I've been pretty happy with shush[1], which is a similar script that helps with a lot of this--including randomdelays, locking to avoid overlapping runs, e-mailing only on errors (or other criteria as you see fit), and so forth.
I used Ubuntu for years, but the constant barrage of updates (every six months outside of an LTS release!) and the fact something /always/ broke when moving to a new release (usually video) eventually got annoying enough that I switched back to Debian. For me, Debian's slower release cycle is a plus in itself.
[1] http://web.taranis.org/shush/