The Mason Minute

You may not be in the market for a new vehicle, but you should start thinking about your next car or truck purchase. Where you live may influence what you can and can't purchase. Eight states have announced that they will no longer sell gas-powered vehicles by 2035. And that number may continue to grow. I'm not in the market right now, but with cars nearing 200,000 miles, I'll have to think ahead....

For some people, it becomes an obsession by the time they're in college. For most, it's a reality by the time they hit their 40s. While going gray isn't even close to the worst thing that can happen to us as we age, we still worry about perceptions. Even if heredity tells you otherwise, doctors say there is a way to help keep the gray away. But it does come with some health risks. What you eat doe...

It's no secret that as we get older, we pay for the sins of our youth. When it comes to diet, exercise, what we eat and drink, we often think we can worry about it later. But sooner than you'd like, later is here. Over the last decade, I've worked at watching what I eat and drink. I even try to limit my caffeine. But, like many coffee, tea, and soda lovers, that's tough to do. We all need a little...

As much as I like to think I'm a complicated person, sometimes the simple things bring me joy. Driving down the road over the weekend, I noticed a new message on my neighborhood McDonald's sign. It shared that the bagel sandwich is back. I know, big deal. But it is a big deal for bagel lovers here in the South. Most locations serve biscuits rather than bagels. And for those of us who spend some ye...

Long before man walked on the moon, exploring Mars was a dream for many. Was their life on Mars, or more importantly, would we one day be able to send people to Mars? NASA has always wanted to explore the planet, but funding cuts made things difficult for many decades. But traveling to Mars is back on the schedule, and we hope to send a mission there in the next few years. But this week, anyone wh...

I've always been a big fan of team uniforms in nearly every sport. I love it when they make updates, big or small. But I've noticed something in recent years. Even though technology has made them more comfortable for the player, they look cheap. Old uniforms used to have embroidered logos, lettering, and numbers. Now, everything is screen-printed on the jersey. It isn't a big deal for most people,...

Something strange happened yesterday, and I can't understand what happened. I woke up to my alarm around 6:15, or I thought I did. As I started getting up and getting ready for work, I grabbed my phone, which lit up. As I looked down, I noticed the screen said 2:55. It was a false alarm. Or, in reality, something I must have dreamt. It all seemed so real. Was I overly tired? Perhaps I was stressed...

Nashville is in the national news again, and not for something in which to be proud. The story involves a Missouri college student who was in town on a fraternity trip, had too much to drink, and later disappeared. He got kicked out of one of the popular Broadway bars for drunkenness. Was he overserved? That's something people have debated for the last couple of weeks. While the entire story is up...

It's a special time of year. Over the next few days, you can meet more basketball experts than you thought possible. I doubt it's going to be Dickie V., but it could be someone you work with every day. Now that March Madness is officially here, you'll find out that nearly anyone who participates in the office pool or fills out an NCAA bracket is an expert. It doesn't matter whether they follow col...

For many people, choosing a restaurant comes down to a couple of factors. What type of food do you want, and do they serve Coke or Pepsi? My wife and I are long-time Coca-Cola drinkers, so the beverage served is often a key. Restaurants usually sign long-term deals with one of the two beverage brands. So it was big news when three fast-food chains announced they were changing beverage providers th...

Doctors nationwide are worried about a growing measles outbreak. For the most part, measles had been eliminated thanks to the vaccine created in the early 1960s. But because of the rise in recent years of the anti-vax movement, many children haven't been getting the necessary shots. And it looks like the disease is making a comeback. So far this year, 58 cases have been detected in the U.S. Moreov...

If there's one trait many Americans share today, it's that we're sleep-deprived. The CDC says we need more rest if we get less than 7 hours of sleep per night. When looking at the problem nationwide, more than 30% of Americans suffer nightly. And in some states, it's worse than others. People who live in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio are some of the most deprived. I'm not sure why T...

