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- Online since September 5th, 2004 - |
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![]() My hamster Lucy, tracked with HamsterTracker™Powered by Peacoque Labs, Eindhoven, the NetherlandsCreated by Mathijs van der Paauw ![]() |
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News Archive: |
Thursday, December 29, 2005 - day 196 - current treadmill total: 334,405.53 meters! (17:20 CET) Lucy's Statistical Graphs updateHere's an update of Lucy's latest statistical graphs. ![]() HamsterTracker™ Server crashes: Day: 12, 30, 44, 57, 67, 68, 76, 90, 91, 96, 99, 116, 182 ![]() ![]() |
Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - day 195 - current treadmill total: 334,333.03 meters! (17:45 CET) The "Jingle Dumbell" ExperimentI presented Lucy with the Jingle Dumbell, which was a gift from Sandra (mentioned yesterday). ![]() What's this??? - Lucy ![]() "Can I come out and play?" - Lucy She knawed on the 'Jingle Dumbell' for aproximately half a minute. Then she sniffed it from different angles. She lost interest in approximately two minutes... And wanted out of her cage... I guess this is not really a hamster toy. In the cage, Lucy has, it can't roll around for her to play with. I'm planning some more experiments with this on the couch. But for now Lucy, seems picky! |
Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - day 194 - current treadmill total: 333,837.69 meters! (19:45 CET) More X-mas gifts for Lucy!Yesterday, (in holland we have two days of christmas), Lucy got some awesome gifts from Sandra. (Almost) 1 Million toiletpaper-rolls: ![]() Lucy is going to enjoy these! Lucy also got a "Jingle Dumbell" from Sandra ![]() I've checked the website that's on the card attached to the 'Jingle Dumbell' www.russelrabbit.com, because I am not really sure if this is for hamsters. It states: " Jingle Dumbell - Designed to encourage small animals to play and exercise. Rabbits, ferrets and other small animals will love the jingle ball inside the dumbbell." I am going to wait untill Lucy wakes up, and observe what she does with it. I'll try to make some photographs along the way. To be continued... Sandra thank you for your Lucy support! Therefore, HamsterTracker™ shouts to Sandra! |
Monday, December 26, 2005 - day 193 - current treadmill total: 333,309.12 meters! (11:00 CET) Lucy's X-mas giftLucy got a gift from Meinke and Ben yesterday. ![]() ![]() HamsterTracker™ shouts to Meinke & Ben! |
Friday, December 23, 2005 - day 190 - current treadmill total: 332,219.62 meters! (22:00 CET) Quality time with LucyI've just spend some quality time with Lucy. I had some fun watching her running around in her explorer ball. (25 minutes max). ![]() "Do I really have to come out?" - Lucy |
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - day 188 - current treadmill total: 330,683.56 meters! (20:15 CET) Cage cleaning dayToday Lucy's cage needed a good cleaning! ![]() Almost ready here! After cleaning I always try to make up for the inconvinience: ![]() .... - Speechless Lucy |
Monday, December 19, 2005 - day 186 - current treadmill total: 329,540.78 meters! (18:00 CET) ![]() Virtual Lucy is doin' some X-mas tree climbingSee also: december 13, 2005 and November 17, 2005) Virtual Lucy's holiday update:I've seen the pictures on the cell-phone mentioned on december 13, 2005; they are awesome!' They show that Virtual Lucy wasn't mistreated or anything. Actually she was treated very very nice. I'll publish them immediately as soon as I have them. To be continued... (Let's hope) |
Sunday, December 18, 2005 - day 185 - current treadmill total: 328,857.72 meters! (21:45 CET) HamsterTracker™ Websurfin'![]() My virtual friend & also hamster lover and person behind www.xander.it (italian site) Alessandro, has been doin' some HamsterTracker™ promotion! (click for: a 'Google to english translated' version of www.xander.it ) He was kind enough to link the HamsterTracker™ site a while ago! He has one of Italy's most favorite hamster webcam. Alessandro has also started another service MaCheIdea.com![]() This is one of those awesome sites, which you don't know what you can expect when you click a link. After spending some time clicking and exploring, I am concluding that this site is truely addictive. Alessandro was kind enough to add this HamsterTracker™ website to the awesome list, and yesterday it was NO 1 in unique visitors! ![]() Therefore visit ![]() For pure web-surfin' enjoyment during these seasons holidays! |
Friday, December 16, 2005 - day 183 - current treadmill total: 328,094.41 meters! (17:30 CET) Hamster Treadmill Runnin'Last night the HamsterTracker™ server ran without a problem. It recorded 417.47 meters yesterday and 440.62 meters today! Although Lucy isn't running as much in her treadmill as in the beginning, she still ran (do the math here 857.09 meters) and that's a lot last night. Pretty much for an approximately 10 cm large animal. That is 8571 times her bodysize! That would be the same as me running an approximate of 1.82 * 8571 = 15,599.22 meters or (approximately) 10 miles, last night! Because Lucy's record in a single night is 5,390.56 meters, this would be equivalent of me running: ( 53906 * 1.82 = ) 98,108.92 meters (almost 100 km or 61 miles)! ![]() "I just think hamster-treadmill-runnin' should be Hamster-O-LYMPIC!" - Lucy |
Thursday, December 15, 2005 - day 182 - current treadmill total: 327,236.06 meters! (17:30 CET) Lucy's (hamster-) yoga![]() I'm still in the process of learning on how to operate my camera. It's a Canon Digital IXUS 700 and it has gazillions of capabilities. Ofcourse once you try a setting that works for certain circumstances, you'll be likely to stick with that setting. Today I was experimenting with different settings, and the following pictures where taken, through a (tinted) plastic cage and all: Lucy has her moments of acting silly; every night after she's been awake about half an hour, Lucy goes up to her 'Meditation room'. Up there she gets a little wild and crazy. Maybe this is genuine hamster yoga! I think it's great fun to watch; ![]() Yeaaaaaah! ![]() This is an action picture, Lucy's not sleepin' here! I don't think there's anything wrong with Lucy when she does this because she does this only after waking up and in the evening. I suppose it's some kind of ritual that as a part of her washing up. In the first picture, I (think) I see Lucy smiling! (Like I was myself while taking these pictures!) If you're wondering why all the hamster-poo is in the pictures; hamsters actually need to eat some of their poo as an addition to their diet. It contains minerals and other stuff, which hamsters need, and couldn't digest 'the first time'. Therefore not all should be removed from her cage. I guess I shouldn't have mentioned it yesterday, b'cause last night the HamsterTracker™ server (sadly) crashed!Sadly no data was recorded last night. Although Lucy has shifted her treadmill time from after 0:00 to before (0:00), I suspect about 100 - 200 meters where not recorded. Ofcourse, we'll never know for sure... Update: (19:35 CET) As it seems, my Windows 98 scheduler runs an 'Optimize applications' task once a month. Because my HamsterTracker™ server was online (without a hitch) since november 15, the time had come... Needless to say, I've deleted that task! The HamsterTracker™ server only runs the HamsterTracker™ system, therefore, I really don't need these kinds of so called 'optimizations'. |
