Building Large Language Models (LLMs) from scratch is a complex and challenging task. It requires a deep understanding of the underlying mathematics and a strong foundation in computer science. In this post, we will explore the process of building a LLM from scratch and provide a step-by-step guide to help anyone get started.

LLMs are incredibly versatile, aiding in tasks such as checking grammar, composing emails, summarizing lengthy documents, and much more. They are “large”—very large—encompassing millions to billions of parameters. LLMs are a unique subset of AI. There is a very nice book Build LLMs from Scratch by Sebastian Raschka which shows a practical approach to building your own LLM.

Theology and history goes hand in hand and should be read by any seeker of knowledge. History is the keystone to understanding the present and the future. Learning about history has a great impact on development of critical thinking skills, fostering of empathy and cultural awareness as well as shaping of individual and group identity. Connecting past events to current circumstances gives us a unique perspective of understanding human behavior, societal changes and complexities of the world we live in. Many of the so called “unsolvable” problems of the world haven’t been approached with critical thinking either because of lack of historical context or because of ignorance of the past.

The Battle of Aror (712 CE) was fought between the Arab Umayyad Caliphate and the Indian kingdom of Pala Empire.
Mohammad Bin Qasim (MBQ) (695-715 CE) of Arab Umayyad Caliphate defeated Raja Dahir Sen (663-712 CE) of India in the Battle of Aror (712 CE). Raja Dahir and his brother Dahar-Sena had fought and replused the Arabs multiple times. But as fate would have it, the buddhists of Sindh and the local ‘Med’ tribe, who were alienated by Dahir had joined MBQ. They helped MBQ to cross Sindhu river at Nerun giving MBQ entry to Raja Dahir’s garrison.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field of computer science that deals with the development of intelligent machines that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. AI systems are designed to learn from data, identify patterns, and make predictions or decisions based on that data. AI has the potential to transform many aspects of our lives, from healthcare and transportation to education and entertainment. It has the potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems, such as climate change, poverty, and disease. However, it also raises ethical and philosophical questions, such as the impact of AI on jobs, privacy, and autonomy.

I have been using Magisk since almost 12 years now when I first started rooting and unlocking my bootloaders and using/creating my custom ROMs. Magisk allowed for managing root access to applications, install modules that allowed for functionality that is not available otherwise, access the android application’s process space using Zygisk, lsposed and associated modules, etc. Without Magisk, if one had unlocked bootloader and rooted his/her device, it would be a nightmare to manage root access and host load of applications will start failing because of the “compromised security”.

I have been hosting my website on the hosting platform since the last 17+ years. It has been quite a journey and I learnt a lot of things about networking, hosting, website management, content creation, etc. It was ofcourse a Wordpress (WP) site. On the side, I had phpbb (forums), GedView, etc. The website helps me keep my thoughts in control and provides me a platform to voice my opinions, ideas, views, etc. on various topics. I can go back and read the posts/blogs to sketch and retrace information as needed. So the blog/posts help me organize and keep a record of my braindump. The blogs/posts are more or less static and do not change much. So having a heavy WP install and maintaing it is a resource intensive work. Regular updates, security patches, etc. are also a pain to maintain.

OpenWrt is a great router firmware with lots of features, flexibility and security updates. It is basically a small Linux distribution and does a smart job at adding enhancements to any “supported” router. One can read more about it here.

I have been using Google Wifi for a while now and it has been a great experience. It has an amazing HW (4GB of storage and 512MB of RAM). Google SW can be controlled using Google Home but privacy, DNS, parental controls, firewall, ad-blocking and other features are either not supported or are not as good as I would like them to be. And also my version of the Wifi AC-1304 does not receive any new features.

India has been suffering from terrorists attacks since the last 1400 years! This terrorism is based on religion and the religious principles embibed in the religious book. In the latest spate of attacks, on 22nd April 2025, terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists killing at least 28 peiple and injuring more than 20 others. These tourists were asked their names, religion and checked for circumcision before being killed. Partial details of the attack is captured in Wiki.