code: public static Timespan toTimespan(Object t)
    {
      if(t == null)
        return null;
  
      if(t instanceof Timespan)
      {
        return (Timespan) t;
      }
  
      return Timespan.parse(t.toString());
    }
docs: Converts the object into a timespan. If already a timespan then simply return the object.
  Otherwise call {@link Timespan#parse(String)} on <code>t.toString()</code>. Works well for
  long and <code>String</code>
  
  @return a timespan (<code>null</code> if t is <code>null</code>)