dates.rb

    def parse_date(date)
          begin
            if date_in_numeric_format? date
              Time.new (date / 1e6).to_int
            else
              DateTime.parse date
            end
          rescue => e
            puts e.to_s + " " + date.to_s + " class: " + date.class.to_s
          end
     end
 
     def is_i? str
       !!( str =~ /^[-+]?[0-9]+$/)
     end
 
     def date_in_numeric_format? date 
       return true if date.is_a?(Fixnum)
       return true if date.is_a?(Integer)
       return true if is_i?(date)
       false
     end