diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index a2bf80e20..da4b75286 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ gem 'json'
 gem 'mechanize'
 gem 'mysql'
 gem 'nokogiri'
+gem 'protected_attributes'      # remove once we migrate to Strong Parameters
 gem 'rails', '4.2.6'            # 4
 gem 'rake'
 gem 'ruport'
@@ -65,6 +66,8 @@ group :development, :test do
   gem 'sdoc', '~> 0.4.0'
   gem 'rspec-rails'
   gem 'simplecov'
+  gem 'spring'
   gem 'sqlite3'
   gem 'timecop'
+  gem 'web-console', '~> 2.0'
 end
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index c6aac990b..ca9089fba 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ GEM
       temple (>= 0.8.0)
       tilt
     hashery (2.1.2)
+    hominid (3.0.5)
     http-cookie (1.0.3)
       domain_name (~> 0.5)
     i18n (0.8.4)
@@ -183,6 +184,8 @@ GEM
     prawn (0.12.0)
       pdf-reader (>= 0.9.0)
       ttfunk (~> 1.0.2)
+    protected_attributes (1.1.3)
+      activemodel (>= 4.0.1, < 5.0)
     public_suffix (2.0.5)
     rack (1.6.8)
     rack-test (0.6.3)
@@ -327,6 +330,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   faye-websocket
   figaro
   haml
+  hominid
   i18n
   jbuilder (~> 2.0)
   jquery-rails
@@ -338,6 +342,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   mysql
   nokogiri
   poltergeist
+  protected_attributes
   rack-test
   rails (= 4.2.6)
   rake
diff --git a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
index 58de27e52..00cc072f3 100644
--- a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
 
   require 'csv.rb'
   require 'string_extras.rb'
-  require 'date_time_extras.rb'
 
   # Session keys
   #  :cid               id of logged in user; if absent, nobody logged in
diff --git a/app/helpers/javascript_tag_helper.rb b/app/helpers/javascript_tag_helper.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index ca8060af4..000000000
--- a/app/helpers/javascript_tag_helper.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-module JavascriptTagHelper
-  ## Load jQuery, rails.js, and everything in the Javascript dir.
-  ## Obsoleted by asset pipeline in Rails 3
-  
-  def javascript_include_tag_for_jquery(*args)
-    default_files = %w(jquery.min jquery-ui.min rails application)
-    other_files = Dir["#{ActionView::Helpers::AssetTagHelper::JAVASCRIPTS_DIR}/*.js"].
-      map { |s| File.basename(s).gsub(/\.js$/,'') }.
-      delete_if { |s| default_files.include? s }
-    javascript_include_tag(default_files, :cache => 'jquery') << "\n" <<
-      javascript_include_tag(other_files, :cache => 'a1')
-  end
-end
diff --git a/app/models/auto_importer.rb b/app/models/auto_importer.rb
index b426ce0ec..fda0403af 100644
--- a/app/models/auto_importer.rb
+++ b/app/models/auto_importer.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-require 'date_time_extras'
-require 'string_extras'
-
 class AutoImporter
 
   attr_accessor :import, :messages, :email
diff --git a/app/models/customer.rb b/app/models/customer.rb
index 02850ccfb..83c6c2822 100644
--- a/app/models/customer.rb
+++ b/app/models/customer.rb
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
   require_dependency 'customer/scopes'
   require_dependency 'customer/birthday'
   require_dependency 'customer/merge'
-  require_dependency '../lib/date_time_extras'
 
   include Authentication
   include Authentication::ByPassword
diff --git a/app/models/customer/scopes.rb b/app/models/customer/scopes.rb
index 51a43f1ba..378071112 100644
--- a/app/models/customer/scopes.rb
+++ b/app/models/customer/scopes.rb
@@ -1,51 +1,41 @@
 class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
-  default_scope :order => 'last_name, zip'
+  default_scope {  order('last_name, zip') }
 
+  scope :subscriber_during, ->(seasons) {
+    joins(:vouchertypes).where('vouchertypes.subscription = ? AND vouchertypes.season IN (?)', true, seasons)
+  }
 
