[Moderator's note: Part 1 appeared yesterday. Edward sent parts 2, 3 and
4 separately, but I combined them all into one post. BIG]
Ferret Frolic/Ferret Olympics Report of Activities Sunday June 28, 1998.
Part 2 of 4 Parts [and parts 3 and 4 too. BIG]
Compiled by Der Frettchenlustbarkeitsfuehrer [G.] Ferret Frolics Leader
Edward Frettchenvergnuegen Lipinski
From the results obtained at this Ferret Olympics the baby rabbit call and
the shreiking balloon seem to offer the two most promising sound devices for
further investigation into the development of a general response call to
retrieve a lost or wayward ferret. However, the sound signatures of these
two devices should be subjected to video/audio frequency spectrum analysis
for identification of the frequencies, modulations, harmonics, beat
frequencies, etc. that, first, are common to both sound generators.
Second, the individual frequencies will need tested for ferret auditory
response, such that the complex "noise" that is the sound of the two
intruments is broken down into the few component sounds out of many.
I should like to ask for help in this effort from audiophiles/engineers who
may be able to separate, identify and then reproduce indivdually the number
of differing sounds within the spectrum of the two devices, such that each
one then could be tested for ferret response.
4. Ferret Feel-Finder Contest. (Blindfolded owner crawls around inside
roped off grassy circle trying to feel for his ferret while bystanders
offer help by shouting whether the owner is cold, warm, or hot.)
1st place @ 3.8 seconds was James Santo recovering SIMBA.
2nd place @ 4.4 seconds was Tamber Thomas recovering BAXTER.
3rd place @ 5.3 seconds was James Santo recovering CLEO.
Karen Santo's RIKKI TIKKI found in 12 seconds. Tamber Thomas's CAMMI was
found in 14.3 seconds. Will Jassman's VAN found in 14.9 seconds. Will
Jassman's LARRY found in 15 seconds. Jill Santo's RALPH found in 15.9
seconds. Todd Cromwell III's DANTES found in 19.6 seconds. Laura Hill's
ARAMINA found in 24.03 seconds. Edward Lipinski's Unknown named ferret
was found in 38 seconds (this was a demonstration.)
5. Snacking Contest.
Will Jassman's VAN gobbled at 8 seconds per chocolate-covered raisin.
Wendy Jassman's LARRY gobbled at 9.5 seconds per chocolate-covered raisin.
Karen Aligo's CINNAMOM gobbled at 14 seconds per piece of red licorice.
Gozer family ferret TIMOTHY gobbled @ 16.5 seconds per plain raisin.
The ferret NICKY gobbled @ 21 seconds 1 ferret treat and 3 yoghurt-covered
raisins.
An unknowm ferret gobbled @ 37 seconds per piece of red licorice.
Laura Hill's Simon spent 3 minutes 37 seconds gobbling up everything.
Karen Santo's RIKKI TIKKI spent 3 minutes and 50 seconds gobbling up
everything.
6. Putting Ball Slithering Device PBSD Contest. 102 plastic, hollow golf
balls, the kind used to practice putting on the living room carpet,
are enclosed in a 5-foot long clear plastic bag 1-foot wide that is
perforated along each side (for ventilation) with holes made by a typical
notebook paper punch (punches 3 holes at a time). Into holes on each end
are two 4-inch diameter wire crawing tubes 20-inches long. This assembly
is placed on the grassy hillside so the exit end is lower than the
entrance end by about 3 or 4-inches. The ferret is loaded into the upper
wire tube and then, as is its nature, explores the wire tube and crawls
downhill into the bag filled with putting balls. After doing its thing
in the bag filled with putting balls the ferret crawls out the exit tube
(downhill). The owner must be careful not to pick up or claim his ferret
until the ferret has placed all four paws on the grass and is completely
out of the exit tube.
Premature efforts to reclaim the ferret when the ferret
characteristically hesitates with its hind paws still in the tube will
most often result in the ferret reversing his track, turning around
inside the exit tube and climbing back into the golf-ball filled plastic
sack. Thus if the owner gets too excited because his ferret is the
quickest one through the device and attempts to pull his hindquarters
out of the exit tube, he often cries in anguish as his ferret quickly
scrambles away from him and backs up inside the exit tube. Since this
is a timed event premature attempts at reclamation often result in that
contestant's ferret doubling the time from entrance to complete exit.
