diff --git a/snac.c b/snac.c
index 1957271..c163649 100644
--- a/snac.c
+++ b/snac.c
@@ -21,10 +21,28 @@ d_char *srv_baseurl = NULL;
 int dbglevel = 0;
 
 
+d_char *xs_time(char *fmt, int local)
+/* returns a d_char with a formated time */
+{
+    time_t t = time(NULL);
+    struct tm tm;
+    char tmp[64];
+
+    if (local)
+        localtime_r(&t, &tm);
+    else
+        gmtime_r(&t, &tm);
+
+    strftime(tmp, sizeof(tmp), fmt, &tm);
+
+    return xs_str_new(tmp);
+}
+
+
 void srv_log(d_char *str)
 /* logs a message */
 {
-    char tm[16] = "00:00:00";
+    xs *tm  = xs_local_time("%H:%M:%S");
     xs *msg = str;
 
     fprintf(stderr, "%s %s\n", tm, msg);
diff --git a/snac.h b/snac.h
index 609be40..d091a7b 100644
--- a/snac.h
+++ b/snac.h
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ extern d_char *srv_baseurl;
 
 extern int dbglevel;
 
+d_char *xs_time(char *fmt, int local);
+#define xs_local_time(fmt) xs_time(fmt, 1)
+#define xs_utc_time(fmt)   xs_time(fmt, 0)
+
 void srv_log(d_char *str);
 int srv_open(char *basedir);