Insert date in Outline

[reg at inquit.com]

I guess this has been asked before..... Is there an 'insert (today's) 
date' command in OO?

Can't find it, but it would be nice to have.... particularly a 'smart' 
date that could - perhaps with the use of a modifier key - replace 
'today', 'tomorrow', 'yesterday' or 'next Tuesday'.

An desirable version of this facility would create date periods in the 
second or subsequent column(s). E.g.: 'for the next four days' would 
insert two dates, separated by an en-dash that represented four days 
from today or from the last date listed in the previous item at the same 
level (if such an entry exists). Thus:

[column] Peter is away for two weeks from next tuesday [column] 
02/12/01 -- 16/12/01[column]
[column] Must call Anne tonight after 9                             
[column] 29/11/01 --> 21:00+[column]

A slightly insane version of the same facility would allow the creation 
of a column that contained a bar representing the first date period (if 
any) mentioned in the entry to the left. Thus:

[column] Peter is away for two weeks from next tuesday [column] 
#02########16# [column]
[column] Anne is away for one week from next monday   [column] 
#01#08#               [column]
[column]   -> Get a Temp for three days from wednesday [column] 
03#                      [column]

While I have my cake, why not eat it? I'd like OO to be able to SUM the 
time periods in years,months,days,minutes,seconds at the bottom of each 
of these date columns for the whole outline and (optionally) for each 
item and its children.

Good for diaries, planning, time-reporting .... and, of course, keeping 
programmers employed :-)

Peter Gallagher