serial to parallel and nixie clock
It doesn't get much easier than a shift register :) Why do you think it's a hard-to-use component?

The tutorial you pointed claims to be a Nixie driver, but omits the hardest part about nixies: driving them at 170V. IN12B nixies are easy to come by, they cost about $3 each on ebay, but you may also want to consider http://www.tayloredge.com/storefront/SmartNixie/index.html

I am not affiliated with Tayloredge, I'm just a happy customer.