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - day 181 - current treadmill total: 327,022.06 meters! (19:45) HamsterTracker™ server running smoothly 4 65 days!I probably shouldn't mention this, because of the known risk of mentioning something like this. But here it goes: The last time the HamsterTracker™ server crashed was on day 116, so today the HamsterTracker™ server has been running smoothly for ( 181 - 116 = ) 65 days! Even Lucy has not crashed the system during these days! (Remember, Monday August 22, 2005 - day 67?) ![]() HamsterTracker™ server and hardware, tracking Lucy, fully functional, and runnin' smooooth! |
Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - day 180 - current treadmill total: 326,455.12 meters! (17:45) Lucy's virtual life (in the café) - UpdateLucy has been keeping everybody busy in the café. ![]() Appearently (Virtual) Lucy learned to ride a bike! Lucy even made it to the 'regular guest hall of fame' !![]() Here Lucy is waving the owner of the café! (And it looks like, she and Lucy are both really surprised) And then there is: ![]() WIJ VERKOPEN... means WE SELL... Tuesday, December 6, 2005: HORROR! Where's Lucy?(Virtual) Lucy has disappeared...Everyone looked all around! Sadly, no trace of her... Wednesday, December 7, 2005: A sign!![]() "Lucy is on holiday!" Days of uncertainty follow... . . . . . . and follow... . . . . . . Saturday, December 10, 2005: She's back!That Lucy's is back, inspired Ben to some very wise and creative drawing:![]() Lucy says no to drugs! Sunday, December 11, 2005: All is back to normal!![]() As far as I know some pictures have been made on a mobile phone. I am looking forward to seeing them. Also, I hope, there is a way that I can publish them... (See also: November 17, 2005)). To be continued... (Lets hope...) |
Monday, December 12, 2005 - day 179 - current treadmill total: 326,140.09 meters! (16:40) Lucy's ALL NEW Statistical GraphsFinally an update of Lucy's latest statistical graphs. Because I accidently deleted the spreadsheet (see also: December 8, 2005), I had to re-enter all data, as well as define the graphs. ![]() HamsterTracker™ Server crashes: Day: 12, 30, 44, 57, 67, 68, 76, 90, 91, 96, 99, 116 ![]() All new graph: Lucy's treadmill time!![]() |
Friday, December 9, 2005 - day 176 - current treadmill total: 324,324.09 meters! (18:45) Another Lucy!Today I received the absolutely wonderfull news that DJ Quincy Jointz became a DADDY yesterday.Let us welcome: Lucy Malou![]() Born, December 8, 2005 @ 01:45h CET. She is 50,5 cm, and weighs 2715 g. Congratulations Lucy Malou!May love, happiness and luck be always with you.And ofcourse the same to your parents! (signed) Mathijs and (my) Lucy |
Thursday, December 8, 2005 - day 175 - current treadmill total: 324,025.19 meters! (19:30) The importance of (
Horror! I accidently deleted the spreadsheet with all Lucy and Lucy (2.0) data.
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Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - day 174 - current treadmill total: 323,635.59 meters! (18:30) Lucy's right footBecause of the awesome close up of Lucy's right hand (paw) (that I published on december 5, 2005),I was browsing (the many) pictures I made of Lucy to find one with a reasonable close up of her feet: ![]() As you can see, her feet has five toes (her big toe looks like a tiny thumb); ![]() |
Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - day 173 - current treadmill total: 323,201.81 meters! (18:30) I can take a hint...My dear Lucy hinted at her bedroom being cleaned, today:![]() "I hope he gets the hint" - Lucy So I set up the usual stuff, to make the switch. Lucy doensn't really mind waiting in the box, when I make the switch: ![]() "R U done yet?" - Lucy Meanwhile, Lucy doesn't mind a bit of exploring: ![]() How does she do that? |
Monday, December 5, 2005 - day 172 - current treadmill total: 322,963.69 meters! (18:00) Not Lucy's most flattering picture, or is it?After I took this picuture of Lucy I didn't really like it, untill I studied it a bit longer.(I rarely get the chance of studying her up close like this, simply because she moves too fast!) ![]() As you may already know, a hamster has only four fingers on each hand (or should I call it paw instead of hand?). ![]() Lucy's left hand (1:1 cut from original picture, un-retouched). ![]() Lucy's right hand! (1:1 cut from original picture, un-retouched). Actual size of her hand (paw) is approx. 5-8 mm! (I'd going to try to check) Doesn't it look a bit like (what you could imagine as being) a Gnome hand, straight from a fairytale? Isn't it cute? |
Sunday, December 4, 2005 - day 171 - current treadmill total: 322,608.75 meters! (20:45) Lucy wants out of her cageLucy just loves getting out of her cage, either to explore the couch or explore the living room in her explorer ball.She has found her own way to convince me she needs to get out of her cage:![]() |
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - day 167 - current treadmill total: 320,646.97 meters! (20:15) Just having fun with LucyI am simply having fun with Lucy and her explorer ball. It's great to see a hamster enjoying herself soo much. She runs like 'crazy' sometimes, twisting and turning along her way.![]() Total time spent in ball: 15 * 20 - 5 = 295 minutes in 15 times. (one time (her first) she only spent 15 minutes in her explorer ball.) |
Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - day 166 - current treadmill total: 319,697.66 meters! (18:15) Behavioural experimentYesterday I mentioned a change in Lucy's behaviour when given Corn on the Cob.I thought I'd test Lucy's behaviour by giving her a new Corn on the Cob. The following pictures show the experiment: ![]() ![]() Here you can clearly see her left pouch filled with corn (this took her about 6 minutes). ![]() ![]() Then it happened again: she took it to her Meditation room same as last time. ![]() Now that's a stuffed face! Looks like the experiment shows that Lucy is consistent in her behaviour with treating corn. |
Monday, November 28, 2005 - day 165 - current treadmill total: 318,932.38 meters! (17:50) Lucy's (intelligent
A little while ago I gave Lucy a (hamster-) Corn on the Cob. (See the picture on the left, below).
