The Mason Minute

Do you ever have a situation where you think the issue is probably more in your mind than it is in reality? Let me explain. For some reason, our house feels colder when it’s 40° outside than when it’s 20° outside. And it’s not like we’re changing the thermostat. During the winter months, we keep our house consistently at 66°. But I find the house feels colder when it’s 40 outside than when it’s 20. Technically, the thermostat reads 66°, just like it should, but it doesn’t feel the same. I like to think that because the heat pump isn’t running when...

When you think of wildlife, you don’t often think of Nashville. Okay, perhaps you think of the wildlife that’s happening on Lower Broadway, but Nashville isn’t known as a rural area. But, as I can attest, we still have lots of animals within the city limits. Within just a few miles of my house, many families of deer, a few coyotes, and even some water buffalo on a nearby farm that do escape every now and then. But I learned just the other day, February is the most dangerous month for wildlife. Because of the weather, the daylig...

One of my old bosses used to say that nobody likes change except for a wet baby. I always knew what he meant and agreed, to a point. One thing I’ve realized is that most change is a slow process. It happens behind the scenes when we’re not paying attention. When we notice, the change seems abrupt. The way we watch sports on television is changing. I should say it’s constantly changing. The regional sports network FanDuel Sports has announced it will shut down in a few months. People are upset because most live team sports are now he...

The Winter Olympics are almost here. They begin in a couple of days, with curling among the first events. I’m not the biggest Olympic fan, but I do keep track of what’s going on. One thing I wondered about recently is why some sports, like figure skating, wait until the last minute to announce the Olympic participants. The figure skaters who will represent the US were announced a couple of weeks ago. To me, that seems like very short notice. I’ve never been a world-class athlete, but I'd want more time to get focused. I would think that w...

Yesterday, I was listening to a playlist on Spotify. And one of my favorite country songs, that many have forgotten, was on the playlist. It was Steve Earle’s ‘I Ain’t Ever Satisfied'.  And naturally, it got me to thinking. As Americans, or for that matter, even as humans, is satisfaction possible? I’ve always viewed myself as a perfectionist. That’s both good and bad. One of the bad parts is that even when something goes well, I’m never totally satisfied. I’m always looking for ways to improve, to make it better. Is this just a problem here in...

I often see jokes on social media, talking about people wearing pajamas when they shop at places like Walmart. Now, I will admit it’s not actually a place where people dress up to be seen. But often times, the people you see there may be wearing what they sleep in, but it’s not necessarily pajamas. But the other day, when we were shopping there, I saw at least two people wearing full winter pajamas as they pushed their shopping cart down the aisle. The meme had come to life. It was apparent that those people didn’t care. Perhap...

I finally got a haircut yesterday. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, but just finding the time in my schedule is often a challenge. There’s one thing that’s fascinated me about getting haircuts for a long time. And that’s the difference between a barbershop and a beauty salon. While very different, they’re actually very similar in vibe. Does that make sense? Now, I get my haircut at one of those chain locations that caters to both men and women. And the salon talk is kind of a cross between a barbershop and a beauty sal...

The truth is a funny thing. And I don’t mean funny, ha ha. I mean, funny as in peculiar. Right now, we live in trying times. Many people believe the truth doesn’t exist. They believe what they want to believe, and don’t care what anyone else thinks. But sometimes, it’s absolute. It’s been a challenging week here in Nashville. With a severe ice storm over the weekend, many people are still without power, now six days later. Everyone wants answers. And the reality, for many, is that there are no answers yet. Obviously, they don’t like that...

Experts say you can tell a lot about a person by how cluttered their life is. For some, it’s a cluttered office or a messy car. I’m guilty of the former, but not the latter. I don’t know why, but I’ve never liked trash in my car. You’ll never find empty cans or fast food bags on my floorboards. I don’t wash my car often enough, but I keep the interior pretty clean. The city of Hilton Head, SC, has announced a new law that goes into effect next month and fines people for having too m...

I finally decided to venture out yesterday and brave the remnants of the ice storm that is still crippling Nashville. Since I can work from home, I haven’t left the house since last Thursday. But I had a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment to get to. Many of the roads were much better than I expected. As expected, it was a little bit rough getting out of our neighborhood, but one thing that shocked me was the number of cars on the road and the speed at which they were driving. I have years of experience with ice and snow, an...

