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I would wager that the post is not genuine. I'm surprised something like this would get so many votes on HN.

cato_the_elder 4y ago
Probably because it strikes a chord. I think a lot of folks on HN dig their own tunnels too: we have weird and lonely hobbies (e.g. growing algae, over-engineered homes network, etc.) others may find absurd.
- azinman2 4y ago
  There is something viscerally different between digging tunnels and being indoors tinkering around.
  - ethanbond 4y ago
    Nah, it's all about getting to that sweet, sweet flow state
  - badRNG 4y ago
    This isn't the first time "tunneling" has appeared on HN, nor the first that it intersected with the techy/hacker community. There was the case where a hacker who gave talks at Defcon built a tunnel, and paid someone to continue the work. The worker died and he went to prison [1]. There was some discussion about this case on HN in 2019 [2], and a Darknet Diaries episode about the whole multi-year scenario [3]. Note: The DD Episode link contains pictures [1] https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-nuclear-bunker-fire-20190617-story.html https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-nuclear-bunker... [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20219228 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20219228 (2019) [3] https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/39/ https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/39/
    - scarby2 4y ago
      As someone who has always wanted my own underground bunker the advice here is clearly don't hire anyone, just do it yourself.
  - brewdad 4y ago
    They are both diversions that scratch an itch but are ultimately pointless in the grander scheme.
  - shagie 4y ago
    A Tribute to Seymour Cray - https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/home/tef/cray/tribute.html https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/home/tef/cray/tribute.html > Off the job, Seymour found many ways to distract himself from his professional challenges. He enjoyed skiing, sailing, wind surfing, tennis, hiking and other sports. Some of his distractions were unique and formed the basis of many stories, most of them true but perhaps distorted with time. He used these distractions to clear his mind for his work challenges. One favorite pastime he had was digging tunnels for the sheer joy of digging tunnels. > Seymour loved challenges, and digging tunnels was just another challenge for him. Even as a child, Seymour was a problem solver. His sister tells the story about when Seymour was a young boy, he rigged a Morse Code connection between his bedroom and his sister's so that they could communicate after lights out. His father became aware of the late night clicking and told Seymour to shut down the system because it was bothering the rest of the household. Seymour's solution was to convert the clickers to lights and to continue to communicate with his sister.
- crate_barre 4y ago
  There’s also strong shades of non-conformity and anti authoritarianism in it. Who is this GF? His mom? Who is she gossiping to (Reddit), the nosy neighbor? Her annoying friends? He should really stop digging that tunnel giiiirl Fuck you I’m building the tunnel.
- gregoriol 4y ago
  It's not that much different from most motorbike enthousiasts, often spending time and money customizing them and fixing stuff themselves, riding alone to nowhere... hobbies have many forms.
jay00 4y ago
The so many votes are because we all want to dig our own tunnel now.
- mirceal 4y ago
  I dig this whole story
GoodJokes 4y ago

Probably because it strikes a chord. I think a lot of folks on HN dig their own tunnels too: we have weird and lonely hobbies (e.g. growing algae, over-engineered homes network, etc.) others may find absurd.

azinman2 4y ago
There is something viscerally different between digging tunnels and being indoors tinkering around.
- ethanbond 4y ago
  Nah, it's all about getting to that sweet, sweet flow state
- badRNG 4y ago
  This isn't the first time "tunneling" has appeared on HN, nor the first that it intersected with the techy/hacker community. There was the case where a hacker who gave talks at Defcon built a tunnel, and paid someone to continue the work. The worker died and he went to prison [1]. There was some discussion about this case on HN in 2019 [2], and a Darknet Diaries episode about the whole multi-year scenario [3]. Note: The DD Episode link contains pictures [1] https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-nuclear-bunker-fire-20190617-story.html https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-nuclear-bunker... [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20219228 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20219228 (2019) [3] https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/39/ https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/39/
  - scarby2 4y ago
    As someone who has always wanted my own underground bunker the advice here is clearly don't hire anyone, just do it yourself.
- brewdad 4y ago
  They are both diversions that scratch an itch but are ultimately pointless in the grander scheme.
- shagie 4y ago
  A Tribute to Seymour Cray - https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/home/tef/cray/tribute.html https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/home/tef/cray/tribute.html > Off the job, Seymour found many ways to distract himself from his professional challenges. He enjoyed skiing, sailing, wind surfing, tennis, hiking and other sports. Some of his distractions were unique and formed the basis of many stories, most of them true but perhaps distorted with time. He used these distractions to clear his mind for his work challenges. One favorite pastime he had was digging tunnels for the sheer joy of digging tunnels. > Seymour loved challenges, and digging tunnels was just another challenge for him. Even as a child, Seymour was a problem solver. His sister tells the story about when Seymour was a young boy, he rigged a Morse Code connection between his bedroom and his sister's so that they could communicate after lights out. His father became aware of the late night clicking and told Seymour to shut down the system because it was bothering the rest of the household. Seymour's solution was to convert the clickers to lights and to continue to communicate with his sister.
crate_barre 4y ago
There’s also strong shades of non-conformity and anti authoritarianism in it. Who is this GF? His mom? Who is she gossiping to (Reddit), the nosy neighbor? Her annoying friends? He should really stop digging that tunnel giiiirl Fuck you I’m building the tunnel.
gregoriol 4y ago
It's not that much different from most motorbike enthousiasts, often spending time and money customizing them and fixing stuff themselves, riding alone to nowhere... hobbies have many forms.

jay00 4y ago

The so many votes are because we all want to dig our own tunnel now.

mirceal 4y ago
I dig this whole story

GoodJokes 4y ago