I started my AG version of Shakespeare Stout clone about 05:00 PM yesterday afternoon, later than I intended. I pitched my yeast starter right at midnight. Sadly, my OG was only 1.051, so I missed the 1.060 mark by a bit. Maybe it's because I'm batch sparging. I probably should have added a pound or two of pale malt to compensate. I wonder what effect the OG difference will have? I suspect the stout will be good anyway.
I bought a two liter erlenmeyer and some DME from More Beer and it came in about a week ago, so I used it to make a 1.6 liter starter from the Pacman smack pack. I had a minor boilover, maybe a tablespoon of foam when I was boiling it, even though I was watching very closely. I definitely wouldn't try to make more that 1.5 liters of wort for a starter in a 2 liter erlenmeyer. I might get a 3 liter flask down the road.
I like making the starter. Seven hours after pitching my starter, there was 3/4 inch of kraeusen on top (there's about 1.25 inches now) and the airlock was bubbling away. I don't really know when the airlock activity started, as I was asleep. Seven or fewer hours to start, though, ain't bad.