# iCal Geek Talk, turn away now, don't do this, it's the geek way hushed whisper about iCal.

my BS ver 1.0

## the problem

* I use iphone calendar and sync calendar to Snow Leopard, long live the beast!

* No Google calendar.

* I installed an app (to remain nameless calendars+ isn't in app store any more) 

* that app thinks I am into Google calendars.


## There the trouble starts. That will alter the cal file with, let's call it some extra stuff iCal doesn't like


### first, I think this is the simple clean (1 alert) `VEVENT` block in an ical file

```properties
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130717T153000
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:This is an appointment with the man.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130717T143000
DTSTAMP:20130622T054748Z
SEQUENCE:0
BEGIN:VALARM
X-WR-ALARMUID:ZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZ-ZZZZ-ZZZZ-ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
TRIGGER:-PT15M
DESCRIPTION:Event reminder
ACTION:DISPLAY
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
```

### Keeping it simple, here's what the new "protocol" adds to the EXISTING "VEVENT" blocks

* In the reminders, one simple error is.

```properties
DESCRIPTION:Event reminder
```

becomes like this


```properties
DESCRIPTION:
```

* every event, all, get this added:


```properties
CREATED:20130920T022047Z
```

* Reminder blocks proliferate like rabbits

```properties
BEGIN:VALARM
X-WR-ALARMUID:XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX
TRIGGER:-PT5M
DESCRIPTION:
ACTION:DISPLAY
END:VALARM
BEGIN:VALARM
X-WR-ALARMUID:YYYYYYYY-YYYY-YYYY-YYYY-YYYYYYYYYYYY
TRIGGER:-PT5M
DESCRIPTION:
ACTION:DISPLAY
END:VALARM
BEGIN:VALARM
X-WR-ALARMUID:ZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZ-ZZZZ-ZZZZ-ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
TRIGGER:-PT5M
DESCRIPTION:
ACTION:DISPLAY
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
```

### There are many corner cases with, for example, all day events, repeating events, etc. But this stuff here is all I look at so far, as it is like the major stuff.

## only had time to explore this possibility

### In vim this seems to get rid of ALL alert blocks

# You DO ThIS? -- NO YOU DO NOT

```vim
:%s/\nBEGIN:VALARM\_.\{-}END:VALARM\n/\r/gc  
```

## that's all I have so far