Recently, the government changed the famed food pyramid, which guides us on where to focus our diet. I can’t tell you how many times in my life they’ve tweaked this pyramid. Some of it is common sense, and some of it is political. It always has been that way. Now it looks like protein is more important than it has been recently. I wonder if this change in the food pyramid has also prompted some restaurants to introduce new menu items. Have you seen the commercials from Subway and Chipotle promoting their protein options? Perhaps they’re tied to thi...

Being featured on the national news can be both a blessing and a curse. Nashville is often featured nationally. Sometimes it’s good, but often the news is negative. Yesterday, we made the news for the number of power outages we had on Sunday. The storm that blanketed the US didn’t hit as hard initially. We only got a couple of inches of snow, but the ice that followed didn’t make things any better. It didn’t seem like much ice, but it was just enough to take down trees and powerlines and cause tremendous headaches for our power co...

I know this is a silly question, but when you’re making Campbell’s Tomato Soup, what liquid do you use as instructed on the can? Some people use a full can of water, others, a full can of milk, and then some half-and-half. I’ve actually done all three options throughout the years. My preference is a full can of milk, but I can’t do that anymore since I don’t process the dairy as well as I used to. Many just use water, but to me, the flavor is lacking when you go that route. Recently, I’ve gone to t...

Earlier this week, the TV weather people started waving red flags, telling us that severe weather was on the way. It could be snow, ice, or a combination of both. They just didn’t know. But still, we wait. As I learned a long time ago, you can never predict when these weather events will start. Originally, the severe weather was supposed to come through on Friday, but it kept getting pushed back. We’re still waiting to figure out what’s going to happen, but here in Tennessee, we're really just waiting to find out how bad it’s going to...

Please don’t be concerned with the title of today’s podcast. I promise there is nothing political about this. It actually has to do with a meme that is circulating on social media. I have a feeling it’s more about getting people to engage with a post than it really has any significant value. This meme always starts with the phrase, 'Most Americans'. And there are numerous versions. It always has some stat that involves something that we do or don’t do. And every time I see it, I wonder where they got this information. It can be about...

I understand a lot is going on in our world these days. But I haven’t seen any news stories about this, and that surprises me. A few months back, I had an issue with a package taking three weeks to get from my accountant to my mailbox. It’s just 2 miles away. And Nashville‘s main post office is directly between our two locations. But it’s not just me. I have friends who didn’t get their Christmas packages in time for the holidays. Plus, my parents sent my sister a holiday package that didn’t reach her until last w...

The mood here in Nashville has shifted over the last couple of days. You can feel the panic as the weather people tell us we could see severe weather over the weekend. Sure, TV meteorologists love to incite panic. I usually don’t pay any attention to these things. Still, when I saw news online yesterday about Atlanta preparing for severe winter weather, I knew we had the potential for the same. We expect not only several inches of snow but also ice. While I don’t enjoy the snow, I can deal with it. But when we start getting ice...

Over the last few months, I’ve talked more about sports than I usually do. Here in the US, it’s big business. And it has been for years, but the metrics keep growing. The price of winning in professional or college sports grows exponentially. Yesterday, I woke up to the news that the Buffalo Bills had fired their head coach. After nearly a decade of winning seasons, it still wasn’t enough. He didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, let alone win the Super Bowl, and that was unacceptable. Our winning has always been important; today, there are no e...

Today is Dolly Parton‘s birthday. It’s her 80th. And the governor has proclaimed that it’s Dolly Parton Day. That makes some people very happy, and it’s rubbed others the wrong way. Because it’s also a federal holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And of course, this is getting political. Some in Tennessee would rather we celebrate Dolly Parton every year rather than MLK. Many wonder whether this was made political on purpose or by coincidence. It’s sad that the world still has to make a federal holiday into an argument about race relations. The question was...

For most of us, the first time we eat cheese, it’s usually bright orange in color and wrapped in plastic, and not really cheese. After that, most of us encounter it coming out of a green cylinder that we shake over pasta. Many of us call it Parmesan cheese, but representatives from the Parmesan region in Italy want to change that. Because they feel that’s not an accurate representation of Parmigiano-Reggiano. In Europe, the only cheese called Parmesan comes from that specific region. But here in the US, we take liberties with the term. And their worldwide marketing grou...

