The Mason Minute

They often say, We don’t appreciate the simple things in life. And yes, that’s true to a point. And every now and then, you’re reminded of that fact. I’ve been in a bad mood for the last 8 to 10 days. I couldn’t explain it, but chalked it up to the stress of the holiday season. But yesterday, I realized that wasn’t the case at all. There was one thing missing from the last 8 to 10 days: the sun. I couldn’t tell you the last time we had sunshine. It had been cold and dreary for the last coupl...

I’ve been a collector for over 50 years. I’ve had a wide variety of collections, and love the thrill of the hunt.  I don't spend as much time buying anymore.  I'm selling. I have friends who do their own sort of collecting, except they do that at thrift stores. They love thrifting, but when the economy dives, it’s tough for them to find great bargains. That’s because more people spend time in thrift stores when times are tight. Sure, you can find deals, you can find bargains, but it’s harder to find true treasures. When times are tight, t...

We’re all worried about our bank balance right now. The economy is causing many people significant turmoil. And no matter whether the president agrees or not, affordability is a key issue for most families. Experts, economists, and stock market analysts use indicators to determine how things are going. Of course, they all look to the current prices of many family staples: milk, eggs, and ground beef. But they also looked at the performance of some companies on the stock market as indicators of just how well we’re doing or not doing. And a couple of these indicators might surp...

This time of year can be stressful for many—especially those of us who have lots of people to buy gifts for. My wife usually starts asking our nieces and nephews for Christmas lists around Halloween. And we’re lucky to have those lists in place by the time December rolls around. There’s one thing I’ve noticed over the years that’s different from the days when I had to make lists for my family. Kids today don’t understand how price matters. My parents made sure I knew there were limits to what I could put on my list. I h...

I don't know many people who don't love pizza. It feels like a universal food. While I understand some people have food allergies, I can't imagine life without it. But in recent years, I've found I can walk away from it if it doesn't have the toppings I like. Back in my younger days, I couldn't count the number of friends I helped move just for free pizza and beer. It didn't matter what was on the pizza. It was free food, so it was good. But as I've gotten older, I've realized there are only certain things I want...

Music has been a part of my life for a very long time. Long before I got to the radio business. I spent decades collecting cassettes, and begrudgingly adapted to CDs long after most people did. But when Spotify launched in the US in 2011, I signed up. I have a love-hate relationship with streaming. I miss holding something in my hand, reading all the things that came with physical media. But I do enjoy how Spotify has turned your listening habits into a data-driven experience. At the end of each year, they give you a stats package called Wrapped. And...

The Oxford English Dictionary has named the phrase rage bait as its word of the year. And if you’ve spent any time on social media over the last couple of years, you know what rage bait is all about. So much of the content sent your way, thanks to the algorithm, is designed to elicit anger or outrage. And honestly, to get you to spend more time online. Many social media sites have found the way to keep you engaged is to make you angry. Sure, you can hide all of these inflammatory posts, or you can even stop us...

I know it’s an overused phrase, and I promise I won’t shout it at you. But I can’t help but think about Tom Cruise in the movie Jerry Maguire when I think about college football today. Yes, all I keep repeating is show me the money. So many people are upset about all the college coaches moving from school to school, counting their millions. And while it’s not happening right away, the players will be doing the same thing over the next month and a half. College football has changed. Because now, not only is the NCAA mak...

Nashville is buzzing right now because three of our restaurants were just awarded Michelin stars. They're the first restaurants in Nashville ever featured in the Michelin Guide. I'm not one of those people who pay too much attention to the Guide, the AAA Diamond ratings, or anything fancy like that. I've eaten at restaurants with stars and diamonds. The meals were terrific, but I've never been too concerned with what the critics think. I understand why these restaurants seek notoriety, but can this system be gamed?. The restaurants honored here in Nashville are all fine establishments. But do these ratings...

Anniversaries, big or small, are something worth celebrating. And when you celebrate 100 years of anything, amazing doesn't even do the superlative justice. Nashville's famed Grand Ole Opry celebrated 100 years late last week, and even if you're not a country music fan, witnessing it live is truly something special. Sure, it's on TV today in some places, but the fact that it's been an ongoing radio show for 100 years is mind-boggling. It's something that both reflects the past yet celebrates the future, and even an old cynic like me truly marvels at the accomplishment... Click Here To Subscribe Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicGoogle...

