; Date: Sun, 07 Dec 2003 10:15:47 -0500 ; From: Jim Muth ; Subject: [Fractint] FOTD 07-12-03 (Scorpio the Scorpion [6]) ; Id: <1.5.4.16.20031207101728.2b37918e@pop.mindspring.com> ; --------- ; ; FOTD -- December 07, 2003 (Rating 6) ; ; Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: ; ; Today's image is a dynamic one -- an image of a midget in the ; Z^1.09+C Mandeloid, which has been sliced 96 turns up the ; hyperspatial logarithmic spiral. It is incredible that a midget ; could be found in a fractal with an exponent as close to unity ; as 1.09, but today's image does not lie. The midget is there ; for all the world to see. ; ; But it doesn't look like a midget. It looks more like a comet ; tearing through the solar ejecta, complete with coma and tail. ; This appearance reflects the shape of its oversized parent ; fractal. ; ; I could have named the picture something like 'N.E.O.' or 'Solar ; Wind', but before giving the image a name, I looked more closely ; and noticed in the comet's tail an object that vaguely resembles ; a scorpion. I named the image "Scorpio the Scorpion", which is ; the name assigned the constellation in the southern sky that ; resembles a scorpion. ; ; Scorpio is also a sign of the zodiac, and one of the 12 signs ; of Astrology. Do I believe in Astrology? Yes, the study known ; as Astrology most certainly does exist. Do I believe that the ; science, (or pseudoscience), of Astrology has any truth behind ; it? That is a much harder question to answer. Astrologers ; certainly do believe that Astrology is a valid study, or they ; would have discovered its uselessness long ago, and it would ; have died. (Of course, they could be charlatans, preying on the ; gullible.) Skeptical scientists certainly are convinced that ; Astrology is a waste of time and effort, for they know of no ; possible way the position of the heavenly bodies could affect ; the character and fate of a person on earth. ; ; IMO, the question is not quite decided. I assume the validity ; of Astrology is greatly overblown, but is it zero? A little ; more than wish fulfillment would appear to be necessary to keep ; Astrology alive and apparently well for these thousands of ; years. I look at the clock on the wall above my desk and see ; that there is a correspondence between the position of the hands ; and the position of the sun in the sky. Every evening, when the ; hour hand reaches six, night falls. The hour hand does not ; affect the sun, yet the correspondence does exist. Does some ; similar correspondence exist that could give Astrology a modicum ; of validity without the need for the heavenly bodies to exert an ; effect on a person on earth? Almost but not absolutely certain- ; ly, it does not. ; ; Well, I've been reading 'Skeptical Inquirer', a magazine that ; always makes me pause to ponder, and I find myself once again ; drifting from the fractal topic. Today's image rates a 6, the ; most common rating of the FOTD's. Its render time is just under ; 9 minutes on my machine. This time is a bit slow, and may be ; cut by more than half by downloading the completed GIF image ; from: ; ; ; ; or from: ; ; ; ; The snow ended by noon on Saturday, followed in the afternoon by ; some sun, but the damage had already been done. Even though the ; temperature rose to just above freezing, the ground was covered ; by deep snow, which confined the fractal cats to the freshly- ; swept porch. Deprived of their outing, the cats fell into ; sullen moods, which were lightened only when the tuna appeared. ; Today looks to be just as cold, and the snow is still out there. ; I suppose the cats will need more tuna. ; ; I plan on doing as little as possible for the rest of the day. ; Check back in 24 hours to see if I succeed. Until then, take ; care, and be happy in your leisure. ; ; ; Jim Muth ; jamth@mindspring.com ; jimmuth@aol.com ; ; ; START PARAMETER FILE================================ ScorpioTheScorpion { ; time=0:08:52.45--SF5 on a p200 reset=2002 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotBC1 function=floor passes=1 center-mag=-0.37960693446691730/-2.000764325613529\ 00/332.6669/1/-40/-1.32272665043231541e-012 params=1.096/0/96/1000 float=y maxiter=10000 inside=255 logmap=93 periodicity=10 colors=000DKNEJLFHJGGHHEFIDDJBCKAAL88M76N54O31P43Q\ 54R65S77T88U89V9AWACXBDYCEZCF_DH`EIaFJbGLcHMbHNaIO\ `JQ_KRZLSYLTXMVWNWVOXUPZTQ_SQ`SRaSScSTdSUeTTeSUfSU\ gRVhRViQWjQWkPWlPXmOXnOYoNYpNZqMZrKbqL`rMZrMYsNWsO\ UtOTtPRuQPuQOvRMvSKwSJwTHxTGxb`ymvzltylrxlqwlowlnv\ llulktlitlgslfrldqlcqlapl`olZnlXnlWmkUlkTkkRkkQjkO\ ikMhkLhkJgkIfkGekFekDdkBckAbk8bk7ak5`l3Zk4_k4`j4aj\ 4bi4ci5dh5eh5fg5gg5hf6if6jf6ke6le6md7nd7oc7pc7qb7r\ b8sa8ta8u`8v`8w`8wb8tc8qd8oe8lf8jg8gh8ei8bj8`k8Yl8\ Wn8To8Qp8Oq8Lr8Js8Gt8Eu8Bv89w86yA2xC3xE4xG4xI5xK5x\ M6xO6xQ7xS8xU8xV9xW9xXAxYAxZBx_Cx_Cx`Dx`DxaExaExbF\ xbFxcGxcHxdHxdIxeIxeJxfJxfKxgLxgLyhMyhMyiNyiNyjOyj\ PykPykQylQylRymRymSznRynSxoSwoSzpTzpTzqTzqUzrUzrUz\ sVzsVztVztWzuWzuWzvWzvXzwXzwXzxYzx_zyazyczzezzgzzi\ zzkzzmzzozzqzzszzuzzwzzyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz\ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz } frm:MandelbrotBC1 { ; by several Fractint users e=p1, a=imag(p2)+100 p=real(p2)+PI q=2*PI*fn1(p/(2*PI)) r=real(p2)-q Z=C=Pixel: Z=log(Z) IF(imag(Z)>r) Z=Z+flip(2*PI) ENDIF Z=exp(e*(Z+flip(q)))+C |Z|