MrsDrPoe: Sisters

Another week has come to a close, which means it's Foto Friday here on the blog!  Today I'd like to share with you some more pictures of our girls- last night Sascha actually laid down with Layla.  We were amazed that after almost three years, they're finally beginning to act a little more like sisters:

 

   

Did anything unexpected happen for you this week?

MrsDrPoe: When Is It Right to Do Wrong?

Another Theology Thursday has snuck up on us, and as always, I invite you to open your Bibles as we look at a portion of God's word.

Today we'll be looking at Mark 1:39-45.  In this passage, we see that as Jesus is going about the countryside teaching in synagogues, a leper comes to Him begging to be cleansed.  He realizes as we see in v. 40 that Jesus has the power to heal and if He is only willing, his disease will be cleansed.

Jesus reaches out and touches the man before cleansing him, showing His compassion through something that the leper hadn't experienced in a long time.  Then He speaks, and the man is healed.  Before He sends the man away, Jesus commands that the man not tell anyone.  Instead of listening to Jesus, the man "proclaims" the matter "freely" and "spreads" it.

It's been suggested that Jesus is using reverse psychology here, but there is no evidence for this conclusion- throughout scripture, God and Christ 'say what They mean and mean what They say.'  Thus, this man blatantly disobeyed the Lord.  We may think, "he was just tyring to spread the good news about Jesus."  Well, maybe, but he was doing it in a way that was in direct contrast to the command Jesus gave him.  This begs the question:

When is it EVER right to do wrong?

The answer, of course is never.  Not 'when it's in my best interest,' or 'when I don't understand why it's wrong' (Prov 14:12), or 'when I disagree' - NEVER.

So what does this mean for us?  First, we should strive to study the Bible in its entirety without bias, examining what God has given and not given authority for.  Then we must apply His teaching to our lives, even if it's difficult.

MrsDrPoe: Pasta Salad

It's time for our What's for Dinner Wednesday post.  Tonight's dish works well cold, hot, or room temperature...as a side or the main course: Pasta Salad.

Ingredients: 1 box of hearty pasta noodles (Rotini, Penne, etc.), 2 Roma tomatoes,  1/4 of a medium onion, 1 green bell pepper, 1-2 cups of Italian dressing.

Chop the tomatoes, pepper, and onion up finely and place in a gallon-sized zipper storage bag with 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the dressing.  Seal the bag and shake it up to coat the veggies with the dressing.  Place the bag in the fridge while you make the pasta (or longer; I let mine marinade overnight):

Cook the pasta and allow to cool.  Put the pasta in the bag with the veggies and add the remaining desired amount of dressing (1/2 to 1 1/2 cups).  Seal the bag again and gently shake/massage to evenly distribute the veggies and coat the pasta with dressing.  Refrigerate, serve, or reheats as desired.  Enjoy!

 

The colors in this dish make it a great candidate for a holiday side-dish!

MrsDrPoe: The Rudes

It's time for another edition of Poes' Pals here on the blog!  This morning, I'd like to introduce you to another wonderful family from Starkville...the Rudes:

We've known the Rudes for approximately seven years, and we can attest to the fact that, contrary to what their last name might suggest, they are some of the most caring and friendly folks we know!

Dr. Rude is a professor in the Animal and Dairy Science at Mississippi State University (Mrs. Luke actually had him for a class; she and others have told us that Dr. Rude is a great teacher and his classes were enjoyable and informative).  He is also a great Bible teacher, presenting material in a way that encourages participation.   

Mrs. Rude often teaches French at East Mississippi Community College (we've heard great things about her and her teaching from friends too).  She is one of the most selfless people I've ever met, constantly being aware of the needs and desires of others and striving to help out in whatever way she can.

Ms. Rude may come across as shy when you first meet her, but she is a very spirited, fun-loving, and spiritually minded young woman.  One of my very fondest memories of her is when she went with Ms. K. Davis, Ms. M. Davis, and me to a ladies Bible study in Birmingham- oh what a great time we had!

As you're probably tired of hearing me say, we miss our Starkville family very much, and we hope that if you're ever in the area you'll have an opportunity to meet some of the fine people there!

MrsDrPoe: The First Law of Thermodynamics, Part 6

Hello and welcome to Thesis Tuesday on the blog!  As promised, today we will be finishing our look at the first law of thermodynamics by applying the differential form of the first law to an example problem.

Problem: A liquid is flowing downward along an inclined plane surface, as shown in the figure:

The free liquid surface (y = h) is maintained at temperature Th, and the solid surface (y = 0) is maintained at To.  Determine an expression for the temperature distribution in the film, recognizing that the viscous heating effects can be ignored.

Given: non-isothermal film flow, T(0) = T0 and T(h) = Th
Find: An expression for the temperature distribution in the fluid film
Assumptions: steady, laminar, incompressible, Newtonian fluid, ignore viscous heating effects, constant thermal conductivity, assume T = f(y), constant properties
Solution: 


Starting with the general form of the differential energy equation for an incompressible Newtonian fluid:

rho*cp*(d/dt(T) + u*d/dx(T) + v*d/dy(T) + w*d/dz(T)) = -(d/dx(qx) + d/dy(qy) + d/dz(qz)) + mu*Phiv

Steady flow eliminates the first term on the left side; the last term on the right side is eliminated because we are ignoring viscous heating effects.

rho*cp*(u*d/dx(T) + v*d/dy(T) + w*d/dz(T)) = -(d/dx(qx) + d/dy(qy) + d/dz(qz))

Our assumption of laminar flow means that v = w = 0; the first term on the left side is also zero since T is in not a function of x:

0 = (d/dx(qx) + d/dy(qy) + d/dz(qz))

The flux terms can be related to the temperature gradient using Fourier's law:

qx = k*d/dx(T), qy = k*d/dy(T), and qz = k*d/dz(T)

Furthermore, since the thermal conductivity (k) is constant, our energy equation becomes:

0 = k*(d/dx(d/dx(T)) + d/dy(d/dy(T)) + d/dz(d/dz(T)))

We can divide both sides by k; the first and third terms cancel since T is not a function of x or z:

0 = d/dy(d/dy(T))

If we separate and integrate this equation twice, we end up with the expression:

T(y) = c1*y + c2

We can solve for c1 and c2 by applying the given boundary conditions at 0 and h:

c2 = T0 and c1 = (Th - T0)/h

So we now know the expression that shows us the temperature distribution in the fluid film:

T(y) = (Th - T0)/h*y + T0

Not so bad, huh?  Next week we'll begin anew with a fresh subject, but until then, happy studying!

MrsDrPoe: Oil Rebate

Happy Money Monday to you all!  There are some great deals going on this week all over the place, but I'd like to start you off with a deal on oil and filters at Autozone...for those of you you change your own or have a do-it-yourselfer on your Christmas list:

Through November 14th, buy any 5 quart jug or 5 single quarts of Castrol and get $7 back with a mail in rebate.

Currently there are 5 quarts + filter combos on sale starting at $12.99.