Decoding My Journey into Artificial Intelligence

 

The Spark: When "Magic" Becomes a Goal

It feels like just yesterday that Artificial Intelligence was something straight out of science fiction. It was the HAL 9000, the T-800, the stuff of movies. Then, almost overnight, it was everywhere. It was suggesting my next song, finishing my sentences in emails, and generating breathtaking art from a simple text prompt. My initial reaction was pure awe. My second reaction was an insatiable curiosity: How does it actually work?

That question was the spark. I decided I didn't want to just be a user of this "magic"; I wanted to understand the wizard behind the curtain. And so began my journey into the complex, challenging, and incredibly rewarding world of AI.

The First Steps: Taming the Mountain of Information

Starting out felt like standing at the base of Mount Everest. The field is vast: machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, natural language processing, computer vision... where does one even begin?

My first breakthrough was realizing I didn't need to learn everything at once. I decided to focus on the fundamentals of Machine Learning. Here was my initial roadmap:

1. Python, the Lingua Franca: I knew I needed a solid programming foundation. I dedicated time to mastering Python, focusing on libraries that are the bread and butter of AI: NumPy for numerical operations, Pandas for data manipulation, and Matplotlib/Seaborn for visualization.

2. The Mathematical Foundations: This was the part I dreaded. I hadn't touched calculus or linear algebra in years. However, resources like Khan Academy and the 3Blue1Brown YouTube series were lifesavers. They didn't just teach the "how," they taught the "why" behind concepts like gradients (∇f) and matrix multiplication, making them intuitive instead of terrifying.

3. Structured Learning: I enrolled in Andrew Ng's famous "Machine Learning Specialization" on Coursera. This course was a game-changer. It provided the structure I craved, breaking down complex topics like regression, classification, and the core logic of neural networks into digestible pieces.

The "Aha!" Moments and the Debugging Nightmares

The journey wasn't a straight line. There were days filled with frustration, staring at a screen of error messages, wondering why my model's accuracy was stubbornly stuck at 50% (no better than a coin flip!). Imposter syndrome was a constant companion.

But then came the breakthroughs.

I'll never forget the first time I built a simple neural network from scratch to recognize handwritten digits from the MNIST dataset. When I fed it an image it had never seen before, and it correctly predicted the number, the feeling was electric. It wasn't magic anymore; it was math and code that I had written.

Another "aha!" moment was truly understanding gradient descent. The idea that you can calculate the error of your model's prediction (the "loss function," e.g., Mean Squared Error: $L=\frac{1}{n}{\sum }_{i=1}^n(y_i-{\hat{y}}_i{)}^2$) and then take a tiny step in the direction that minimizes that error—that's the heart of how a machine learns.

My Toolkit Today

My toolkit has grown since those early days. Now, my projects are built on powerful frameworks like:

• Scikit-Learn: For classic machine learning models.

• TensorFlow & PyTorch: The two giants of deep learning. I started with TensorFlow but have grown to love the flexibility of PyTorch.

• Google Colab: For access to free GPU resources, which is essential for training deep learning models without an expensive home setup.

My Advice for You, the Next AI Explorer

If you're standing where I was, at the base of the mountain, here's my advice:

1. Start Small, Start Now: Don't try to understand GPT-4 on day one. Build a simple linear regression model. Predict house prices. Classify irises. Every small victory builds momentum.

2. Consistency Over Intensity: 30 minutes of focused learning every day is better than an 8-hour cram session once a week.

3. Get Your Hands Dirty: Theory is vital, but AI is an applied field. Find a dataset on Kaggle that interests you and just start exploring. Your best learning will come from your own projects.

4. Embrace the Community: You are not alone. Join forums, follow AI practitioners on social media, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

My journey is far from over. In AI, the horizon is always expanding. But looking back, I can say with certainty that the climb, with all its challenges, is absolutely worth the view from the top. Go find your spark.

Ang Tahor

 No other sports cuts accross the grain  of Philippine society than cockfightinng. From the farmer in the barrio to the tycoon in the  penthouse to the politicians in the halls of power, cocckfighting finds and obsessive enthusiast.

The attraction to the sport baffles the outsider. But listening to the tahors ( cockfighting enthusiast ) talks about the sports, the mystery easiily unfolds. 

Cockfighting is a rich subject.Historically, it expands ages, nations andd races.  Scientifically, it hews closely to the intricacies of  genetics. Aesthetically, it involves  a  proud and  beautiful creature in the fighting cock. And  as a sport,  it provides an unmatched excitement  of a duel to the death.

Thus cockfighting has lured men and women in positions of power. And  in the Philippines in particularly, where it had enjoyed years and years of patronage with persons with  authority, cockfighting has evolved into a strong brotherhood counting as it's pillars the  elite of the society. These afficionados, possessing intelligence as well as technical and financial resources have uplifted cockfighting into the serious sports it has always been meant to be. 