Yesterday, I talked about all of the grocery store displays of Chex cereals around the holidays so people can make homemade Chex Mix. Of course, there's something else people make with the Chex cereal this time of year, and that's Muddy Buddies. You might also know them as Puppy Chow or Reindeer Chow. Sure, they may be known by a few different names. But anytime you mix chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar with Chex cereals, you get a tasty treat. The only downside is the fact that they're so messy. They're delicious, but you'll definitely need to keep plenty...

If you've been to the grocery store lately, I'm sure you've seen the displays of all the Chex cereals. It happens every year around this time because so many people like to make Chex Mix for the holidays. You can buy it prepackaged in a bag year-round, but we all know it's not the same thing. And while I don't mind the Chex Mix, I actually still prefer it as a breakfast cereal. I've been eating Wheat Chex, Corn Chex, and Rice Chex for a long time. They're some of my favorite breakfast cereals. And the best part, they still...

It’s taken a while, but the weather is finally starting to turn. It’s been a very mild autumn this year. So many people love to see the fall leaves change color. And in some parts of the country, it’s happened on its normal schedule. But this year, at least in our area, the changes happened quickly. Of course, many blame that on climate change. And no doubt had an impact, but it seems we went from green leaves on the trees to brown leaves on the ground in just a couple of weeks. I know the visuals in Eas...

Are you looking for a little tidbit for conversation around the Thanksgiving dinner table today? Perhaps you can talk about the meme that’s been circulating on social media for the last month. There are different variations, but they all show you nine pictures of Thanksgiving food items. And the theme of this meme is that one has to go. The pictures aren’t always the same, but you usually see turkey, potatoes, rolls, pie, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. It’s interesting to think about which one you choose. It’s pretty silly, but it could make for some int...

Usually, when there are no notifications on your smartphone, that's a good thing. Well, sometimes, it's actually a bad thing. While I don't often prefer my apps to leave notifications, there are some I need to keep active for work-related reasons, like Slack and email messages. Clients need to be able to get a hold of you when they need. But recently, some notifications on my iPhone have stopped, and while I haven't missed anything important, I'm still missing things, which isn't good. I've tried rebooting the phone, but nothing has changed. Perhaps it's a problem on their end... Click...

I’ve long made it my goal to learn something new, even a minor thing, every day. I learned something the other day that I only understood in concept. I didn’t know that there was a word actually to describe this situation. It’s called algospeak. It’s a list of secret phrases that you can’t use on social media. There is no place where you can find these words; you just have to learn about them on your own. It’s almost like an urban legend, but it’s real. Algospeak is built around the idea that your social me...

The Department of Transportation thinks we have a problem with air travel. It has nothing to do with a shortage of air traffic controllers. It’s about how we conduct ourselves. They’re worried about our travel etiquette. The government envisions air travel returning to the way it was in the 1950s, when people dressed up to fly. All of this really has to do with unruly passengers and the number of incidents on airplanes over the last decade or so. And while the number of unruly passengers actually peaked in 2021, they are still double what they were prior to the...

I'm always finding things on the Internet that will send me down a rabbit hole. A simple story can keep me researching for hours. For example, the other day I was reading about the nuances of being a Baby Boomer, a Gen Xer, a Gen Zer, and a Millennial. And the one thing it noted was that Gen Z and Millennials don't like canned tuna fish, while it's still a popular choice among Baby Boomers. And while I can't speak for every member of the baby boom, I still love canned tuna. I love a great tuna steak, but a...

The last couple of weeks have been sheer torture. I've been getting a ton of emails about pre-Black Friday sales. And of course, there's nothing in them for anybody I'm buying for; it's great savings for me. I started getting Black Friday emails back around Halloween, but the sales weren't that great. There was nothing special inside. But in the last couple of weeks, the emails have been fast and furious, and the savings have been fantastic. With the uncertain economy, businesses are looking to get people into stores and buying online. I shouldn't complain because there are a few...

Outside of politics, one of the most talked-about subjects this year has been artificial intelligence. And even that has political aspects. Too many, it's something brand new and something they're just encountering online. But engineers, designers, and experts have been working on AI for a long time. And already some people are tired of it. It's impacted social media to the point that some people have coined a term for the negative aspects of this technology: AI slop. Well, many people use it as a shortcut, and with that comes the shortcoming. But in our world of constantly spamming people...