On Thursday, Verizon Wireless users suffered a nearly day-long outage in many parts of the country. Sadly, it’s not the first outage for a major cell phone service. I understand that technology is constantly changing and improving, but at some point, we have to face reality. Many people can’t afford one, let alone another outage. So much of our life has become cell phone and Internet-dependent. And a while ago, the services were considered luxuries; they’re necessities. There needs to be systems in place to prevent outages like this. These are not just personal tools; they are busine...

It may seem simple, but I know a few people who wish we’d go back to the old days when we had just four or five television stations to watch. Those days are long gone, and that’s both good and bad. We do have a lot of choices these days, and for many, the question is straightforward: cable or streaming? For the last few decades, cable television was one of our only options. But the costs continue to rise every year. In the last few years, streaming services have debuted, and while many people prefer cord-cutting, the fact that...

If you’re a college sports fan, for decades, you’ve likely followed the story of whether to pay the athletes. Of course, everything changed just a couple of years ago, and now student athletes can sometimes be paid up to half a million per year to play a sport. Of course, the majority of those players are men and played football or basketball. But the effect of this money has changed the two primary sports in different ways. Basketball players rarely stay in college, let alone the same college for more than a year. In football, some players move from...

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time on social media. Perhaps too much. And one of the hassles of social media is all the ads we see in our feeds. But do you ever feel inclined to comment on an ad that you don’t care about? In my work for my social clients, I see this every day. Many people keep scrolling, but lately I see more people stopping and leaving nasty comments. It really has nothing to do with the ad or the product; it’s usually just trying to get people into an argume...

Because of my media and marketing background, I tend to view life through a 'commercial' lens. I sometimes pay more attention to the ads and promotional announcements than to the TV show or the performance on the field. I’m a long-time NASCAR fan and understand the unique way the sport has tried to create promotional opportunities. They’ve always placed sponsor logos on everything. In recent years, the NBA has added sponsor logos to its jerseys. And I’ve always been amused by something that becomes the official sponsor of a sport, a team, or an event. But I someti...

The first round of the NFL playoffs wrapped up tonight. It’s called the Wild Card round. And that rubs me the wrong way. While yes, every wildcard team plays, so do the majority of division-winning teams. I understand branding and marketing. I’ve been involved with that almost my entire life. So I understand why they have a name. I don’t know why it’s the wild card. In baseball, the wildcard round only involves those teams that didn’t win the division. Perhaps there’s a better name for this first round of the playoffs. Next week, it’s the div...

I’ve had a long fascination with coffee drinkers. I only drink casually, usually as an after-dinner beverage, if I drink any at all. Unlike most people, I don’t start my day with a cup, or two, or three. But yesterday, as we were driving down the road, I noticed a new Starbucks, less than a half mile north of another one. Same road, but at least they’re on separate sides of the street. But what fascinates me is when you stop for coffee, how do you know which brand to try? Is it trial and error? These days...

There’s a big difference between a good burger and a great burger. For many, myself included, hamburgers have been a staple of my diet since I was a youngster. Back in the day, they were cheap and easy meals. Everybody knows some of the first fast-food restaurants were hamburger joints. One of the West Coast‘s favorite burgers is from In-N-Out Burger. They recently opened their first locations here in Middletown, Tennessee. And many people were excited. They were so thrilled, they stood in line for hours to grab an Animal-style Double-Double. I'll wait a while before I give them...

Everyone knows that Nashville is growing. It’s been growing rapidly for the last 20 years. And it’s still moving at a quick pace. But as the city grows, businesses sometimes struggle. Honestly, it’s hard to keep up with the companies that come and go in this town. For a long time, there was a running joke that when a business closed, it was often replaced by a check cashing store, a vape shop, or a mattress store. There seem to be more of those than convenience stores in this town, but not really. But recently, a new category of sto...

Have you noticed that there aren’t as many dry cleaners in town as there used to be? I realize, as trends come and go, businesses can be affected by those changes. Years ago, people wore suits and ties to the office. And for those who could dress a little bit more casually, it was a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt. But those times are long gone. And the pandemic made the change even more finite. Now, everyone dresses casually or works from home. And when you do that, how you dress doesn’t matter. I need to g...

