How can I gain hands-on experience in low-level systems programming?

Although starting out with something huge can be tempting, just remember it's okay to have to restart your projects multiple times. The important thing is to learn from each attempt. It’s like a journey, and eventually, you’ll build something that holds together better.

If you have a GPU, experimenting with CUDA can be really fun! You can apply parallel processing techniques to various tasks. It’s a great way to blend low-level programming with practical applications.

I recommend rolling up your sleeves for some real hands-on projects! Start with these:

1. Write a simple 512-byte bootloader in Assembly that displays 'Hi' using BIOS INT 10h, just to get familiar with bare metal programming.
2. Try flipping your system from 16-bit to 32-bit Protected Mode. Setting up the GDT is a crucial step in OS development.
3. Play around with inb and outb in C to communicate with hardware, such as controlling the PIT timer or a UART serial port in QEMU.
4. Use objdump to inspect your compiled C code. If you can’t find the main function in the hexadecimal output, it’s a good opportunity to learn more about your code's structure.

Remember, starting new projects can be tough. Your goals should be small and incremental—don't hesitate to restart if needed; it’s part of the learning process! Keep a mindset of patience and perseverance as you navigate through this.