Comment on: Am I wasting my time?
This is the closest to the truth when it comes to being a programmer. But if he/she is only looking for a job then it isn't as important as getting a few language courses and some side projects going.
Comment on: pusher.exe: "I was curious how 60 maps fitted into such a tiny executable."
The bit fiddling of the "olden" days are truly amazing. I don't think that I have ever written a program that goes that low in the bit structure of the data.
small features and try to design the project so that it is "deliverable" or at least compiles/is executeable at the end of each feature. Works wonders for me.