-  named_scope :subscriber_during, lambda { |seasons|
-    { :joins => :vouchertypes,
-      :conditions => ['vouchertypes.subscription = ? AND vouchertypes.season IN (?)',
-        true, seasons] }}
-
-
-  named_scope :purchased_any_vouchertypes, lambda { |vouchertype_ids|
-    { :joins => :vouchertypes,
-      :conditions => ['vouchertypes.id IN (?)', vouchertype_ids],
-      :select => 'DISTINCT customers.*'}}
+  scope :purchased_any_vouchertypes, ->(vouchertype_ids) {
+    joins(:vouchertypes).where('vouchertypes.id IN (?)', vouchertype_ids).select('distinct customers.*')
+  }
   
   def self.purchased_no_vouchertypes(vouchertype_ids)
     Customer.all - Customer.purchased_any_vouchertypes(vouchertype_ids)
   end
 
-
-  named_scope :seen_any_of, lambda { |show_ids|
-    { :joins => [:vouchers,:showdates],
-      :conditions => ['items.customer_id = customers.id AND
-                      items.showdate_id = showdates.id AND
-                      items.type = "Voucher" AND
-                      showdates.show_id IN (?)', show_ids],
-      :select => 'DISTINCT customers.*'
-    }}
+  scope :seen_any_of, ->(show_ids) {
+    joins(:vouchers, :showdates).
+    where('items.customer_id = customers.id AND items.showdate_id = showdates.id AND
+           items.type = "Voucher" AND showdates.show_id IN (?)', show_ids).
+    select('DISTINCT customers.*')
+  }
+  
   def self.seen_none_of(show_ids) ;  Customer.all - Customer.seen_any_of(show_ids) ;  end
 
-  named_scope :with_open_subscriber_vouchers, lambda { |vtypes|
-    { :joins => ',items',
-      :conditions => ['items.customer_id = customers.id AND
-                       items.type = "Voucher" AND
+  scope :with_open_subscriber_vouchers, ->(vtypes) {
+    joins(:items).
+    where('items.customer_id = customers.id AND items.type = "Voucher" AND
                        (items.showdate_id = 0 OR items.showdate_id IS NULL) AND
-                       items.vouchertype_id IN (?)', vtypes],
-      :select => 'DISTINCT customers.*'
-    }}
-
-
-  named_scope :donated_during, lambda { |start_date, end_date, amount|
-    { :joins => ',items,orders',
-      :select => 'DISTINCT customers.*',
-      :conditions => ['items.customer_id = customers.id AND
-                       items.amount >= ? AND
-                       items.type = "Donation" AND
-                       orders.sold_on BETWEEN ? AND ?',
-        amount, start_date, end_date] }}
-    
+                       items.vouchertype_id IN (?)', vtypes).
+    select('DISTINCT customers.*')
+  }
+
+  scope :donated_during, ->(start_date, end_date, amount) {
+    joins(:items, :orders).
+    where(%q{items.customer_id = customers.id AND items.amount >= ? AND items.type = "Donation"
+            AND orders.sold_on BETWEEN ? AND ?},
+      amount, start_date, end_date).
+    select('distinct customers.*')
+  }
 
 end
diff --git a/app/models/show.rb b/app/models/show.rb
index b690e326e..836997936 100644
--- a/app/models/show.rb
+++ b/app/models/show.rb
@@ -30,12 +30,11 @@ def self.current_or_next
     Showdate.current_or_next.try(:show)
   end
 
-  named_scope :current_and_future, lambda {
-    {:joins => :showdates,
-      :select => 'DISTINCT shows.*',
-      :conditions => ['showdates.thedate >= ?', 1.day.ago],
-      :order => 'opening_date ASC'
-    }
+  scope :current_and_future, -> {
+    joins(:showdates).
+    where('showdates.thedate >= ?', 1.day.ago).
+    select('DISTINCT shows.*').
+    order('opening_date ASC')
   }
 
   def has_showdates? ; !showdates.empty? ; end
@@ -60,9 +59,9 @@ def self.all_for_season(season=Time.this_season)
       :include => :showdates)
   end
 
-  named_scope :all_for_seasons, lambda { |from,to|
-    {:conditions =>  ['opening_date BETWEEN ? AND ?',
-        Time.at_beginning_of_season(from), Time.at_end_of_season(to)] }
+  scope :all_for_seasons, ->(from,to) {
+    where('opening_date BETWEEN ? AND ?',
+        Time.at_beginning_of_season(from), Time.at_end_of_season(to))
   }
 
   def self.seasons_range
@@ -77,8 +76,8 @@ def self.type(arg)
     TYPES.include?(arg) ? arg : REGULAR_SHOW
   end
   
