diff --git a/ddportfolioservice/model/ddportfolio.ini b/ddportfolioservice/model/ddportfolio.ini
index 7cf3786..723462e 100644
--- a/ddportfolioservice/model/ddportfolio.ini
+++ b/ddportfolioservice/model/ddportfolio.ini
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 # <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 [DEFAULT]
-keyring.dir=${HOME}/debian/keyring.debian.org/keyrings
+keyring.dir=~/debian/keyring.debian.org/keyrings
 urlbuilder.sections=overview,bugs,build,qa,upload,lists,files,membership,
  miscellaneous,ssh,ubuntu
 
diff --git a/ddportfolioservice/model/keyfinder.py b/ddportfolioservice/model/keyfinder.py
index 59318e1..ba60228 100644
--- a/ddportfolioservice/model/keyfinder.py
+++ b/ddportfolioservice/model/keyfinder.py
@@ -24,24 +24,31 @@
 This module provides tools for finding PGP key information from a
 given keyring.
 """
+import logging
+import time
 
 db = None
+cachetimestamp = 0
 
 def _get_keyring_cache():
-    global db
-    if not db:
+    global db, cachetimestamp
+    if db is None or (time.time() - cachetimestamp) > 86300:
         import anydbm
         import pkg_resources
         import os.path
         filename = pkg_resources.resource_filename(__name__,
                                                    'keyringcache')
+        logging.debug('reading cache data from %s', filename)
         assert os.path.exists(filename) and os.path.isfile(filename)
         db = anydbm.open(filename, 'r')
+        cachetimestamp = time.time()
     return db
 
 def _get_cached(cachekey):
     cache = _get_keyring_cache()
+    logging.debug('cache lookup for %s', cachekey)
     if cachekey in cache:
+        logging.debug('found entry %s', cache[cachekey])
         return cache[cachekey]
     return None
 
diff --git a/ddportfolioservice/model/keyringanalyzer.py b/ddportfolioservice/model/keyringanalyzer.py
index b8e1785..dc847d3 100644
--- a/ddportfolioservice/model/keyringanalyzer.py
+++ b/ddportfolioservice/model/keyringanalyzer.py
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ import glob
 import ConfigParser
 import os
 import os.path
+import logging
+import subprocess
+import sys
 
 
 def _get_keyrings():
@@ -40,6 +43,7 @@ def _get_keyrings():
     my_config = ConfigParser.ConfigParser()
     my_config.readfp(pkg_resources.resource_stream(__name__, 'ddportfolio.ini'))
     keyringdir = os.path.expanduser(my_config.get('DEFAULT', 'keyring.dir'))
+    logging.debug("keyring dir is %s", keyringdir)
     keyrings = glob.glob(os.path.join(keyringdir, '*.gpg'))
     keyrings.extend(glob.glob(os.path.join(keyringdir, '*.pgp')))
     keyrings.sort()
@@ -84,14 +88,16 @@ def process_keyrings():
     """Process the keyrings and store the extracted data in an anydbm
     file."""
     for keyring in _get_keyrings():
-        contents = os.popen("gpg --no-default-keyring \
-                --no-expensive-trust-checks \
-                --keyring %s --list-keys \
-                --with-colons --fingerprint" % (keyring))
+        logging.debug("get data from %s", keyring)
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(["gpg", "--no-default-keyring",
+            "--no-expensive-trust-checks",
+            "--keyring", keyring, "--list-keys",
+            "--with-colons", "--fingerprint"],
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
         fpr = None
         entry = None
-        lastpub = None
-        for line in contents.readlines():
+        lastpub = None        
+        for line in proc.stdout.readlines():
             items = line.split(':')
             uid = None
             if items[0] == 'pub':
@@ -119,7 +125,9 @@ def process_keyrings():
                 _add_to_result('name:fpr:%s' % fpr, uid)
                 if email:
                     _add_to_result('name:email:%s' % email, uid)
-        contents.close()
+        retcode = proc.wait()
+        if retcode != 0:
+            logging.error("subprocess ended with return code %d", retcode)
     db = anydbm.open(pkg_resources.resource_filename(__name__,
                                                      'keyringcache'), 'c')
     for key in resultdict:
@@ -128,4 +136,5 @@ def process_keyrings():
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
+    logging.basicConfig(stream=sys.stderr, level=logging.WARNING)
     process_keyrings()