[gentoo-user] Delayed update semantics

[James]

Hello,

Context: Stable Systems with a few newer packages
(unmasked) in portage.

Some of the recent discussion threads bounce around the issue
of solutions being completed a few days after new packages are release.
Hey, it's Gentoo, we're all keenly aware of this. No problem.
But, from time to time, I get really distracted from Gentoo
with other engineering, social and financial issues, as most on this
list (humanoids refer to this as "having a life") ymmv.


So, being the lazy, aging admin/hack/engineer that I am,
every time I try another distro, it just does not work for
my needs, so like it or not, I'm stuck with Gentoo.....
(dont get me wrong, I love Gentoo, just sometimes
I neglect that (gentoo admin) part of my life for sporadic periods).


So, my latest ideas is to "sync up" and then wait one week
before acutally installing those new packages. This would
allow the fodder that the good folks on this list catch,
bitch about (um, I mean file bug reports) and fix, to 
occur first; then I can complete the package update
cautiously avoiding an "emerge sync".


But when you "emerge sync" if to do the updates immediately, they'll be
the latest packages. If I do a "emerge sync" and wait
7 days to begin updating the packages, I'll be delayed
by one week, and have a one week  of buffered fixes for added
problem filtering. But those fixes might not be available
without a fresh "emerge sync"?


When time permits I CAN CHOOSE to "emerge sync" and then immediately
update the packages and parse through the issues mostly. Call
this the stable-stable approach to gentoo updates.

Does anyone see any problems or a better way to stay one-week-delayed ?

I'm increasingly managing more Gentoo systems, particularly embedded
and server based gentoo systems and that is the source that compounds these
time-sink-issues for me.  Maybe some external-integrated management approach
such as CFengine is my answer?

Your comments and thoughts are most welcome.


James