Over the years, I’ve talked about my love of technology. I genuinely get excited about the latest tech toys. They don’t have to be fancy or expensive, but I’m always on the lookout. This week is the annual CES, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Each January, hundreds upon hundreds of tech companies show up to display their latest projects. And I’ve already seen a few news stories about the newest tech toys I need to add to my collection. Of course, I only have one problem. The convention always happens too close to Christmas. And like...

I see all of those TV commercials that remind me I should grow old gracefully. And when I appreciate the spirit, they’re obviously created by young people. There’s nothing graceful about growing old. Of course, it’s essential to pay attention to your health, but it’s the little things that bother us most. For men, it’s bushy eyebrows and hair growing out of our ears. And for both men and women, liver spots and dry skin. Recently, I’ve had a few more dry patches show up on my hands. My hands used to be my best feature...

Would a no-shoes policy at your office make you want to spend more time there? Many office settings continue to struggle as people still prefer working from home. So some startup companies have decided that having employees leave their shoes at the door and walk around the office in their stocking feet, their bare feet, or even in slippers would make it feel more like working from home. It’s not happening in many places, but some larger companies are willing to consider it if they can get their employees to return to work full-time rather than working from home... Cl...

Yesterday, I was talking about foods that aren’t as popular today as they were years ago. Sandwich spreads like Braunschweiger still exist, but are often hard to find. Another favorite from my youth that still exists but isn’t usually carried in supermarkets is Underwood Deviled Ham. Potted meat like Deviled Ham isn’t as popular today. Spam is still easy to find, but things like Vienna Sausages, Underwood Chicken Spread, and a whole lot of other canned meats have fallen out of favor. I don’t eat Deviled Ham very often anymore, but now and again, I get a huge c...

The popularity of certain foods comes and goes. Sure, there are some foods that everyone wants for a brief moment, only to disappear quickly. But then other foods have been staples for decades upon decades, only to disappear as well. But you don’t realize it because you haven’t thought about them in a long time. One of those foods I grew up on is braunschweiger. Many people know it is liver sausage, and at one time it was popular. I didn’t eat it a lot, but enjoyed it into my teens. I had a taste for it the ot...

Since the dawn of the Internet, the way we communicate in writing with people has changed significantly. Email communications have replaced letters. We now pay our bills online rather than putting them in an envelope and stamping them. And while snail mail still exists, we don’t use it as often anymore. Most of us don’t even know the price of a stamp these days. But recently, the US Postal Service changed how they postmark mail, and while it won’t matter for most items, if you need something postmarked by a specific date, that could become an issue... Click...

The new year is upon us. 2026 is finally here. But many people, myself included, are worried about what the coming year will bring. The midterm elections will be a primary focus on social media throughout the majority of the year. And it doesn’t matter your politics, it’s going to be very contentious. If you’ve had a hard time being on social media over the last couple of years, I fear 2026 will test your patience. Both sides have so much to gain and so much to lose. And the fear of Interference from other countries adds another layer to thi...

If you’re a college football fan, you have to be frustrated with all the sponsors associated with the sport. It’s not enough that the traditional bowl games now all have sponsors in addition to the bowl game name. There are also sponsors for the bowl series, and ESPN’s association with the sport. And that doesn’t include stadiums, betting apps, halftime shows, the entire college football season, and more. I understand we’re all tired of advertising. We have been bombarded by ads our whole lives. But I know many feel sponsorships are getting out of hand, too...

The time between Christmas and New Year's is one we often use to reflect and prepare. Who you are and where you are in life determine how much time you spend reflecting or preparing for the coming year. These days, I’m always running behind. I didn’t use to be that way, but even with all the excellent tools we now have, I’m still busier than I ever have been. And that means catching up on everything that needed to be done before the new year. That means preparation has to wait, usually until the last minute. I used t...

Technically, we’re just a week into the winter season. And the weather here in Middle Tennessee has been strange. Yesterday, our high was in the 70s. Today, we'll be lucky to reach 40 degrees. Last night, right before I went to bed, the temperature dropped 20 degrees in the span of about 15 minutes. The cold front coming through has made me very uncomfortable. Since we haven’t had a hard freeze, my allergies and sinus congestion are in full force. I have these sinus issues every year about this time. Sometimes it’s a cold, and other times, it’s just drainage...