diff --git a/mio/lib/Makefile.in b/mio/lib/Makefile.in
index b17aa12..d76fa83 100644
--- a/mio/lib/Makefile.in
+++ b/mio/lib/Makefile.in
@@ -365,7 +365,6 @@ pdfdir = @pdfdir@
 prefix = @prefix@
 program_transform_name = @program_transform_name@
 psdir = @psdir@
-runstatedir = @runstatedir@
 sbindir = @sbindir@
 sharedstatedir = @sharedstatedir@
 srcdir = @srcdir@
diff --git a/mio/lib/err.c b/mio/lib/err.c
index 27285a0..8a03a5d 100644
--- a/mio/lib/err.c
+++ b/mio/lib/err.c
@@ -26,48 +26,44 @@
 
 #include "mio-prv.h"
 
-/* TODO: this table is wrong. the messages are wrong as of now. fix these... */
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_0[] = {'n','o',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_1[] = {'g','e','n','e','r','i','c',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_2[] = {'n','o','t',' ','i','m','p','l','e','m','e','n','t','e','d','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_3[] = {'s','u','b','s','y','s','t','e','m',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_4[] = {'i','n','t','e','r','n','a','l',' ','e','r','r','o','r',' ','t','h','a','t',' ','s','h','o','u','l','d',' ','n','e','v','e','r',' ','h','a','v','e',' ','h','a','p','p','e','n','e','d','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_5[] = {'i','n','s','u','f','f','i','c','i','e','n','t',' ','s','y','s','t','e','m',' ','m','e','m','o','r','y','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_6[] = {'i','n','s','u','f','f','i','c','i','e','n','t',' ','o','b','j','e','c','t',' ','m','e','m','o','r','y','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_7[] = {'i','n','v','a','l','i','d',' ','c','l','a','s','s','/','t','y','p','e','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_8[] = {'i','n','v','a','l','i','d',' ','p','a','r','a','m','e','t','e','r',' ','o','r',' ','a','r','g','u','m','e','n','t','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_9[] = {'d','a','t','a',' ','n','o','t',' ','f','o','u','n','d','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_10[] = {'e','x','i','s','t','i','n','g','/','d','u','p','l','i','c','a','t','e',' ','d','a','t','a','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_11[] = {'b','u','s','y','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_12[] = {'a','c','c','e','s','s',' ','d','e','n','i','e','d','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_13[] = {'o','p','e','r','a','t','i','o','n',' ','n','o','t',' ','p','e','r','m','i','t','t','e','d','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_14[] = {'n','o','t',' ','a',' ','d','i','r','e','c','t','o','r','y','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_15[] = {'i','n','t','e','r','r','u','p','t','e','d','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_16[] = {'p','i','p','e',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_17[] = {'r','e','s','o','u','r','c','e',' ','t','e','m','p','o','r','a','r','i','l','y',' ','u','n','a','v','a','i','l','a','b','l','e','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_18[] = {'b','a','d',' ','s','y','s','t','e','m',' ','h','a','n','d','l','e','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_19[] = {'*','*','*',' ','u','n','d','e','f','i','n','e','d',' ','e','r','r','o','r',' ','*','*','*','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_20[] = {'m','e','s','s','a','g','e',' ','r','e','c','e','i','v','e','r',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_21[] = {'m','e','s','s','a','g','e',' ','s','e','n','d','i','n','g',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_22[] = {'w','r','o','n','g',' ','n','u','m','b','e','r',' ','o','f',' ','a','r','g','u','m','e','n','t','s','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_23[] = {'r','a','n','g','e',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_24[] = {'b','y','t','e','-','c','o','d','e',' ','f','u','l','l','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_25[] = {'d','i','c','t','i','o','n','a','r','y',' ','f','u','l','l','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_26[] = {'p','r','o','c','e','s','s','o','r',' ','f','u','l','l','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_27[] = {'t','o','o',' ','m','a','n','y',' ','s','e','m','a','p','h','o','r','e','s','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_28[] = {'*','*','*',' ','u','n','d','e','f','i','n','e','d',' ','e','r','r','o','r',' ','*','*','*','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_29[] = {'d','i','v','i','d','e',' ','b','y',' ','z','e','r','o','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_30[] = {'I','/','O',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_31[] = {'e','n','c','o','d','i','n','g',' ','c','o','n','v','e','r','s','i','o','n',' ','e','r','r','o','r','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_32[] = {'i','n','s','u','f','f','i','c','i','e','n','t',' ','d','a','t','a',' ','f','o','r',' ','e','n','c','o','d','i','n','g',' ','c','o','n','v','e','r','s','i','o','n','\0'};
-static mio_ooch_t errstr_33[] = {'b','u','f','f','e','r',' ','f','u','l','l','\0'};