It's hard to believe we're just 40 days away from the end of the year. And that means all of the year-end lists and 2025 accolades are starting to come our way. I actually get excited about these silly things. Because, when you look back, they truly explain the year that was, or in this case, the one that is. The Cambridge Dictionary has announced its word of the year: parasocial. While it didn't have anything to do with social media initially, it does today. It explains the phenomenon of people thinking they're connected with celebrities or characters from TV shows, movies...

The economy is putting a lot of strain on many people. And the current state of politics plays into that. But many businesses are still trying to recover from pandemic-related losses. Some companies try to push the extremes to increase profits. Others do it as a form of survival. But these businesses often push things too far. Panera Bread has admitted they’ve pushed things too far and is now reversing course. They reduced portion sizes, increased costs, and cut back on staff. These changes have caused them to lose customers and profit. So they’re admitting they made a mist...

Back in my younger days, when I came of legal drinking age, the choices were pretty simple. You had beer, you had wine, and you had liquor. Of course, there were different flavors and brands, but you basically had three distinct choices. Today, I can't even count the number of options we have. In addition to beer, wine, and liquor, we now have hard seltzer, hard cider, and something called hard soda. It's one of the newer choices in adult beverages. But is it really that new? Because when you learn all about it, you realize it's just like Zima...

There's been an ongoing debate dating back at least to the 1970s. And it all involves your dishwasher. The hot topic? Should you rinse your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher? The experts finally come up with a definitive answer. Of course, the answer isn't definitive because there are always exceptions to the rule. The good news is that, for the most part, you don't have to pre-rinse anything. But I should put an asterisk next to that answer, because that rule doesn't pertain to everyone. While the technology has improved, you'll need to determine whether you can...

Have you ever noticed that every vehicle key fob is different? I don't mean the size or shape, I'm talking about the placement of the buttons. From a safety standpoint, we'd want them all to be the same. In a perfect world, you'd like the unlock and lock buttons to be in the same place on every fob. It seems logical to me, but I'm not a car designer. My wife just got a new vehicle, and her lock button is where my unlock button is, and vice versa. So, naturally, every time I use the fob to get in...

So much of the Internet and social media has become clickbait. And some of it is amusing enough that you have to follow along. Recently, I've seen a rash of posts ranking the top 'fill in the blank' items, say, for instance, the top foods. I'm talking about restaurants that serve items including the best onion rings, hamburgers, and milkshakes. And for some reason, I always have to see it where things rank. And of course, I never agree. The one thing I've learned is that you can't definitively rank anything, especially food. But these sites must be popular. And...

The holidays are fast approaching. And for many of us, I’ve been spending more time in big box stores and shopping malls than we’d prefer. Many businesses continue to struggle. First, they dealt with the effects of the pandemic a few years ago. But since then, the economy has been up and down, which has people worried. One store, Target, has a new policy that it believes will boost its business and get it back on track. Their new CEO thinks Customer service is the key. And he thinks he’s come up with an idea that’ll help del...

A few months ago, I mentioned that the US government had decided to stop minting pennies. Well, it looks like it's finally happened. Yesterday, the US Mint produced its final series of pennies, for good. Many retailers are stressed about how they'll handle prices and change. Some people want a consistent policy for all retailers, whether they're stores, restaurants, or even small businesses. But right now, nobody seems to agree on a solution. Some stores say they will round up prices to the nearest five or ten cents. And in some cases, they'll round down. Expect to see a lot...

Some words are often associated with the holidays. Sure, words like merry come to mind, but today I'm talking about the word joy. I've noticed recently that a few TV commercials prominently feature the word. And while it's been around forever, it surprised me that it's playing such a high profile in these commercials. I don't feel much joy these days, and honestly, what does it really mean? You can look at the dictionary definition, and it tells you what it is, but not exactly. I realize it's one of those words that means something different to each of us...

Today is Veterans Day. A day set aside each year to honor those who have served and fought for our country. It doesn't matter if you served two years or 25; it's a day for all veterans. It's also a day when many businesses try to use the situation to increase sales. Many offer free perks to those who have served our country. But just me, or have you seen more businesses offering freebies? How do you prove you're a veteran? Active-duty personnel carry military IDs — that can prove their service? My 90-year-old father has no military ID, yet he's a ve...

