FOTD -- October 19, 2005 (Rating NA) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Today's image is a variation of yesterday's image. It was created by the same formula, and the only change is in the real p1 parameter, which has been raised from 1 to 10. I did not rate the image, since it is a virtual repeat of yesterday's. The name indicates that the image is the eighth in the series of Mandelbrot variations. The render time of today's image is slightly longer than yesterday's, though I doubt that anyone will complain about an additional 1/10 of a second. The finished image is available for viewing on the FOTD web site at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> In yesterday's mail I received the November issue of 'Scientific American' magazine. When I opened it I found several interest- ing articles. The first article says that a deadly 'bird flu' epidemic is possible. I'll have to raise 'bird flu' higher on my list of other media-induced things to worry about. In the meantime, to take my mind off the ever-increasing list of things to worry about, I'll rush out and buy the sponsor's products. Another article in the magazine speculates that the force of gravity might be a kind of illusion arising from interactions in a lower-dimensional realm. (I thought there were supposed to be 10 or 11 dimensions in the world of supermembranes.) The last article tackles the question of how the very material brain generates the sense of the very immaterial 'self'. (Hope- fully it goes beyond merely measuring brain activity.) I have not yet found time to thoroughly read any of these articles, but I am already intrigued by the fact that in the same publication there is an article about physics, implying that the search for answers must extend beyond the intuitive range of our senses, and another article about neurobiology, implying that we need not search beyond the range of our senses for the answers. Come on guys, these are big mysteries. Let's have a bit of philosophical agreement here. Perhaps I don't even need to read the articles. The first article probably is another remotely possible idea that most likely will go the way of the luminiferous ether. The second is probably a study of what happens in the brain when a person is conscious. It almost certainly will not bridge the gap between interacting neurons and our inner sense of 'self' in a comprehen- sible manner. Turning to my own field, graphic design, a very large job has come in, which will leave me little time to ponder other things for the rest of the week. Due to the rush, the next FOTD will be delayed for several days. An unexpectedly pleasant sunny 77F 25C day on Tuesday made the fractal cats very happy. And even better, today promises to be equally as pleasant. For me the work has once again piled up and it will take several days to clear things away. The next FOTD will appear by next Monday or Tuesday. Until then I will be very busy but not too busy to keep up with the fractal lists. Take care, and if gravity, which seems very real, is only an illusion, how much more that appears real is only an illusion? Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= Mandel_Variation-8 { ; time=0:00:00.97--SF5 on a P200 reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=jim.frm formulaname=Test-01 function=cos/sqr center-mag=-0.459436/0/0.02901848 params=10/0/1/0/2/0 float=y maxiter=1000 inside=0 outside=summ logmap=yes periodicity=10 colors=000NIVR4XR4TR4QS3MS3JS3FS3CS39Q8APDAOHAMMAL\ QAKVAI_BHcBGhBElBDqBCuBHnDLgEP`FTVHXOI`HJdBKeHLfNM\ gSMhYNhcNihOjnOktPkyPdpTZhXS`_MTcGLfJP_LSTNVMQYFS`\ 8Uc1Re7OgCLhHIjNFlSCmXEhZFd_H_`IWaJSbHUcGWcFXcEZdD\ _dCadBcdAde9fe8ge7ie6kf5lf4nf3of9lbEiZJgWPdSUbOZ_L\ dYHiVDnTAhVFbXKXZPR`ULbZFdcAfgBjfCnfCqfGlbJhZMdVQ_\ RTWOWSKS7gO8dKAaGCZCDW8FT4GQEBcN6pOAnPElQHjRLhSOfT\ SdUVbUZaVa_WeYXhWYlUZoS_sQ_vPWsQSqRPnSLlTHjUEgVAeW\ 7cWJfXUiXdlXooXoeUoXSoOQiX`ddkffihghihgkifljenkdol\ cqmbrnato`up_sk`qfaoabmXclScjNdhIefDfe9fOYS7vEBtHF\ rKJpNNnQRmTVkWZiZbgaffdjdgnbjr`mu_oqYpnXqjWqgVrcUs\ `TsXStURtQQuNPvJOvGNwDMwIQrNTnSXjX_facbffYkjUpmQuq\ MztIYjS6a`4`X2_T0_P5ZR9ZSEYTIYUNXVRXWWXX_WZdW_hV`m\ VaqUbvUczUdyWcxYbx_aw``vb_vdZufYtgXtiWskVrmUrnTqpS\ ppRppRnnSmlSliTjgThdUfbUd`VbZUaYU`WU_VUZUUYTUXSUWR\ UVQUUPUTOUSNURMUQLUPKUOJU } frm:Test-01 {; Jim Muth z=real(pixel)+(p1*(fn1(imag(pixel)))) c=p2*real(pixel)+fn2(imag(pixel)): z=z^p3+c |z|<=100 } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================