On Donald Trump’s speeches

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Yesterday a friend showed me the transcript of a Trump’s speech. Sheer horror.

Donald Trump’s speeches are an odd beast: lively, unscripted, and built on his presence. When he’s up there, it’s not about eloquence; it’s the way he delivers it; the punch of his voice, the rhythm of a “tremendous” or “believe me” tossed out with confidence. He’s got a knack for keeping a crowd hooked, drifting from trade talk to some guy he met in Ohio without missing a beat. It’s not a lecture; it’s a show, and he’s the star.

Put it in writing, though, and the spark fades. Without his tone, those big promises: “We’re gonna win big, folks, so big”, lose their bite. They sound empty, just words waiting for something solid to back them up. His asides, like a jab at “Sleepy Joe,” land with a chuckle in person, but on paper, they feel out of place, almost forced. The energy that carries a rally doesn’t survive the jump to text.

His style doesn’t help. Trump talks in bursts, short, snappy lines like “Great people. The best.” Spoken, it’s got a beat that pulls you along. Written, it’s choppy, like a thought left unfinished. Most speakers build a structure, a flow you can follow. Trump’s more off-the-cuff, leaning on his charm to smooth the edges. On a page, those edges just look rough.

It’s about his audience, too. He’s talking to people who want a vibe, not a plan, folks who cheer “Build the wall” without needing details. In the moment, he can ride that wave, keep it loose. Writing asks for more; it’s static, open to questions. Readers spot the gaps he skips over with a grin.

Trump’s speeches don’t hold up in written form because they’re made for the stage, not the page. They rely on him to sell it. Without that, the words feel thin, like a script missing its actor.

Energy

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In this early days of 2025, let me speak plainly about the great challenge before us: energy.

Energy is not merely the fuel for our machines; it is the engine of human progress, the foundation upon which every leap forward has been built. And yet, we are told, with troubling regularity, that we must shrink our ambitions, ration our dreams, and settle for less. Sobriety, they say, is the order of the day.

Humanity did not ascend from the caves by dimming the fire. We built brighter flames. We did not forge steel, light cities, and traverse oceans by apologizing for our needs; we met those needs with ingenuity, effort, and ambition. Energy abundance has always been the key to our success as a species. It has lifted billions out of poverty, extended life expectancies, and created the technologies that allow us to connect, cure, and create.

To those who demand austerity in energy, I ask: what future do you envision? A future of limitations? A future where we deny our children the lights of a brighter tomorrow because we were too timid to build it? No, we must reject this narrative of scarcity and embrace one of abundance.

The way forward is clear. We must produce more energy—cleaner, yes, but above all, more. Let us unleash the full potential of nuclear power, harness the vastness of wind and solar, and continue innovating to make fossil fuels cleaner where they are still needed. Let us build the infrastructure, invest in research, and incentivize the ingenuity that will make energy as abundant and accessible as air itself.

Because when energy is abundant, everything else becomes possible. Industries thrive. Innovation soars. Societies grow wealthier and healthier. Abundance does not breed complacency. It breeds opportunity. It is the soil in which the seeds of progress grow.

So, let us reject the mantra of “less.” Let us choose instead to do more. More energy, more ambition, more progress. Let us light up this century and beyond with the brilliance of human ingenuity, refusing to settle for anything less than a future where abundance is not a luxury but a birthright.

The choice is ours. Let’s make it boldly.

2024

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Ladies and gentlemen, friends old and new,

As the sands of time trickle down to the last grains of 2024, let us gather our thoughts for a moment of reflection, celebration, and dare I say, anticipation.

This year filled with its unique blend of triumphs and trials, laughter and lessons, and perhaps even a few dramas tucked away for good measure. It has been a year of shaking hands, mending fences, and building bridges: some over troubled waters, others simply for the joy of the view.