-  named_scope :of_type, lambda { |type|
-    {:conditions => ["event_type = ?", self.type(type) ] }
+  scope :of_type, ->(type) {
+    where('event_type = ?', self.type(type))
   }
   
   def season
diff --git a/app/views/layouts/application.html.haml b/app/views/layouts/application.html.haml
index 4d102e766..7fb447d4a 100644
--- a/app/views/layouts/application.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/layouts/application.html.haml
@@ -8,16 +8,14 @@
     = stylesheet_link_tag 'admin', :media => 'all'
     = stylesheet_link_tag 'venue/default', :media => 'all'
 
-    -# Rails3: no need to redefine default JS files in javascript_tag_helper.rb
-    = javascript_include_tag_for_jquery :all
+    = javascript_include_tag 'application'
     %script{:type => 'text/javascript', :src => 'https://js.stripe.com/v1'}
 
     %title= @page_title || h(controller.action_name.humanize)
     %meta{'http-equiv'=>'content-type', :content=>'text/html; charset=utf-8'}/
     %meta{:name=>:description, :content=>''}/
-    -# Rails3 provides the following 2 lines via csrf_meta_tag helper
-    %meta{:name => 'csrf-param', :content => Rack::Utils.escape_html(request_forgery_protection_token)}
-    %meta{:name => 'csrf-token', :content => Rack::Utils.escape_html(form_authenticity_token)}
+
+    = csrf_meta_tags
 
   %body{:id=>"#{controller.controller_name}_#{controller.action_name}", :class=>(Figaro.env.sandbox ? 'testing.default' : 'default')}
 
diff --git a/bin/bundle b/bin/bundle
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..66e9889e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/bundle
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+ENV['BUNDLE_GEMFILE'] ||= File.expand_path('../../Gemfile', __FILE__)
+load Gem.bin_path('bundler', 'bundle')
diff --git a/bin/rails b/bin/rails
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..0138d79b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/rails
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+begin
+  load File.expand_path('../spring', __FILE__)
+rescue LoadError => e
+  raise unless e.message.include?('spring')
+end
+APP_PATH = File.expand_path('../../config/application', __FILE__)
+require_relative '../config/boot'
+require 'rails/commands'
diff --git a/bin/rake b/bin/rake
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..d87d5f578
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/rake
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+begin
+  load File.expand_path('../spring', __FILE__)
+rescue LoadError => e
+  raise unless e.message.include?('spring')
+end
+require_relative '../config/boot'
+require 'rake'
+Rake.application.run
diff --git a/bin/setup b/bin/setup
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..acdb2c138
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/setup
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+require 'pathname'
+
+# path to your application root.
+APP_ROOT = Pathname.new File.expand_path('../../',  __FILE__)
+
+Dir.chdir APP_ROOT do
+  # This script is a starting point to setup your application.
+  # Add necessary setup steps to this file:
+
+  puts "== Installing dependencies =="
+  system "gem install bundler --conservative"
+  system "bundle check || bundle install"
+
+  # puts "\n== Copying sample files =="
+  # unless File.exist?("config/database.yml")
+  #   system "cp config/database.yml.sample config/database.yml"
+  # end
+
+  puts "\n== Preparing database =="
+  system "bin/rake db:setup"
+
+  puts "\n== Removing old logs and tempfiles =="
+  system "rm -f log/*"
+  system "rm -rf tmp/cache"
+
+  puts "\n== Restarting application server =="
+  system "touch tmp/restart.txt"
+end
diff --git a/bin/spring b/bin/spring
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..fb2ec2ebb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/spring
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+
+# This file loads spring without using Bundler, in order to be fast.
+# It gets overwritten when you run the `spring binstub` command.
+
+unless defined?(Spring)
+  require 'rubygems'
+  require 'bundler'
+
+  lockfile = Bundler::LockfileParser.new(Bundler.default_lockfile.read)
+  spring = lockfile.specs.detect { |spec| spec.name == "spring" }
+  if spring
+    Gem.use_paths Gem.dir, Bundler.bundle_path.to_s, *Gem.path
+    gem 'spring', spring.version
+    require 'spring/binstub'
+  end
+end
diff --git a/config.ru b/config.ru
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bd83b2541
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config.ru
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# This file is used by Rack-based servers to start the application.
+
+require ::File.expand_path('../config/environment', __FILE__)
+run Rails.application
diff --git a/config/application.rb b/config/application.rb
index 6c02d5ffe..7addac9b1 100644
--- a/config/application.rb
+++ b/config/application.rb
@@ -31,9 +31,12 @@ class Application < Rails::Application
     # Do not swallow errors in after_commit/after_rollback callbacks.
     config.active_record.raise_in_transactional_callbacks = true
 
