diff --git a/README.rdoc b/README.rdoc
index 2848350..62a3255 100644
--- a/README.rdoc
+++ b/README.rdoc
@@ -266,6 +266,20 @@ corner cases a little harder to test. In general if you are using procs or
 model methods and you only care when they return  a value, then they should 
 return nil in all other situations. Restrictions are skipped if they are nil.
 
+
+=== DISPLAY INVALID VALUES IN DATE HELPERS:
+
+The plugin has some extensions to ActionView and ActiveRecord by allowing invalid
+date and time values to be redisplayed to the user as feedback, instead of
+a blank field which happens by default in Rails. Though the date helpers make this a
+pretty rare occurence, given the select dropdowns for each date/time component, but
+it may be something of interest.
+
+To activate it, put this in an initializer:
+
+  ValidatesTimeliness.enable_datetime_select_extension!
+
+
 === OTHER CUSTOMISATION:
 
 The error messages for each temporal restrictions can also be globally overridden by 
@@ -302,12 +316,22 @@ will be inserted.
 And for something a little more specific you can override the format of the interpolation
 values inserted in the error messages for temporal restrictions like so
 
+For Rails 2.0/2.1:
+
   ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats.update(
     :time     => '%H:%M:%S',
     :date     => '%Y-%m-%d',
     :datetime => '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'
   )
 
+Rails 2.2+ using the I18n system to define new defaults:
+
+  validates_timeliness:
+    error_value_formats:
+      date: '%Y-%m-%d'
+      time: '%H:%M:%S'
+      datetime: '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'
+
 Those are Ruby strftime formats not the plugin formats.
 
 
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness.rb
index 471db46..fd6ef54 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness.rb
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 require 'validates_timeliness/formats'
+require 'validates_timeliness/parser'
 require 'validates_timeliness/validator'
 require 'validates_timeliness/validation_methods'
 require 'validates_timeliness/spec/rails/matchers/validate_timeliness' if ENV['RAILS_ENV'] == 'test'
@@ -14,9 +15,11 @@ require 'validates_timeliness/core_ext/date_time'
 module ValidatesTimeliness
   
   mattr_accessor :default_timezone
-
   self.default_timezone = :utc 
 
+  mattr_accessor :use_time_zones
+  self.use_time_zones = false
+
   LOCALE_PATH = File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/validates_timeliness/locale/en.yml')
 
   class << self
@@ -31,25 +34,18 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
         I18n.load_path += [ LOCALE_PATH ]
         I18n.reload!
       else
-        messages = YAML::load(IO.read(LOCALE_PATH))
-        errors = messages['en']['activerecord']['errors']['messages'].inject({}) {|h,(k,v)| h[k.to_sym] = v.gsub(/\{\{\w*\}\}/, '%s');h }
+        defaults = YAML::load(IO.read(LOCALE_PATH))['en']
+        errors = defaults['activerecord']['errors']['messages'].inject({}) {|h,(k,v)| h[k.to_sym] = v.gsub(/\{\{\w*\}\}/, '%s');h }
         ::ActiveRecord::Errors.default_error_messages.update(errors)
+
+        ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats = defaults['validates_timeliness']['error_value_formats'].symbolize_keys
       end
     end
     
-    def default_error_messages
-      if Rails::VERSION::STRING < '2.2'
-        ::ActiveRecord::Errors.default_error_messages
-      else
-        I18n.translate('activerecord.errors.messages')
-      end
-    end
-
     def setup_for_rails
-      major, minor = Rails::VERSION::MAJOR, Rails::VERSION::MINOR
       self.default_timezone = ::ActiveRecord::Base.default_timezone
-      self.enable_datetime_select_extension!
-      self.load_error_messages
+      self.use_time_zones = ::ActiveRecord::Base.time_zone_aware_attributes rescue false
+      load_error_messages
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/action_view/instance_tag.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness/action_view/instance_tag.rb
index 98529f8..48f4c5b 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness/action_view/instance_tag.rb
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/action_view/instance_tag.rb
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
           return value_without_timeliness(object)
         end
         
-        time_array = ParseDate.parsedate(raw_value)
+        time_array = ValidatesTimeliness::Formats.parse(raw_value, :datetime)
         
