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Fractal of the Day
by Jim Muth
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Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Having posted my FOTD's on the web for several years, my e-mail addresses are on many mailing lists, and as a result I receive a lot of unwanted e-mail. This morning was no exception. On opening my e-mail box, I found the expected large number of 'spam' letters. I usually delete these messages after reading the first line. But I was amused this morning by the way every letter began with an excuse -- a reason why it was not spam. One letter told me that I had received it because I had 'opted in', whatever that means. Two others claimed to be replying to my previous 'inquiry'. Another claimed to be from a long-lost relative. (Funny that the relative's letter ended with a form, complete with a space for credit-card number, to fill in if I wanted to receive the product, which curiously enough was a program that would let me find long-lost relatives.) Another letter, of the highest priority, claimed to contain an urgent message. Unfortunately for the seller, I am not desperate to lose weight just in time for the summer season. Next, there was the letter telling me how to get rich quick by telling others how to get rich quick. I have never figured out where the extra money is supposed to come from in these schemes where everyone gets rich. Finally, I opened a letter informing me that I was in imminent danger of losing my soul unless I did as the well-meaning sender described. The final letter, about the fate of my soul, inspired the name for today's FOTD image. I had been thinking about what to name the image for almost 1/2 hour when I read the soul-saving letter. Since the letter reminded me of an after-death journey to somewhere, I named the image "N-D-E", which is short for "Near-Death Experience", an experience that those who have come close to death sometimes have. The experience takes many forms. In one of the most common, the person seems to leave their body and travel through a tunnel toward a light, frequently meeting lost loved ones and religious figures at the far end. Believers feel that the experience is real, that the soul actually reaches a heaven in these experiences, but is sent back to earth because the time is not yet right. Skeptics feel that the experience is imaginary, a kind of dream produced by the oxygen-deprived brain. But both of these views go beyond what is known for certain, and demand a degree of belief. Still searching for the exact meaning of the concepts 'real' and 'imaginary', I am undecided as to the nature of the NDE, and any connection it might have to a possible 'after'-life. Well, I see myself wandering from the fractal topic. Today's image is one of a midget. No, it is not a quadratic midget, but one of the order 1.066. I found it by breaking out the JimsCompMand formula, one I have not used in several years. It may seem hard to believe, but today's midget is what is left of the midget located at -1.75 on the negative tail of the classic M-set. Using the present formula, I kept track of the midget as I lowered the exponent of Z. The midget actually continues below the Z^1.066 of today's image, but the render time becomes grossly exaggerated as the midget blends into the very high iteration chaos surrounding the main bay of the parent fractal. In a few days, I may present an image of this midget as it merges into the main bay, but if so, it will be a very slow image, taking over 12 hours to render. Even after so much discussion, today's image rates only a 6. But it's relatively fast and rather pleasant to behold. And if running a parameter file is not to your liking, the GIF image may be found posted to the following two web sites: The fractal weather today (Saturday, July 7) was once again perfect, with deep blue skies, puffy white clouds, gentle breezes, dry atmosphere, and a temperature of 84F (29C), which pleased the fractal cats. It's now time to have a peaceful Sunday, if possible. Until next time, take care, and there's always light at the end of the tunnel. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com |
START 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE================================
N-D-E { ; time=0:06:39.36--SF5 on a P200
reset=2001 type=formula formulafile=jim.frm
formulaname=JimsCompMand3 passes=1
center-mag=-1.123943163353295/+0.1801440422711643/\
614.4685/1/67.5 params=1.066/0/0.688/0/0/0 float=y
maxiter=50000 inside=255 logmap=68 periodicity=10
colors=000DAB4AE5BG6CI6DJ7EL7FM8GO8HQ9IR9JTAKUALWB\
MYCNZCO`DPaDQcEReHSfKThNUiQVkTWlWXgZYcaZad__g`YeaX\
cbV``TZZSXXQVVOTTMQRLOPJMNHKLGIJEFHCDFABD99B779558\
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IyIHyKGyMFyOEyQEySDyUCyWByYAy_9ya9ycAweBxfBygCzhDz\
iDzkEzlFzmFznGzoGzpIzoKzoMznOznQzmSzmUzlWzlYzk_zka\
zkczjezjgziizikzhmzhozgqzgszfuzfwzfyzdzzbzzazz_zzZ\
zzXzzWzzUzzSzzRzzPzzOzzMzzLzzJzzHzzGzzEzzDzzBzzAzz\
9zz9zz9zz8zz8zz8zz8zz7zz7zz7zz7zz6zz6zz6zz5zz5zz5z\
z5zz4zz4zz4zz4zz6zz7zz8zz9zzBzzCzzDzzEzzGzzHzzIzzJ\
zzLzzMzzNzzOzzQzzRzzSzzTzzUzzYzz`zzdzzgzzjzzkzzkzz\
kzzlzzlzzlzzmzzmzzmzzmzznzznzznzzozzozzozzozzgzz`z\
zUzzMzzFzz8zz1zz3zz4zz5zz6zz7zz9zzAzzBzzCzzDzzFzzG\
zzHzzIzzJzzKzzLzzMzzNzzNzzOzzPzzPzzQzzRzzRzzRzzRzz\
RzzRzzRzzRzzSzzSzz1zz5zzz
}
frm:JimsCompMand3 {; Jim Muth
z=c=pixel:
z=z^p1*(c^p2)+c,
|z| <= p3+100
}
END 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE==================================
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