Joomla 1.5 extension - REVISED (Please read)

It's been brought to our attention that it's not possible to intercept the first database calls before they're made by Joomla with an extension. Suggestions have been made to alter Joomla's core files in order to make this feature possible, but we'd like to avoid that at all costs. Instead, we'd be interested to see some alternative solutions with bids attached. Obviously we'd like to stay as close to our budget as reasonably possible, but don't be afraid to suggest multiple approaches with varying pricing. One approach that I've considered is having a middleman application between the Joomla installation and the database servers. Joomla's config file would point to the application (Maybe something like [login to view URL] or whatever). The application would independently check the primary database server via ping , occasional MySQL connections, etc to make sure it's alive and responding. If the primary server is down, the email notices are sent out, and one of the secondary database servers becomes active. All of the same features mentioned previously would still be included, but this would be an outside application rather than an integrated extension. The only feature I suppose wouldn't be possible at this point would be adding the notice message in the Joomla backend. This approach would allow multiple Joomla sites to use the same application, rather than requiring each one have an extension installed, so that's a plus as well. I've left the original job below, so please read it if you haven't yet before you make a bid. I'm open to other suggestions about how to approach this as well. Thanks for your time. --- Original Project --- We need a fairly straight forward Joomla extension created that either: a) Checks the MySQL server in a Joomla site's configuration file to make sure it's live/active before attempting the series of database queries required on a page load... Or b) Catches a "Unable to connect to the database" error as it occurs... In either case, the extension would then attempt to connect to a secondary MySQL database for the required queries. The extension needs to allow the administrator to enter up to three fall back MySQL servers, each with unique login info. If the secondary server fails, the Joomla installation would try to connect to the next MySQL server in the list. In addition to providing database redundancy, when a secondary database server is in use, the extension should display a prominent notice in the backend noting that any changes made while the Joomla installation is using a secondary database server will be lost once it switches back to the primary database server. And last, whenever the extension switches to or from secondary database servers, it should send a notice email. The extension's parameters would include the three fall-back database servers login settings (host, user name, password), three email account fields for emailing notices, and a text area, so that the administrator can change the default backend notice that was mentioned earlier. Please only bid if you have sufficient experience with Joomla 1.5 development and send a brief profile with example work, if possible. The finished project/code will be owned and copyrighted by the client. Thanks!