Have you considered following a sport? Following local sports teams has always been an effective way to strike up a conversation for me. For one, it’s easy to identify who to talk to, since they wear apparel that identifies them as a fan of a team they follow, and also it’s really easy to know what they’re likely interested in talking about, since there are lots of resources (podcasts, broadcasts, blogs, etc) that direct the conversation. It’s super easy — I sat down on the bus yesterday across the aisle from someone in a Sounder’s hat and we talked the new Rothrock and Frei deals. I’ve never seen that dude before in my life and probably never will again, but finding common ground and something inoffensive to chat about was super easy because we follow the same team.