Hamsters!

Okay, we all heard CBK talk about powering the station with hamsters running on their wheel, but did anyone look closely at that eerily large portait in Ben's house, the one of the woman holding something... I think she's holding a hamster! And who is she? Is she Juliet (they were once married), or is it the mysterious Karen DeGroot? And I was reading someone's writing (on the tailsection.com) about how if there are tunnels connecting the various hatches (arrow, pearl, swan, caudeseus etc...) it would kind of make a hamster cage kind of thing.

Absolutely!!! The island is one big Habitrail.

And I don't say this to mock you, but to lend my support for your observation. I see many correlations.

Yeah.. "habitrail"... thanks stewie... I knew those things had names but I couldn't remember what it was!

What does CBK stand for/mean ?

In honor of Benmer007 we call Henry Gale/Ben Linus/Captian Bunny Killer ( a quote from Sawyer I think)

10:29 PM

Hey, no problem. You've perhaps stumbled on a time frame issue.

These hamster and gerbil habitats were popular from the very late 60s to the late 70s.

Ben has made an allusion to them.

Ben claims he was born on the Island. Would it be safe to say Ben is 45?

That would put him in the range to have been on the developing end of the Habitrails, and the initial construction of the Dharma Initiative in the late 60s and late 70s.

The film strips look like they could have been made during the early 80s?

So, what is the age spread among MOST of the characters? 20-45?

If the Dharma Initiative was initiated in 1965, then that would encompass the majority of the characters from their dates of birth to the apparent collapse of the Dharma Initiative, approximately 35 years???? (2000?)

Now the others are in charge from 2000 and are recruiting their own members from the outside????

Ben is assumed to be in or near his 40's
Though his actual age is unknown..
Benjamin Linus - Lostpedia
Age
Unknown (known to be in or close to his forties)

Some info on the time line of the films and such...
DHARMA Initiative - Lostpedia

The Swan Orientation Film is a film produced by the Hanso Foundation to instruct the inhabitants of the Swan, a DHARMA Initiative station. The film's official title is "3 of 6 - Orientation". It is narrated by Dr. Marvin Candle and bears a copyright date of 1980. The film was revealed by Desmond in the episode "Orientation". It was hidden behind a copy of the book The Turn of the Screw.

The Pearl Orientation video seems to be the Pearl's counterpart to the Swan Orientation film. Unlike the film found in the Swan, the movie is on a Sony U-matic video tape, rather than a spool of film.

Known members of the DHARMA Initiative are:
Alvar Hanso - Funder of the Initiative, and narrator of the overall orientation video from 1975.
Gerald and Karen DeGroot - The Initiative's founders.
Marvin Candle/Mark Wickmund - A man who instructs the orientation films, found in the Swan and the Pearl, he identifies himself in the films as, respectively, Marvin Candle and Mark Wickmund. He was also seen on the computer in the Flame.