The Mason Minute
Musings From the Mind Of Kevin Mason; a retired radio guy who just won’t give up the microphone.
Episodes
November 25, 2025 • 1 min
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 ...
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November 24, 2025 • 1 min
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 las...
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November 23, 2025 • 1 min
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 ...
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November 22, 2025 • 1 min
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 ...
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November 21, 2025 • 1 min
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...
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November 20, 2025 • 1 min
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 med...
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November 19, 2025 • 1 min
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 ...
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November 18, 2025 • 1 min
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 i...
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November 17, 2025 • 1 min
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 asteris...
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November 16, 2025 • 1 min
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, ...
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November 15, 2025 • 1 min
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 a...
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November 14, 2025 • 1 min
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 C...
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November 13, 2025 • 1 min
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 ...
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November 12, 2025 • 1 min
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...
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November 11, 2025 • 1 min
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-d...
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November 10, 2025 • 1 min
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 Ohi...
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November 9, 2025 • 1 min
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 c...
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November 8, 2025 • 1 min
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 c...
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November 7, 2025 • 1 min
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...
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November 6, 2025 • 1 min
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 fo...
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