Jive Talkin'

I'm not very good at making small talk. I can have great conversations with people I know well, but when I'm in a situation where it's just me and one other person who's little more than an acquaintance, there tend to be a few awkward silences. There are always those stock questions (i.e. Where are you from? What do you do? What's your favourite professional sports team? When was the last time you buried any Dutch bowling trophies in your neighbour's back yard? And so on...), but those can only last so long, and if you don't find a few common subjects, it just goes downhill. In this situation, I feel it's best to have at least three people present. That way, nobody feels pressure to think up a topic.
We have a new civilian at work who's been riding around with Johnny and I this week. This afternoon, Johnny had some paperwork to do, so it was just me and the new guy. I kept asking him questions and trying to spark some conversation, but he would always somehow steer the conversation to "tits." I can already tell this is a friendship made in Heaven.