def args2dict(args, dict_args={}):
    """convert list of arg strings to dict.
    
    Args:
      args (list): a list of ['key=val'] pairs
      dict_args (dict): a dict to append to

    Returns:
      dict: a dictionary of the key/values
    """
    
    for arg in args:
        #this_entry = re.findall(r'[^"\s]\S*|".+?"', arg)
        p_arg = arg.split('=')
        dict_args[p_arg[0]] = False if p_arg[1].lower() == 'false' else \
            True if p_arg[1].lower() == 'true' else \
            None if p_arg[1].lower() == 'none' else \
            '='.join(p_arg[1:]) if len(p_arg) > 2 else \
            p_arg[1]
        
    return(dict_args)