FOTD -- October 31, 2002 (Rating ?) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: It's Halloween day here at Fractal Central, the day when we pretend that ghosts and ghoulies are real and hope that they are not. In recognition of the day, I have found a fractal so different from my usual unending string of midgets that I can't rate it. The situation is downright spooky. The generating expression combines some Z^(-7.7) with ten times as much Z^(-0.77), then adds (1/C). With an escape radius of one-googol, the resulting image is a blank black screen consisting totally of trapped inside points. Anything that might have once been there has evaporated. But all hope is not yet lost, for the blackness is filled with invisible dynamics that can be made visible with the various inside fills. The <epscr> fill creates an impressive and intricate pattern, but for today's image I chose the <bof60> fill, which tends to draw circles and glowing auras around objects. The result of my efforts is a surreal image in which an indescribable object is suspended over a glassy surface, with the object's distorted reflection visible in the glassy surface. I named the image "Surreal Reflection" as a simple description of the scene. I leave the rating of the image to the viewer. Those who enjoy such pictures will rate it higher than a 5; those who do not will rate it lower. But all will agree that the render time of 54 minutes is excessive. This delay in seeing the image can be avoided by downloading the pre-rendered image from Paul's web site at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> or from Scott's site at: <http://sdboyd.dyndns.org/~sdboyd/fotd/index.html> where the GIF image will soon be posted. The weather Wednesday was totally miserable, with clouds, a steady cold rain, and a chilling wind. Even if it had been dry outside, the temperature of 36F 2C was far too cold for the cats' delicate ears and whiskers. They passed the day indoors, watching raindrops trickle down the windows and asking for food. Today is still cloudy and cold, but at least it's dry. That's a small improvement. The far bigger improvement will come when the work is finished. But before I can finish, I must start, so until tomorrow, when the first FOTD of November will appear, take care, and pause to ponder the impossible. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE================================ Surreal_Reflection { ; time=0:54:37:18--SF5 on a P200 reset=2002 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=0.8965/0.11586/0.5226667/1/37.1/-1.2337\ 35336114705e-014 params=-0.4/-7.7/-4/-0.77/6/1e+100 float=y maxiter=1200 inside=bof60 periodicity=0 colors=000idCidCieCieCifCifCifCieBieBieAieAieAjfAk\ hAmjBnkBomCqoCrpDsrDtsDfU2fV3fV3gV4gV4gV4gV5hW5hW6\ hW6hW6iW7iW7iX7jX8jX8jX9jX9kX9kYAkYAkYBlYBlYBlZClZ\ CmZCmZDmZDnZEn_En_En_Fo_Fo_Go_Go`Gp`Hp`Hp`Ip`Iq`Iq\ aJqaJraJraKraKrbLsbLsbLsbMheRhdRgcRfcRfbReaRd`Rd_R\ c_RcZRbYRaXRaWR`WR_VR_URZTR_TQZSRZSRZSRZSSZSSZSSZS\ TZSTZSTZSTZSUYSUYSUYSVYSVYSVYSWYSWYSWYSWYSXYSXXSXX\ SYXSYXSYXSZXSZXSZXSZXS_XS_XS_XS`WS`WS`WSaWSaWSaWSa\ WSbWSbWSbWScWScVScVSdVSdVSdVSdVSeVSeVSeVSfVSfVSfVS\ gUSgUSgUSgUShUShUShUSiUSiUSiUSjUSjTSjTSjTSkTSkTSkT\ SlTSlTSlTSmTSmTSnUQqURpVRoSSoSSn5N65N64M64M63L63L6\ 2K62K62K64L75L86M97MA9NBANCBODCOEEPFFPGGQHHQIJRJKR\ KLSLMSMNTMPTNQUORUPSVQUVRVWSWWTXXUZXW_YY`Y_aZac`de\ cfgeiihjkjmmllnnWnnVnnVnnUnmUmmTmmTmmTmmSmlSmlRmlR\ mlQmlQlkPlkPlkOlkOlkNljNljMljMljMkjLkiLkiKkiKj_Cj`\ Cj`Cj`CjaCjaCibCibCicCicC } 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==================================