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Friday, November 25, 2005 - day 162 - current treadmill total: 316,826.62 meters! (22:15) Some (odd) statisticsI've been recording (sometimes unknowingly, sometimes on purpose) statistics, besides the usual HamsterTracker™ statistics:
And I would like to mention that 71 countries have visited this site (since it went online on September 5, 2004)! HamsterTracker shouts to the following countries:Argentina , Australia , Austria , Bahrain , Belgium , Bermuda , Bolivia , Brazil , Bulgaria , Canada , Chile , China , Cocos (Keeling) Islands , Colombia , Costa Rica , Croatia (Hrvatska) , Cyprus , Czech Republic , Denmark , Egypt , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Hong Kong S.A.R. , Hungary , India , Indonesia , Iran , Ireland , Israel , Italy , Japan , Korea , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malaysia , Mexico , Morocco , the Netherlands , New Caledonia , New Zealand , Norway , Pakistan , Peru , Philippines , Poland , Portugal , Puerto Rico , Romania , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Serbia and Montenegro , Singapore , Slovenia , South Africa , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , Taiwan , Thailand , Tunisia , Turkey , Ukraine , United Kingdom , United States , Uruguay , Venezuela and Vietnam!And to all not mentioned countries (ofcourse), I hope you'll visit soon! When I told Lucy these exciting statistics, was this her reaction:![]() |
Thursday, November 24, 2005 - day 161 - current treadmill total: 315,922.53 meters! (18:30) ![]() HamsterTracker™ WebCam StudioI've never really recorded when I started running the HamsterTracker™ WebCam Studio, which uploads one picture per webcam (currently 3) each minute to the Webcam page. Below is a screenshot of the application I developed (with help of Byron, who educated me on how to handle webcams in Visual Basic). The software is currently capable of handeling 3 webcams, but can be easily expanded to handle a maximum of 9 camera's. This is the maximum that Windows XP will allow, not the webcam software. ![]() Here's the software in action, click image to see what it produces... It has been running now 24/7 for a couple of months. It has survived many internet blackouts, though not updating the web in such case, other than that it's stable software now. Because of the slow update speed (every 20 seconds one camera picture is uploaded), the CPU strain isn't a problem. There are some things I still need to work on though;
A lot of work ahead. But hey, what's a hobby without having anything to do? By the way: Today I went to the pet shop to buy some new hamster stuff. Therefore I also updated the Lucy's Expenses page. (Sadly this page does not always show correctly in Firefox, I guess this is because it's been generated by Microsoft Excell.) |
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - day 159 - current treadmill total: 315,082.75 meters! (18:30) small Website improvementI noticed that this news page was growing and growing... and therefore it loaded a bit slow, and it consumed a lot of RAM (computer memory). Therefore as of today, the news is split in two pages. (A pre Lucy 2.0 and this (current) one). This little change nocked off a huge 35 MB of memory consumption, while reading this page (Firefox, Windows XP), it must be the graphics, they require quite a bit of RAM. I've checked that all inline-links (links within this site) are still operational. I also modified and rearanged the green colored Background Menu a bit; added a link to the NEW news archive page. ![]() "Like I care; I'm too busy right now; I'm trying to enjoy my food!" - 'the look' by Lucy I am still thinking about futher improvements, so that the startpage will load quicker, without having to rearange the entire site. (That's become quite some work...) |
Monday, November 21, 2005 - day 158 - current treadmill total: 314,199.75 meters! (21:30) Lucy's Statistical GraphsHere are Lucy's latest statistical graphs. ![]() HamsterTracker™ Server crashes: Day: 12, 30, 44, 57, 67, 68, 76, 90, 91, 96, 99, 116 ![]() ![]() Same data, alternate representation. |
Sunday, November 20, 2005 - day 157 - current treadmill total: 313,176.38 meters! (10:15) Interesting hamster researchOn day 144, November 7, 2005 , when I was wondering why Lucy wasn't running as much in her treadmill as opposed to a few weeks earlier. I was wondering if it could be seasonal. As it seems, this could well be:
I've quoted the whole article, because I don't know how long it will be online, and I didn't want it to get 'lost in cyberspace'. HamsterTracker™ donationLucy got a present from Dup yesterday: ![]() These Pine-, pumpkin- and sunflower-seeds are of Hotel and Catering Industry Quality! [ Maybe I should consider opening a Hamster Restaurant ![]() HamsterTracker™ shouts to Dup, Randy Nelson and Leah Pyter! |
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Thursday, November 17, 2005 - day 154 - current treadmill total: 311,224.94 meters! (17:15) Lucy's virtual life (in the café)Remember, September 5, 2005 , when I discussed HamsterTracker™ / Lucy promotion? I had cut out Lucy from a printed photograph and, using sticky tape, pasted it on the Schrobbelèr billboard. [You can also check out more details about Schrobbelèr at www.schrobbeler.nl (Site in Dutch) ]. ![]() Well as it seems, ever since then, my (Virtual) Lucy has been keeping employees busy as well as guests: (Try to spot Lucy) ![]() ![]() ![]() Then there are the horror ones: (anything can happen in a café, I suppose) ![]() ![]() My favorite:![]() Worthy of mentioning; Lucy (a.k.a. 'Mr. Wot, prisoner 5037621') has always returned to her Schrobbelèr billboard! (Not escaping from the café). HamsterTracker™ shouts go to all employees and guests of café 't Begijntje! |
Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - day 153 - current treadmill total: 310,333,34 meters! (19:30) ![]() POS-displayI've been working on the POS-display page, but it's quite a lot of work. Remember I do all with my favorite HTML editor: ![]() Here is a snippit taken from that page. (How's that for some crafty html?).
