FOTD -- January 27, 2010 (Rating 8.5) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: NEW FORMULA ALERT! Today's formula, the AllNewDivideBrot2, is a variation of the AllNewDivideBrot formula. The only change is a sign change in the iterated-expression line. As today's image shows however, a simple sign change can make a world of difference. The parent fractal is a Mandelbrot set rotated 180 degrees, so that its main spike points east and its East Valley has become a West Valley. If this were all there is to it, there would be nothing unusual, but a closer examination reveals subtle changes, especially in the West Valley area, where the sharp terminating point has broadened into a wedge. Today's scene is located on the southern edge of this wedge. (Strange things are also happening along the negative, in this case the positive, spike, but that's a story for another day.) With its herringbone patterns, the image is unusual enough to rate an 8, and the coloring is just strong enough to merit an extra half-point. Adding these together, the rating is an 8-1/2. The name "What is This Thing" is an easily answered question. This thing is a fractal, though I leave it to the more philosoph- ically minded to decide what a fractal is. The calculation wait of 4-4/5 minutes will pass quickly enough once the image starts to appear. The trip to the FTOD web site will be even faster. The web site may be found at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> Heavy clouds, brisk winds, and a temperature of 36F +2C made the outdoors less than comfortable on Tuesday. The fractal cats spent the day ignoring the outdoors and keeping warm by the heat. My day was uneventful. The next FOTD fractal image will be posted in 24 hours. Until then, take care, do the things that are necessary and ignore the rest. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= What_is_This_Thing { ; time=0:04:49.57-SF5 on P4-2000 reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=basicer.frm formulaname=AllNewDivideBrot2 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=-0.2532112922284393/-0.0014744\ 9096068753/2e+009/1/-127.5/0 params=2.5/300 float=y maxiter=4200 inside=0 logmap=275 periodicity=6 colors=000jsBkoClkDmgDndEo`FpXFqTGqQGGdE8P70A16G4B\ L7GQALWDQ`GVeJ_kMdpPiuSWcLINE468859C59G59K59O5AS5A\ W5A_4Ac4Ag4Bk4Bo4Bs4Bw4Bt9EqDGnHIkLKhQNeWPb`R_dTXh\ WUmZRpaOsdLvgMwiMwjMwjNwiNwhNxgRxfUxeZxdcxdhydmydr\ ydvydzzdzzdvwarr_mnXhjVcfTZcQ__O`XMZUNYSNWQNVONTMN\ SKNPHNNDNK9NJ6NJ5NMCLOIJQOHRUGTZEUcCWhBXm9Zr7_w6Vt\ 6Qq7Kn7Fk8Ah8EiAIjBLkCPkDTlEWmF_mGbnHfoIjoJmpKqqLt\ qMooOjmQelS`jUWhWRgXMeZHc`Cbb7`d3_e7ZdBZcEZbIZaKZ`\ MZ`PZ_TYZWYY_YXcYWfYVjYUclwejsfhpggmheiicfjbck`_lZ\ XPjBShEVgGYeI`dKbbMeaOh_QkZSzDvwIptMjrQdoUZAmsFkoK\ ilPgiUefZcbca_h_X2w1Ep9QjGacN46uKGkZPbgMkhOhiPfjRd\ jSbkU_lVYmXWW8wYBtZDr`FoaHmcJjdLhfOzgQziSzjUzlWzgS\ zhTziUziUzjVzkWzkWzlXzmYzf7zZ9zW9zU9zT9zT9zT9zS9zS\ 9zS9zIUz9mzFmzKmzPmzVmz_mzdmziKzdKz_KzVKzQFzL7zR8z\ W8z`8zf8zk8zp8zu8ztDzsHzsLzrznqznqznpznoznoznmzjkz\ fizcgz_ezXzzzpzhrzftzduzb } frm:AllNewDivideBrot2 { ; Jim Muth z=(0,0), c=pixel, a=-(real(p1)-2), b=imag(p1)+0.00000000000000000001: z=(-b)*(z*z*fn1(z^(a)+b))+c |z| < 1000000 } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================