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_0[] = {'n', 'o', ' ', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'o', 'r', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_1[] = {'g', 'e', 'n', 'e', 'r', 'i', 'c', ' ', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'o', 'r', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_2[] = {'n', 'o', 't', ' ', 'i', 'm', 'p', 'l', 'e', 'm', 'e', 'n', 't', 'e', 'd', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_3[] = {'s', 'y', 's', 't', 'e', 'm', ' ', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'o', 'r', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_4[] = {'i', 'n', 't', 'e', 'r', 'n', 'a', 'l', ' ', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'o', 'r', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_5[] = {'i', 'n', 's', 'u', 'f', 'f', 'i', 'c', 'i', 'e', 'n', 't', ' ', 's', 'y', 's', 't', 'e', 'm', ' ', 'm', 'e', 'm', 'o', 'r', 'y', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_6[] = {'i', 'n', 's', 'u', 'f', 'f', 'i', 'c', 'i', 'e', 'n', 't', ' ', 'o', 'b', 'j', 'e', 'c', 't', ' ', 'm', 'e', 'm', 'o', 'r', 'y', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_7[] = {'i', 'n', 'v', 'a', 'l', 'i', 'd', ' ', 'p', 'a', 'r', 'a', 'm', 'e', 't', 'e', 'r', ' ', 'o', 'r', ' ', 'd', 'a', 't', 'a', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_8[] = {'d', 'a', 't', 'a', ' ', 'n', 'o', 't', ' ', 'f', 'o', 'u', 'n', 'd', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_9[] = {'e', 'x', 'i', 's', 't', 'i', 'n', 'g', '/', 'd', 'u', 'p', 'l', 'i', 'c', 'a', 't', 'e', ' ', 'd', 'a', 't', 'a', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_10[] = {'s', 'y', 's', 't', 'e', 'm', ' ', 'b', 'u', 's', 'y', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_11[] = {'a', 'c', 'c', 'e', 's', 's', ' ', 'd', 'e', 'n', 'i', 'e', 'd', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_12[] = {'o', 'p', 'e', 'r', 'a', 't', 'i', 'o', 'n', ' ', 'n', 'o', 't', ' ', 'p', 'e', 'r', 'm', 'i', 't', 't', 'e', 'd', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_13[] = {'n', 'o', 't', ' ', 'd', 'i', 'r', 'e', 'c', 't', 'o', 'r', 'y', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_14[] = {'i', 'n', 't', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'u', 'p', 't', 'e', 'd', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_15[] = {'p', 'i', 'p', 'e', ' ', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'o', 'r', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_16[] = {'r', 'e', 's', 'o', 'u', 'r', 'c', 'e', ' ', 't', 'e', 'm', 'p', 'o', 'r', 'a', 'r', 'i', 'l', 'y', ' ', 'u', 'n', 'a', 'v', 'a', 'i', 'l', 'a', 'b', 'l', 'e', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_17[] = {'b', 'a', 'd', ' ', 's', 'y', 's', 't', 'e', 'm', ' ', 'h', 'a', 'n', 'd', 'l', 'e', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_18[] = {'t', 'o', 'o', ' ', 'm', 'a', 'n', 'y', ' ', 'o', 'p', 'e', 'n', ' ', 'f', 'i', 'l', 'e', 's', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_19[] = {'t', 'o', 'o', ' ', 'm', 'a', 'n', 'y', ' ', 'o', 'p', 'e', 'n', ' ', 'f', 'i', 'l', 'e', 's', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_20[] = {'I', '/', 'O', ' ', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'o', 'r', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_21[] = {'e', 'n', 'c', 'o', 'd', 'i', 'n', 'g', ' ', 'c', 'o', 'n', 'v', 'e', 'r', 's', 'i', 'o', 'n', ' ', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'o', 'r', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_22[] = {'i', 'n', 's', 'u', 'f', 'f', 'i', 'c', 'i', 'e', 'n', 't', ' ', 'd', 'a', 't', 'a', ' ', 'f', 'o', 'r', ' ', 'e', 'n', 'c', 'o', 'd', 'i', 'n', 'g', ' ', 'c', 'o', 'n', 'v', 'e', 'r', 's', 'i', 'o', 'n', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_23[] = {'b', 'u', 'f', 'f', 'e', 'r', ' ', 'f', 'u', 'l', 'l', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_24[] = {'c', 'o', 'n', 'n', 'e', 'c', 't', 'i', 'o', 'n', ' ', 'r', 'e', 'f', 'u', 's', 'e', 'd', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_25[] = {'c', 'o', 'n', 'n', 'e', 'c', 't', 'i', 'o', 'n', ' ', 'r', 'e', 's', 'e', 't', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_26[] = {'n', 'o', ' ', 'c', 'a', 'p', 'a', 'b', 'i', 'l', 'i', 't', 'y', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_27[] = {'t', 'i', 'm', 'e', 'd', ' ', 'o', 'u', 't', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_28[] = {'u', 'n', 'a', 'b', 'l', 'e', ' ', 't', 'o', ' ', 'm', 'a', 'k', 'e', ' ', 'd', 'e', 'v', 'i', 'c', 'e', '\0' };
+static mio_ooch_t errstr_29[] = {'d', 'e', 'v', 'i', 'c', 'e', ' ', 'e', 'r', 'r', 'o', 'r', '\0' };
 static mio_ooch_t* errstr[] =
 {
-	errstr_0, errstr_1, errstr_2, errstr_3, errstr_4, errstr_5, errstr_6, errstr_7,
-	errstr_8, errstr_9, errstr_10, errstr_11, errstr_12, errstr_13, errstr_14, errstr_15,
-	errstr_16, errstr_17, errstr_18, errstr_19, errstr_20, errstr_21, errstr_22, errstr_23,
-	errstr_24, errstr_25, errstr_26, errstr_27, errstr_28, errstr_29, errstr_30, errstr_31,
-	errstr_32, errstr_33 
+	errstr_0, errstr_1, errstr_2, errstr_3, errstr_4,
+	errstr_5, errstr_6, errstr_7, errstr_8, errstr_9,
+	errstr_10, errstr_11, errstr_12, errstr_13, errstr_14,
+	errstr_15, errstr_16, errstr_17, errstr_18, errstr_19,
+	errstr_20, errstr_21, errstr_22, errstr_23, errstr_24,
+	errstr_25, errstr_26, errstr_27, errstr_28, errstr_29
 };
 
