have with dinosaurs and prehistoric times is something I don’t understand. Some scientists are suggesting that Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals began interbreeding tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought. That’s fascinating, but does it really matter? While

1:01

Clarification (MM #5272)

The Mason Minute ·

2025/08/28

I hear this all the time, and even say it myself, but we’re living in extraordinary times. Now I don’t know if this is something that happens as you age, or if things really have gotten weird. And this isn’t a rant about politics. It’s about clarification. I’ve noticed a trend on social media recently. Companies, both big and small, are making announcements about internal issues that most people wouldn’t know about if they weren’t being shared with us. When a problem employee leaves a business, the

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

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