         TimelinessDateTime.new(*time_array[0..5])
       end      
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/active_record/attribute_methods.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness/active_record/attribute_methods.rb
index 1f770ac..a115066 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness/active_record/attribute_methods.rb
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/active_record/attribute_methods.rb
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       # implementation as it chains the write_attribute method which deletes
       # the attribute from the cache.
       def write_date_time_attribute(attr_name, value, type, time_zone_aware)
-        new = self.class.parse_date_time(value, type)
+        new = ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.parse(value, type)
 
         if new && type != :date
           new = new.to_time
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
 
         if @attributes_cache.has_key?(attr_name)
           time = read_attribute_before_type_cast(attr_name)
-          time = self.class.parse_date_time(time, type)
+          time = ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.parse(time, type)
         else
           time = read_attribute(attr_name)
           @attributes[attr_name] = (time && time_zone_aware ? time.in_time_zone : time) unless frozen?
@@ -83,8 +83,6 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
 
       module ClassMethods
 
-        # Define attribute reader and writer method for date, time and
-        # datetime attributes to use plugin parser.
         def define_attribute_methods_with_timeliness
           return if generated_methods?
           columns_hash.each do |name, column|
@@ -105,7 +103,6 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
           define_attribute_methods_without_timeliness
         end
 
-        # Define write method for date, time and datetime columns
         def define_write_method_for_dates_and_times(attr_name, type, time_zone_aware)
           method_body = <<-EOV
             def #{attr_name}=(value)
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/active_record/multiparameter_attributes.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness/active_record/multiparameter_attributes.rb
index a755e04..5727dfb 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness/active_record/multiparameter_attributes.rb
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/active_record/multiparameter_attributes.rb
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       end
       
       def time_array_to_string(values, type)
-        values = values.map {|v| v.to_s }
+        values.collect! {|v| v.to_s }
                 
         case type
         when :date
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/formats.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness/formats.rb
index 1e3f3ba..7082752 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness/formats.rb
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/formats.rb
@@ -124,13 +124,13 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       { 's'    => [ /s{1}/,  '(\d{1,2})', :sec ] },
       { 'u'    => [ /u{1,}/, '(\d{1,6})', :usec ] },
       { 'ampm' => [ /ampm/,  '((?:[aApP])\.?[mM]\.?)', :meridian ] },
-      { 'zo'   => [ /zo/,    '(?:[+-]\d{2}:?\d{2})'] },
+      { 'zo'   => [ /zo/,    '([+-]\d{2}:?\d{2})', :offset ] },
       { 'tz'   => [ /tz/,    '(?:[A-Z]{1,4})' ] }, 
       { '_'    => [ /_/,     '\s?' ] }
     ]
     
-    # Arguments whichs will be passed to the format proc if matched in the 
-    # time string. The key must should the key from the format tokens. The array 
+    # Arguments which will be passed to the format proc if matched in the 
+    # time string. The key must be the key from the format tokens. The array 
     # consists of the arry position of the arg, the arg name, and the code to 
     # place in the time array slot. The position can be nil which means the arg
     # won't be placed in the array.
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       :min      => [4,   'n', 'n'],
       :sec      => [5,   's', 's'],
       :usec     => [6,   'u', 'microseconds(u)'],
+      :offset   => [7,   'z', 'offset_in_seconds(z)'],
       :meridian => [nil, 'md', nil]
     }
     
@@ -161,12 +162,13 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       # pre or post match strings to exist if strict is false. Otherwise wrap
       # regexp in start and end anchors.
       # Returns 7 part time array.
-      def parse(string, type, strict=true)
+      def parse(string, type, options={})
         return string unless string.is_a?(String)
+        options.reverse_merge!(:strict => true)
 
         matches = nil
         exp, processor = expression_set(type, string).find do |regexp, proc|
-          full = /\A#{regexp}\Z/ if strict
+          full = /\A#{regexp}\Z/ if options[:strict]
           full ||= case type
           when :date     then /\A#{regexp}/
           when :time     then /#{regexp}\Z/
@@ -174,7 +176,8 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
           end
           matches = full.match(string.strip)
         end
-        processor.call(*matches[1..7]) if matches
+        last = options[:include_offset] ? 8 : 7
+        processor.call(*matches[1..last]) if matches
       end   
       