But as any seasoned traveler knows, the path forward requires not just the strength of the steps behind, but the courage to face the unknown with resolve. We toast tonight not just the closing of a chapter, but the unveiling of a new on: a chapter brimming with unwritten possibilities, opportunities yet to be seized, and dreams still daring to take flight.

So, to 2024, thank you for the memories you bestowed upon us. And to 2025, we await you with open arms and a spark of optimism in our hearts. May the road ahead be paved with prosperity, the company beside us be true, and the stories yet to be written be ones worth sharing, over a fine glass of whiskey or a humble mug of coffee.

Let us stand together, and let the clock strike twelve with gratitude in our souls, ambition in our veins, and a smile that says we’re ready for whatever comes next.

To the end of 2024, and to the glorious beginning of 2025: Cheers!

Interview questions?

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Finding competent staff is hard. You need to quickly get to know new people, learn who they are and how they think. The best way to learn is asking questions.

Many questions are valid questions. Yet, few will lead to valid insights into the minds you are trying to glimpse into.

A great question I have found so far is this:

What is the last book you have read, and what have you learned from it?

It gives two type of insights:

  1. What might be the general area of interest – outside of the immediate job interest – of the interviewee given by the title, topic and style of the book.
  2. A perspective on the abilities of the interviewee to understand and interpret the world around them.

On AI and regulating it.

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Artificial Intelligence illustration

There’s a big push push today for regulating AI. I hardly see the relevance of that push. For me regulating AI as such is redundant as existing legislation already covers most (if not all) all use cases.

Wat is commonly designed as AI covers two use cases: 1. data gathering and processing and 2. automated decision making.

1. Data processing is already regulated by existing copyright law and privacy regulations such as GDPR. Other than case law, I hardly see any need for further legislation.
2. Automated decision making is also covered but the all encompassing GDPR. AI, is nothing more than a more elaborate (if not accurate) automated decision making machinery.

What the push for AI regulation does achieve however, is shifting the discussion away from proper enforcement of already existent legislation.

Perspective

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This is a simple reblog of an article I found interesting on giving perspective to human progress.

The key points are these:

One ship today carries 3 times more freight than the whole English merchant fleet did 440 years ago.

1582 English merchant fleet capacity: 68 000 tons, crew of 16 000

2022 Capacity of a container ship 236 228 tons, crew of 22

https://galepooley.substack.com/p/thinking-more-about-shipping-innovation

New year, new me!

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Like every year, there is a time to reflect on what has happened in the past year and new projects come to mind.


Professionally, I am quite happy of where I am and of the projects I am working on. There’s a personal one I am working on as well on which I will be talking more later on about.


On the private side, there is one new year resolution I particularly hold at heart. It is about visiting more museums in Belgium by taking advantage of the Museum Pass: a yearly pass selling for €59 and giving unlimited free access to most Belgian museums along with a couple other perks. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a healthy hobby.

More vision

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What Europe needs is a vision of a bountiful future. What Europeans need is more! After a SARS-CoV-2 caused pandemic and two years of restrictions Europeans are screaming for more: more freedoms, more housing, more energy, more wealth, more support. More, more, more!

In the words of Bernie Sanders, an American politician and self proclaimed socialist: “The problems we face today do not come from the heavens: they are caused by bad human decisions; Good human decisions can fix them.” This is what we all are calling for. Simple isn’t it?

Unfortunately, simple solutions are easy mistakes. European leaders have for too long ignored the people asking more, giving rise to numerous populist movements offering a fuzzy version of More. Often offering more restrictions in disguise.

As bad as that may be, at least the populists offer more. Mainstreams politics offer less. Coming out of a major health crisis, the Belgian government responded by lowering quotas on précising doctors in the country. Not being a politician myself, I will not indulge in giving more nor less examples. It doesn’t take much intellect to think of todays environmentalist movements asking for less consumption (less wealth): less meat (less food), less cars (less freedom of movement), less energy use (less comfort),…

The recent revival of Malthusian theories is either the sign of an inevitable decline or the premise of another industrial revolution. We’ll see.