 /* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
diff --git a/mio/lib/generr.awk b/mio/lib/generr.awk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e557a33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mio/lib/generr.awk
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#
+# qseawk --striprecspace=on -f generr.awk mio.h
+#
+
+BEGIN {
+	FS = "[[:space:]]+";
+	capture = 0;
+	msgcount = 0;
+}
+
+capture == 1 {
+	if ($0 == "};") 
+	{
+		capture = 0;
+	}
+	else if ($1 ~ /^MIO_E.+,/)
+	{
+		msg = "";
+		for (i = 3; i < NF; i++)
+		{
+			if (i > 3) msg = msg OFS;
+			msg = msg $i;
+		}
+
+		printf ("static mio_ooch_t errstr_%d[] = {", msgcount);
+		len = length(msg);
+		for (i = 1; i <= len; i++)
+		{
+			printf ("'%c', ", substr(msg, i, 1));
+		}
+		printf ("'\\0' };\n");
+		msgcount++;
+	}
+}
+/^enum mio_errnum_t$/ {
+	getline x; # consume the next line
+	capture = 1;
+}
+
+
+END {
+	printf ("static mio_ooch_t* errstr[] =\n");
+	printf ("{\n\t");
+	for (i = 0; i < msgcount; i++)
+	{
+		if (i > 0)
+		{
+			if (i % 5 == 0) printf (",\n\t");
+			else printf (", ");
+		}
+		printf ("errstr_%d", i);
+	}
+	if ((i - 1) % 5 != 0) printf ("\n");
+	printf ("};\n");
+}
diff --git a/mio/lib/main.c b/mio/lib/main.c
index 50bb2f7..fa92f76 100644
--- a/mio/lib/main.c
+++ b/mio/lib/main.c
@@ -445,6 +445,7 @@ static void on_icmp_due (mio_t* mio, const mio_ntime_t* now, mio_tmrjob_t* tmrjo
 
 static int schedule_icmp_wait (mio_dev_sck_t* dev)
 {
+	mio_t* mio = dev->mio;
 	icmpxtn_t* icmpxtn;
 	mio_tmrjob_t tmrjob;
 	mio_ntime_t fire_after;
@@ -454,7 +455,7 @@ static int schedule_icmp_wait (mio_dev_sck_t* dev)
 
 	memset (&tmrjob, 0, MIO_SIZEOF(tmrjob));
 	tmrjob.ctx = dev;
-	mio_sys_gettime (&tmrjob.when);
+	mio_gettime (mio, &tmrjob.when);
 	MIO_ADD_NTIME (&tmrjob.when, &tmrjob.when, &fire_after);
 	tmrjob.handler = on_icmp_due;
 	tmrjob.idxptr = &icmpxtn->tmout_jobidx;
@@ -565,7 +566,7 @@ static int setup_ping4_tester (mio_t* mio)
 
 /* ========================================================================= */
 
-#if 0
+#if 1
 static mio_t* g_mio;
 
 static void handle_signal (int sig)
@@ -593,7 +594,7 @@ int main (int argc, char* argv[])
 	SSL_library_init ();
 #endif
 
-	mio = mio_open(&mmgr, 0, 512, MIO_NULL);
+	mio = mio_open(&mmgr, 0, MIO_NULL, 512, MIO_NULL);
 	if (!mio)
 	{
 		printf ("Cannot open mio\n");
@@ -645,10 +646,10 @@ int main (int argc, char* argv[])
 	ts = (tcp_server_t*)(tcp[0] + 1);
 	ts->tally = 0;
 
-
 	memset (&tcp_conn, 0, MIO_SIZEOF(tcp_conn));
 {
-	in_addr_t ia = inet_addr("192.168.1.119");
+	/* openssl s_server -accept 9999 -key localhost.key  -cert localhost.crt */
+	in_addr_t ia = inet_addr("127.0.0.1");
 	mio_sckaddr_initforip4 (&tcp_conn.remoteaddr, 9999, (mio_ip4addr_t*)&ia);
 }
 