       # Delete formats of specified type. Error raised if format not found.
@@ -206,8 +209,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
         end
         compile_format_expressions
       end
-      
-      
+
       # Removes formats where the 1 or 2 digit month comes first, to eliminate
       # formats which are ambiguous with the European style of day then month. 
       # The mmm token is ignored as its not ambigous.
@@ -246,17 +248,12 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       # argument in the position indicated by the first element of the proc arg
       # array.
       #
-      # Examples:
-      #
-      #   'yyyy-mm-dd hh:nn'     => lambda {|y,m,d,h,n| md||=0; [unambiguous_year(y),month_index(m),d,full_hour(h,md),n,nil,nil].map {|i| i.to_i } }
-      #   'dd/mm/yyyy h:nn_ampm' => lambda {|d,m,y,h,n,md| md||=0; [unambiguous_year(y),month_index(m),d,full_hour(h,md),n,nil,nil].map {|i| i.to_i } }
-      #
       def format_proc(order)
         arg_map = format_proc_args
         args = order.invert.sort.map {|p| arg_map[p[1]][1] }
         arr = [nil] * 7
         order.keys.each {|k| i = arg_map[k][0]; arr[i] = arg_map[k][2] unless i.nil? }
-        proc_string = "lambda {|#{args.join(',')}| md||=nil; [#{arr.map {|i| i.nil? ? 'nil' : i }.join(',')}].map {|i| i.to_i } }"
+        proc_string = "lambda {|#{args.join(',')}| md||=nil; [#{arr.map {|i| i.nil? ? 'nil' : i }.join(',')}].map {|i| i.is_a?(Float) ? i : i.to_i } }"
         eval proc_string
       end
       
@@ -313,6 +310,13 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       def microseconds(usec)
         (".#{usec}".to_f * 1_000_000).to_i
       end
+
+      def offset_in_seconds(offset)
+        sign = offset =~ /^-/ ? -1 : 1
+        parts = offset.scan(/\d\d/).map {|p| p.to_f }
+        parts[1] = parts[1].to_f / 60
+        (parts[0] + parts[1]) * sign * 3600
+      end
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/locale/en.yml b/lib/validates_timeliness/locale/en.yml
index f8731c7..3b249a6 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness/locale/en.yml
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/locale/en.yml
@@ -11,3 +11,8 @@ en:
         after: "must be after {{restriction}}"
         on_or_after: "must be on or after {{restriction}}"
         between: "must be between {{earliest}} and {{latest}}"
+  validates_timeliness:
+    error_value_formats:
+      date: '%Y-%m-%d'
+      time: '%H:%M:%S'
+      datetime: '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/parser.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness/parser.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b7845c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/parser.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+module ValidatesTimeliness
+  module Parser
+
+    class << self
+
+      def parse(raw_value, type, options={})
+        return nil if raw_value.blank?
+        return raw_value if raw_value.acts_like?(:time) || raw_value.is_a?(Date)
+        
+        options.reverse_merge!(:strict => true)
+
+        time_array = ValidatesTimeliness::Formats.parse(raw_value, type, options)
+        raise if time_array.nil?
+        
+        # Rails dummy time date part is defined as 2000-01-01
+        time_array[0..2] = 2000, 1, 1 if type == :time
+  
+        # Date.new enforces days per month, unlike Time
+        date = Date.new(*time_array[0..2]) unless type == :time
+        
+        return date if type == :date
+        
+        make_time(time_array[0..7])
+      rescue
+        nil
+      end
+
+      def make_time(time_array)
+        if Time.respond_to?(:zone) && ValidatesTimeliness.use_time_zones
+          Time.zone.local(*time_array)
+        else
+          begin
+            time_zone = ValidatesTimeliness.default_timezone
+            Time.send(time_zone, *time_array)
+          rescue ArgumentError, TypeError
+            zone_offset = time_zone == :local ? DateTime.local_offset : 0
+            time_array.pop # remove microseconds
+            DateTime.civil(*(time_array << zone_offset))
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
+    end
+
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/spec/rails/matchers/validate_timeliness.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness/spec/rails/matchers/validate_timeliness.rb
index f215554..6587415 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness/spec/rails/matchers/validate_timeliness.rb
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/spec/rails/matchers/validate_timeliness.rb
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ module Spec
         end
 
         def error_message_for(option)
-          msg = @validator.send(:error_messages)[option]
+          msg = @validator.error_messages[option]
           restriction = @validator.class.send(:evaluate_option_value, @validator.configuration[option], @type, @record)
 
           if restriction 
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ module Spec
         
         def format_value(value)
           return value if value.is_a?(String)
-          value.strftime(ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats[@type])
+          value.strftime(@validator.class.error_value_formats[@type])
         end
       end
 
