import time


def gen_time(s):
    """
    Takes a string in YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm format and converts it to
    a float of seconds since the epoch.

    For example:

    >>> gen_time("2007/02/14 14:14")
    1171480440.0
    """
    return time.mktime(time.strptime(s, "%Y/%m/%d %H:%M"))