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Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - day 152 - current treadmill total: 309,773.62 meters! (18:00) Lucy's bedroom cleaningIn oder to clean Lucy's bedroom, I have to do some tricks. (Else my Lucy would prevent it; throwing away her stuff etc.) Preparation![]() ![]() All is prepared now. I'm just waiting my chance to switch bedrooms. Fortunately this only was a two minute wait! ( I called Lucy and offered her a bribe (=treat)). That worked! The Switch...![]() ![]() ![]() Lucy is getting used to the idea of having a clean bedroom |
Thursday, November 10, 2005 - day 147 - current treadmill total: 306,899.53 meters! (19:00) 'Cooking' up flowers for LucyBecause you have to surprise your loved one, once in a while, I decided to do some culunairy cookin' Ahummm A plant for Lucy's cage![]() The recipe is simple:
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Lucy loved it, as you can see! |
Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - day 145 - current treadmill total: 305,523.28 meters! (18:15) Daredevil Lucy![]() ![]() ![]() Need I say more? ![]() I've also started a whole new page on my brand new Point Of Sale display . Although it's just a start, it does show the POS-display in an animated action, with all Lucy's statistical data of the day (in this case day 117)! I'll publish more details on how I programmed it soon. |
Monday, November 7, 2005 - day 144 - current treadmill total: 304,983.84 meters! (17:00) Lucy's Statistical GraphsIt took Lucy 143 days to drink 1 Liter of water!Here are Lucy's latest statistical graphs. As you can see, she is taking it a bit easier in her treadmill. Could this be seasonal??? ![]() HamsterTracker™ Server crashes: Day: 12, 30, 44, 57, 67, 68, 76, 90, 91, 96, 99, 116 click on above graph for a close-up. ![]() |
Sunday, November 6, 2005 - day 143 - current treadmill total: 304,493.09 meters! (10:25) Lucy's BallThis is Lucy's new toy, her exploring ball: ![]() ![]() ![]() Lucy exploring new territory again. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Saturday, November 5, 2005 - day 142 - current treadmill total: 303,771.75 meters! (11:20) Lucy's new cage setupHere are some photo's of Lucy's new cage setup. ![]() ![]() Lucy exploring new territory. ![]() |
Thursday, November 3, 2005 - day 140 - current treadmill total: 302,650.53 meters! (19:40) Lucy's Photo ShootBecause I needed to clean Lucy's cage, I thought I try to make some more photo's of my dear Lucy. And what a trip! ![]() I put Lucy in a reasonably big box, while cleaning all of her cage. During this I shot the following pictures: ![]() Lucy having a look around. ![]() Lucy having discovered nice food. Then I cleaned, and didn't pay much attention to Lucy. When I was finished doing the stuff I had to do, I returned with my camera. Lucy seemed a bit shy... ![]() Lucy trying to hide from me. ![]() Lucy showing why she tried to hide. |
Sunday, October 30, 2005 - day 136 - current treadmill total: 300,105.78 meters! (8:30) Lucy's new milestone!![]() ![]() "It's me who ran the 300+ km" - Lucy ![]() Lucy enjoying her 300+ km treat. |
Thursday, October 27, 2005 - day 133 - current treadmill total: 297,835.28 meters! (18:20) A lot of work behind the scenes!This afternoon, I did a lot of stuff behind the scenes; debugging, testing, installing etc... There are some troubles with the IR-Gate sensors which seem to be hardware related :-( I've also updated Lucy's page. ![]() "The 300 Km milestone doesn't bother me!" - Lucy |
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - day 131 - current treadmill total: 296,477.69 meters! (18:00) Lucy's 300 Km mark is less than 4 Km away!It will take Lucy only 3,522.31 meters to reach her 300 Km milestone! ![]() "Yeah Yeah, I know, only 4 more to go!" - Lucy |
Monday, October 25, 2005 - day 130 - current treadmill total: 295,336.19 meters! (18:10) Lucy spends 10% of her time in her treadmillToday, day 130, Lucy ran in her treadmill for a total time of 13 days and 4 minutes and 49 seconds! That's:( (13 * 24 * 60 + 4 * 60 + 49) / (130 * 24 * 60 ) ) * 100 % =( ( 19009 / 187200 ) * 100 % = 10.02 % of her time ![]() One of Lucy's moments (a moment of 90% of her non treadmill time...) |
Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - day 124 - current treadmill total: 290,148.34 meters! (19:10) New HamsterTracker™ statistical graphs![]() Click on above graphic for a more detailed closeup ![]() |
Thursday, October 13, 2005 - day 119 - current treadmill total: 285,978.28 meters! (19:30) HamsterTracker™ running cost estimateToday I visited the Petshop, to buy some goodies for Lucy. Therefore I needed to update the Lucy Expenses page. While doing this I was wondering wat the costs where of running the HamsterTracker(tm) server(s). Just yesterday I received the yearly final payment of electricity; this is an extensive overview of all costs regarding the use an delivery of electricity to your home. Because I live in the Netherlands, these costs don't have to apply to you. But when doin' some maths, which I really like doing, I wanted to share... Last year I've used an approximate 736 Kwh on electricity extra! Figuring this site is online for a year now, this extra electricity could be because of the HamsterTracker™ server(s) running 24/7 (with a few crashes along the way ;-) Actually 736 Kwh per year is 2.015 KWh per day; this is approximately 84 Watt/hour (on a 24 hour basis). Because of this I suspect the HamsterTracker™ hardware of consuming this amount of energy on average and on a daily basis. Therefore I started doing some maths:
This is an average cost (on electricity, tax AND tax on tax) of € 0.21 a day!That's a whole lot of fun, for this kind of money! Ofcourse, sponsor(s) are always welcome! ![]() |