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/validation_methods.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness/validation_methods.rb
index a6f7a76..5d23b09 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness/validation_methods.rb
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/validation_methods.rb
@@ -7,27 +7,6 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
 
     module ClassMethods
 
-      def parse_date_time(raw_value, type, strict=true)
-        return nil if raw_value.blank?
-        return raw_value if raw_value.acts_like?(:time) || raw_value.is_a?(Date)
-        
-        time_array = ValidatesTimeliness::Formats.parse(raw_value, type, strict)
-        raise if time_array.nil?
-        
-        # Rails dummy time date part is defined as 2000-01-01
-        time_array[0..2] = 2000, 1, 1 if type == :time
-  
-        # Date.new enforces days per month, unlike Time
-        date = Date.new(*time_array[0..2]) unless type == :time
-        
-        return date if type == :date
-        
-        # Create time object which checks time part, and return time object
-        make_time(time_array)
-      rescue
-        nil
-      end
-
       def validates_time(*attr_names)
         configuration = attr_names.extract_options!
         configuration[:type] = :time
@@ -59,21 +38,6 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
         end
       end
 
-      # Time.zone. Rails 2.0 should be default_timezone.
-      def make_time(time_array)
-        if Time.respond_to?(:zone) && time_zone_aware_attributes
-          Time.zone.local(*time_array)
-        else
-          begin
-            Time.send(::ActiveRecord::Base.default_timezone, *time_array)
-          rescue ArgumentError, TypeError
-            zone_offset = ::ActiveRecord::Base.default_timezone == :local ? DateTime.local_offset : 0
-            time_array.pop # remove microseconds
-            DateTime.civil(*(time_array << zone_offset))
-          end
-        end
-      end
-
     end
 
   end
diff --git a/lib/validates_timeliness/validator.rb b/lib/validates_timeliness/validator.rb
index 14ef01e..06978c7 100644
--- a/lib/validates_timeliness/validator.rb
+++ b/lib/validates_timeliness/validator.rb
@@ -2,14 +2,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
 
   class Validator
     cattr_accessor :ignore_restriction_errors
-    cattr_accessor :error_value_formats
-
     self.ignore_restriction_errors = false
-    self.error_value_formats = {
-      :time     => '%H:%M:%S',
-      :date     => '%Y-%m-%d',
-      :datetime => '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'
-    }
 
     RESTRICTION_METHODS = {
       :equal_to     => :==,
@@ -36,7 +29,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
     end
       
     def call(record, attr_name, value)
-      value     = record.class.parse_date_time(value, type, false) if value.is_a?(String)
+      value     = ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.parse(value, type, :strict => false) if value.is_a?(String)
       raw_value = raw_value(record, attr_name) || value
 
       return if (raw_value.nil? && configuration[:allow_nil]) || (raw_value.blank? && configuration[:allow_blank])
@@ -47,7 +40,11 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
 
       validate_restrictions(record, attr_name, value)
     end
-    
+
+    def error_messages
+      @error_messages ||= self.class.default_error_messages.merge(custom_error_messages)
+    end
+
    private
 
     def raw_value(record, attr_name)
@@ -87,7 +84,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       restriction = [restriction] unless restriction.is_a?(Array)
 
       if defined?(I18n)
-        message = custom_error_messages[option] || I18n.translate('activerecord.errors.messages')[option]
+        message = custom_error_messages[option] || I18n.t('activerecord.errors.messages')[option]
         subs = message.scan(/\{\{([^\}]*)\}\}/)
         interpolations = {}
         subs.each_with_index {|s, i| interpolations[s[0].to_sym] = restriction[i].strftime(format) }
@@ -120,10 +117,6 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       end
     end
 
-    def error_messages
-      @error_messages ||= ValidatesTimeliness.default_error_messages.merge(custom_error_messages)
-    end
-    
     def custom_error_messages
       @custom_error_messages ||= configuration.inject({}) {|msgs, (k, v)|
         if md = /(.*)_message$/.match(k.to_s) 
@@ -132,7 +125,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
         msgs
       }
     end
-    
+
     def combine_date_and_time(value, record)
       if type == :date
         date = value
@@ -143,7 +136,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
       end
       date, time = self.class.evaluate_option_value(date, :date, record), self.class.evaluate_option_value(time, :time, record)
       return if date.nil? || time.nil?
-      record.class.send(:make_time, [date.year, date.month, date.day, time.hour, time.min, time.sec, time.usec]) 
+      ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.make_time([date.year, date.month, date.day, time.hour, time.min, time.sec, time.usec])
     end
 
     def validate_options(options)
@@ -156,9 +149,29 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
     # class methods
     class << self
 