-    # Use Rspec
-    config.generators do |g|
-      g.test_framework :rspec
+    config.autoload_paths << Rails.root.join('lib')
+    
+    config.after_initialize do
+      Time.include CoreExtensions::Time::Season
+      Date.include CoreExtensions::Date::Season
+      String.include CoreExtensions::String::Name
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/config/environment.rb b/config/environment.rb
index d1fef00d4..1eb14a34e 100644
--- a/config/environment.rb
+++ b/config/environment.rb
@@ -5,28 +5,6 @@
 
 
 Rails.application.configure do
-  # Only load the plugins named here, in the order given (default is alphabetical).
-  # :all can be used as a placeholder for all plugins not explicitly named
-  # config.plugins = [ :exception_notification, :ssl_requirement, :all ]
-
-  # Skip frameworks you're not going to use. To use Rails without a database,
-  # you must remove the Active Record framework.
-  # config.frameworks -= [ :active_record, :active_resource, :action_mailer ]
-
-  # Activate observers that should always be running
-  # config.active_record.observers = :cacher, :garbage_collector, :forum_observer
-
-  # Set Time.zone default to the specified zone and make Active Record auto-convert to this zone.
-  # Run "rake -D time" for a list of tasks for finding time zone names.
-  # config.time_zone = 'UTC'
-
-  # The default locale is :en and all translations from config/locales/*.rb,yml are auto loaded.
-  # config.i18n.load_path += Dir[Rails.root.join('my', 'locales', '*.{rb,yml}')]
-  # config.i18n.default_locale = :de
-  # session key name
-  config.action_controller.session_store = :active_record_store
-  #ActionController::Base.session_options[:session_key] = 'audience1st_session_id'
-
   config.after_initialize do
     config.action_mailer.delivery_method = :test if Figaro.env.sandbox
   end
diff --git a/config/initializers/errors_as_html.rb b/config/initializers/errors_as_html.rb
index df2666f88..09f60be78 100644
--- a/config/initializers/errors_as_html.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/errors_as_html.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-# rails3 this will become ActiveModel::Base
-class ActiveRecord::Base
+class ActiveModel::Base
   def errors_as_html(sep = '<br/>')
     errors.full_messages.join(sep)
   end
diff --git a/db/migrate/20130503193126_add_valid_vouchers_for_bundles.rb b/db/migrate/20130503193126_add_valid_vouchers_for_bundles.rb
index 0fb32d5d7..d69693b8d 100644
--- a/db/migrate/20130503193126_add_valid_vouchers_for_bundles.rb
+++ b/db/migrate/20130503193126_add_valid_vouchers_for_bundles.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-require 'lib/date_time_extras'
 class AddValidVouchersForBundles < ActiveRecord::Migration
   def self.up
     # for each Bundle voucher, add a valid-voucher that enables it
diff --git a/lib/core_extensions/date/season.rb b/lib/core_extensions/date/season.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..22fcb49f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/core_extensions/date/season.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+module CoreExtensions
+  module Date
+    module Season
+      def self.included(base) ; base.extend(ClassMethods) ; end
+      def at_beginning_of_season(arg=nil)
+        self.to_time.at_beginning_of_season(arg).to_date
+      end
+      def at_end_of_season(arg=nil)
+        self.to_time.at_end_of_season(arg).to_date
+      end
+      def within_season?(arg)
+        self.to_time.within_season?(arg)
+      end
+      module ClassMethods
+        def from_year_month_day(hash)
+          now = Time.now
+          Date.new((hash[:year] || now.year).to_i, (hash[:month] || now.month).to_i, (hash[:day] || now.day).to_i)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/core_extensions/string/name.rb b/lib/core_extensions/string/name.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..974e76db1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/core_extensions/string/name.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+module CoreExtensions
+  module String
