How do I configure the date? how does the watch knows that february has 28 days and the rest 30/31??

The watch does not know the date. You have to manually adjust it. You do this by pulling the stem VERY gently about halfway out. If you pull it out too far, the hands will turn instead. When you pull it out just the right amount and turn the crown in one direction, the numbers change from 1 to 31 and if you turn the crown the other way, the days will change. It might take a little finagling, but you'll get it. One more tip... the date changes at midnight, which means it might change too soon the next day if you set it at the wrong 12 o'clock. It doesn't let you know whether its AM or PM like a digital watch, so you have to keep track of that yourself. Still... I love this watch. Numbers are nice and large and the dial lights up at night. Lovin' it. Hope this helped.

Does this Timex men's wrist watch have a "sweep" second hand or does it go tick tick tick, which keeps me awake at night?

Technically, all watches go "tick tick tick." Even an automatic Rolex beats 8 times per second. This appears to "sweep" to most people. You can get affordable automatic watches that come close to this type of movement. They beat 6 times per second. "Sweeping" is usually a feature of automatic watches, and as far as I know, the only chance you've got at a semi-affordable watch that's battery driven (quartz) and "sweeps" is the Bulova Accutron II Precisionist which beats 15 or 16 times per second and costs $350. A cheap Asian automatic or "mechanical watch" that sweeps would be about $75 , but expect no frills or name brands (there may be a Seiko or two near that price point too). Or you could quick kicking tires and go find a good Swiss watch such as a Tissot for about $350 on a site like Jomashop.

I have a big wrist, how do you add links to adjust?

The watch takes links just like any watch, I'm not sure where you would find extra links, maybe big box store? You can also change the band totally, it is not permanently attached. There are also watch band kits on the internet on sites like this one that hold the watch in a little vise so you can poke the little rods out. Hope it helps.