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Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - day 118 - current treadmill total: 283,863.44 meters! (18:50) HamsterTracker™ Point of Sale (POS) display![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Not only have I been doin' quite some stuff behind the scenes, I also and finally got around of documenting my POS-display. The clock is updated every second, and all Lucy's data is displayed once every minute. |
Monday, October 10, 2005 - day 116 - current treadmill total: 281,766.56 meters! (20:25) Unable to update!Since last saturday, for some reason, all systems couldn't reach the FTP server of my ISP (internet service provider). So therefore there where no updates of the HamsterTracker™ data, as well as no webcams. Even the RSS-feed got hungry, because that was also un-updatable! Today my ISP got everything resolved, so I hope that all will run fine now. Sadly, due to this error, no data was collected, last night. I guess some more software fixes should be made... |
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 - day 111 - current treadmill total: 276,815.91 meters! (19:45) Lucy's new speed record!Lucy ran new speedrecord last night; on day 110, between 0:18:02 and 0:24:43 CET (or GMT+2) , she ran a dazzling: Mach 0.0019483! or 1.2887689 Knot that's an impressive 66.3 cm/s (or 2.3868 km/h) That's ( 66.3 - 41.3 = ) 25 cm/s faster than Lucy (1.0) ![]() |
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - day 110 - current treadmill total: 274,051.88 meters! (18:50) Pets-day today!Because of Pets-day, I made a special treat for Lucy today: ![]() This is half a Walnut, 5 pine seeds and some fresh & homegrown parsley. I hope Lucy will like it! Update: 21:00, She loved it, the especially the Walnut, her first one! ![]() |
Saturday, October 1, 2005 - day 107 - current treadmill total: 269,391.91 meters! (11:40) NEW: HamsterTracker™ DisplayI recently obtained a cashregister display. It's a serial interfaced 2 line (20 characters each) fluorecent display. All it needs is a 5 volt (DC) powersupply and a serial cable. The cable gave me the most troubles; I first used a modem cable figuring that the display would behave something like a modem... sadly no response from the display. Then I went to my attic and opened some boxes with all kinds of cables. Because I have a diagram, I grabbed the longest cable I could find, with the right connectors on both sides (DB9 female and DB25 male). Before cutting etc. I gave it a go. I am glad I did, this cable works fine as is. ![]() ![]() I will publish more details on how I programmed it, soon... |
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - day 105 - current treadmill total: 264,777.97 meters! (17:30) Lucy exploring the tableYesterday Lucy had some fun exploring the table. It was really fun to watch Lucy trying to be as flat as possible when exploring it... ![]() ![]() I love the reflection in the table, that's why I couldn't decide to publish it upsidedown or not. ![]() Here Lucy's left pouch is visibly filled with treats. |
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 - day 103 - current treadmill total: 262,654.94 meters! (18:20) More Extreme Icelandic HamsterTrackin'When Sandra was sorting out her digital pictures of her vacation in Iceland, she found another HamsterTracker™ promotion picture. See also: august 28, 2005. ![]() |
Sunday, September 25, 2005 - day 101 - current treadmill total: 257,448.91 meters! (12:00) Lucy's new bedroomI've started on expanding Lucy's cage. She has become very tame now, so I thought I should reward her. It took Lucy two days to get used to the idea. This morning she was moving all her stuff from her 'old' bedroom to her new. ![]() |
Thursday, September 22, 2005 - day 98 - current treadmill total: 251,056.09 meters! (18:30) Lucy's Statistical UpdateDue to a flu, I've not gotton around in updating any earlier... I've avoided Lucy as much as possible; I didn't want to infect her with my flu... Needless to say, that Lucy didn't like that! ![]() HamsterTracker™ Server crashes: Day: 12, 30, 44, 57, 67, 68, 76, 90, 91, 96 ![]() |
Friday, September 16, 2005 - day 92 - current treadmill total: 233,626.84 meters! (18:00) Lucy wrecked my shirt ;-)Remember, that on day 83 (september 7th), I mentioned that Lucy really loves to play with my shirt, that's laying on the couch? ![]() |
Thursday, September 15, 2005 - day 91 - current treadmill total: 231,186.81 meters! (20:00) HamsterTracker™ bug?Again I discovered this morning that the HamsterTracker server hang... Something went wrong with the Logging last night, but at this time of writing Lucy has ran a solid 3,737.06 meters today! And the night is still ahead of us! Today was a day of cage cleaning, and a bit of hamster shopping, so I've also updated Lucy's Expenses page. |
Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - day 90 - current treadmill total: 227,449.75 meters! (18:30) My (Infrared) Webcam software is to blame of the blackout last night!This morning I discovered that the HamsterTracker™ server made it's last update yesterday at 21:41. I also noticed that my other PC, which is responsible for the webcams, failed to upload the latest (infrared) webcam picture (it was stuck at 99%). Sadly no HamsterTracker™ data of Lucy was recorded last night.Ofcourse I had to shutdown Webcam no. 2. Needless to say I need to revise my webcam software. I am looking into it as you read this... But it's a bit tougher than I thought it would be to tackle this problem... I'll keep you posted! But I'll try to swap the Infrared webcam (Logitech Webcam Express [this means low quality]) tonight. |