@@ -737,6 +738,7 @@ int main (int argc, char* argv[])
 	if (setup_arp_tester(mio) <= -1) goto oops;
 	if (setup_ping4_tester(mio) <= -1) goto oops;
 
+#if 1
 for (i = 0; i < 5; i++)
 {
 	mio_dev_pro_t* pro;
@@ -745,8 +747,8 @@ for (i = 0; i < 5; i++)
 	memset (&pro_make, 0, MIO_SIZEOF(pro_make));
 	pro_make.flags = MIO_DEV_PRO_READOUT | MIO_DEV_PRO_READERR | MIO_DEV_PRO_WRITEIN /*| MIO_DEV_PRO_FORGET_CHILD*/;
 	//pro_make.cmd = "/bin/ls -laF /usr/bin";
-	//pro_make.cmd = "/bin/ls -laF";
-	pro_make.cmd = "./a";
+	pro_make.cmd = "/bin/ls -laF";
+	//pro_make.cmd = "./a";
 	pro_make.on_read = pro_on_read;
 	pro_make.on_write = pro_on_write;
 	pro_make.on_close = pro_on_close;
@@ -754,7 +756,7 @@ for (i = 0; i < 5; i++)
 	pro = mio_dev_pro_make(mio, 0, &pro_make);
 	if (!pro)
 	{
-		printf ("CANNOT CREATE PROCESS PIPE\n");
+		MIO_INFO1 (mio, "CANNOT CREATE PROCESS PIPE - %js\n", mio_geterrmsg(mio));
 		goto oops;
 	}
 
@@ -764,7 +766,7 @@ for (i = 0; i < 5; i++)
 //mio_dev_pro_close (pro, MIO_DEV_PRO_OUT); 
 //mio_dev_pro_close (pro, MIO_DEV_PRO_ERR); 
 }
-
+#endif
 	mio_loop (mio);
 
 	g_mio = MIO_NULL;
diff --git a/mio/lib/mio-prv.h b/mio/lib/mio-prv.h
index 764df45..744f019 100644
--- a/mio/lib/mio-prv.h
+++ b/mio/lib/mio-prv.h
@@ -31,11 +31,8 @@
 #include "mio-utl.h"
 #include <stdarg.h>
 
-
 /*TODO: redefine and remove these */
 #include <string.h>
-#include <stdio.h>
-/*TODO: redefine these */
 #define MIO_MEMSET(dst,byte,count) memset(dst,byte,count)
 #define MIO_MEMCPY(dst,src,count) memcpy(dst,src,count)
 #define MIO_MEMMOVE(dst,src,count) memmove(dst,src,count)
@@ -179,6 +176,11 @@ int mio_sys_waitmux (
 	mio_sys_mux_evtcb_t event_handler
 );
 
+void mio_sys_gettime (
+	mio_t*       mio,
+	mio_ntime_t* now
+);
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/mio/lib/mio-sck.c b/mio/lib/mio-sck.c
index 56dbe9d..3dd5f65 100644
--- a/mio/lib/mio-sck.c
+++ b/mio/lib/mio-sck.c
@@ -399,14 +399,15 @@ static int schedule_timer_job_at (mio_dev_sck_t* dev, const mio_ntime_t* fire_at
 
 static int schedule_timer_job_after (mio_dev_sck_t* dev, const mio_ntime_t* fire_after, mio_tmrjob_handler_t handler)
 {
+	mio_t* mio = dev->mio;
 	mio_ntime_t fire_at;
 
-	MIO_ASSERT (dev->mio, MIO_IS_POS_NTIME(fire_after));
+	MIO_ASSERT (mio, MIO_IS_POS_NTIME(fire_after));
 
-	mio_sys_gettime (&fire_at);
+	mio_gettime (mio, &fire_at);
 	MIO_ADD_NTIME (&fire_at, &fire_at, fire_after);
 
-	return schedule_timer_job_at (dev, &fire_at, handler);
+	return schedule_timer_job_at(dev, &fire_at, handler);
 }
 
 /* ======================================================================== */
diff --git a/mio/lib/mio-sys.h b/mio/lib/mio-sys.h
index 248e4e6..2f78c1e 100644
--- a/mio/lib/mio-sys.h
+++ b/mio/lib/mio-sys.h
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
 #ifndef _MIO_SYS_H_
 #define _MIO_SYS_H_
 
+/* this is a private header file used by sys-XXX files */
+
 #include "mio-prv.h"
 
 #if defined(HAVE_SYS_EPOLL_H)
@@ -88,12 +90,33 @@ struct mio_sys_log_t
 };
 typedef struct mio_sys_log_t mio_sys_log_t;
 
+/* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
+
+struct mio_sys_time_t
+{
+#if defined(_WIN32)
+	HANDLE waitable_timer;
+	DWORD tc_last;
+	DWORD tc_overflow;
+#elif defined(__OS2__)
+	ULONG tc_last;
+	moo_ntime_t tc_last_ret;
+#elif defined(__DOS__)
+	clock_t tc_last;
+	moo_ntime_t tc_last_ret;
+#else
+	/* nothing */
+#endif
+};
+
+typedef struct mio_sys_time_t mio_sys_time_t;
+
 /* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
 struct mio_sys_t
 {
 	mio_sys_log_t log;
 	mio_sys_mux_t mux;
-	/*mio_sys_time_t time;*/
+	mio_sys_time_t time;
 };
 