+    module Name
+      def self.included(base) ; base.extend(ClassMethods) ; end
+      module ClassMethods
+        def random_string(len)
+          # generate a random string of alphanumerics, but to avoid user confusion,
+          # omit o/0 and 1/i/l
+          newpass = ''
+          chars = ("a".."z").to_a + ("A".."Z").to_a + ("2".."9").to_a - %w[O o L l I i]
+          1.upto(len) { |i| newpass << chars[rand(chars.size-1)] }
+          return newpass
+        end
+      end
+
+      # true if target is blank, or target when split on commas contains self,
+      # case-insensitively.  used for checking promo codes and tags.
+      def contained_in_or_blank(target)
+        target.blank? ||
+          target.upcase.split(/\s*,\s*/).include?(self.strip.upcase)
+      end
+      
+      def capitalize_each_word ; self.to_s.split.map(&:capitalize).join(' ') ; end
+
+      def boldify(s, tag=:strong, tag_opts = {})
+        tag_opts_str = tag_opts.each_pair { |k,v| "#{k}=\"#{v}\"" }.join " "
+        tagstart,tagend = "<#{tag.to_s} #{tag_opts_str}>", "</#{tag.to_s}>"
+        self.gsub s, "#{tagstart}#{s}#{tagend}"
+      end
+      
+      def default_to(val)
+        self.blank? ? val : self.to_s
+      end
+      @@name_connectors = %w[and & van von der de di]
+      @@name_prefixes = /^m(a?c)(\w+)/i
+      def capitalize_name_word
+        # short all-caps (like "OJ") are left as-is
+        return self if self.match(/^[A-Z]+$/)
+        # words that are already BiCapitalized are left as-is
+        # (i.e., contain at least one uppercase letter that is preceded by
+        # a lowercase letter; catches McHugh, diBlasio, etc.)
+        return self if self.match( /[a-z][A-Z]/ )
+        # single initial: capitalize the initial
+        return "#{self.upcase}." if self.match(/^\w$/i)
+        # connector word (von, van, de, etc.) - lowercase
+        return self.downcase if @@name_connectors.include?(self.downcase)
+        # default: capitalize first letter AND any letter after a hyphen
+        return self.gsub(/^(\w)|-(\w)/) { |a| a.upcase }
+        #self.match(@@name_prefixes) ? self.sub(@@name_prefixes, "M#{$1}#{$2.capitalize}") :
+        # self.capitalize
+      end
+      def name_capitalize
+        self.split(/[\., ]+/).map { |w| w.capitalize_name_word }.join(" ")
+      end
+      def first_and_last_from_full_name
+        names = self.split(/\s+/)
+        last = names.pop.to_s
+        last = "#{names.pop} #{last}" while @@name_connectors.include?(names.last)
+        first = names.join(' ')
+        return [first.strip,last.strip]
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/core_extensions/time/season.rb b/lib/core_extensions/time/season.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2fb7904f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/core_extensions/time/season.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+module CoreExtensions
+  module Time
+    module Season
+      def self.included(base)
+        base.extend(ClassMethods)
+      end
+
+      def at_end_of_day
+        (self + 1.day).midnight - 1.second
+      end
+
+      def at_beginning_of_season(oldyear = nil)
+        startmon = Option.season_start_month
+        startday = Option.season_start_day
+        if (oldyear)
+          # year given: just return start of that season
+          Time.local(oldyear.to_i, startmon, startday)
+        else
+          startmon = 1 unless (1..12).include?(startmon)
+          startday = 1 unless (1..31).include?(startday)
+          newyr = (self.month > startmon || (self.month==startmon && self.mday >= startday)) ? self.year : (self.year - 1)
+          self.change(:month => startmon, :day => startday, :hour => 0, :year => newyr)
+        end
+      end
+
+      def at_end_of_season(oldyear = nil)
+        if (oldyear)
+          # just return end of that season
+          self.at_beginning_of_season(oldyear) + 1.year - 1.second
+        else
+          self.at_beginning_of_season + 1.year - 1.second
+        end
+      end
+
+      def this_season ; self.at_beginning_of_season.year ;  end