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 - day 89 - current treadmill total: 227,448.34 meters! (18:30) Infrared Webcam Online!I've been struggeling the last few days trying to get Lucy visible at night, without any lights on. I hooked up an IR-led, as a small flashlight. Even though I am pumping an hefty 50 mA trough it, my Logitech Quickcam Zoom, didn't 'see' anything. Today I discovered this great site (by Geoff Johnson) on how to modify your webcam into an Infrared Webcam. What you actually need to do is remove the Infrared filter from the webcam and replace it with a filter that blocks natural light. This is done by using two sheets of the blackest (colour) negative film, you can find. I've discovered (from my own pictures) that the beginning of a film contains a quite large portion of (developed,) black, colour film. (I've read that you shouln'd use 'Black and White' film, because that's apparently different!) Modified it within an hour!Checkout Camera 2 on the webcam page. ![]() Note: This is a still picture! Although the sharpness could be better, I think this will produce a nice picture tonight, when lucy is running. HamsterTracker™ Shouts to Geoff Johnson! |
Saturday, September 10, 2005 - day 86 - current treadmill total: 220,085.62 meters! (10:30) Exclusive download: Lucy wallpaperHave Lucy on your desktop. Download her wallpaper now: Lucy's Desktop 1 Then right click on the downloaded file, select Set as wallpaper. My desktop:![]() The small picture of Lucy (in the bottom right corner) is not included in the download. |
Friday, September 9, 2005 - day 85 - current treadmill total: 218,207.75 meters! (19:00) Lucy ran a whopping Mach 0.0012871!Today I discovered that yesterday; Lucy ran an amazing speed of 43.8 cm/s or 1.5768 kilometer/hour or 0.9797781 mile/hour! |
Wednesday, September 7, 2005 - day 83 - current treadmill total: 213,390.41 meters! (18:30) Lucy on the couch & ISP troubles last nightLast night my homenetwork was disconnected from the internet at approx. 0:00 hours. This morning the HamsterTracker™ server was still running (!), but couldn't upload the data. This afternoon I got an email from my provider explaining that 'General problems' occured between 0:12 am and 9:45 am. At around 11:00 o'clock I noticed that the HamsterTracker™ server had uploaded all data. Sadly all RSS-news feed updates where lost. But it's runnin' again now. Technical stuff: There where some odd speeds recorded during this blackout, 431 cm/s being the record. This is an inacurate measurement! Because the server was busy trying to update the website all Treadmill events where buffered. At the momenent of release the HamsterTracker server processed 431 Treadmill interrupts per second. Not bad for a Pentium I machine!. Also because it is running under Windows 98, the server isn't true multi-threading. I am looking into the software to fix this bug... Lucy on the couch:![]() Lucy playing with her favorite toy on the couch: my shirt |
Tuesday, September 6, 2005 - day 82 - current treadmill total: 210,287.50 meters! (18:30) Update of Lucy's graphs!![]() HamsterTracker™ Server crashes: Day: 12, 30, 44, 57, 67, 68, 76 ![]() |
Monday, September 5, 2005 - day 81 - current treadmill total: 207,648.34 meters! (16:30) ![]() HamsterTracker™ one year online!Today exactly one year ago I started this site. After years of development, I finally gave it a go. During this year this site has been visited 4900+ times, with visitors having a look from 69 countries around the world! That's a hefty average of 13.42 visitors a day! The ![]() Lucy has generated 61,102 Kb or 60 Mb of HamsterTracker™ data traffic. This is excluding Webcam's & (manual news item) site updates! The site has grown to a staggering size of 23,952 Kb or 24 Mb! This page alone has 246+ graphical photos/images! More HamsterTracker™ promotion:![]() Kinki Kappers, Stratumseind, Eindhoven This picture took about 15 shots, in about 5 hours, waiting for the sunlight to be just right. ![]() Café 't Begijntje, Eindhoven ![]() Café 't Begijntje, Eindhoven ![]() Café 't Begijntje, Eindhoven |
Saturday, September 3, 2005 - day 79 - current treadmill total: 202,679.91 meters! (18:20) ![]() 200+ Km by Lucy!Lucy reached her 200,000.00 meters milestone, yesterday at approximately 04:55 AM! |
Thursday, September 1, 2005 - day 77 - current treadmill total: 196,729.12 meters! (18:20) Dutch Supermarket inspired by Lucy?![]() Last night my ISP was doing some maintainance... Although the website couldn't be updated during this blackout, the HamsterTracker™ server survived it! Even though some speed measurements went bezerk, all went reasonabally well! ![]() " What's up? All that fuss about a supermarket hamster Pfffew! " - Lucy |
Wednesday, August 31, 2005 - day 76 - current treadmill total: 194,333.97 meters! (18:15) Servercrash again last night...Yesterday when I came home, I spent some quality time with Lucy, but I sadly forgot to check if the server was still running... This morning the system had shutdown it's display and was completely frozen. I've tried to restart it, but then another Overflow Error occured. Because Lucy 2.0 runs more than Lucy (107,390.50 meters), she is testing the HamsterTracker™-server to the max! ![]() " Did I crash a computer AGAIN? " - Lucy |
Sunday, August 28, 2005 - day 73 - current treadmill total: 188,283.72 meters! (9:15) Sandra's Extreme (Iceland-ic) HamsterTrackin'Sandra, just got back from Iceland supposingly for the scenery and vulcanos etc. ![]() But as it seems, Sandra has spent quite some time in promoting HamsterTracker™ and Lucy: ![]() "Dear Traveller: You, the one who's travelling through this land of ice and sky so blue the very best thing you can do is take the garbag home with you thank you" I think this is absolutely beautifull! ![]() The Lucy picture was nailed to the board using an original vulcanic stone! (Sandra assured me!) How much better can it get; Watch whales AND meet Lucy ? ![]() So far, nobody has phoned in... Now that's what I call 'HamsterTracker™ dedication' !
