Cam of TPN is off to America to make his fortune, and his latest podcast is a “Goodbye Australia” edition. But what I found really interesting about it is him talking about the (metaphorical) journey — how he’s got into this position, and how successful people work: meeting people, making contacts, helping those contacts when you can, often without any direct incentive. Jumping off the cliff to try something new. Challenging yourself.

And he ponders the importance of a distinctive look, particularly for the mainstream media — he’s on the front cover of The Bulletin this week wearing a “geek” t-shirt and his Elvis sunglasses. I just can’t believe at the end, his mostly just-listening co-hosts didn’t proclaim “Elvis has left the building.”

I suspect my look is a dorky haircut. Not very distinctive, actually.

Oh and he claims to be an introvert. Having met the man, I don’t believe that for a second.

Interesting stuff, anyway. Good luck Cam.

Another trip (more pleasant this time) and another fellow-passenger out of context.

I sat down on a train a couple of weeks ago, and flicked through the MX. I looked up and saw a familiar face in a nearby seat. Who is that? Oh.

So I went over and said “Hi Dad.”

Hadn’t seen him in a while, and I’d been under the impression that we wasn’t getting out very much at present, so it was a surprise to me to find him heading to the other side of town on an excursion. We had a little chat till he got off the train a few stops later, heading for a favourite secondhand bookshop.

A month or two back while heading home I ran into my mum on a train. Those sorts of pleasant surprises happen from time to time.