diff --git a/src/Gitolite/Rc.pm b/src/Gitolite/Rc.pm
index 6b501b1..4d9299c 100644
--- a/src/Gitolite/Rc.pm
+++ b/src/Gitolite/Rc.pm
@@ -238,6 +238,18 @@ __DATA__
     UMASK                       =>  0077,
     GIT_CONFIG_KEYS             =>  '',
 
+    # settings used by external programs; uncomment and change as needed.  You
+    # can add your own variables for use in your own external programs; take a
+    # look at the cpu-time and desc commands for perl and shell samples.
+
+    # used by the cpu-time command
+    # DISPLAY_CPU_TIME          =>  1,
+    # CPU_TIME_WARN_LIMIT       =>  0.1,
+    # used by the desc command
+    # WRITER_CAN_UPDATE_DESC    =>  1,
+    # used by the info command
+    # SITE_INFO                 =>  'Please see http://blahblah/gitolite for more help',
+
     # add more roles (like MANAGER, TESTER, ...) here
     ROLES                       =>
         {
@@ -283,6 +295,14 @@ __DATA__
             'perms'             =>  1,
             'writes'            =>  1,
         },
+
+    # comment out or uncomment as needed
+    # these will run in sequence at the end, after a git operation has ended
+    POST_GIT                    =>
+        [
+            # if you use this, make this the last item in the list
+            # 'cpu-time',
+        ],
 );
 
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/commands/cpu-time b/src/commands/cpu-time
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d363328
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/cpu-time
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#!/usr/bin/perl
+use strict;
+use warnings;
+
+use lib $ENV{GL_BINDIR};
+use Gitolite::Easy;
+
+my ($trigger, $repo, $user, $aa, $ref, $verb, $utime, $stime, $cutime, $cstime) = @ARGV;
+
+# now do whatever you want with this data; the following is just an example.
+
+# Ideally, you will (a) write your own code with a different filename so later
+# gitolite upgrades won't overwrite your copy, (b) add appropriate variables
+# to the rc file, and (c) change your rc file to call your program at the end
+# of the POST_GIT list.
+
+if (my $limit = $rc{CPU_TIME_WARN_LIMIT}) {
+    my $total = $utime + $cutime + $stime + $cstime;
+    # some code to send an email or whatever...
+    say2 "limit = $limit, actual = $total" if $total > $limit;
+}
+
+if ($rc{DISPLAY_CPU_TIME}) {
+    say2 "perf stats for $verb on repo '$repo':";
+    say2 "  user CPU time: " . ( $utime + $cutime );
+    say2 "  sys  CPU time: " . ( $stime + $cstime );
+}
+
diff --git a/src/commands/desc b/src/commands/desc
index 77466ee..4fa3060 100755
--- a/src/commands/desc
+++ b/src/commands/desc
@@ -16,7 +16,17 @@ repo=$1; shift
 
 # this shell script takes arguments that are completely under the user's
 # control, so make sure you quote those suckers!
-gitolite creator "$repo" $GL_USER || die You are not authorised
+
+# kernel.org needs 'desc' to be available to people who have "RW" or above,
+# not just the "creator".  In fact they need it for non-wild repos so there
+# *is* no creator.
+if gitolite query-rc -q WRITER_CAN_UPDATE_DESC
+then
+    gitolite access -q "$repo" $GL_USER W any || die You are not authorised
+else
+    gitolite creator "$repo" $GL_USER || die You are not authorised
+fi
+
 # if it passes, $repo is a valid repo name so it is known to contain only sane
 # characters.  This is because 'gitolite creator' return true only if there
 # *is* a repo of that name and it has a gl-creator file that contains the same
diff --git a/src/commands/info b/src/commands/info
index 0c503e1..66b7e68 100755
--- a/src/commands/info
+++ b/src/commands/info
@@ -80,3 +80,5 @@ for my $repo (@$repos) {
     print "\t$creator" if $lc;
     print "\n";
 }
+
+print "\n$rc{SITE_INFO}\n" if $rc{SITE_INFO};