title: What's FirstOrDefault for DateTime in Linq?
body: <p>If I have a query that returns a <code>DateTime</code>, what's the value of <code>FirstOrDefault()</code>? Is there a generic way to get the <em>default</em> value of a C# scalar? Example:</p>
  
  <pre><code>var list = (from item in db.Items 
      where item.ID==1234
      select item.StartDate).FirstOrDefault();
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><strong>Edit:</strong> Assume that the column <code>StartDate</code> can't be null.</p>