+
+      def within_season?(year)
+        year = year.year unless year.kind_of?(Numeric)
+        start = Time.local(year,Option.season_start_month,
+          Option.season_start_day).at_beginning_of_season
+        (start <= self) && (self <= start.at_end_of_season)
+      end
+
+      module ClassMethods
+        # Needed since DB may not be in same timezone, so its notion of NOW() may
+        # not be correct
+        def at_beginning_of_season(arg=nil) ; ::Time.now.at_beginning_of_season(arg) ; end
+        def at_end_of_season(arg=nil) ; ::Time.now.at_end_of_season(arg) ; end
+        def this_season ; ::Time.now.this_season ; end
+        def db_now
+          "\"#{Time.now.to_formatted_s(:db)}\""
+        end
+        def from_param(param,default=Time.now)
+          return default if param.blank?
+          return ::Time.parse(param) unless param.kind_of?(Hash)
+          t = ::Time.local(0,1,1,0,0,0)
+          [:year,:month,:day,:hour].each do |component|
+            t = t.change(component => param[component].to_i) if param.has_key?(component)
+          end
+          t = t.change(:min => param[:minute].to_i) if param.has_key?(:minute)
+          t = t.change(:sec => param[:second].to_i) if param.has_key?(:second)
+          t
+        end
+
+        # Extract two dates from jquery-ui-datepicker formatted params field
+        def range_from_params(json)
+          return Time.now,Time.now if json.empty?
+          obj = JSON(json)
+          min = Time.parse(obj['start'].to_s).at_beginning_of_day
+          max = Time.parse(obj['end'].to_s).at_end_of_day
+          min,max = max,min if min > max
+          return min, max
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/date_time_extras.rb b/lib/date_time_extras.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 8135e6fdb..000000000
--- a/lib/date_time_extras.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,99 +0,0 @@
-# new contructor for making a Time from menus
-
-# add a couple of useful formats to ActiveSupport to_formatted_s conversion
-ActiveSupport::CoreExtensions::Time::Conversions::DATE_FORMATS.merge!({
-  :compact => "%m/%d/%y",
-  :filename => "%Y-%m-%d",
-  :date_only => "%e %B %Y",
-  :showtime => '%A, %b %-e, %-l:%M %p',
-  :showtime_including_year => '%A, %b %-e, %Y, %-l:%M %p',
-  :month_day_only => "%b %-e",
-  :month_day_year => "%b %-e, %Y"
-})
-
-class Time
-  # Needed since DB may not be in same timezone, so its notion of NOW() may
-  # not be correct
-  def self.db_now
-    "\"#{Time.now.to_formatted_s(:db)}\""
-  end
-
-  def at_end_of_day
-    (self + 1.day).midnight - 1.second
-  end
-
-  def at_beginning_of_season(oldyear = nil)
-    startmon = Option.season_start_month
-    startday = Option.season_start_day
-    if (oldyear)
-      # year given: just return start of that season
-      Time.local(oldyear.to_i, startmon, startday)
-    else
-      startmon = 1 unless (1..12).include?(startmon)
-      startday = 1 unless (1..31).include?(startday)
-      newyr = (self.month > startmon || (self.month==startmon && self.mday >= startday)) ? self.year : (self.year - 1)
-      self.change(:month => startmon, :day => startday, :hour => 0, :year => newyr)
-    end
-  end
-
-  def at_end_of_season(oldyear = nil)
-    if (oldyear)
-      # just return end of that season
-      self.at_beginning_of_season(oldyear) + 1.year - 1.second
-    else
-      self.at_beginning_of_season + 1.year - 1.second
-    end
-  end
-
-  def this_season ; self.at_beginning_of_season.year ;  end
-
-  def self.at_beginning_of_season(arg=nil) ; Time.now.at_beginning_of_season(arg) ; end
-  def self.at_end_of_season(arg=nil) ; Time.now.at_end_of_season(arg) ; end
-  def self.this_season ; Time.now.this_season ; end
-
-  def within_season?(year)
-    year = year.year unless year.kind_of?(Numeric)
-    start = Time.local(year,Option.season_start_month,
-                       Option.season_start_day).at_beginning_of_season
-    (start <= self) && (self <= start.at_end_of_season)
-  end
-
-  def self.from_param(param,default=Time.now)