 /* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
@@ -118,6 +141,13 @@ void mio_sys_finimux (
 	mio_t* mio
 );
 
+int mio_sys_inittime (
+	mio_t* mio
+);
+
+void mio_sys_finitime (
+	mio_t* mio
+);
 
 #if defined(__cplusplus)
 }
diff --git a/mio/lib/mio.c b/mio/lib/mio.c
index 5c8667f..6ec945e 100644
--- a/mio/lib/mio.c
+++ b/mio/lib/mio.c
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ int mio_init (mio_t* mio, mio_mmgr_t* mmgr, mio_cmgr_t* cmgr, mio_oow_t tmrcapa)
 	mio->tmr.capa = tmrcapa;
 
 	MIO_CWQ_INIT (&mio->cwq);
+	mio_sys_gettime (mio, &mio->init_time);
 	return 0;
 
 oops:
@@ -422,7 +423,7 @@ static MIO_INLINE void handle_event (mio_t* mio, mio_dev_t* dev, int events, int
 
 				MIO_MEMSET (&tmrjob, 0, MIO_SIZEOF(tmrjob));
 				tmrjob.ctx = dev;
-				mio_sys_gettime (&tmrjob.when);
+				mio_gettime (mio, &tmrjob.when);
 				MIO_ADD_NTIME (&tmrjob.when, &tmrjob.when, &dev->rtmout);
 				tmrjob.handler = on_read_timeout;
 				tmrjob.idxptr = &dev->rtmridx;
@@ -758,6 +759,7 @@ static void kill_zombie_job_handler (mio_t* mio, const mio_ntime_t* now, mio_tmr
 
 static int schedule_kill_zombie_job (mio_dev_t* dev)
 {
+	mio_t* mio = dev->mio;
 	mio_tmrjob_t kill_zombie_job;
 	mio_ntime_t tmout;
 
@@ -765,12 +767,12 @@ static int schedule_kill_zombie_job (mio_dev_t* dev)
 
 	MIO_MEMSET (&kill_zombie_job, 0, MIO_SIZEOF(kill_zombie_job));
 	kill_zombie_job.ctx = dev;
-	mio_sys_gettime (&kill_zombie_job.when);
+	mio_gettime (mio, &kill_zombie_job.when);
 	MIO_ADD_NTIME (&kill_zombie_job.when, &kill_zombie_job.when, &tmout);
 	kill_zombie_job.handler = kill_zombie_job_handler;
 	/*kill_zombie_job.idxptr = &rdev->tmridx_kill_zombie;*/
 
-	return mio_instmrjob (dev->mio, &kill_zombie_job) == MIO_TMRIDX_INVALID? -1: 0;
+	return mio_instmrjob (mio, &kill_zombie_job) == MIO_TMRIDX_INVALID? -1: 0;
 }
 
 void mio_killdev (mio_t* mio, mio_dev_t* dev)
@@ -1021,7 +1023,7 @@ update_timer:
 
 		MIO_MEMSET (&tmrjob, 0, MIO_SIZEOF(tmrjob));
 		tmrjob.ctx = dev;
-		mio_sys_gettime (&tmrjob.when);
+		mio_gettime (mio, &tmrjob.when);
 		MIO_ADD_NTIME (&tmrjob.when, &tmrjob.when, tmout);
 		tmrjob.handler = on_read_timeout;
 		tmrjob.idxptr = &dev->rtmridx;
@@ -1190,7 +1192,7 @@ enqueue_data:
 
 		MIO_MEMSET (&tmrjob, 0, MIO_SIZEOF(tmrjob));
 		tmrjob.ctx = q;
-		mio_sys_gettime (&tmrjob.when);
+		mio_gettime (mio, &tmrjob.when);
 		MIO_ADD_NTIME (&tmrjob.when, &tmrjob.when, tmout);
 		tmrjob.handler = on_write_timeout;
 		tmrjob.idxptr = &q->tmridx;
@@ -1287,10 +1289,21 @@ int mio_makesyshndasync (mio_t* mio, mio_syshnd_t hnd)
 
