Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts:

Today's image returns us to the elephant menagerie.   While wandering aimlessly through the zoo, I stumbled upon the strange elephant in todays image, which is one in a series of similar elephants lined up along the shore line of East Valley of a minibrot on the main filament of the fractal that results when the formula Z^(1.1892)+C is calculated 4 levels up the logarithmic ladder.   BTW, 1.1892 is the 4th root of 2.

The elephant in the image, as well as the unseen ones on either side of it, has its trunk apparently tied in a knot, or at least a spiral.   Actually, it takes quite a bit of imagination to see an elephant in the image at all.   The most striking feature is the sawtooth pattern that pervades the scene, and the almost too intense colors.

The name "Knotted Trunk" refers to the trunk of the unfortunate elephant in today's image.   The rating of a very mediocre 5 indicates that I don't give a croak about the trunk.

But the calculation time of 30 minutes is indeed a problem.   The image is hardly worth the wait, so I recommend viewing the already finished image on the FOTD web site at:
While stuck in a traffic backup today, FL found herself next to a car playing a Hip Hop 'song' at ear-splitting volume.   A white woman was driving the car and FL was shocked at the violence and anger expressed in the shouted words.

When FL returned to FC, she asked me how such unpleasant 'music' could be so popular.   How, she asked, can people stay so angry that they enjoy listening to such stuff all day.   Not wanting to get into a philosophical discussion, I went to the book shelf in my workroom, picked up the book "Patterns in the Void" by Sten Odenwald, and told FL to read the epilogue, which describes the rational but hopeless view of the world that I feel is largely responsible for the festering anger and depression that makes such violent music not only acceptable but actually fulfilling.   But the last time I noticed, she had not opened the book.

Clouds and light rain spoiled the day on Friday here at Fractal Central.   The fractal cats enjoyed the much cooler temperature of 72F 22C.   My day was average.   The next FOTD will be posted in 24 hours.   Until then, take care, and I hear that the aliens are softening us up so we'll be unable to resist when they arrive in force to carry us off as slaves.   But then, why would an alien race so technologically advanced as to be able to navigate interstellar space need something as primitive as slave labor to do their menial tasks?


Jim Muth
jamth@mindspring.com
jimmuth@aol.com

START PARAMETER FILE=======================================

Knotted_Trunk       { ; time=0:30:06.87-SF5 on P4-2000
  reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=basic.frm
  formulaname=MandelbrotBC3 function=floor inside=255
  center-mag=-6.050216876515906/+7.990641684923723/22\
  89070/1/-140/0 passes=t maxiter=15000 periodicity=10
  params=1.1892/0/4/500 float=y logmap=457
  colors=000Acw7cw4cw2cw5ev7fv9huBiuEjuGltImtKosNpsP\
  qsRsrTtrVur`omejiYmkQomJqoOmZTiIYe1Xc3Xb5W`6W_8VYA\
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  w_CxZEyZGzYIzYKzXMzXOzWQzWRzVSzWTzYUz_VzaWzcXzdYze\
  Zzf_zgazhczihzjmzkrzlzKFK }

frm:MandelbrotBC3   { ; by several Fractint users
  e=p1, a=imag(p2)+100
  p=real(p2)+PI
  q=2*PI*fn1(p/(2*PI))
  r=real(p2)+PI-q
  Z=C=Pixel:
    Z=log(Z)
    IF(imag(Z) > r)
      Z=Z+flip(2*PI)
    ENDIF
    Z=exp(e*(Z+flip(q)))+C
  |Z| < a }

END PARAMETER FILE=========================================