Comment by Stratoscope

I have a couple of tricks that get people to talk to me.

Well, they're not really tricks, just things I do anyway.

One is that I wear an aloha shirt every day, and I shop at Trader Joe's.

Quite often someone thinks I work there and asks me where to find something. I usually know where things are, and if I don't, I find them someone who actually does work there.

One time the guy restocking the freezer said, "Nice aloha shirt! I bet people sometimes ask you where to find things."

30 seconds later, a lady walked up to me and asked if we carry organic bread. So I walked her over to the bread section and pointed out some organic options. Then back to the freezer section: "You were right!"

Another trick is to take my cat Oakey for a walk in his cat stroller. People see the stroller and expect to see a baby in it, and are surprised to see a cat! Children walking with their parents especially love to see Oakey, and he enjoys the attention.

Sometimes you just have to seize the moment. Last year I was at a friend's company summer picnic. One of her colleagues brought her ten year old son. He was wearing an astronomy T-shirt. They were sitting at another table, and as they got up I asked him, "Are you into astronomy?"

"Yes."

"I have a very important question for you. Pluto is still a planet, right?"

"Yes it is!"

We high-fived and I said, "Welcome to Team Pluto!"

We've seen each other at subsequent company events. It is always fun to hang out with a fellow astronomy enthusiast of any age.