The Mason Minute

Back in my younger days, I spent a lot of time in malls, shopping centers, and outlets. Throughout my high school and college years, I worked in the mall and on the radio. I don't spend as much time shopping anymore, but I frequently notice how much retail shopping has changed. They're building a new outlet mall on the south side of Nashville, and I wonder how it will be different. These days, mor...

When reaching for a sweet treat, many people turn to chocolate. I love chocolate but usually prefer something fruity. But when choosing candy, I often opt for Twizzlers, Red Vines, or Swedish Fish. Occasionally, my wife will pick up a couple of boxes at the store. And while I enjoy them, I can't figure out their flavor. Usually, red candies are cherry, strawberry, or even raspberry. But that's not...

This Fall, things will look much different than usual. I'm not talking about politics or the weather, although they'll likely have an influence. I'm talking about your television screen. Every Summer, about this time, the TV networks start promoting their new prime-time shows. But thanks to both the writers and actors walking the picket line, you'll see a lot of repeats, game shows, and reality pr...

Television and movie writers went on strike over two months ago. In the last few weeks, they've been joined on the picket lines by the actors and actresses of SAG-AFTRA. People showed concern when the writers walked off the job. But now, everyone's obsessed since celebrities started walking... Click Here To Subscribe Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicGoogle PodcastsTuneIniHeartRadioPandoraDeezerBlu...

Like many people, I have a fascination for paleontology. The study of dinosaurs and fossils has interested me since I was in grade school. To look at a rock or some bones frozen in time for millions of years and learn from it boggles my mind. The recent discovery of a bird fossil has given researchers some idea why some birds died with the dinosaurs while others survived. They think it has to do w...

Here in Nashville, we're obsessed with sidewalks. It has been one of the primary campaign issues for many of the people currently running for mayor. As a campaign promise, they're right at the top with safer schools and affordable housing. Nashville has never been one of the most walkable cities. We never made it a priority to build sideways as the city grew. In our struggle to manage our rapid gr...

Back in high school, one of our projects in Biology class was identifying insects. It wasn't my favorite assignment, but at least it was better than dissecting the fetal pig. I never thought I'd spend time doing it again, but my wife and I were doing just that the other night. We spent the evening searching Google looking for some insect that the cat found in our living room. We thought it might b...

In recent years, improving our infrastructure has been the focus of many national and local elections. Roads have been a large part of the discussion. Most places have just patched potholes rather than taking the time and expense of paving roads. A few weeks ago, they started working on the road that leads into my neighborhood. They milled everything, and now we're waiting for the paving crew to c...

In Nashville, it's time to vote once again. Early voting started yesterday for the election that will officially happen on August 3rd. While the mayoral race has many people running, it's easy to learn about each candidate. But we're also voting for city council candidates, and it's almost impossible to find out about either candidate in my district. Neither of them has a website. And that's very...

To this day, I'm amazed whenever I see deer within the city limits of a big city like Nashville. I often see deer on my way home throughout the year. You can find white-tailed deer throughout much of the US. From a distance, they seem harmless, but they're now causing a problem in many parts of the country. Many of these deer are now spreading COVID-19 to humans. Researchers are trying to figure o...

I can't remember the first time I heard someone utter the phrase, if it's not one thing, it's another. But it's something that I've said hundreds if not thousands of times through the years. Recently I've heard many people saying it too. Sometimes it feels like you can't catch a break. If there's an upside, you're not in this alone. Many of us are feeling the same thing. It's easier to catch a bad...

When people talk about malaria, we think about life in third-world countries. But no more. Over the last few weeks, Florida and Texas have reported cases. Scientists say we'll likely see more reports throughout the United States in the coming months, even years. Climate change could be part of the problem. Warmer weather, increased humidity, and severe storms all play a role... Click Here To Subsc...

It's another Prime Day. Today and tomorrow are right behind Black Friday as the days that many shoppers love. When it comes to online shopping, if you can't find it on Amazon, you likely can't find it anywhere. Amazon has been teasing some great deals available over the next two days. The best part is you don't even have to leave the house... Click Here To Subscribe Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon Mus...