 /* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
 
+void mio_gettime (mio_t* mio, mio_ntime_t* now)
+{
+	mio_sys_gettime (mio, now);
+	/* in mio_init(), mio->init_time has been set to the initialization time. 
+	 * the time returned here gets offset by moo->init_time and 
+	 * thus becomes relative to it. this way, it is kept small such that it
+	 * can be represented in a small integer with leaving almost zero chance
+	 * of overflow. */
+	MIO_SUB_NTIME (now, now, &mio->init_time);  /* now = now - init_time */
+}
+
+/* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
 void* mio_allocmem (mio_t* mio, mio_oow_t size)
 {
 	void* ptr;
-
 	ptr = MIO_MMGR_ALLOC (mio->mmgr, size);
 	if (!ptr) mio_seterrnum (mio, MIO_ESYSMEM);
 	return ptr;
@@ -1299,7 +1312,6 @@ void* mio_allocmem (mio_t* mio, mio_oow_t size)
 void* mio_callocmem (mio_t* mio, mio_oow_t size)
 {
 	void* ptr;
-
 	ptr = MIO_MMGR_ALLOC (mio->mmgr, size);
 	if (!ptr) mio_seterrnum (mio, MIO_ESYSMEM);
 	else MIO_MEMSET (ptr, 0, size);
diff --git a/mio/lib/mio.h b/mio/lib/mio.h
index fe63a69..2568f31 100644
--- a/mio/lib/mio.h
+++ b/mio/lib/mio.h
@@ -73,36 +73,35 @@ enum mio_errnum_t
 	MIO_EINTERN,  /**< internal error */
 	MIO_ESYSMEM,  /**< insufficient system memory */
 	MIO_EOOMEM,   /**< insufficient object memory */
-	MIO_ETYPE,    /**< invalid class/type */
 
 	MIO_EINVAL,   /**< invalid parameter or data */
 	MIO_ENOENT,   /**< data not found */
 	MIO_EEXIST,   /**< existing/duplicate data */
-	MIO_EBUSY, 
-	MIO_EACCES,
+	MIO_EBUSY,    /**< system busy */
+	MIO_EACCES,   /**< access denied */
 	MIO_EPERM,    /**< operation not permitted */
-	MIO_ENOTDIR,
-	MIO_EINTR,
-	MIO_EPIPE,
-	MIO_EAGAIN,
-	MIO_EBADHND,
+	MIO_ENOTDIR,  /**< not directory */
+	MIO_EINTR,    /**< interrupted */
+	MIO_EPIPE,    /**< pipe error */
+	MIO_EAGAIN,   /**< resource temporarily unavailable */
+	MIO_EBADHND,  /**< bad system handle */
 
-	MIO_EMFILE,     /* too many open files */
-	MIO_ENFILE,
+	MIO_EMFILE,   /**< too many open files */
+	MIO_ENFILE,   /**< too many open files */
 
 	MIO_EIOERR,   /**< I/O error */
 	MIO_EECERR,   /**< encoding conversion error */
 	MIO_EECMORE,  /**< insufficient data for encoding conversion */
 	MIO_EBUFFULL, /**< buffer full */
 
-	MIO_ECONRF,     /* connection refused */
-	MIO_ECONRS,     /* connection reset */
-	MIO_ENOCAPA,    /* no capability */
-	MIO_ETMOUT,     /* timed out */
+	MIO_ECONRF,   /**< connection refused */
+	MIO_ECONRS,   /**< connection reset */
+	MIO_ENOCAPA,  /**< no capability */
+	MIO_ETMOUT,   /**< timed out */
 
-	MIO_EDEVMAKE,
-	MIO_EDEVERR,
-	MIO_EDEVHUP
+	MIO_EDEVMAKE, /**< unable to make device */
+	MIO_EDEVERR,  /**< device error */
+	MIO_EDEVHUP   /**< device hang-up */
 };
 typedef enum mio_errnum_t mio_errnum_t;
 
@@ -535,11 +534,12 @@ struct mio_t
 
 	mio_uint8_t bigbuf[65535]; /* TODO: make this dynamic depending on devices added. device may indicate a buffer size required??? */
 
+	mio_ntime_t init_time;
 	struct
 	{
 		mio_oow_t     capa;
 		mio_oow_t     size;
-		mio_tmrjob_t*  jobs;
+		mio_tmrjob_t* jobs;
 	} tmr;
 
 	mio_cwq_t cwq;
@@ -789,6 +789,18 @@ MIO_EXPORT int mio_gettmrjobdeadline (
 	mio_ntime_t*      deadline
 );
 
+/* =========================================================================
+ * TIME
+ * ========================================================================= */
+
+/**
+ * the mio_gettime() function returns the elapsed time since mio initialization.
+ */
+MIO_EXPORT void mio_gettime (
+	mio_t*            mio,
+	mio_ntime_t*      now
+);
+
 /* =========================================================================
  * SYSTEM MEMORY MANAGEMENT FUCNTIONS VIA MMGR
  * ========================================================================= */
@@ -1003,13 +1015,6 @@ MIO_EXPORT const mio_ooch_t* mio_errnum_to_errstr (
 	mio_errnum_t errnum
 );
 
-/**
- * The mio_sys_gettime() function gets the current time.
- */
-MIO_EXPORT void mio_sys_gettime (
-	mio_ntime_t* now
-);
-
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/mio/lib/sys-log.c b/mio/lib/sys-log.c
index 2032bb5..4870aee 100644
--- a/mio/lib/sys-log.c
+++ b/mio/lib/sys-log.c
@@ -79,6 +79,9 @@
 
