Making adjustments

I am taking today off of work. 

I am going to the coast to sit with my friend so his wife can take care of some appointments. We have had a week with no rain and so I am completely behind at both jobs.

I have been spraying at my Uni job. I have a really awesome sprayer. I want to build one of my own. Of course the reason I think the sprayer is awesome is because I seriously modified it. The next person to use it will curse me. Actually, the person hired to replace me will probably not use it. It will somehow be too complicated to use It will get moved out back to the surplus pile and they will do something else. Hire the sports turf management people to spray or something.

The sprayer is pretty simple actually. I put my own sprayer monitor on it so I know gal/acre or gal/1000 soft. However, if you look up the nozzle size and pressure in the Tee-jet book the book tells you the speed and according to my acre meter the area is coming out perfectly, if I drive correctly. 

As soon as there is a day of sun, the baseball team is on the field. They are quite dedicated in their practice. The coach is a very enthusiastic person. Always thanks me for any extra effort.

We always have the same problem with the field. I don't mow from when the rains start in earnest to the nice weather at the end of January. There is aways an understory of dead Annual Bluegrass because Annual Bluegrass grows vigorously and seeds prolifically but it has a short lifespan. The dead Bluegrass is yellow and in close to the ground. When I mow the field the first time I expose this dead annual Bluegrass and someone always says I am taking to much grass height off at once. Then we dump lots of fertilizer on the field and it rains for three months and I have to start all over again with mowing.

This year the turf consultant looked at the field the last week in January. It was a little yellow looking. I used a slow release fertilizer late in the year and it didn't release the N because of the cold weather. The turf guy suggested 5lbs/1000 soft of Ammonium Sulfate. 20 percent N with a little sulfer. There was also Redthread coming with goes away with extra N.  

I usually try to get a jump on the outside opinions by applying iron early to improve the color. I don't like to add Nitrogen now as it makes the grass suddenly grow and it is hard to keep it mowed when it is raining.

To compensate for the extra N I am using growth regulator. I am using two types, one slows the growth and the other prevents seed heads. It is really a little too cold for it to work so I am a little nervous. However, if it works I will have the best looking field I have ever had! 

My next plan is to stake the borders of the warning track and get perfect edging on the sidelines. I have a great helper this year and think I make my last year a good year!

This brings us to job motivation. The COVID booster mandate hit the moral pretty hard for us working class. I have also heard quite a bit of irritation filtering in from those on the other side of campus in the administration buildings as well as irritation amongst the few working class type students.

There is a low level cynicism that effects all who have been here for more than five years. I don't think it is good policy to remind people they can quit or be fired at any time. At the same time I understand the administration not really worrying about us being disgruntled. It really makes no difference in the big scheme of things. 

I have made a new attitude adjustment. In the past I felt that people wanted to hear my observations in order to improve relations at the Uni. I presented a complaint and I presented a solution. All it did was get me slight disapproval. I just need to get things done to make myself feel good. A balance between minimal effort and a level of order that I can accept and feel moderately good about. It has greatly improved my sense of well being.

In other news... I see there is a whole new focus on side effects of the booster shots. The realization that there can be heart problems or questions about the hospitalizations of vaccinated vs non-vaccinated have made mainstream news. Plus, it appears the peak may be past.

One issue that jumped out to me was the Uni Covid team has doubled down on the mask wearing, now they are suggesting N95 masks. I had to laugh ironically. This is one of the reasons we don't trust the CDC. They lied to us from day one.

The cloth masks do NOT filter anything. The cloth masks just keep you from blowing larger droplets of spit vapor into the atmosphere in front of you. A proper fitting N95 mask filters what you inhale. The gubment didn't think there was enough N95's so they put out the cloth mask mandate. But lied about how it worked.

The COVID religion people at my Uni wear the mask like a fetish and will tolerate not dissent. However, I would bet mask compliance is maybe 50 percent anywhere but in classrooms or places where you will get caught. Probably like anywhere else. Not a lot of mask wearers outside of liberal enclaves and basically no difference in death or hospitalization rates.

It appears from my observations that the key is to figure out you have COVID right away and then don't ignore it. Get plenty of rest, take the zinc vitamin regime, plus C and B, and try to keep lungs clear by breathing and coughing, anti-inflammatory vitamins, get your Dr. to prescribe Ivomectin or what ever is currently working. Stay out of the hospital as they will probably kill you.

Take lots of CBD treatment. That is a whole other topic. I have been amazed at my CBD oil. Once I ignored the recommended dosages and started listening to my ex-pot head friends I found benefits. My back stopped hurting for the first time in 20 years. I am kind of amazed.

Have a nice day!

I think it is supposed to be like 60 degrees at the beach today!