Every one of us knows that everywhere we turn, there are man-made chemicals. They're in our food, they're in our cookware, and they're in our tap water. Many of them are forever chemicals or PFAs, and recent studies have found that they're in 45% of the tap water in the U.S. We're still learning what all of these chemicals can do to our bodies. We already know they can cause cancer and obesity, an...

My wife came home from the grocery store recently; with a half gallon of vanilla ice cream and a six-pack of root beer. She was in the mood for a root beer float. I've enjoyed making ice cream floats since I was a kid. Sometimes I use Coke; other times, it's orange or grape soda; the choices are limitless. Perhaps we should consider it to be the best summertime treat. With both ice cream and soda,...

This weather is tearing me up! We've had numerous storms, but that's not the biggest issue. It's too hot. Over the last week, the world has been experiencing the hottest average daily temperatures. We've been in the upper 90s nearly every day. Now I admit, I'm not built for this hot weather. Perhaps it's my age, my size, or I've just gotten soft. We all know it's a combination of all those things....

An East Coast grocery store chain is testing a new smart shopping cart. It's similar to the technology used by Amazon in their Go stores a couple of years ago. A small iPad-type device is attached to the cart handle and tallies every item you put into the cart. Many feel this is the future of grocery shopping, but there has been some backlash. While people love technology, they worry about the los...

There's strength in numbers; that's what they've often told us. And the other night, I found out that was true in a new way. For the longest time, I thought a service outage and a service interruption were the same thing. My internet provider informed me that there was a difference. If one or two people in the neighborhood have no service, it's just an interruption. If three or more houses have no...

I've noticed more cars and trucks here in Tennessee with tinted windows. People use the excuse that it helps keep the vehicle cooler, but I'm betting it has more to do with not wanting people to look inside. For years, people usually just darkened the driver and passenger side windows. But now, I see more cars on the road with tinted rear windows, and that's a traffic hazard. If I can't see around...

I've never understood why radio stations feel the need to do special programs over the holidays. They never sound as good as regular programming. And this has been going on for decades. And I'm not just talking about AM and FM radio. Satellite radio is guilty too. I've been listing to the Classic Rock channel; Classic Vinyl over the last few days, and they've been counting down the top songs. And...

Years ago, my father warned me that there would come a day when I would hate shaving. And, of course, he was correct. Like most men, I hated shaving soon after I needed to do it daily. To this day, I shave as little as possible, many once or twice a week. My father, who's in his 80s, still shaves a few times a week. But his primary issue is finding razor blades to fit his razor. He's been using th...

For decades, hot dog lovers have argued whether it's okay to put ketchup on a hot dog. I'm a purist who says ketchup has no business near that bun. But a company known for battling to change perceptions thinks they have a solution. The bottlers of Pepsi are getting into the condiment business for something they call Pepsi Colachup. It's a combination of ketchup and the world's second-favorite cola...

For many, when the weather gets steamy, it's the perfect time for iced tea. Here in the south, anytime is a perfect time for tea. But during the hazy, hot summer months, start making sun tea. But did you know that it could be dangerous? The CDC warns us that bacteria can form when making your sun tea. Few people will be concerned, especially folks who've enjoyed it their entire lives... Click Here...

I was 5 or 6 when I visited my first all-you-can-eat restaurant, King's Buffet, in Cheyenne, WY. I loved a good buffet. For that matter, I loved the mediocre ones too. And my waistline never recovered. I stopped eating at them decades ago. Many are out of business, with Golden Corral among the few survivors. But it looks like they may be getting some new all-you-care-to-eat competition, but these...

Over the last few years, spam texts have become a growing problem for most people. I get anywhere from five to ten in a week, and the numbers keep increasing monthly. Here in Tennessee, we have a new law that will go into effect on Sunday that hopes to curb all of these unwanted texts. But is it possible to stop these nuisance messages? Somehow, I doubt this new legislation will make any differenc...