 #endif
 
+#include <stdio.h> /* for sprintf */
+
+
 enum logfd_flag_t
 {
 	LOGFD_TTY = (1 << 0),
diff --git a/mio/lib/sys-tim.c b/mio/lib/sys-tim.c
index 9980030..3b1c017 100644
--- a/mio/lib/sys-tim.c
+++ b/mio/lib/sys-tim.c
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
  */
 
-#include "mio-prv.h"
+#include "mio-sys.h"
 
 #if defined(_WIN32)
 #	include <windows.h>
@@ -47,147 +47,20 @@
 #	include <errno.h>
 #endif
 
-#define MIO_EPOCH_YEAR  (1970)
-#define MIO_EPOCH_MON   (1)
-#define MIO_EPOCH_DAY   (1)
-#define MIO_EPOCH_WDAY  (4)
-
-/* windows specific epoch time */
-#define MIO_EPOCH_YEAR_WIN   (1601)
-#define MIO_EPOCH_MON_WIN    (1)
-#define MIO_EPOCH_DAY_WIN    (1)
-
-#if defined(_WIN32)
-	#define EPOCH_DIFF_YEARS (MIO_EPOCH_YEAR-MIO_EPOCH_YEAR_WIN)
-	#define EPOCH_DIFF_DAYS  ((mio_intptr_t)EPOCH_DIFF_YEARS*365+EPOCH_DIFF_YEARS/4-3)
-	#define EPOCH_DIFF_SECS  ((mio_intptr_t)EPOCH_DIFF_DAYS*24*60*60)
-#endif
-
-#if 0
-void mio_sys_gettime (mio_ntime_t* now)
+int mio_sys_inittime (mio_t* mio)
 {
-#if defined(_WIN32)
-	SYSTEMTIME st;
-	FILETIME ft;
-	ULARGE_INTEGER li;
-
-	/* 
-	 * MSDN: The FILETIME structure is a 64-bit value representing the 
-	 *       number of 100-nanosecond intervals since January 1, 1601 (UTC).
-	 */
-
-	GetSystemTime (&st);
-	SystemTimeToFileTime (&st, &ft); /* this must not fail */
-
-	li.LowPart = ft.dwLowDateTime;
-	li.HighPart = ft.dwHighDateTime;
-
-     /* li.QuadPart is in the 100-nanosecond intervals */
-	now->sec = (li.QuadPart / (MIO_NSECS_PER_SEC / 100)) - EPOCH_DIFF_SECS;
-	now->nsec = (li.QuadPart % (MIO_NSECS_PER_SEC / 100)) * 100;
-
-#elif defined(__OS2__)
-
-	DATETIME dt;
-	mio_btime_t bt;
-
-	/* Can I use DosQuerySysInfo(QSV_TIME_LOW) and 
-	 * DosQuerySysInfo(QSV_TIME_HIGH) for this instead? 
-	 * Maybe, resolution too low as it returns values 
-	 * in seconds. */
-
-	DosGetDateTime (&dt);
-	/* DosGetDateTime() never fails. it always returns NO_ERROR */
-
-	bt.year = dt.year - MIO_BTIME_YEAR_BASE;
-	bt.mon = dt.month - 1;
-	bt.mday = dt.day;
-	bt.hour = dt.hours;
-	bt.min = dt.minutes;
-	bt.sec = dt.seconds;
-	/*bt.msec = dt.hundredths * 10;*/
-	bt.isdst = -1; /* determine dst for me */
-
-	if (mio_timelocal(&bt, t) <= -1) 
-	{
-		now->sec = time (MIO_NULL);
-		now->nsec = 0;
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		now->nsec = MIO_MSEC_TO_NSEC(dt.hundredths * 10);
-	}
+	/*mio_sys_time_t* tim = &mio->sysdep->time;*/
+	/* nothing to do */
 	return 0;
-
-#elif defined(__DOS__)
-
-	struct dostime_t dt;
-	struct dosdate_t dd;
-	mio_btime_t bt;
-
-	_dos_gettime (&dt);
-	_dos_getdate (&dd);
-
-	bt.year = dd.year - MIO_BTIME_YEAR_BASE;
-	bt.mon = dd.month - 1;
-	bt.mday = dd.day;
-	bt.hour = dt.hour;
-	bt.min = dt.minute;
-	bt.sec = dt.second;
-	/*bt.msec = dt.hsecond * 10; */
-	bt.isdst = -1; /* determine dst for me */
-
-	if (mio_timelocal(&bt, t) <= -1) 
-	{
-		now->sec = time (MIO_NULL);
-		now->nsec = 0;
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		now->nsec = MIO_MSEC_TO_NSEC(dt.hsecond * 10);
-	}
-
-#elif defined(macintosh)
-	unsigned long tv;
-
-	GetDateTime (&tv);
-	now->sec = tv;
-	tv->nsec = 0;
-
-#elif defined(HAVE_CLOCK_GETTIME) && defined(CLOCK_REALTIME)
-	struct timespec ts;
-
-	if (clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, &ts) == -1 && errno == EINVAL)
-	{
-	#if defined(HAVE_GETTIMEOFDAY)
-		struct timeval tv;
-		gettimeofday (&tv, MIO_NULL);
-		now->sec = tv.tv_sec;
-		now->nsec = MIO_USEC_TO_NSEC(tv.tv_usec);
-	#else
-		now->sec = time (MIO_NULL);
-		now->nsec = 0;
-	#endif
-	}
-
-	now->sec = ts.tv_sec;
-	now->nsec = ts.tv_nsec;
-
-#elif defined(HAVE_GETTIMEOFDAY)
-	struct timeval tv;
-	gettimeofday (&tv, MIO_NULL);
-	now->sec = tv.tv_sec;
-	now->nsec = MIO_USEC_TO_NSEC(tv.tv_usec);
-
-#else
-	now->sec = time(MIO_NULL);
-	now->nsec = 0;
-#endif
 }
 
