FOTD -- December 31, 2002 (Rating 6) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: With today's FOTD we end the year by returning to the MandelbrotMix4 formula and visiting the fractal created when 4.1 parts of Z^(-7.5) are added to 7.7 parts of Z^(-1.5). To make things even more interesting, we then add (1/C) rather than just straight C. The resulting fractal consists of a short string of bays with many spurious sub-bays and valleys. Today's scene lies in an unlikely part of a spiral in an unpromising area in the south- west corner of the parent fractal. I found it more by instinct than logic. In fact, I rarely use logic when searching for fractals -- it takes too much of the fun and surprise out of the search. I named the image "So Be It". The name has nothing to do with the appearance of the fractal. It expresses the mood that comes over me every year at this time, when another year passes irretrievably into the past. (which too many have already done) The image consists of a central midget surrounded by a ring of silk ribbons. Beyond the silky ring lies a dark mysterious area filled with somber purplish bows. The whole thing is a bit on the depressing side, and can be rated no higher than a 6. But a 6 is still above average, so the 14 minutes spent rendering the image from the parameter file will not be a total waste of time. And even the 14 minute wait can be avoided by visiting one of the FOTD web sites and downloading the finished image from there. Paul's FOTD web site can be accessed at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> Scott's can be found at: <http://sdboyd.dyndns.org/~sdboyd/fotd/index.html> Monday brought a repeat of Sunday's weather to F.C., with sun, clouds, light breezes, and a temperature of 44F 6.5C, which was pleasant for humans but not pleasant enough for dynamic fractal cats. The duo's moods turned sulky as the afternoon progressed and the mud in the yard remained undried. As for myself, I expect a pleasant enough day. The non-fractal work is nearly finished, leaving me little to do for the rest of the day but keep my eye on the cats, search for fractals, and finish reading my latest issue of 'Skeptical Inquirer' magazine, a publication by skeptics for skeptics, whose purpose is to pro- mote reason and reassure the concerned members of the skeptical community that the paranormal and the supernatural do not exist. Unfortunately for those whose world would come crashing down if the paranormal were shown to be true, things that cannot be ex- plained rationally actually do happen, and have happened to me, (particularly in the week preceding 9-11-01), which is why I no longer consider the articles in SI magazine to be the final word on the subject. But it is still an informative magazine, which is fun to read. And, being party-poopers, the authors are used to being kicked around by those who want to believe. Once again, I have managed to escape the silliness that happens at midnight every year on this date. Instead of going out and acting silly, I'll sit by my fractal TV and watch others act silly. Until next year, which will be here sooner than one might expect, take care, and bide your time with a search for fractals. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE================================ So_Be_It { ; time=0:14:46.39--SF5 on a P200 reset=2002 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=-0.80908348488226210/-1.024832179848169\ 00/7.597656e+008/1/159.999668133916543/0.000292235\ 226264474235 params=7.7/-1.5/4.1/-7.5/0/525 float=y maxiter=2000 inside=0 logmap=310 periodicity=10 colors=00042E63G84HA5JD6LH7NK8PO9QRASVAUY8Wa7Yd6Zh\ 5`k4bo3dr2fu1gq6inAkkFlhJneOoaSqZXrW`tTeuQewNgxMhv\ LhuLesKcrJ`pJZoIWmHUlHRjGPiFMgFKfEHdEFcHE`JEYLDWND\ TQCRSCOUBMWBJZAH`AEb9Cd99f97hE6iJ6jO5kT5lY4nb4og3p\ l3qq2rr2pr6ooAmmDljHjhKieOgbRf`VdYYcWaaTd`QhZOkYLo\ XJrTJoPJmQIkQHiQGgQGeQFcQEaRD_RDYRCXRBURASRA3SE4SE\ 5SI6SH7SM8SL8TO9TOATQBTSCTSDTVDSTHRUKQUNPTQPTTOTWN\ SZMSaLSdLSgKXeJacJfbIk`Ip_HuYHzXGsYFmZFg_Ea`EWaDQb\ DKcCEdC8eB7dB7dB7cB7cB7cB7bA6bA6aA6aA6aA6`A6`A6`HG\ VOQQU_LT`MSaMRbMQbNPcNPdNOeONeOMfOLgPKhPKhPIeQHbQF\ `REYRDVSBTSAQT8OT7LU6IU4GV3DV2BV6HSAMPDRNHWKLaHOfF\ SkCWj9Zz7`t8bt9dsAefBglCirDjqElqEnqFopGqpHsoItoJvn\ KxnLynLvkMshNpeOnbOk_PhYQeVRcSR`PSYMTVKUTHUQEVNBWK\ 8XI6XK9WMCWOFWQIWSLVTOVVRVXUVZXU`_UbbUceUbfWbgXbiY\ bkZbm`boabqbbscbuebwfbxgbyhbzidzbfzXhzQizKgzHezEcz\ Baz9_z6Yz3Wz1Xz3Yz5Zz7_z9 } frm:MandelbrotMix4 {; Jim Muth a=real(p1), b=imag(p1), d=real(p2), f=imag(p2), g=1/f, h=1/d, j=1/(f-b), z=(-a*b*g*h)^j, k=real(p3)+1, l=imag(p3)+100, c=fn1(pixel): z=k*((a*(z^b))+(d*(z^f)))+c, |z| < l } END 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE==================================