From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail
From: Tim McNamara <timmcn@bitstream.net>
Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help
Subject: Re: elisp question
Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2005 13:32:02 -0600
Organization: ipHouse - Welcome Home!
Message-ID: <m2mzjkhavh.fsf@Althea.local>
References: <m24q5tybj6.fsf@Althea.local> <86acfl49nn.fsf@riemann.mri.ernet.in>
NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1133465839 11715 80.91.229.2 (1 Dec 2005 19:37:19 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org
NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2005 19:37:19 +0000 (UTC)
Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Thu Dec 01 20:37:17 2005
Return-path: <help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org>
Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165])
	by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43)
	id 1EhuDb-0000Jh-Br
	for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Thu, 01 Dec 2005 20:35:48 +0100
Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org)
	by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43)
	id 1EhuDZ-0005ix-Td
	for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:35:46 -0500
Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.uchicago.edu!newsread.com!news-xfer.newsread.com!indigo.octanews.net!green.octanews.net!news-out.octanews.net!news-2.mpls.iphouse.net.POSTED!not-for-mail
Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help
User-Agent: Gnus/5.11 (Gnus v5.11) Emacs/22.0.50 (darwin)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:JqDy6un/ks0/rTtTNmVvMxsyvy4=
Original-Lines: 24
Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: 01 Dec 2005 13:32:02 CST
Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 753a659a.newsreader.iphouse.net
Original-X-Trace: DXC=_N4B7d6KGiSXMkU3_QlY5YVn\Tj8`^Bb[eHS>e[L>83P4V09HFNfSNSm:@8]TdIggUf@e7N90MVd]Uh?jdWg@OUU
Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@iphouse.net
Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:135978
Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5
Precedence: list
List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor <help-gnu-emacs.gnu.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-gnu-emacs>,
	<mailto:help-gnu-emacs-request@gnu.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.gnu.org/pipermail/help-gnu-emacs>
List-Post: <mailto:help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
List-Help: <mailto:help-gnu-emacs-request@gnu.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-gnu-emacs>,
	<mailto:help-gnu-emacs-request@gnu.org?subject=subscribe>
Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org
Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org
Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:31585
Archived-At: <http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help/31585>

"N. Raghavendra" <raghu@mri.ernet.in> writes:

> At 2005-11-30T17:13:33-06:00, Tim McNamara wrote:
>
>> I am looking to write a small program for Emacs which will create a
>> new buffer and read a randomly selected text file into it after
>> launching Emacs- rather like yow or fortune, except the files would
>> be Dharma snippets.  ...
>> 
>> The files are in a subdirectory (called kaya)
>
> You could use the `fortune.el' which is part of Emacs, and uses
> fortune(6) to randomly select a cookie.  The relevant init file
> expressions are like this:
>
> (setq fortune-buffer-name "*Dharma*")
> (add-hook 'after-init-hook
>           (lambda ()
>             (fortune (expand-file-name "~/kaya"))))

Thank you, I will look into that further.  I didn't realize that Emacs
had its own fortune program and had errantly thought that the standard
Unix fortune was being called.  Dang- I've been using Emacs for 2-3
years and am still a newbie!