[mindcrime]

Yes, in a way. It's both a blessing and a curse. I definitely learn a lot of cool stuff from browsing here, and I enjoy the comments and discussion (most of the time). I would definitely say HN has added value to my life. BUT... on the flip side, yeah, it has also added stress and fear and confusion, etc in other ways.

The feeling of needing to churn constantly to "keep up" with tech is probably exacerbated by hanging out here so much. And I find myself drawn off onto a lot of tangents, reading books or papers or articles or something that I found here, that aren't necessarily something that I Really Need To Do Right Now. And since I want to learn every programming language, use every database, try every tool, play with every neat new gadget, etc., that I come across, I definitely feel overwhelmed sometimes and HN adds to that.

But, I figure it it wasn't HN, it'd be something else. I subscribe to the Apache Incubator mailing list and just the new project proposals there leave me with the same feeling sometimes. And if I wasn't on HN, I'd be on Reddit or something, or even just checking Google News, and I'd still feel overwhelmed and frustrated at times. I've just kinda learned to deal with it. shrug