In the category of things I didn’t think I would be doing this week, attending a micro cap investor conference in Vegas would have been slightly below having dinner with Elon Musk and voting for Bernie Sanders. But, life has a funny way of happening, and when my sister became the replacement speaker for her CEO at a conference, I said why not?? When else do you get to see a family member present at a conference? Not very often is the answer… so I boarded a plane and headed to Sin City. I don’t remember the last time we shared a room, but it’s been a fun throwback to growing up before life happened to both of us.
When I reflect on the last two years of COVID, it must be an understatement to say that it has had a negative impact on a lot of families. For my nuclear unit growing up, my parents and sister all live in Canada. I haven’t been able to enter the country as “an unvaccinated heathen” and it’s unclear when those rules may change. We have not shared the same view of the pandemic response and conversations about “trees”ultimate devolve into some less productive conversation about government, censorship, vaccines or Trump. I hoped to undo the damage of two years over beer, blackjack and micro caps.
Regardless of your upbringing and core beliefs bestowed on you from your direct family, you are massively influenced by the community around you. Perhaps this is what makes social media so toxic and polarizing. Your echo chamber is self selected and nuance isn’t required. At your neighborhood grocery store, a little grace goes a long way.
Last night was a great start. We had a long chat about our parents, life, careers and what the world looks like in 20 years. We bet on the Flames and Avalanche to win (we won) and we managed to meet 30 or so new people and maintain our chips in craps and blackjack.
I sat in on some presentations this morning on biogenic waste from livestock and discovered that the planet supports 20 billion chickens, 1 billion beef cows, 1 billion pigs and 250 million dairy cows. Each farting and sh*tiny and eating their share of a global food chain that ultimate ended up as my very tasty burger last night. Waste is a big resource, in a world short of fertilizer and the hope of “renewable gas” (with substantial tax credits) captures the hopes and imagination of companies and investors alike. I’m probably not a buyer, but it was interesting.
A second presentation was on e-sports franchises and entertainment. Apparently, Call of Duty has a league with playoffs, money, millions of fans and a franchise sold for $40 mm. The average age watching MLB is 57. The average age watching e-sports is 23. If baseball dies, apparently video games is the replacement and with NFT’s and crypto as sponsors and assets, it’s a brave new world. I’m definitely not a buyer, but it made me feel old.
The world is full of new and exciting opportunities. Meanwhile, I look at natural gas at $8.30, oil at $106 and I ask “when will the consumer pain be high enough that all sanctions are removed on Russia and commodities freely flow again?” The likely answer is “our ego won’t let us back down…” and so that means, I shall remain long AF oil and gas for the foreseeable future. If that’s not a top…. I don’t know what is.
Pretty lucid for a Vegas conferee! Thanks...I prolly should have been there for RNG
Get a few rounds in bud! As usual your article hit the nail on the head!