It is suggested to all contestants that they try inducing their ferret
to exit on all four paws with treats before attempting to pick up their
ferret.
Following is a synopsis of the results of the Putting Ball Slithering
Device PBSD Contest.
Will Jassman's VAN whipped thru the slitherer on first try in 21 seconds
and on its second time got its slithering speed down to an astonishing 15
seconds.
Karen Santo's RIKKI TIKKI zipped straight thru the slitherer in 28 seconds.
Todd Cromwell's DANTES is tied with RIKKI TIKKI at 28 seconds.
Third place was James Santo's RALPH at 33 seconds.
Wendy Jassman's LARRY time was 37 seconds. Laura Hill's CHIEF time was 39
seconds. Todd Cromwell's DORS 41 seconds. Alyssa Sexton's CIRRUS time 2nd
try down to 45 seconds from first try at 2 minutes 47 seconds. Karen
Aligo's HONEY 1 minute 4 seconds. Grozer's TIMOTHY 1 minute 37 seconds.
All the above ferrets slithered thru the PBSD just once. The following
ferrets slithered repeatedly, some twice and a few thrice.
It is of interest to note that once inside the plastic bag the ferrets
dragged themselves over, around and under the 102 golf butting balls with
almost no effort to use their rear paws. They trailed their rear paws so
that their bellies rolled or slithered over the balls. These following
ferrets must have enjoyed the experience more so than those previously cited
because they repeated their slithering, two of them slithering the full
6-feet two times and another two three times before exiting.
Karen Aligo's CINNAMON slithered 2x for a total time of 85 seconds (or 42.5
sec/slither). Unknown owner's FLOWER slithered 2x for a total time of 79
seconds (or 39.5 sec/slither). The 3x slitherers were: Laura Hill's DEMONA
at 50 seconds (or 16.7 sec/slither), and Laura Hill's ARIMINA at 111 sec (or
37 sec/slither).
Since this is the inception of the ferret slithering contest, the question
arises why some ferrets slithered thru but once whereas other ferrets
slithered around and about two and three times before exiting? One must
contemplate, would a large bag of putting balls outside be such an
attraction to a lost ferret that its owner could likely get him back with
a PBSD?
7. Ferret Kissing Contest.
In this contest kisses upon the owner are counted out loud by the
onlookers as each ferret kiss is delivered between full arm,
elbow-locking extensions between kisses. The time limit is 30 seconds.
Laura Hill's ARAMINA gave to Laura Hill 22 kisses in 30 seconds.
This was such an apparently outstanding ferret kissing rate that there
were no other challengers!
8. Balloon Popper Contest.
In this contest ferret is given one minute inside a wire cage (24 X 18 X
14 inches) to burst its first balloon of 4 or more balloons inflated to
cantaloupe size.
Karen Aligo's CINNAMON popped the first ballon in 9 seconds; he then
went after the remaining 5 balloon bite popping all of them in rapid
succession. CINNAMON apparently loves bite bursting balloons.
Will Jassman's VAN popped the first balloon in 29 seconds; he then
went after the remaining 7 balloons with great gusto. VAN apparently
loves bite bursting balloons too.
Unfortunately we ran out of time and did not get to these following
events: (Hopefully, this coming August 30th we'll be able to get them in
too, with your help.)
YAWNING, JOCKEY, BALL PUSHOUT, ICE CUBE PUSHOUT, SWIMMING, SPRINTING,
ESKIMO TOSS, COSTUME AND UNSCHEDULED EVENTS.
I do want to give thanks to all those volunteers who helped set up the
shade tarp (will put up more in August), who simplified my mathematics
formula for determining MPH speeds, who policed the area of Canada goose
doo doo, and who helped run some of the events. You folks are wonderful.
Also my thanks to the individual who donated an extra $5 to help cover
expenses.
After expenses Ferrets NorthWest realized a $42.50 gain from participant
donations of $5.00 and the sale of one LUMPS pamphlet. This money will
go toward the purchase of food items that I cook in my kitchen to make my
3 gallons of Lipinski's Ultimate Mustelid Porridge Soup (LUMPS) that is
the main daily food source (along with Totally Ferret) for all our 42
ferrets in our shelter.
Edward Frettchenvergnuegen Lipinski, Der Frettchenlustbarkeitsfuehrer,
sometimes referred to as the "Ferret Nazi."
[Posted in FML issue 2362]
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