Wow, so it's much older than I thought. Makes sense in that context. I wonder why I've only recently started seeing it used, and only in forums and such. Maybe there's a Happy Days resurgence, or a lot of geeks have joined the Church of the Fonz. Or I just haven't been paying attention. Thanks for the enlightenment.

Now if I only knew how "shooting the shit" came about.

Persons 1 and 2:
Person 3: What are you two doing?
Person 1: We're bored, so we're shooting at the cow pies.
Person 3: Hey, can I play?