FOTD -- September 11, 2003 (Rating 5) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: I feel strangely down this morning, and I don't know why. True, it's the second anniversary of 9-11-01, and the TV is filled with memorial ceremonies, but I have known the day was coming for a long time. Then there's the work, which has been heavier than usual over the past few weeks, cutting into my fractal exploration time. But more work means more income, so that's not really cause for the blues. Or maybe it's a touch of clinical depression, some brain chemicals not doing what they should. (As cognitive scientists tell us, emotions are caused by chemical activity in the brain.) Could it be sadness because summer is nearly over? I doubt it, since Autumn is one of my favorite times of year. Maybe it's a touch of mid-life crisis, the realization that the time of life has arrived when I must stop asking 'what will I do with my life' and start asking 'what did I do with my life'. But I have never been concerned with growing older -- it happens to everyone. Or could it simply be boredom, my reaction to things going well for a change, and the lack of excitement this smoothness implies? Most likely it's a combination of all of these. Whatever it is, I'll get over it. Today's image is part of the fractal that results when 6 parts of Z^(-1.6) are mixed with Z^(-6.1) before (1/C) is added. This parent fractal is beyond description. When studying today's image, which is located in a valley of its parent, I thought of how good a sieve it would make. I named the image "The Fractal Sieve". I gave little thought to its worth. The rating of an average 5 was chosen because it cannot be too far from the rating I would have chosen if I had given it more thought. The render time of 22 minutes is too slow for such a generic image. For speedier viewing, go to Paul's web site at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> or Scott's site at: <http://sdboyd.dyndns.org/~sdboyd/fotd/index.html> and download the finished GIF file from there. Wednesday was once again a perfect day here at Fractal Central. The sky was sunny and the temperature reached 77F 25C. The cats were perfect also. All this perfection leaves little to write about. Today is showing all signs of being another perfect day. Why then do I feel strangely down? Until tomorrow's FOTD, take care, and keep that chin up. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE================================ The_Fractal_Sieve { ; time=0:22:24.26--SF5 on a P200 reset=2002 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=+1.30641156973805700/-0.190506442327136\ 80/3.935643e+012/0.9998/9.9808/0.03407448068099558 params=6/-1.6/1/-6.1/0/0 float=y maxiter=1500 inside=0 mathtolerance=/1 logmap=376 periodicity=10 colors=000M0zM0zM0zM2zMOzMPzMUzMVvM_tMZrMgpMjnaokM\ tjcueMxgKvgItjGrjBpk9nk7kn4jn0ep0cp0ar0Zr0Xt0Vt0Tv\ 0Qw0Rv0Tx0Vx0Xz7ZzDZzIazOczVezagzejzkjzrkzvnzznzzr\ zzqzznzzkzzjxvgtrepncjpaeeZZiXVXVRaTKORGWO9GM4SI0B\ K0DM0GM0IO0KR0MR0OT0RV0TV0VX0XZ0ZZ0aa0a_0aa0gW0cD0\ aT0ZG0XP0VI0TK0RM0OM0KO0IO0GR0DR0BT09V07V04X00X00Z\ 00a00a00c00c00e00c00e00e00e00g00g00g00g00j00j00j00\ k00k00k00k00n00n02n00r02n07k09g0De0Ga9KZGOVORTVVOc\ XMjaIrgBzcGxaIvXMtVOrRTpOVpKZnIakDejBgg7kg4ne0rc0t\ a0xZ0zZ0zX0zV0zT0zR0zR0zM0zK2vG9pDIkBRe7XZ4eT0nM0t\ I0rG0rG0rW2rD2rc4pB7p99p99p7Bp7Dn4Gn4Gn2In2Kn0Mk0M\ k0Ok0Rk0Tk0Te0VZ0XT0XM0ZG0a90a20c00c20Z70V90RD0MG0\ KK0GM4BR97VD2XI0aM0cR0gV0jZ0ea0aa7XaITcTRcaMckIevD\ ez4gzBezGezMezRezXevaergcnkcjrccvcZzcVzcRzcMzaOzZR\ zXTzVVzTXzRZzOZzMazKczIezGgzDjzBkz9kz7nz4pz2rz0tz0\ vz0vz0jz0Zz0Oz0Dz0zz0zz0z } 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==================================