+      def default_error_messages
+        if defined?(I18n)
+          I18n.t('activerecord.errors.messages')
+        else
+          ::ActiveRecord::Errors.default_error_messages
+        end
+      end
+
+      def error_value_formats
+        if defined?(I18n)
+          I18n.t('validates_timeliness.error_value_formats')
+        else
+          @@error_value_formats
+        end
+      end
+
+      def error_value_formats=(formats)
+        @@error_value_formats = formats
+      end
+
       def evaluate_option_value(value, type, record)
         case value
-        when Time, Date, DateTime
+        when Time, Date
           value
         when Symbol
           evaluate_option_value(record.send(value), type, record)
@@ -169,7 +182,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
         when Range
           evaluate_option_value([value.first, value.last], type, record)
         else
-          record.class.parse_date_time(value, type, false)
+          ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.parse(value, type, :strict => false)
         end
       end
 
@@ -192,7 +205,7 @@ module ValidatesTimeliness
             nil
           end
           if ignore_usec && value.is_a?(Time)
-            ::ActiveRecord::Base.send(:make_time, Array(value).reverse[4..9])
+            ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.make_time(Array(value).reverse[4..9])
           else
             value
           end
diff --git a/spec/active_record/attribute_methods_spec.rb b/spec/active_record/attribute_methods_spec.rb
index 1a0077f..18e267a 100644
--- a/spec/active_record/attribute_methods_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/active_record/attribute_methods_spec.rb
@@ -39,17 +39,17 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::ActiveRecord::AttributeMethods do
   end
 
   it "should call parser on write for datetime attribute" do
-    @person.class.should_receive(:parse_date_time).once
+    ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.should_receive(:parse).once
     @person.birth_date_and_time = "2000-01-01 02:03:04"
   end
 
   it "should call parser on write for date attribute" do
-    @person.class.should_receive(:parse_date_time).once
+    ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.should_receive(:parse).once
     @person.birth_date = "2000-01-01"
   end
 
   it "should call parser on write for time attribute" do
-    @person.class.should_receive(:parse_date_time).once
+    ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.should_receive(:parse).once
     @person.birth_time = "12:00"
   end
 
diff --git a/spec/formats_spec.rb b/spec/formats_spec.rb
index a166a76..2c233c9 100644
--- a/spec/formats_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/formats_spec.rb
@@ -6,46 +6,6 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::Formats do
   before do
    @formats = ValidatesTimeliness::Formats
   end
-  
-  describe "expression generator" do
-    it "should generate regexp for time" do
-      generate_regexp_str('hh:nn:ss').should == '/(\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2})/'
-    end
-    
-    it "should generate regexp for time with meridian" do
-      generate_regexp_str('hh:nn:ss ampm').should == '/(\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2}) ((?:[aApP])\.?[mM]\.?)/'
-    end
-    
-    it "should generate regexp for time with meridian and optional space between" do
-      generate_regexp_str('hh:nn:ss_ampm').should == '/(\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2})\s?((?:[aApP])\.?[mM]\.?)/'
-    end
-    
-    it "should generate regexp for time with single or double digits" do
-      generate_regexp_str('h:n:s').should == '/(\d{1,2}):(\d{1,2}):(\d{1,2})/'
-    end
-    
-    it "should generate regexp for date" do
-      generate_regexp_str('yyyy-mm-dd').should == '/(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})/'
-    end
-    
-    it "should generate regexp for date with slashes" do
-      generate_regexp_str('dd/mm/yyyy').should == '/(\d{2})\/(\d{2})\/(\d{4})/'
-    end
-   
-    it "should generate regexp for date with dots" do
-      generate_regexp_str('dd.mm.yyyy').should == '/(\d{2})\.(\d{2})\.(\d{4})/'
-    end
-   
-    it "should generate regexp for Ruby time string" do
-      expected = '/(\w{3,9}) (\w{3,9}) (\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2}) (?:[+-]\d{2}:?\d{2}) (\d{4})/'
-      generate_regexp_str('ddd mmm hh:nn:ss zo yyyy').should == expected
-    end
-    
-    it "should generate regexp for iso8601 datetime" do
-      expected = '/(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})T(\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2})(?:Z|(?:[+-]\d{2}:?\d{2}))/'
-      generate_regexp_str('yyyy-mm-ddThh:nn:ss(?:Z|zo)').should == expected
-    end
-  end
  
