FOTD -- December 19, 2010 (Rating 7) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Today's image is a variation on the theme of the western suburbs of the large minibrot on the main spike of the Mandelbrot set. Even though the image is so distorted that nothing at all of the Mandelbrot shape remains, the name "Theme and Variations" still seems appropriate. Perhaps a name like "Fiery Cataclysm" would have been more appropriate. There certainly is a suggestion of an erupting volcano in the image. The extreme distortion was achieved by applying the exponential function to initial C, which in effect places the viewer in the middle of the fractal. The color palette is merely a slightly tweaked version of the Fractint default palette, which is for test purposes and pretty terrible as color palettes go. But in today's image the exaggerated colors give just the right touch to the scene. The more adventurous might check deeper into the solid parts of the chaotic areas. They hold a nearly limitless variety of Moire patterns. The rating of a 7 is on the liberal side, and the calculation time of 8 minutes is admittedly slow. The way out of this dilemma is to stop by the new web site at: <http://www.emarketingiseasy.com/TESTS/FOTD/jim_muths_fotd.html> where the completed image soon will be posted for immediate gratification. The original FOTD web site may be accessed at: <http://www.Nahee.com/FOTD/> though I have not checked to see if it is up to date. The temperature actually rose well above freezing here at Fractal Central on Saturday, to a high of 36F +2C, with lots of sun for good measure. But the milder weather was too little for the fractal cats, who spent most of the day on their new favorite spot -- the shelf over the large radiator in the hallway. Except for a brief sprint for some last-minute seasonal stuff, my day was quiet enough. The next FOTD will be posted in 24 hours. Until then, take care, and I sometimes wonder whether the faculty of reason is up to the task. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= ThemeAndVariations { ; time=0:08:04.89-SF5 on P4-2000 reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=basicer.frm formulaname=MandelbrotFunct function=ident/exp passes=1 center-mag=-20.0652/3.14704/0.2774471/\ 3.1323/-90/0 params=0/1/0/0 float=y maxiter=3000 symmetry=none periodicity=0 colors=000A7GBGFBGGBFGBDGBCG0000000000000000000000\ 0000e0e00eee00e0eeL0eeeLLLLLzLzLLzzzLLzLzzzLzzz000\ 555888BBBEEEHHHKKKOOOSSSWWW___ccchhhmmmssszzz00zG0\ zV0zj00k00n00q00t80zD0zG0zV0zj0zz0jz0Vz0Gz00z00zG0\ zV0zj0zz0jz0Vz0GzVVzbVzjVzrVzzVzzVrzVjzVbzVVzbVzjV\ zrVzzzzzwzzmzzczuczuczpcupcVpzQhzQ`zLTzZUzYUzYUzaU\ zfZzfZufZqfZlfFhfJhfOhfShfahaahqahlzhhzhhzlhzqhzuh\ zzhuzhqzhlz00S70SE0SL0SS0SS0LS0ES07S00S70SE0SL0SS0\ LS0ES07S00S00S70SE0SL0SS0LS0ES07SEESHESLESOESSESSE\ OSELSEHSEESHESLESOESSEOSELSEHSEESEESHESLESOESSEOSE\ LSEHSKKSMKSOKSQKSSKSSKQSKOSKMSKKSMKSOKSQKSSKQSKOSK\ MSKKSKKSMKSOKSQKSSKQSKOSKMS00G40G80GC0GG0GG0CG08G0\ 4G00G40G80GC0GG0CG08G04G00G00G40G80GC0GG0CG08G04G8\ 8GA8GC8GE8GG8GG8EG8CG8AG88GA8GC8GE8GG8EG8CG8AG88G8\ 8GA8GC8GE8GG8EG8CG8AGBBGCBGDBGFBGGBGGBFGBDGBCGBBGC\ BGDBGFBGGBFGBDGBCGBBGBBGC } frm:MandelbrotFunct {; Jim Muth real(c),imag(c) z=fn1(p1), c=fn2(pixel)+p2: z=sqr(z)+c, |z| < 16 } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================