So, here’s the thing. I really wanted a simple clock on my computer screen showing exactly how much time is left until Joe Biden’s next speech. Sounds easy, right? Spoiler: it wasn’t. Let me walk you through this headache.
Why I Even Bothered
Okay, so I keep missing these big announcements. News sites say “Speech at 2 PM EST!” but what’s that my time? And how long is that? I just wanted something constantly ticking down, right there on my desktop. Less thinking, more knowing.
The “Easy” Way That Wasn’t
First thought? Browser extensions. Searched high and low for a “countdown to event” extension. Found tons. Signed up for accounts, connected calendars… total mess. Either you had to:
- Manually set every single speech yourself (ain’t nobody got time for that)
- Pay for premium features like automatic syncing (nope)
- Deal with ads constantly (super annoying)
- Get wrong times cause timezones are hard, apparently?
Gave up on that rabbit hole fast.
Getting My Hands Dirty
Fine. Looks like I gotta build this myself. Figured a simple webpage I can leave open is easiest. Got my laptop fired up.
- Googled: “How to make a simple countdown clock Javascript.” Found some old forum post with code snippets.
- Dug around: Found a basic countdown timer script. Copied it into Notepad.
- Got Stuck: This thing needed a specific future date and time to count to. Biden’s schedules aren’t fixed like clockwork! Needed a way to update it easily.
This is where I almost threw my coffee cup. Needed a plan B.
The Big Brain (Sort Of) Solution
Lightbulb moment! Forget trying to predict future speeches automatically. I’ll make a super basic page that counts down to a time I set, but make it stupid easy to change. Like, one spot to edit.
- HTML File: Created a new file: biden_*.
- The Code Core: Took the simplest countdown JS snippet I could find.
- Magic Input Box: Added a simple text box at the top. The only thing I need to update when I hear about a new speech time.
So, the plan? When CNN says “Speech at 3 PM EST today,” I jump in, pop that exact time string into my little box, save the file, refresh the browser tab I have it open in… bam! Timer starts ticking down correctly to that time. It works because it uses my computer’s clock and timezone.
The Big Save & First Win
Saved the file on my desktop. Double-clicked to open it in my browser. Blank timer screen. Okay. Found the text box. Typed in a test time like “March 1, 2023 15:00:00” – basically “March 1st, 3 PM”. Hit Enter. And… the numbers started ticking down! Felt like I cracked the Enigma code. Minimal, ugly, but it worked. Exactly what I wanted.
Living With My Creation
Been using it for a couple of weeks now. Pros? Free. No ads. No sign-ups. Accurate. Cons? It looks like a 2003 Geocities page. I have to manually set the time for each new speech announcement. But honestly? That takes like 10 seconds once I hear the time. Worth it for the zero-fuss countdown staring me in the face. No more frantic timezone math. It just works for me, how I work. Victory!
Could I make it fancier? Yeah, maybe scrape a schedule page somehow. But screw it. This does the job. Simple sometimes wins.