Today is a significant anniversary for an event that most of us would never know about if it weren't for a song. A song that talks about the gales of November, about how the Chippewa called Lake Superior Gitche Gumee. Of course, I'm talking about The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which happened 50 years ago today. In the song, it says the boat was on its way to Cleveland, and while many crew members lived throughout Northeast Ohio, this time it was on its way to Toledo. I learned so much about the ship's history through my radio, not my...

If you follow the NFL, you’re probably aware that fans of the Green Bay Packers are called cheeseheads. Many of them wear foam cheese wedges on their head to games and in public. It’s clever, it’s catchy, and it’s been a part of football culture for decades. Well, this week, another town known for cheese, or should I say cream cheese, is debuting its foam brick of cheese. Philadelphia brand cream cheese has created its version to celebrate the Eagles. And tomorrow night‘s Monday night football game will be the battle of the cheese heads. And even i...

When many of us hear someone say the word algorithm, we shudder a little. Working in social media, I often try to understand how algorithms work. Now I'm not talking about the computer code that drives it, but more importantly, what triggers our algorithm. In theory, everything is custom-targeted to our browsing history. But I often find times that fails. Recently, I've been seeing more suggested social media posts about arts and crafts projects. And I don't know why. That's not one of my hobbies, and it's rarely something I'm interested in. Perhaps I lingered too long when viewing something...

I sometimes discuss the Internet rabbit holes I follow, searching for knowledge. One of those recent items is about muscle memory. I can't play a musical instrument, and I often wonder how guitar players can remember hundreds of songs and know exactly the notes and chords to play every time.  I've got to think that after you learn a song and you play it enough times, it becomes muscle memory. What got me thinking about this was the other day, when I changed the order of some apps on my smartphone. And all week, I found myself going to the p...

If you have kids, shopping for shoes can be frustrating.  Finding something affordable, stylish, and durable is the quest. As I've discovered through the years, even if you don't have children, it's still a challenge. I've never enjoyed it, whether it was for me or my wife. I've spent my fair share of time in shoe stores, trying to help them sell products, not as a salesman, but as a radio personality. The other day, I saw an ad for the Shoe Carnival, a store that's been around throughout the Southeast and Midwest for decades. But they just announced that i...

I have always loved election coverage. It doesn't matter if it's on TV, the radio, in the newspaper, or online. To me, it's like watching sports. But there's one phrase that always comes up in election coverage, in political conventions, and even on the floors of our government that's always puzzled me. It's when someone says, "Please recognize so-and-so from the great state of," then fill in the blank. Have you noticed that every state is great? I've wondered who started this phrase, where it came from, and, more importantly, why it's said every single time. It's almost become a...

Libraries are often something we take for granted since the launch of the Internet. Children don’t need to spend as much time there researching school papers. Back in my day, I spent more weekends at the public library, and I like to think about it. I was constantly researching something for school, and we never seemed to have the materials in our school library. But the Internet has changed all of that, and now we can find almost everything online. Now they’re used more for public meeting rooms, borrowing multimedia materials, and of course, checking out books. But gett...

I have long been fascinated with sports fandom. While I’ve always considered myself a sports fan, I never understood the true meaning of being a fan until I moved to Northeast Ohio in the mid-90s. I never realized the extent to which some people take their fandom to the next level. And it never ceases to amaze me how fans react during championship celebrations. Why people feel the need to go out into the streets to celebrate is beyond me. And of course, we always hear the stories of the violence and destruction during these celebrations. Are these pe...

Twenty years ago, when I first started working in social media, I marveled at the possibilities of connecting families, friends, and businesses in a new yet simple way. But boy, has it changed over the last two decades. There's no way I could have predicted all of the political hatred and silliness caused by memes. A recent meme has taken over social platforms like TikTok, and it has finally hit the mainstream. The number 67 is now a meme, amusing young people and frustrating elders for months. But now that meme looks like it has finally jumped the shark, as they...

For many of us, it’s tough to look in the mirror and reflect upon our lives. When I dig deep, I often think about the mistakes I’ve made throughout my life. But there’s one day a year when I only think positive thoughts, and today is that day. It’s the day my wife and I celebrate our wedding anniversary. And for 28 years, I’ve done something right. I’m blessed to have found the person who makes me happy —and, more importantly, the person I always want to be around. Some might say it’s divine intervention, bu...