FOTD -- January 21, 2009 (Rating Optimistic) Fractal and political visionaries and enthusiasts: When I posted yesterday's FOTD, I was feeling irritated because of the frozen sink drain. Then when I read the e-mail claiming that I had directed the members of the list to an AOL web site about the inauguration, I wrote a hasty reply and struck the send button before counting to 10. Actually, AOL itself adds these little perks at the bottom of all its overpriced e-mails. But I was rather surprised by some of the replies to my hasty response, especially those that expressed disappointment with my opinion of what the new administration might achieve. For one thing, I fail to see the connection between the search for beauty and my opinion of the ability of the new administra- tion to solve the country's problems. (If I am wrong, and I could easily be wrong, and the hoped-for miracles actually are brought about, I will be the first to admit my mistake.) I believe I have amply shown my appreciation of fractal beauty in the thousands of fractals I have posted to this list over the past almost 12 years. And I have shown my appreciation of the beauty of nature in my careful observations of the FC sky and my continuing reports of the FC weather. And at least most of the time, but not always, I also appreciate cats! Now on to the fractal business before I get scolded by the all- seeing god of the Fractint list. Today's image has a kind of beauty about it. The beauty might be a bit hard to recognize, but it is there, waiting for some intrepid fractalist to discover and enjoy it. The image is a scene on the main spike of its oversized parent Mandelbrot set, in the area of the East Valley of the large minibrot. A quick glance gives the impression of discontinuities, though none actually exist in the image, where everything blends smoothly together without breaks. The optimistic rating and the name "A New Beginning" reflect the national mood of the day. I'll not speculate on what the mood might be in a year or two. But regardless of moods, the calcula- tion time of only 45 seconds will give no problems. If other problems should arise however, the finished image may be seen on the FOTD web site at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> Tuesday began with clear skies and a temperature of 5F -15C here at Fractal Central. But at noon the clouds moved in and the fractal cats turned cranky. The afternoon high of 27F -3C left them cold. Their biggest thrill came during the middle of the night, when a noisy cat fight broke out nearby. Another thrill came in the afternoon, when a mouse darted across the kitchen floor, barely escaping Cassie's pounce. My day was filled with work, and to keep FL happy I joined her to watch the inaugural festivities on TV. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed the ceremonies. The next FOTD will be posted on schedule in 24 hours. Until then, take care, and wait for the sunrise. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= A_New_Beginning { ; time=0:00:45.89-SF5 on P4-2000 reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=basic.frm formulaname=DivideBrot5 passes=t center-mag=-34.92\ 9072151/-0.000006934429/174000/1/9.5/0 params=53/20 float=y maxiter=2750 inside=255 symmetry=xaxis periodicity=10 mathtolerance=0.05/1 colors=000LdbLfaLh`Lj_LlZLnYLpXLrWLtWSjcYajdTrjKyk\ MxlOwmWvmVunUtoVsoWrpXrqYqqZpr_osanscmtelsgkrijrjh\ okelkbij_fiXchU`gRYfOVeLSdIPcFMbCJa9G`6D_3AZ0BY8BX\ FBWMBVTBU_BTfBSmBRtGQqLPnQOkVPiZRfcXchaamgZrlWvqUr\ nWnkYkhZge`cba`_cXXdTUfQRgMOiFLkJMjNNiROiVPhZQhbRg\ fSfjTfnUepTfqVeqXdrYdr_cr`bsbbscaseatg`th_uj_ukZum\ YvnYvpXzs`vqXrpUooQknNglJdkG`jCXi9Uh6SiCQiHPiNNiSM\ iYKibIihHimFisEixDhvCgtCgrBfpBfoAemAek9di8cg8cf7bd\ 7bb6a`6a_AbVDcQHcMKdHMh8NdDN`HOXLOTPPPT98rPMXhT9dZ\ C`dFXjIRuGToKVjNXeQZ`T_WWd_UicSngQskOqiPogQneRlcRj\ aSi_TgYUfWUhXXjX_kXbmXeoXhpXkrXntXqwYtuXssWsqVspUr\ nUrlTrkSriRqgQqeQqdPpbOp`NpZ_z_Npd4l_AfVF`RKVMQPHV\ JBlID_DEN9FA5KH4ON3SU2X_1`f0dl0bl4al8_lBZlFXlIWlMU\ lQTlTRlXQl_7U39V6BV9DWCEWFGXHIXKJYNLYQNZTILiOZVUlG\ _z2at6co9eiCgdGiZJkUMmOQoJTqDWs8ZpAXmCWjDVgFUdHTaI\ SZKRWMPTNOQPNNRMKSLHUK00L } frm:DivideBrot5 { ; Jim Muth z=(0,0), c=pixel, a=real(p1)-2, b=imag(p1)+0.00000000000000000001: z=sqr(z)/(z^(-a)+b)+c |z| < 1000000 } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================