Stages of activity in starters

[tomwirsing]

Regarding starters, how can you tell where they're at and what they're doing? I've made numerous starters. Usually in a 1.5 liter wine jug with the 1/2 cup of DME to pint of boiled and cooled water. I usually use 2-3 pints of water. I don't have a stir plate. I swirl manually as frequently as I can. I've never really seen any sort of noticeable activity. How do you know what the starter is doing?

 

[Seven]

What yeast are you adding to these starters? What temperature do you keep these starters at?