-    return default if param.blank?
-    return Time.parse(param) unless param.kind_of?(Hash)
-    t = Time.local(0,1,1,0,0,0)
-    [:year,:month,:day,:hour].each do |component|
-      t = t.change(component => param[component].to_i) if param.has_key?(component)
-    end
-    t = t.change(:min => param[:minute].to_i) if param.has_key?(:minute)
-    t = t.change(:sec => param[:second].to_i) if param.has_key?(:second)
-    t
-  end
-
-  # Extract two dates from jquery-ui-datepicker formatted params field
-  def self.range_from_params(json)
-    return Time.now,Time.now if json.empty?
-    obj = JSON(json)
-    min = Time.parse(obj['start'].to_s).at_beginning_of_day
-    max = Time.parse(obj['end'].to_s).at_end_of_day
-    min,max = max,min if min > max
-    return min, max
-  end
-
-end
-
-class Date
-  def Date.from_year_month_day(hash)
-    now = Time.now
-    Date.new((hash[:year] || now.year).to_i, (hash[:month] || now.month).to_i, (hash[:day] || now.day).to_i)
-  end
-  def at_beginning_of_season(arg=nil)
-    self.to_time.at_beginning_of_season(arg).to_date
-  end
-  def at_end_of_season(arg=nil)
-    self.to_time.at_end_of_season(arg).to_date
-  end
-  def within_season?(arg)
-    self.to_time.within_season?(arg)
-  end
-end
diff --git a/lib/string_extras.rb b/lib/string_extras.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 0a452684d..000000000
--- a/lib/string_extras.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,73 +0,0 @@
-# makes it easier to check for empty arrays when submitted from forms
-class NilClass
-  def empty? ; true ; end
-end
-
-class String
-
-  def self.random_string(len)
-    # generate a random string of alphanumerics, but to avoid user confusion,
-    # omit o/0 and 1/i/l
-    newpass = ''
-    chars = ("a".."z").to_a + ("A".."Z").to_a + ("2".."9").to_a - %w[O o L l I i]
-    1.upto(len) { |i| newpass << chars[rand(chars.size-1)] }
-    return newpass
-  end
-
-  # true if target is blank, or target when split on commas contains self,
-  # case-insensitively.  used for checking promo codes and tags.
-  def contained_in_or_blank(target)
-    target.blank? ||
-      target.upcase.split(/\s*,\s*/).include?(self.strip.upcase)
-  end
-  
-  def capitalize_each_word ; self.to_s.split.map(&:capitalize).join(' ') ; end
-
-  def boldify(s, tag=:strong, tag_opts = {})
-    tag_opts_str = tag_opts.each_pair { |k,v| "#{k}=\"#{v}\"" }.join " "
-    tagstart,tagend = "<#{tag.to_s} #{tag_opts_str}>", "</#{tag.to_s}>"
-    self.gsub s, "#{tagstart}#{s}#{tagend}"
-  end
-  
-  def default_to(val)
-    self.blank? ? val : self.to_s
-  end
-  @@name_connectors = %w[and & van von der de di]
-  @@name_prefixes = /^m(a?c)(\w+)/i
-  def capitalize_name_word
-    # short all-caps (like "OJ") are left as-is
-    return self if self.match(/^[A-Z]+$/)
-    # words that are already BiCapitalized are left as-is
-    # (i.e., contain at least one uppercase letter that is preceded by
-    # a lowercase letter; catches McHugh, diBlasio, etc.)
-    return self if self.match( /[a-z][A-Z]/ )
-    # single initial: capitalize the initial
-    return "#{self.upcase}." if self.match(/^\w$/i)
-    # connector word (von, van, de, etc.) - lowercase
-    return self.downcase if @@name_connectors.include?(self.downcase)
-    # default: capitalize first letter AND any letter after a hyphen
-    return self.gsub(/^(\w)|-(\w)/) { |a| a.upcase }
-    #self.match(@@name_prefixes) ? self.sub(@@name_prefixes, "M#{$1}#{$2.capitalize}") :
-    # self.capitalize
-  end
-  def name_capitalize
-    self.split(/[\., ]+/).map { |w| w.capitalize_name_word }.join(" ")
-  end
-  def first_and_last_from_full_name
-    names = self.split(/\s+/)
-    last = names.pop.to_s
-    last = "#{names.pop} #{last}" while @@name_connectors.include?(names.last)
-    first = names.join(' ')
-    return [first.strip,last.strip]
-  end
-end
-
-# for safety, extend Object and NilClass etc with the capitalization helpers
-
-class Object
-  def name_capitalize ;  self.nil? ? "" : self.to_s ; end
-end
-
-class NilClass #:nodoc:
-  def name_capitalize ; '' ; end
-end