diff --git a/src/py/bbctrl/Trace.py b/src/py/bbctrl/Trace.py
index 56093a8..7232fee 100644
--- a/src/py/bbctrl/Trace.py
+++ b/src/py/bbctrl/Trace.py
@@ -37,6 +37,38 @@ _events = []        # list of dicts: {t, name, fields}
 _ui_timing = None   # last timeline POSTed by the browser
 
 
+def _read_kernel_anchors():
+    """Return (btime_wall, uptime_at_anchor) so we can express bbctrl events
+    in seconds since kernel boot.
+
+    btime_wall: wall-clock epoch seconds when the kernel booted (from
+    /proc/stat 'btime').
+    uptime_at_anchor: monotonic offset (seconds since kernel boot) at the
+    moment Trace was imported. Equivalent to (Trace anchor) - btime
+    in wall time, but read directly from /proc/uptime so it isn't
+    sensitive to wall-clock skew.
+    """
+    btime = None
+    uptime_at_anchor = None
+    try:
+        with open('/proc/stat') as f:
+            for line in f:
+                if line.startswith('btime '):
+                    btime = int(line.split()[1])
+                    break
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+    try:
+        with open('/proc/uptime') as f:
+            uptime_at_anchor = float(f.read().split()[0])
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+    return btime, uptime_at_anchor
+
+
+_btime_wall, _uptime_at_anchor = _read_kernel_anchors()
+
+
 def now():
     return time.monotonic() - _t0_monotonic
 
@@ -91,6 +123,14 @@ def set_ui_timing(data):
     _ui_timing = data
 
 
+def _current_uptime():
+    try:
+        with open('/proc/uptime') as f:
+            return float(f.read().split()[0])
+    except Exception:
+        return None
+
+
 def timeline():
     with _lock:
         events = list(_events)
@@ -102,6 +142,11 @@ def timeline():
         'pid': os.getpid(),
         'events': events,
         'ui': _ui_timing,
+        # Kernel-boot anchors so the timeline can be expressed in
+        # "seconds since power on".
+        'btime_wall': _btime_wall,
+        'uptime_at_anchor': _uptime_at_anchor,
+        'uptime_now': _current_uptime(),
     }
 
 
diff --git a/src/py/bbctrl/Web.py b/src/py/bbctrl/Web.py
index d303055..b149e8c 100644
--- a/src/py/bbctrl/Web.py
+++ b/src/py/bbctrl/Web.py
@@ -999,6 +999,23 @@ class StaticFileHandler(tornado.web.StaticFileHandler):
         self.set_header('Cache-Control',
                         'no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate, max-age=0')
 
+    def prepare(self):
+        # Mark the first request for the index page so we can see when
+        # chromium actually started fetching the UI on cold boot.
+        try:
+            app = self.application
+            if not getattr(app, '_first_root_get', False):
+                # Treat any GET '/' or '/index.html' as the root fetch.
+                p = self.request.path
+                if p in ('/', '/index.html', ''):
+                    app._first_root_get = True
+                    import bbctrl.Trace as _T
+                    _T.mark('web.first_root_get',
+                            ip=self.request.remote_ip,
+                            ua=(self.request.headers.get('User-Agent') or '')[:60])
+        except Exception: pass
+        return super().prepare()
+
 class Web(tornado.web.Application):
     def __init__(self, args, ioloop):
         self.args = args