   describe "format proc generator" do
     it "should generate proc which outputs date array with values in correct order" do
@@ -71,6 +31,10 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::Formats do
     it "should generate proc which outputs time array with microseconds" do
       generate_proc('hh:nn:ss.u').call('01', '02', '03', '99').should == [0,0,0,1,2,3,990000]
     end
+
+    it "should generate proc which outputs datetime array with zone offset" do
+      generate_proc('yyyy-mm-dd hh:nn:ss.u zo').call('2001', '02', '03', '04', '05', '06', '99', '+10:00').should == [2001,2,3,4,5,6,990000,36000]
+    end
   end
   
   describe "validation regexps" do
@@ -139,38 +103,43 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::Formats do
   describe "extracting values" do
     
     it "should return time array from date string" do
-      time_array = formats.parse('12:13:14', :time, true)
+      time_array = formats.parse('12:13:14', :time, :strict => true)
       time_array.should == [0,0,0,12,13,14,0]
     end
     
     it "should return date array from time string" do
-      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01', :date, true)
+      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01', :date, :strict => true)
       time_array.should == [2000,2,1,0,0,0,0]
     end
     
     it "should return datetime array from string value" do
-      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01 12:13:14', :datetime, true)
+      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01 12:13:14', :datetime, :strict => true)
       time_array.should == [2000,2,1,12,13,14,0]
     end
     
     it "should parse date string when type is datetime" do
-      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01', :datetime, false)
+      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01', :datetime, :strict => false)
       time_array.should == [2000,2,1,0,0,0,0]
     end
 
     it "should ignore time when extracting date and strict is false" do
-      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01 12:12', :date, false)
+      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01 12:13', :date, :strict => false)
       time_array.should == [2000,2,1,0,0,0,0]
     end
 
     it "should ignore time when extracting date from format with trailing year and strict is false" do
-      time_array = formats.parse('01-02-2000 12:12', :date, false)
+      time_array = formats.parse('01-02-2000 12:13', :date, :strict => false)
       time_array.should == [2000,2,1,0,0,0,0]
     end
     
     it "should ignore date when extracting time and strict is false" do
-      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01 12:12', :time, false)
-      time_array.should == [0,0,0,12,12,0,0]
+      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01 12:13', :time, :strict => false)
+      time_array.should == [0,0,0,12,13,0,0]
+    end
+
+    it "should return zone offset when :include_offset options is true" do
+      time_array = formats.parse('2000-02-01T12:13:14-10:30', :datetime, :include_offset => true)
+      time_array.should == [2000,2,1,12,13,14,0,-37800]
     end
   end
   
diff --git a/spec/validation_methods_spec.rb b/spec/parser_spec.rb
similarity index 58%
rename from spec/validation_methods_spec.rb
rename to spec/parser_spec.rb
index ab0f2cd..b57d211 100644
--- a/spec/validation_methods_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/parser_spec.rb
@@ -1,39 +1,39 @@
 require File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/spec_helper')
 
-describe ValidatesTimeliness::ValidationMethods do
+describe ValidatesTimeliness::Parser do
   attr_accessor :person
 
-  describe "parse_date_time" do
+  describe "parse" do
     it "should return time object for valid time string" do
-      parse_method("2000-01-01 12:13:14", :datetime).should be_kind_of(Time)
+      parse("2000-01-01 12:13:14", :datetime).should be_kind_of(Time)
     end
     
     it "should return nil for time string with invalid date part" do
-      parse_method("2000-02-30 12:13:14", :datetime).should be_nil
+      parse("2000-02-30 12:13:14", :datetime).should be_nil
     end
     
     it "should return nil for time string with invalid time part" do
-      parse_method("2000-02-01 25:13:14", :datetime).should be_nil      
+      parse("2000-02-01 25:13:14", :datetime).should be_nil      
     end
     
     it "should return Time object when passed a Time object" do
-      parse_method(Time.now, :datetime).should be_kind_of(Time)
+      parse(Time.now, :datetime).should be_kind_of(Time)
     end
         
     if RAILS_VER >= '2.1'
       it "should convert time string into current timezone" do
         Time.zone = 'Melbourne'
-        time = parse_method("2000-01-01 12:13:14", :datetime)
+        time = parse("2000-01-01 12:13:14", :datetime)
         Time.zone.utc_offset.should == 10.hours
       end
     end
 
     it "should return nil for invalid date string" do
-      parse_method("2000-02-30", :date).should be_nil      
+      parse("2000-02-30", :date).should be_nil      
     end
         
