FOTD -- March 21, 2009 (Rating 5) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Be warned! There will be no FOTD for March 22. I promised FL we would go on an antiquing expedition on Saturday, and there is no way to get out of it. (Besides, I kind of enjoy browsing through the stuff [they call it collectibles] other people threw out.) The next FOTD will be posted on March 23. In today's image we return to the most famous of all fractals, the Mandelbrot set, where we focus our interest on a tiny mini- brot near the tip of the main spike. Today's scene lies on a filament extending from the large bud on the northwest shore line of the main bay of the tiny minibrot. There's not much more to be said about the image, which rates only an average 5 because of its excess familiarity. The name "End of the Spike" is a misnomer, since the spike has no real end. The minibrots on it keep growing smaller as the limit of 2 is approached, but never come to an end. The calculation time of the image is 3-3/4 minutes. Most of this time is due to the magnitude, which makes arbitrary preci- sion math necessary. But why fiddle with calculating when the completed image is posted for instant viewing on the FOTD web site at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> The weather was a bit chilly for the first day of spring here at Fractal Central on Friday. The temperature of 41F 5C and brisk north wind made it feel more like early February. The fractal cats soon grew disgusted with the continued coming and going of the sun, and instead of waiting for the last cloud to blow by, decided to worry us for an extra treat of tuna. needless to say, their persistence was rewarded. My day was moderately busy. With the antiquing trip coming up, there will be no FOTD for March 22. The next one will be for March 23. Until then, take care, and be skeptical of the things skeptics don't believe in. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= End_of_the_Spike { ; time=0:03:47.14-SF5 on P4-2000 reset=2004 type=mandel passes=t center-mag=-1.94142793652340829363/6.7334784052237\ 1681e-4/6.335316e+016/1/-157.5/0 params=0/0 float=y maxiter=2750 inside=0 logmap=284 periodicity=10 colors=000KFczz6zw3zoLzoNzmPzlRzgTziVviXriWmiVhiVc\ hUZgUUg`Zggggmqgtn`mvZhrRSmUQhWOcYNZ`LUbJPdIKgGIiE\ LkDNnBPp9Rr8TSH02Q07O0BM0GKTKITOGTTETXCT`ATe8Ti6Tm\ 4SlDSkLRiTRh`RghNfkKrzHozElzBiz8fzCezFczDazB`z9`z7\ Zx5Xu3Vw1Uy3Uw4Wv5Xu6Zs7`r8aq9boAbnBcmCdkDdjEeiFeh\ 95X95V85S85Q75N75L75J8LsqBKeSQVhWVmNVrFXpFZoF_mFal\ FbjFdiFfgFgfFidFjcFiaDi_CiZAhX9hW7hU6hT5eW8bZA_aDX\ dFUgIRiKOmNLqPIuSFyUCzX9zZExYJqXOiXSbWXWVaOVfIUjCU\ _ORQ_OFkL5wI8tKBqLEoNHlOJiQMgRPdTSbUU_WXXX_VZbS_dQ\ `_TcWWeSZgOaiJclFfnBip7lr3nt5dp6Wm7Mj8DgCBbF9YJ8TM\ 6OP5JLEKHNKDVL9cL5lM2tM5rN7qO9pOBoPEnQGmQIlRKkRNjS\ PiTRhTTgUVfUTcRSaOR_LQYJTZMWZPoedkgagiZdjX`lUXmRUo\ PQpzMrzJszMtzPuzSvzUwzzxKzyKzzLzzLzzLzzMzzMzzNzzNz\ zOzzOmzzmzzmzzmzzzzszzpzzmzzjzzgzzdzzbzzFzzGzzIzzJ\ zzKzzLzzNzzOzzPzzQzzQzzQzzQzzQzzQzzQzzQzzQGzQCzQ8z\ Q5zQ6zN6zL6zI6zG6zD6zB6z8 } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================