def failwhale_wrap(self, fn, *args, **kwargs):
    '''
    Catch the fail whale, and harpoon it! aka. Catch HTTP error 401 or 500,
    and retry 3 times, with a small delay in between before giving up and
    raising the last exception.

    @param[in]  fn          Function to call.
    @param[in]  args        Positional arguments.
    @param[in]  kwargs      Keyword arguments.
    @returns                Function return code.
    '''

    for i in range(3):
        try:
            return fn(*args, **kwargs)
        except urllib2.HTTPError, e:
            if e.code not in (401, 500):
                break

        # Wait 100ms before trying again. Lame.
        time.sleep(0.1)

    raise e