I am back

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Kelso

Cardinal Kelso     
         Loyce DeRouen of Louisiana is the originator of the CARDINAL CLUB KELSO. In the early 1950's, Mr. DeRouen had some Cardinals from F.F. "Chick" Hall of Oklahoma, which is a blend of Hatch-Clarets with little of Murphy blood.

         In 1961 Loyce DeRouen acquired a trio of Kelso from Emery Thibodeaux through barter with his Cardinal trio. These Thibodeaux Kelsos were excellent slashers. Subsequently, Loyce DeRouen acquired two trios (Kelsos and Murphys) from an old man who lives in Jefferson Parish, in New Orleans who is a friend of Duke Hulsey and Mickey Massa. Those two trios acquired from the old man were the secret ingredients of the bloodline which made Loyce DeRouen a fortune and improved the quality of his family's life.

         The CARDINAL CLUB KELSOS have dark red feathers, yellow legged and come both pea-combed and straight-combed. They are excellent and accurate cutters both on the ground and in the air with superb endurance and great timing. Likewise, they have good bone structure and have fantastic bodies. Furthermore, this bloodline has the ability to shred an opponent in just a blink of an eye--very fast and accurate. Aside from such trait, this bloodline is known to steal a win from behind.

         Moreover, Loyce DeRouen made different families of the same line namely: MACHINE, PICTURE COCK, RORN's and the JONES FAMILY. These CARDINAL CLUB KELSOS are excellent to cross with Roundheads and Hatches, but the Jones Family Cardinal Club Kelso is best when blended with the Blondly Rollan Democrats.

         Meanwhile, Jason Campbell of the famed Slick Lizard Gamefarm, in Nauvoo , Alabama , acquired all the four families from Loyce DeRouen before the latter died.

Dink Fair Kelso       
         Johnny Jumper revolutionized the Kelso gamefowl. Through the help of Cecil Davis, Jesse Horta, Robbie White and his clique of friends, he was able to develop the Claret-looking strain of Walter Kelso, to a good-looking, well-balanced, all-around fighting feathered warrior called the Johnny Jumper Super Kelso.

The History of the $20,000 Cock

         It was reported that the Johnny Jumper Super Kelsos originated from a rooster he calls the $20,000 (20 grand) line.
        The father of the $20,000 was a Jesse Horta ½ White Legged Sweater (Kelso) x ½ Little Walter (from Walter Kelso) which Jesse Horta gave Robbie White. Subsequently, Robbie White mated this ½ White Legged Sweater (Kelso) x ½ Little Walter over his hens, which he called the $20,000 (20 grand) line.

Johnny Jumper Super Kelso

         Johnny Jumper linebred the $20,000 (20 grand) line over his hens until the broodcock died. The offspring come dark red and white legged kelsos. However, occasionally, (especially when inbred) the progenies come blue-legged. It was admitted in an interview, that Johnny Jumper infused a Doc Robinson Hatch to his Kelsos to invigorate the bloodline, and bred it out. Through this breeding, Johnny Jumper Developed his Johnny Jumper Super Kelso.

         Meanwhile, being a good breeder that he (Johnny Jumper) is, he was able to make strains of Kelsos: The Cecil Davis Kelso strain and his famous Out and Out Kelso--the latter strain being more famous.

Johnny Jumper’s Super Blends

         From the White Legged Johnny Jumper Kelso, a secret strain of Yellow Legged Johnny Jumper Kelso was developed, which was claimed to be a better type. Reports say that the Yellow-Legged Kelsos have a 90 percent winning average. Johnny Jumper gave this strain as a gift to his Filipino best friend, the late Philip Chiongbian. However, Randy Jumper claimed that the Yellow-Legged Johnny Jumper Kelso is just a cross of Blackwater Sweaters, Johnny Jumper Kelso and Radio. As to what percentage each bloodline corresponds to, that is the Johnny Jumper secret concoction.

Dink Fair’s Version

         Subsequently, Dink Fair of Oklahoma acquired his Kelso from the well-known and respected breeder, Johnny Jumper. He bred the Dink Fair Kelso in a fashion that would suit his clientele from Mexico for the gaff. These Kelsos are smart, fast, very powerful and are high flyers.

The Secret Weapon

         However, as a typical problem for breeders; who have been breeding the same bloodline day in and day out, Dink admitted that his Sweaters and Kelsos are losing their cutting and gameness. The same predicament is true with the fowls of Johnny Jumper. Dink Fair called and begged Jesse Horta for a White Legged Sweater (Kelso) which the latter has been breeding for 45years. Based on sources, Jesse Horta gave Dink Fair, Johnny Jumper and Junior Belt a White-Legged Sweater (Kelso) broodcock and gave Larry Powell a pair. Aside from a broodcock, Johnny Jumper received two ½ White Legged Sweater (Kelso) x ½ Little Walter fowls.

         The main reason why the Johnny Jumper Kelsos and Dink Fair Kelsos, are good again is because of the secret ingredient Jesse Horta White-Legged Sweater (Kelso).