Hacker News with Generative AI: Personal Stories

My Epic, 40-Year Dungeons and Dragons Odyssey (timharford.com)
In 1984, when I was 11 years old, a friend told me about something new, something exciting. He urged me to try it. He struggled to explain exactly what it was he was talking about, and I didn’t really understand what had so fired his enthusiasm. But that enthusiasm was unmistakable, so I tried it. And I loved it.
Gaming, Personal Stories, Nostalgia
11 points by jruohonen 35 days ago | 0 comments
A boy who came back: the near-death, and changed life, of my son Max (theguardian.com)
It was, we were told, a case of sudden infant death syndrome interrupted. What followed would transform my understanding of parenting, disability and the breadth of what makes a meaningful life
Parenting, Disability, Personal Stories, Life Experiences, Health
50 points by ljf 35 days ago | 5 comments
How a Skeptical Philosopher Becomes a Christian (larrysanger.org)
It is finally time for me to confess and explain, fully and publicly, that I am a Christian.
Philosophy, Religion, Christianity, Personal Stories
3 points by thinkingemote 38 days ago | 0 comments
Alone and Adrift in the Pacific (theatlantic.com)
On my first time out as a commercial fisherman, my boat sank, my captain died, and I was left adrift and alone in the Pacific.
Oceanography, Survival, Personal Stories
66 points by anarbadalov 38 days ago | 11 comments
Gemini figured out my nephew’s name (nawaz.org)
Artificial Intelligence, Family, Personal Stories
188 points by BeetleB 40 days ago | 123 comments
A man who visited every country in the world without boarding a plane (2023) (theguardian.com)
At 34, Torbjørn Pedersen embarked on a seemingly impossible journey that would take 10 years – and involve cerebral malaria and being held up at gunpoint. He reflects on the highs, the lows and the joy of getting married en route
Travel, Adventure, Personal Stories, World Records
139 points by thunderbong 42 days ago | 61 comments
Six Days in the Dark (tonyyo11.github.io)
On Tuesday, April 29th, 2025, a major storm system rolled through the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region and beyond, leaving widespread damage—and six powerless days for my family.
Personal Stories, Weather, Power Outages
44 points by firexcy 49 days ago | 64 comments
Why I Am Leaving the USA (damemagazine.com)
My family is fleeing the country.
Politics, Immigration, Personal Stories
21 points by tastyface 52 days ago | 7 comments
I Owe It All to Community College (2015) (nytimes.com)
IN 1974, I graduated from Skyline High School in Oakland, Calif., an underachieving student with lousy SAT scores.
Education, Community College, Personal Stories
6 points by Tomte 54 days ago | 2 comments
Dad and the Egg Controller (2018) (pentadact.com)
After dad died, trying to be useful, we looked through his office. ‘Office’ is underselling it – there was so much equipment that it could equally qualify as a workshop or even a lab. It had the special kind of ordely chaos of a place filled with a thousand incredibly specific things, meticulously organised by type, when you don’t know any of the types.
Personal Stories, Technology, Death
110 points by wrong-mexican 62 days ago | 16 comments
My peanut allergy nearly killed me – now I eat them every day for breakfast (bbc.co.uk)
Chris Brookes-Smith, 28, used to live in fear of dying from eating even the smallest trace of peanut.
Food Allergies, Health, Personal Stories, Diets
12 points by dberhane 65 days ago | 5 comments
Cleaning Out Our Computer Graveyard (bottomfeeder.substack.com)
I've been running Spiderweb Software since 1994, long enough to become a dedicated tech hoarder. I'm terrified of getting rid of any computer, because at any time I might need to locate an obscure file from 20 years ago and if I don't I will die.
Technology, Personal Stories, Nostalgia
6 points by Tomte 65 days ago | 0 comments
Out of the Fog (theverge.com)
Operation Babylift was an earnest attempt to save children during the fall of Saigon. Decades later, a generation of adoptees wrestles with the aftermath.
Vietnam War, Adoption, History, Social Issues, Personal Stories
149 points by wapasta 67 days ago | 34 comments
Rich vs. King in the Real World: Why I sold my company (asmartbear.com)
I sold my company, Smart Bear, in December of 2007. I haven’t talked about it at all on this blog, and it’s time I spill my guts about the whole affair.
Entrepreneurship, Business, Personal Stories
7 points by punnerud 68 days ago | 1 comments
Rules for Negotiating a Job Offer (2016) (haseebq.com)
When the story of how I landed a job at Airbnb went viral, I was surprised at how infatuated people were with my negotiations.
Job Negotiation, Career Advice, Personal Stories
449 points by rzk 83 days ago | 210 comments
L.A. man stabbed, shot and pushed off cliff lives to testify about alleged hit (latimes.com)
High in the mountains above Los Angeles, Juan testified, the kidnappers pressed a gun against his stomach and handed him a phone after making a call on FaceTime.
