I have a hacked up version of HN that I've added tags and a decent search to that I am using as a personal journal. I haven't removed account creation or anything from the regular HN, so you can still post new stories, vote and comment with an account: http://kruhft.dyndns.org/discuss
Or maybe even going down the "subreddit" route, i.e. a separate section for Apple content, Python hacking, SOPA/PIPA etc. In other words, create a "bucket" for the general high-level, recurring HN topics and allow users to pick which ones they want to see and those they don't.
