pg_standby observation

I think it would be useful if pg_standby (in version 8.3 contrib) could
be observed in some way.

Right now I use my own standby script, because every time it runs, it
touches a file in a known location. That allows me to monitor that file,
and if it is too stale, I know something must have gone wrong (I have an
archive_timeout set), and I can send an SNMP trap.

Would it be useful to add something similar to pg_standby? Is there a
better way to detect a problem with a standby system, or a more
appropriate place?

The postgres logs do report this also, but it requires more care to
properly intercept the "restored log file ... from archive" messages.

Regards,
    Jeff Davis