FOTD -- January 20, 2002 (Rating 4) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: I named today's meager effort "Return to Childhood". I gave it this name because it's part of the Mandelbrot set, which is the first fractal I ever saw, and it resembles the kind of fractals I found back in the late 1980's, when I was just getting started in my fractal adventures. I was not exactly a child back then, but it was a time when even simple fractals held a real magic -- the magic of newness. Actually, like a child, I spent too much time Saturday on the internet watching the progress of the so-called snowstorm, and not enough time exploring fractal-land. As a result, I was forced to fall back on the M-set for my FOTD. Today's image is not exactly like those of 1988 however. It's magnitude is over 10^19, which puts it well beyond where I could go in the good old days, though the render time of just under 2 hours is on a par with the render times of the early days. Being distracted by the snow, I gave almost no effort to the coloring of the image, which with proper coloring might rate as high as a 6. Those with snow to shovel will have time to run the parameter file while they do their shoveling. Others will want to download the finished GIF image from Scott's web site at: <http://sdboyd.dyndns.org/~sdboyd/fotd/index.html> The fractal weather here at Fractal Central on Saturday was snowy, with a bit of sleet mixed in during the warmest part of the day, when the temperature reached 32F 0C. A total of 3-1/2 inches (9cm) of snow fell, which, compared to the forecasts, wasn't all that bad. But it was definitely anti-cat weather. The fractal cats checked the outdoors several times, and they actually appeared happy to be inside for a change. As for myself, I now have a sidewalk to clear, and I had best get started before the sun melts the meager accumulation and I miss out on the fun. Until next time, when I actually might philosophize, take care, and enjoy yourself. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= ReturnToChildhood { ; time=1:53:07.76--SF5 on a P200 reset=2002 type=mandel passes=1 center-mag=-1.74899566659880973297145/-5.218600179\ 14210019307e-4/3.752988e+019/1/12.5/2.293859546753\ 65156e-013 params=0/0 float=y maxiter=9550 inside=0 colors=0004WQ4aO5fN5lMAZSB`VDcYEe`GhbHjeIlhKokLqnN\ tqOvtPxvSutUrrXpqZmoajnchleejhbij`gmYfoVdqTcnRalQ_\ jPYhOXfNVdMTbLR`KQYJOWIMUHKSGJQFHOEFMDDKCCM0EL7FLE\ FKLFKSGJZGJeGHfIFfKDgMCgOAhP8hR7iT5iV3jX2jY5h_8g`B\ faEebHcdKbeNafQ`gTZiWYjZXkaWleaihgfkmcnralncjkdhhe\ fefdbhb_i`XjZUkXQmVNnTKoRHpPErNBsL8tJ5uH6sG7rF8qE9\ pD9oCAmBBlACk9Dj8DiCCfFBcJB`MAYQ9VT9SX8P_7Mc7Jf6Gj\ 5Dm5Aq47t34w31CQuERtGStITsKUsMVsOWrQXrSYrUZqW_qY`p\ _apabpccoedofeo_ZpTTqMMrFGsGFnGEjGEeHDaHCXHCTIBOIA\ KIAGP9LW8Qb8Vi7_p6dw6ht7jq8ko9mlAnjAogBqdCrbDt_EuY\ EvUGpRIjOJdLLZHMUEOOBPI8RC5S79V8CY9G`AJcBNfCQhDNhF\ KhGHhHEhIChJ9hK6hL3hM1hN8dTF`YMXcTUh_QnfMsmJxnNwnQ\ vnTunWunZtnasodsogrojqomqopposoovoorponqojqofrobro\ ZsoVspYmp_gpbapdWpgQpiKplEpn8pp2siAvbIxWQsYRn_Si`T\ dbU_cVVeWQgXLhYGjZBk_6m`2naDhYOcUZZQVWRSTRORSLOSIM\ TEJTBGU7EU4BV19V2FT3LS3QR } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================