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Saturday, August 27, 2005 - day 72 - current treadmill total: 186,160.81 meters! (11:00) Gettting near the 200 km milestone!![]() Lucy is only 200,000.00 - 186,160.81 = 13,839.19 meters away from the next milestone. Lucy runs approximately 2,500 meters every day, so next friday could be a BIG day for her! |
Friday, August 26, 2005 - day 71 - current treadmill total: 184,397.50 meters! (18:20) 1200+ visitors in the last 24 hours!WOW!![]() Make: is cool! I'm reading it here... - Lucy Blogged by Make: magazine!(I've made a snapshot of it in the picture below. Because it's an active weblog, other blog items are currently displayed.) ![]() Blog entry on Make: use link here or click on image! With pride I want to let you know that my site is blogged on the great site http://www.makezine.com/. This is a truly cool site; To all visitors: Welcome (back) 2 U!" We think you'll agree that MAKE magazine is probably the best magazine the truly versatile techie has ever seen. MAKE is loaded with exciting projects that help you make the most of your technology at home and away from home (volume 1 of MAKE magazine is a whoppin' 224 pages!) MAKE brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life. " quote from (http://www.thinkgeek.com/books/nonfiction/788a/) Personally I feel really honored by all this, ... , I've not told Lucy about this, because I don't want to influence her behaviour (in front of the webcam). ;-) |
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - day 69 - current treadmill total: 179,648.12 meters! (17:20) HamsterTracker™ server ran without problems last night!That's the technical side; Lucy spends some time on the couch almost every day now! We really have fun, while doing this. ![]() I just love exploring! - Lucy ![]() ![]() HamsterTracker™ Server crashes: Day: 12, 30, 44, 57, 67, 68 |
Monday, August 22, 2005 - day 67 - current treadmill total: 177,046.28 meters! (17:20) Lucy ran another speedrecord!40 cm/s or 1.44 km/hThat's a whopping Mach 0.0011755 Again a HamsterTracker™ server problem last nightLucy has ran so much in her Treadmill that the HamsterTracker™ server crashed on an overflow error. I've fixed it, testing it tonight ![]() I can crash a computer! - Lucy |
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - day 61 - current treadmill total: 163,657.25 meters! (17:20) ![]() HamsterTracker™ server problem last nightLucy probably ran around 3 km last night. I am not really sure because only 1,418.72 meters was recorded. This morning I discovered that the HamsterTracker™ server software was displaying a message box. Some kind of internet error... Today I've modified the code that if such an error occurs again, it is logged in some logfile, and the system then will (hopefully) to continiue monitoring the treadmill. |
Monday, August 15, 2005 - day 60 - current treadmill total: 162,233.38 meters! (18:10) Lucy spends more time on the couchLucy spends more and more time on the couch. When I give her an evening snack, she tries to climb in my hand. Then I take her to the couch and let her explore. After about 10 minutes I put her back in her cage; sometimes Lucy is quite upset; because she wanted to stay on the couch. The last few days, Lucy starts grooming immediately after putting her back... ![]() |
Thursday, August 11, 2005 - day 54 - current treadmill total: 151,134.94 meters! (17:30) Lucy's long distance recordYesterday, Lucy ran a staggering 5,390.56 meters !!! She did this in 5 hours 10 minutes and 29 seconds. This is by far the furthest ever recorded by the HamsterTracker™ system in a single day. So I bought some flowers (Parsley) for Lucy today: ![]() ![]() And she loves it! |
Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - day 54 - current treadmill total: 140,556.00 meters! (19:20) Lucy's New statistical graphs!Yesterday the HamsterTracker™ server performed well generating the RSS feed! That's good news! Here are the latest Statistical graphs of Lucy ![]() ![]() |
Monday, August 8, 2005 - day 53 - current treadmill total: 137,920.44 meters! (20:40) Statistical RSS feed in Beta today!I've been developing software behind the scenes these last couple of weeks. Today I integrated it all in the HamsterTracker™ server for the first big test tonight! The RSS-feed should be updated each time the website is updated with treadmill statistics. Below is a screendump of a RSS reader (feedreader), with an automated message generated by the HamsterTracker™ server: ![]() Oke, I still have to do some work on the summary info! I hope the system will run without a hitch tonight... |
Friday, August 5, 2005 - day 50 - current treadmill total: 129,429.66 meters! (18:40) 11 months online!Yes, today it is 11 months ago that I started this site. I've put in quite a lot of effort in writing, photographing, software development, debugging, electronic engineering (and debugging), promoting and enjoying bringing my favorite love Lucy on the World Wide Web. In these past 11 months these are my most notable memories:
Actually this is just an excerpt of all the things I could mention! The response and the visits of YOU is all that makes it worthwhile! Some Statistics:Today this site crossed the 3000+ visitor barrier!!!Just last week 3 new countries visited this site: Bahrain, Vietnam & New Zealand! Welcome! |
Wednesday, August 3, 2005 - day 48 - current treadmill total: 123,271.28 meters! (18:40) Lucy's other side![]() "Can I get out PLEASE ???" - LucyThen she started to get a bit more grim:![]() ![]() "I REALLY WANT OUT!" - Lucy ![]() ![]() "I'll do it myself if you won't let me!" - Lucy Needless to say, we had some quality time on the couch after this demonstration! |
Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - day 47 - current treadmill total: 121,578.31 meters! (22:30) Lucy's hamster acrobatics![]() Have a close look at this picture: Lucy is hanging on the top of her cage, using her right foot and left hand! |
Monday, August 1, 2005 - day 46 - current treadmill total: 118,278.50 meters! (17:00) Some more Lucy Pictures![]() Lucy is having some troubles with her BIG treat. ![]() ![]() Here she is exploring the couch! ![]() " There is a whole new world out there! ... " - Lucy |
![]() Lucy did it in 40 days: 100+ km!![]() At approximately 0:12 am, Lucy reached her first 100.000 meters milestone in her treadmill. ![]() |
Monday, July 22, 2005 - day 39 - current treadmill total: 99,682.03 meters! (18:30) Lucy almost ran her first 100 km!![]() Although the above graph is a bit hard to read, take a closer look, it's actually quite interesting. Lucy 2.0 will probably reach her first milestone tonight, if so, she would have done this in half the time than Lucy 1.0 took! ![]() " Who? Me? " |
Friday, July 22, 2005 - day 36 - current treadmill total: 89,958.91 meters! (19:30) Quality time on the couchIt was a bit funny to notice that Lucy was a bit cross with me, after putting her back in her cage! She didn't even want her favorite treat I always give her. After an hour she had calmed down, and she gladly took any treat I gave her. ![]() " Can I come out to play? " - Lucy |