Crime, Law, California, Violence, Personal Stories
17 points by PaulHoule 85 days ago | 9 comments
The coolest code I've ever written – Bill Gates (gatesnotes.com)
Programming, Software, Personal Stories, Bill Gates
29 points by xero1 86 days ago | 8 comments
Four decades not sleeping well – until a doctor took my insomnia seriously (theguardian.com)
When I tell people that I have immense trouble with sleep, what they hear is that I’m difficult, neurotic, a diva with control issues. For nearly 40 years, every doctor I’ve pleaded with has announced that the problem is in my head.
Health, Sleep Disorders, Mental Health, Personal Stories
11 points by wheels 86 days ago | 6 comments
Sailing from Berkeley to Hawaii in a 19ft Sailboat (potter-yachters.org)
As a consulting exploration geologist, my work life tends to consist of periods of intense work punctuated by periods of intense unemployment.
Sailing, Travel, Adventure, Personal Stories
143 points by protonbob 86 days ago | 89 comments
The April Fools joke that might have got me fired (blogspot.com)
Everyone should pull one great practical joke in their lifetimes. This one was mine, and I think it's past the statute of limitations. The story is true. Only the names are redacted to protect the guilty.
Humor, Work, Personal Stories
528 points by goldenskye 88 days ago | 252 comments
43-year-old Family Canoe Trip (paddlingmag.com)
On June 14, 1974, my grandma Glady dropped her two sons off at a marina in the Puget Sound. They loaded gear into homemade woodstrip canoes and pushed off into the cold, black water. Decades later, Grandma told me as she watched them disappear into the fog, she wondered if she would ever see her boys again.
Family, Canoeing, Puget Sound, Nostalgia, Personal Stories
103 points by cameron_b 101 days ago | 24 comments
My Scammer Girlfriend: Baiting a Romance Fraudster (bentasker.co.uk)
Romance Scams, Cybersecurity, Personal Stories
455 points by acdha 108 days ago | 156 comments
The millionaire who lost it all and became a castaway (2024) (thehustle.co)
When David Glasheen lost his fortune in the 1980s stock crash, he packed a small suitcase and moved to a remote island.
Finance, Personal Stories, Australia
24 points by wallflower 119 days ago | 2 comments
No Evidence of Disease (idlewords.com)
My girlfriend Diane met Stephanie last October at a free makeup event for women with cancer called Look Good Feel Better.
Health, Relationships, Personal Stories
3 points by PaulHoule 126 days ago | 0 comments
I spent five years building a webapp and got my first $1 (2022) (codingcafe.jp)
This is the story of five years spent wandering around the JavaScript tech stack, wasting time, getting lost, and finally taking off.
Web Development, Personal Stories, JavaScript, Entrepreneurship, Startups
280 points by sillysaurusx 147 days ago | 98 comments
How I Got Here (pthorpe92.dev)
My name is Preston Thorpe, I’m 31 years old and I’ve spent just under 10 years of my life in Prison (all for non-violent drug crimes.)
Personal Stories, Prison Reform, Criminal Justice
34 points by jrhey 159 days ago | 3 comments
"Twelfth Night Till Candlemas" – A 40-year book-quest (davidallengreen.com)
This post is about finally finding a book from one’s youth forty years later – and after nearly thirty years of searching.
Books, Nostalgia, Personal Stories
183 points by ColinWright 169 days ago | 55 comments
The Unisys Icon: One Canadian Xennial's Memories of Ontario's Obscure Computer (postgamecontent.com)
One topic that often comes up in retro gaming circles is how aspects of gaming history not part of the American story don’t get enough attention. I personally feel it’s mostly up to the people to whom the stories belong to tell them. So I am going to follow my own advice today and tell the tale of a computer that statistically speaking almost no one has used, and some of that computer’s software.
Retro Gaming, Canadian History, Personal Stories, Computer History, Software
80 points by ecolonsmak 174 days ago | 35 comments
It's okay to code on nights and weekends (tej.as)
I’ve been wrestling with this for a long time (my entire life): I love coding and building software. A lot. I started when I was 8 years old. My nervous system developed wrapped around a computer.
Software Development, Personal Stories, Passion
84 points by tejaskumar_ 178 days ago | 80 comments
The Story of Stent (om.co)
Today is my 17th re-birthday. If you’ve been a longtime reader, you know why I call it my re-birthday. If you are new around here, well, here is a short recap. Just after I turned 41—17 years ago—a life of poor habits and family genetics caught up with me. I had a heart attack and was in the hospital for a few days. The doctors discovered all sorts of problems, and I ended up on the operating table.
Health, Personal Stories, Heart Disease
69 points by rmason 180 days ago | 5 comments