-    def parse_method(*args)
-      ActiveRecord::Base.parse_date_time(*args)
+    def parse(*args)
+      ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.parse(*args)
     end
   end
 
@@ -43,14 +43,14 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::ValidationMethods do
 
       it "should create time using current timezone" do
         Time.zone = 'Melbourne'
-        time = ActiveRecord::Base.send(:make_time, [2000,1,1,12,0,0])
+        time = ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.make_time([2000,1,1,12,0,0])
         time.zone.should == "EST"
       end
 
     else
 
       it "should create time using default timezone" do
-        time = ActiveRecord::Base.send(:make_time, [2000,1,1,12,0,0])
+        time = ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.make_time([2000,1,1,12,0,0])
         time.zone.should == "UTC"
       end
 
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 4425bea..55f542f 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ require 'active_record'
 require 'active_record/version'
 require 'action_controller'
 require 'action_view'
+require 'action_mailer'
 
 require 'spec/rails'
 require 'time_travel/time_travel'
@@ -38,13 +39,15 @@ ActiveRecord::Base.default_timezone = :utc
 RAILS_VER = Rails::VERSION::STRING
 puts "Using #{vendored ? 'vendored' : 'gem'} Rails version #{RAILS_VER} (ActiveRecord version #{ActiveRecord::VERSION::STRING})"
 
-require 'validates_timeliness'
-
 if RAILS_VER >= '2.1'
   Time.zone_default = ActiveSupport::TimeZone['UTC']
   ActiveRecord::Base.time_zone_aware_attributes = true
 end
 
+require 'validates_timeliness'
+
+ValidatesTimeliness.enable_datetime_select_extension!
+
 ActiveRecord::Migration.verbose = false
 ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection({:adapter => 'sqlite3', :database => ':memory:'})
 
diff --git a/spec/validator_spec.rb b/spec/validator_spec.rb
index 963c2f7..5eff1d9 100644
--- a/spec/validator_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/validator_spec.rb
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::Validator do
 
     it "should return array of Time objects when restriction is array of strings" do
       time1, time2 = "2000-01-02", "2000-01-01"
-      evaluate_option_value([time1, time2], :datetime).should == [Person.parse_date_time(time2, :datetime), Person.parse_date_time(time1, :datetime)]
+      evaluate_option_value([time1, time2], :datetime).should == [parse(time2, :datetime), parse(time1, :datetime)]
     end
 
     it "should return array of Time objects when restriction is Range of Time objects" do
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::Validator do
 
     it "should return array of Time objects when restriction is Range of time strings" do
       time1, time2 = "2000-01-02", "2000-01-01"
-      evaluate_option_value(time1..time2, :datetime).should == [Person.parse_date_time(time2, :datetime), Person.parse_date_time(time1, :datetime)]
+      evaluate_option_value(time1..time2, :datetime).should == [parse(time2, :datetime), parse(time1, :datetime)]
     end
     def evaluate_option_value(restriction, type)
       configure_validator(:type => type)
@@ -554,12 +554,18 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::Validator do
     describe "custom formats" do
 
       before :all do
-        @@formats = ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats
-        ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats = {
+        custom = {
           :time     => '%H:%M %p',
           :date     => '%d-%m-%Y',
           :datetime => '%d-%m-%Y %H:%M %p'
         }
+
+        if defined?(I18n)
+          I18n.backend.store_translations 'en', :validates_timeliness => { :error_value_formats => custom }
+        else
+          @@formats = ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats
+          ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats = custom
+        end
       end
 
       it "should format datetime value of restriction" do
@@ -581,12 +587,20 @@ describe ValidatesTimeliness::Validator do
       end
 
       after :all do
-        ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats = @@formats
+        if defined?(I18n)
+          I18n.reload!
+        else
+          ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.error_value_formats = @@formats
+        end
       end
     end
 
   end
 
+  def parse(*args)
+    ValidatesTimeliness::Parser.parse(*args)
+  end
+
   def configure_validator(options={})
     @validator = ValidatesTimeliness::Validator.new(options)
   end