Thursday, July 21, 2005 - day 35 - current treadmill total: 86,827.47 meters! (20:15) Only 13,172.53 meters to go...Then she will have run her first 100 Km in a record time!!! ![]() "I'm thinkin' 'bout it... 'cause I think treadmill runnin' is cool! " - Lucy Frequently asked questionI've been asked numerous times why I don't track Lucy's food consumption.![]() If I would really want to calculate her food intake, I would have to go through all this garbage separating the (leftover) food from the bedding and hamster-poo. This is not a chore I would look out for to do! Would you? Leaving the food in her cage is also not an option, because after a while in a moist area (her bedroom condensates sometimes) the food gets foul! Because a hamster can't diffentiate between foul and good food, I must help her there! Water intake is easier to measure, what goes in, comes out of a bottle and can therefore be measured. I hope this answers this question, if not, drop me a line, mail me: peacoque (dot) labs (at) iae (dot) nl I Almost forgot:If you're quick you can listen to the GREAT Quincy Jointz - Lime sorbet mix no. 7 on the LimeSorbet site. (www.citrona.net/sorbet.htm). This is the mix Quincy Jointz sent me on CD for my birthday party! |
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - day 34 - current treadmill total: 83,608.28 meters! (20:15) Lucy is definitely not camera-shy!![]() ![]() |
Sunday, July 17, 2005 - day 31 - current treadmill total: 76,694.84 meters! (10:15) Lucy's wave!![]() "Hi to all my fans!" - Lucy ![]() In the above picture, Lucy was a bit bothered by an itch on the back of her left leg. |
Saturday, July 16, 2005 - day 30 - current treadmill total: 74,055.28 meters! (20:10) Lucy's first month with me!![]() Yesterday Lucy spent some time with me on the couch. She behaved extremely well. (Previous two attempts resulted in Lucy jumping... and smacking on the floor. Just to find out that all was ok with Lucy. I was really worried for a moment then. But yesterday, she behaved herself and explored my couch and my sweater. Sorry for the bad picture on the right; I didn't have enough time to set the camera correctly... Sadly the HamsterTracker Treadmill sensor was misaligned last night!![]() This is why no treadmill data was recorded last night. I think/hope I have sorted it all out now, tonight will be a big test... ![]() In the graph below, the daily water consumption is graphed. I've also included the data I collected with my previous hamster Lucy (the first) ![]() |
Thursday, July 14, 2005 - day 28 - current treadmill total: 72,224.84 meters! (20:40) Lucy is doing fine!![]() |
Thursday, July 13, 2005 - day 27 - current treadmill total: 70,065.34 meters! (20:00) Lucy ate a small bit of cat food, and loved it!![]() |
Thursday, July 7, 2005 - day 21 - current treadmill total: 57,740.81 meters! (14:10) Lucy is climbing in her cage!With my new digital camera I took this picture of Lucy having a climb in her cage. Although the lighting isn't too great in this picture, I still wanted to publish this one. (I've got a lot to learn on how to operate my new camera).![]() |
Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - day 20 - current treadmill total: 55,218.47 meters! (11:10) 50+ km!It took Lucy only 19 days to run 50 Km!Now that I've got a new camera, I'm taking as much pictures of Lucy as possible. (I am learning all the possibilities of the camera this way). ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Saturday, July 2, 2005 - day 15 - current treadmill total: 45,198.97 meters! (21:04) Taming LucyAnother fotoshoot with Lucy. She is becomming quite tame (remarkable after only two weeks), but she still doesn't trust me 100%. I am bribing her with treats, sweet talk & Tender Love and Care... ![]() |
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 - day 13 - current treadmill total: 36,521.84 meters! (20:54) All systems (and Lucy) running againLooks like the HamsterTracker™ server ran beautifully last night. I just had another foto shoot with my littl' Lucy. The picture below is the favorite of the day. Looks like Lucy isn't camera shy at all! Lucky us! ![]() |
Monday, June 27, 2005 - day 11 - current treadmill total: 32,926.59 meters! (17:54) A bit off topic: Visited by a baby
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Sunday, June 26, 2005 - day 10 - current treadmill total: 30,384.22 meters! (10:44) Lucy has found her own way to cool downBecause these last five days we experienced a heat wave, the living quarters of Lucy was approx. 30 degrees celcius. Lucy reacted on this by drinking more water, and moving her sleeping quarters 'downstairs' in her cage. I've moved the webcam so you can watch her sleep... Today it's a lot cooler (25 degrees celcius), so that would be a welcome change for Lucy. ![]() |
Saturday, June 25, 2005 - day 9 - current treadmill total: 27,552.91 meters! (7:44) Lucy's first treadmill graphLucy 2.0 runs a lot more than the Lucy 1.0. ![]() |
June 23, 2005 - day 7 - current treadmill total: 21,933.94 meters! (19:02) Linked by Hamsterific.com!!!The following text is taken from the Hamsterific.com site: ![]() HamsterTracker™ follows the daily progress of the indomitable hamster Lucy as she runs on her wheel each night. Lucy typically runs 3km before morning, so stay out of her way or you might get ran over! Dutch renaissance man Mathijs combines his love of "Hamsters, photography, drawing, programming, electronics, web publishing etc And Just Simply Having Fun." in creating a super site for the world to enjoy. HamsterTracker™ Shouts go out to Ken; the man behind the Hamterific.com site. |
June 21, 2005 - day 5 - current treadmill total: 15,650.81 meters! (19:02) Picture of Lucy's current cage![]() ![]() |
June 20, 2005 - day 4 - current treadmill total: 11,698.12 meters! (22:19) She eats out of my hand!Lucy is running around in her treadmill like no tomorrow! Whow she does some serious workouts! I am not allowed to pet my little friend (just yet) although she accepted about 10 small treats from me these last couple of days. (pineseeds, sunflower seeds, a bit of fruity-drops). ![]() ![]() |
June 19, 2005 - day 3 - current treadmill total: 9,111.25 meters! (22:39) My cute littl' lucy!Lucy is on track of running a 100 km within 30 days from now! (My previous hamster took 80 days to achieve the same result! Lucy is being very friendly with me; I gave her a treat 5 times, holding it in front of her face, and she gently took it! ![]() |
June 16, 2005 - day 1 - current treadmill total: 3,157.34 meters! (17:39) Looks like Lucy is a runner!3,157.34 meters (3,1 Km or (almost) 2 miles!) on her first day/night! She is either blowing off steam; two days ago she moved from her mother to the pet shop; yesterday after a half hour drive she got her new cage. I Guess that can be a bit harsh on a baby (44 days old) hamster. Yesterday it was fun to watch Lucy exploring her new cage. Everything needed examination, climbing on, falling off etc. At one time (when I looked) I saw Lucy hanging (with one paw) on the top of her cage... It didn't take long before she fell :-( after which she got up in an instant to do it all over again! ![]() ![]() In the picture on the right: Lucy is enjoying her first pineseed. |
June 16, 2005 - day 0 ![]() Webcam no. 1 is also online! ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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ing. Mathijs A. van der Paauw