Author Archives: Jeff Ballard

Why I Love CrossFit

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Jeff Ballard

After posting a comment on Facebook about a recent CrossFit workout at North Scottsdale CrossFit, I had a friend ask me what I thought about CrossFit.  It had been on my mind for a while to post about why I … Continue reading →

Posted in CrossFit, Exercise, Personal | 2 Comments

Doors & Manners

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Jeff Ballard

When I’m opening a door, how far behind me does someone have to be before I am not obligated to hold the door open for them?  Two, four, ten, twelve steps?  Honestly, this sort of thing causes me a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, Random, Rants | 3 Comments

‘Unable to Cast COM Object’ Error With SQL Server 2008

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Jeff Ballard

I have encountered an error that was driving me nuts: Unable to cast COM object of type ‘System.__ComObject’ to interface type ‘Microsoft.VisualStudio.OLE.Interop.IServiceProvider’. This operation failed because the QueryInterface call on the COM component for the interface with IID ‘{6D5140C1-7436-11CE-8034-00AA006009FA}’ failed … Continue reading →

Posted in Code/Development, Technology | 1 Comment

Date Without Time When Serializing

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Jeff Ballard

I’m serializing a class in .NET and have a DateTime field.  It’s getting serialized as: 2009-11-01T00:00:00 When what I really want is something without the time like this: 2009-11-01 Brad Abrams has a great post that has how to do … Continue reading →

Posted in Code/Development, Technology | Leave a comment

Why Women Think Men Are Pigs

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Jeff Ballard

The Melbourne (Florida) International Airport is not exactly the prime example of a bustling, thriving airport.  Of all the times I’ve been there, I’ve never seen more than one or two people in the airport bar.  And when I say … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, Random, Rants | Leave a comment

No Internet Access with Linksys WRT54G v2.2

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Jeff Ballard

Just a note – I personally did NOT find the solution to this problem, I’m simply reposting details about my problem and the solution I found on the linksys forums.  I figure the more the info gets out there, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Code/Development | 1 Comment

Thoughts On Urinals

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Jeff Ballard

I always feel bad when I use the half-height, little kids urinal in the bathroom and some little kid comes in.  When I look over my shoulder at him he is invariably fidgeting nervously, holding his crotch, crossing his legs … Continue reading →

Posted in Random, Rants | 1 Comment

Overused Phrases

Posted on December 4, 2008 by Jeff Ballard

I get so tired of the phrases in pop culture.  Some of the really annoying ones are below.  And yes, while I’ve probably used them all at least hundreds of times I’ve finally realized how annoying it is when others … Continue reading →

Posted in Rants | 1 Comment

Dell Inspiron 1720 Brightness on Battery

Posted on November 30, 2008 by Jeff Ballard

I have a Dell Inspiron 1720 and wasn’t happy with the brightness, even after pressing Fn up arrow – it would only get so bright.  Despite trying everything within Windows to make it brighter, it occurred to me there might … Continue reading →

Posted in Code/Development | Leave a comment

Microsoft Integrating JQuery with VS

Posted on September 28, 2008 by Jeff Ballard

Someone in the blogosphere (can’t remember who) had recently said they would like to see Microsoft start working with open source projects, include it in their products and yet leave it unchanged and open source, all the while contributing back … Continue reading →

Posted in Code/Development, Software, Technology | Leave a comment