parsing time strings from properties

[Matt Price <moptop99@gmail.com>]

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I use a very simple property in my assignment descriptions to set the
assignment due date:

:DUE_AT: 2019-09-26

I then pass this to an API which expects a date parameter like
`2019-09-26T23:59:59-04:00`. Since I only work in one time zone, I  can
just concat the property value with the additional text, though actually I
have to change the `-04:00` string twice a year.  I'm wondering though how
hard it would be to get the current time zone -- or the time zone that the
course is taught in -- from emacs, and construct the string from that
value.

Basically, I want a simple date representation to be interpreted as "the
last possible moment on this date i nthe appropriate time zone". I have not
tried to use timestamps here, in part because I'm more comfortable dealing
with text than with the horrors of time representations in either lisp or
javascript. Alsoi, I find it very very fast to insert a  text string, and
just a little bit slower and more of an interruption to add a timestamp.  I
just wanted to ask how other people manage this kind of operation; maybe I
should make the effort to start using DEADLINE timestamps. I don't really
use them in my own time management so I'm not well-versed in how to manage
them.

In nay case, I as always appreciate all of your help.

Matt

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