-#else
+void mio_sys_finitime (mio_t* mio)
+{
+	/*mio_sys_time_t* tim = &mio->sysdep->tim;*/
+	/* nothing to do */
+}
 
-void mio_sys_gettime (mio_ntime_t* now)
+void mio_sys_gettime (mio_t* mio, mio_ntime_t* now)
 {
 #if defined(_WIN32)
 
@@ -195,7 +68,7 @@ void mio_sys_gettime (mio_ntime_t* now)
 	mio_uint64_t bigsec, bigmsec;
 	bigmsec = GetTickCount64();
 	#else
-	xtn_t* xtn = GET_XTN(mio);
+	mio_sys_time_t* tim = &mio->sysdep->tim;
 	mio_uint64_t bigsec, bigmsec;
 	DWORD msec;
 
@@ -216,7 +89,7 @@ void mio_sys_gettime (mio_ntime_t* now)
 	MIO_INIT_NTIME(now, bigsec, MIO_MSEC_TO_NSEC(bigmsec));
 
 #elif defined(__OS2__)
-	xtn_t* xtn = GET_XTN(mio);
+	mio_sys_time_t* tim = &mio->sysdep->tim;
 	ULONG msec, elapsed;
 	mio_ntime_t et;
 
@@ -234,7 +107,7 @@ void mio_sys_gettime (mio_ntime_t* now)
 	*now = xtn->tc_last_ret;
 
 #elif defined(__DOS__) && (defined(_INTELC32_) || defined(__WATCOMC__))
-	xtn_t* xtn = GET_XTN(mio);
+	mio_sys_time_t* tim = &mio->sysdep->tim;
 	clock_t c, elapsed;
 	mio_ntime_t et;
 
@@ -278,5 +151,3 @@ void mio_sys_gettime (mio_ntime_t* now)
 	MIO_INIT_NTIME(now, tv.tv_sec, MIO_USEC_TO_NSEC(tv.tv_usec));
 #endif
 }
-
-#endif
diff --git a/mio/lib/sys.c b/mio/lib/sys.c
index 68c7067..029c5b7 100644
--- a/mio/lib/sys.c
+++ b/mio/lib/sys.c
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ int mio_sys_init (mio_t* mio)
 {
 	int log_inited = 0;
 	int mux_inited = 0;
+	int time_inited = 0;
 
 	mio->sysdep = (mio_sys_t*)mio_callocmem(mio, MIO_SIZEOF(*mio->sysdep));
 	if (!mio->sysdep) return -1;
@@ -40,9 +41,13 @@ int mio_sys_init (mio_t* mio)
 	if (mio_sys_initmux(mio) <= -1) goto oops;
 	mux_inited = 1;
 
+	if (mio_sys_inittime(mio) <= -1) goto oops;
+	time_inited = 1;
+
 	return 0;
 
 oops:
+	if (time_inited) mio_sys_finitime (mio);
 	if (mux_inited) mio_sys_finimux (mio);
 	if (log_inited) mio_sys_finilog (mio);
 	if (mio->sysdep) 
@@ -55,6 +60,7 @@ oops:
 
 void mio_sys_fini (mio_t* mio)
 {
+	mio_sys_finitime (mio);
 	mio_sys_finimux (mio);
 	mio_sys_finilog (mio);
 
diff --git a/mio/lib/tmr.c b/mio/lib/tmr.c
index 7b93537..f3b148e 100644
--- a/mio/lib/tmr.c
+++ b/mio/lib/tmr.c
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ void mio_firetmrjobs (mio_t* mio, const mio_ntime_t* tm, mio_oow_t* firecnt)
 
 	/* if the current time is not specified, get it from the system */
 	if (tm) now = *tm;
-	else mio_sys_gettime (&now);
+	else mio_gettime (mio, &now);
 
 	while (mio->tmr.size > 0)
 	{
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ int mio_gettmrtmout (mio_t* mio, const mio_ntime_t* tm, mio_ntime_t* tmout)
 
 	/* if the current time is not specified, get it from the system */
 	if (tm) now = *tm;
-	else mio_sys_gettime (&now);
+	else mio_gettime (mio, &now);
 
 	MIO_SUB_NTIME (tmout, &mio->tmr.jobs[0].when, &now);
 	if (tmout->sec < 0) MIO_CLEAR_NTIME (tmout);