On an MBP, I'm using:
browser "open %u"
show-read-feeds no
auto-reload yes
reload-time 60
macro m mark-feed-read ; quit ; reload-all
macro k open ; goto-url 2 ; quit
for hourly polling; when I swap to its screen, I only ever consult 1 virtual feed: "query:Unread Articles:unread = \"yes\""
then use either 'o' or ',k' (for HN articles, to open comments) to load whatever looks interesting into tabs (in the browser on a different screen), then ',my' to mark all as read and re-poll.