FOTD -- August 08, 2003 (Rating 4) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Sometimes fractal luck, like any other luck, can turn bad. This happened to me during my fractal explorations on Thursday evening, when I was tracking today's scene. Today's scene is a slow one, and I had already been on its track for over an hour when I started calculating the final frame, fully expecting to find a midget at the center. But I had been fooled. Today's image is not one of a midget, it is another of those 'dry lakes' that from a distance look like the basin surrounding a midget but up close prove to be nothing more than an area of symmetry. Normally, I discard such failures, but I had put so much time and effort into today's image that I decided to declare it the FOTD for 8-8-03 despite the lack of a midget. (Also, even without the standard midget, it is an interesting scene.) Actually, I never had a chance of finding a midget even if one were at the center of the basin. The image as it appears is of such a great magnitude that it is already showing signs of resolution breakdown. If a midget were at the center, I would never be able to reach it. This excessive magnitude is the reason I included the 'mathtolerance' entry in the parameter file. I named the final result "No Luck Today" and rated it at a below- average 4. The unusually slow render time of almost an hour is admittedly excessive for such a mediocre image. I advise letting Paul and Scott render the image, and then picking it up from one of their FOTD web sites. The URL of Paul's site is: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> Scott's site is: <http://sdboyd.dyndns.org/~sdboyd/fotd/index.html> The clouds and occasional light rain prevailed all day Thursday here at Fractal Central. The temperature of 79F 26C was comfortable enough, but the wet grass kept the fractal cats confined to within a few feet of the porch. When they came indoors, their moods were so sour that a squabble broke out and a few punches were thrown before a treat of tuna eased their frustration. Today is forecast to be another showery day. Hopefully, the duo will weather any rain better than they did yesterday. I'm going to spend the day finishing the modicum of work still waiting to be done, and then I'll search for a better fractal. Until tomorrow, when that better fractal will appear as the FOTD, take care, and don't get run down by a DUI fractal. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE================================ No_Luck_Today { ; time=0:55:52.48--SF5 on a P200 reset=2002 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=ident passes=1 center-mag=-1.628689612431902/+0.00008782771078793\ /2.832453e+013/1/90/3.88578058618804789e-016 params=2/0.05/2/3/0/0 float=y maxiter=12000 periodicity=10 mathtolerance=/1 colors=000nTqpTqqXnq_lqbjqehncekaci_afYZcXXaVVZTSW\ RQUPOROLOMJMKHJIEGGCDE9EFAFGAFGAGHAHHAHIAIJAIJAJKA\ KKBKLBLMBMMBMNBNNBNOBOOBPPBPQBQQCRRCRRCSSCSTCTTCUU\ CUUCVVCVVCUWDTXESXFRYFQZGPZHO_HN_IM`JLaJKaKJbLNfKJ\ bLG_MDXNAUO7RPDUUJWYPZaU`f_cjeenomwjgrfbnaYiYTeTO`\ PJXKESG9OC4KE6LF8LG9LHBMIDMJEMKGNLINMJNNLOOMOPOOQQ\ PRRPSTPUVQVWQWYQX_RY`RZbR_cS`eSagSbhTcjTdlTemUfoUg\ pUkr_otesvkwxqqvpktoero_pnUnnOlmEjtJkmOkgTlaYlVamP\ fmJknCpn6tn0pi3me6i`9fXCcSF_OIXJLUFNVHMWILWJKXKJXL\ IYMHYNGZOF`ODZPEYPEXQEWQEVREURETRESSERSEQTEPTEOTEN\ UEMUELVEKVEIVFHWFGWFFXFEXFDXFCYFBYFAZF9ZF8ZF7_F6_F\ 5`F4`F1cC3`F5YH7VJ9TLBQNDNPFLSHIUJFWLDYNA_P7aQ5cT4\ dV4dX3eZ3ea2fc2fe2fg1gj1gl0hn0hp0ho1in1in1im1jl1jl\ 1jk1kj1kj1ki1kh2lh2lg2lf2mf2me2me2md2nc2nc2nb3oa3o\ a3o`3o_3p_3pZ3pY3qY3qX3qY2rX3qX4pW4oW5nW5mV6lV6kU7\ jU7iU8hT9gT9fTAehTqjTqlTq } 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==================================