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Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're all having a good holiday. I wanted to share some thoughts on privacy, some recent purchases I've made, and where I'm heading in terms of my digital life.

The Privacy Journey Begins

I've recently made three significant purchases to help me on my privacy journey, as well as to pull myself away from the endless doomscrolling on social media and get back to doing things I actually find fun—like emulating old PS1, PS2, and DS games.

Here's what I picked up:

• Lenovo ThinkPad T480s — with a more powerful battery upgrade for extended use. ThinkPads are legendary for a reason, and this one will serve me well.
• Ayn Thor — the 1TB Max model in translucent purple. This thing is beautiful and perfect for retro gaming on the go.
• Pixel 9a (Factory Unlocked) — which I plan to flash with GrapheneOS for a truly private mobile experience.

Becoming a Digital Ghost

I'm planning on deleting pretty much all of my social media accounts—yes, even my Google accounts. The goal is to wipe as much of my online presence as possible and become essentially a digital ghost.

I firmly believe that privacy is a necessity, not a luxury. In the modern age of digital surveillance, where every click, every search, and every message is potentially being logged and analyzed, privacy and anonymity aren't just nice to have—they're absolutely key to maintaining any semblance of freedom.

Escaping the Doomscroll

The Ayn Thor specifically is my escape hatch from the doomscroll. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through depressing news feeds and social media garbage, I want to delve deep into retro gaming with this handheld. The best part? It actually fits in my pocket, unlike something bulky like a Steam Deck.

The news lately has been... a lot. Sometimes you just need to disconnect from all that negativity and lose yourself in some classic games. That's the plan.

Future Plans: VR & Beyond

Looking ahead, I'm eyeing a few more purchases:

• The new Steam Frame when it drops
• Potentially the new Steam Controller
• Fluxpose full body trackers for VR games like VRChat that support full body tracking, eye tracking, etc.

My Problems with VRChat

Speaking of VRChat—as much as I enjoy the platform, I think it's fundamentally flawed in its moderation. The controversies are endless: staff members involved in absolutely disgusting behavior, rampant grooming that the developers seem to turn a blind eye to, and a general failure to keep the platform safe.

Resonite has similar issues. It's disappointing because the concept is incredible, but the execution and oversight are severely lacking.

The Dream: A Real Metaverse

My ultimate dream? A true, realer-than-real-life metaverse—yet still stylized and cartoonish with anime aesthetics. Something beautiful and cyberpunk-esque where you can truly lose yourself in another world.

I hope that one day some company with actual resources and ethics decides to build something like that—with proper moderation, real safety measures, and none of the controversies that plague platforms like VRChat and Resonite. A place where the community can thrive without the constant threat of predators and bad actors.

Until then, I'll be on my ThinkPad, playing PS2 games on my Ayn Thor, with my GrapheneOS phone sitting silently in my pocket—completely disconnected from the surveillance apparatus.

Merry Christmas. Stay private. Stay free.