If you've watched prime-time television over the last few weeks, you may have felt the need to check the calendar once or twice. Some shows aired their Halloween episodes. Because of the writer's strike, most prime-time TV shows didn't start in September like they usually do. Most TV shows came back in January, so some holiday timing is slightly off. Over the last two weeks, a few shows have run t...

For the longest time, we've heard that 100 people move to Nashville daily. And that means construction to house those newcomers is non-stop. New apartments, condos, and houses are hitting the market every month. Each day on my way to work, I pass by a new apartment complex that should be opening very soon. But there's one thing that bothers me about this complex. It's just up the road from one of...

You hear people often joke about how Walmart shoppers dress. They wear pajamas and slippers or ill-fitting sweatpants when they shop. But one thing I've noticed about the new Nashville is that you rarely see people wearing sweats. For women, the latest choice is yoga pants, and for men, track pants or a full tracksuit. I'm guilty of that. Outside of the office, I live in my tracksuits. And from wa...

If you're considering adding a pet to your household, you're likely thinking about dogs and cats. While some people opt for birds, fish, or even hamsters, there's no doubt that dogs and cats are most popular. And the choice between the two is not very close. Over the last few years here in Nashville, I've noticed that even that choice isn't very close. Dogs are the first choice for many, but as I...

Our obsession with the British royal family is becoming an unhealthy obsession. We're now judging a photo taken by the Princess of Wales, claiming she must be hiding something because she's like so many other 42-year-old women. She used an app to do some photo editing on a picture she snapped with her children. She recently had surgery of some type but won't say what kind, so everyone thinks a pho...

As the calendar turns to March, many people focus on baseball's opening day, college basketball's championship, and spring break. And for many students, when it comes to spring break, there's one state they think about: Florida. But where do you go: Daytona, Key West, Panama City Beach? There's one popular destination that wants to break up with Spring break. That's Miami Beach. They're tired of t...

The woolly mammoth has been extinct for thousands of years. However, some scientists have made it their mission to revive this extinct species. And it looks like they are on their way. The long-extinct beast is a distant cousin to the African elephant, and some scientists have the stem cells connecting the two animals. And their goal is to repopulate the earth with these giants. They also hope to...

Did you know that we've been experiencing a helium shortage over the last few years? It's not something I think about very often because it's not something I've used in years. I don't need party balloons very often, so I've been unaware like many. But there's good news out of Minnesota, where drillers think they've found one of the most significant pockets of helium gas. I'm unsure what we would h...

Have you heard about the newest beverage trend that is sweeping the country? It's called the dirty soda, and thanks to TikTok, this once regional favorite is now sweeping the nation. Dirty soda started in Utah over a decade ago and has remained a regional favorite until last year. You mix soda, coffee creamer, and flavored syrup to make a dirty soda. You may have seen Sonic promoting their version...

Even though I did very well in my English and grammar classes during my school years, I still struggle with one thing. When is it proper to use a hyphen? Now, let's distinguish the hyphen and the dash. The dash separates two words, but there's space on both sides of the punctuation mark. Yesterday's Mason Minute was the perfect example of when to use a hyphen. The words last minute sometimes need...

I've long wondered if researchers have ever studied why some procrastinate while others don't. I don't put everything off until the last minute, but the added pressure can be good. When I was in school, I delayed studying for any test as long as I could. My term papers were always last-minute efforts. These days, I don't often wait until just before a deadline. Too many emergencies can crop up, so...

As we get older, we all share many life experiences, But for those of us without children, it's a bit different. There are so many points in adulthood I don't have a benchmark. The other day, I read that Chili from the group TLC is becoming a grandparent at 53. Looking at the headline, I needed clarification. Does this make her a young grandparent? Or is this on the older side? When you don't have...

These are very trying times. We're all stressed out. There's little we can do to avoid it. But some folks are more stressed than others. According to a recent survey, Tennessee is the most stressed state in the US. I should be surprised, but I'm not. Money, work, health, and family are all factors that play into our stress levels. And while we may not be at the top (or bottom) of the list in each...