use raw strings for regexp with escape sequences
remove crufty work arounds

these datetime workarounds are no longer needed in 7.0
print statement fixes

either disable the Pylint check when use of print seems legit,
or convert the print statement to a WARN level log line
'floating' docstring fixes

move module docstrings to the top of the module
convert some 'docstrings' to comments
remove useless docs
please flake8 about blank lines