# It's my birthday and I'm legal!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 9, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960 "2007-08-09T03:38:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/1 "2007-08-09T03:38:50Z")

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I am now legally permitted to sell house drawings in the Province of Ontario! Phase two in my devious plan to make extra money while accumulating the resources to build my own solar-heated house, and the home within, can now begin. 😃

I got home from our TronnaDope, where I had the great pleasure of dinner with the charming and beautiful **HazelNutCoffee** , **Lissla Lissar** , and **Kythereia** , as well as the handsome and gracious (and generous) **Cerowyn** , and much good food, drink, and conversation was had by all. They _did_ have to discourage me from hauling out my laptop and attempting to wirelessly connect to the Dope [sup]just one little post?[/sup][sub]Please?[/sub][sup]I can stop any time I want[/sup] Afterwards we walked down to Bloor in the warm summer night, abd **HNC** and **Kythereia** continued west with me to Queens Park so we could introduce **HNC** to the angular pointiness that is the Lee-Chin Crystal.

When I got home, I found the certificate of permission from the Ministry of Housing (“do not fold”) in my mailbox (folded).

I also found an RS-232 serial interface cable for my HP48; along with my RS232-to-USB cable, I hope to get it working to transfer programs between my HP48 and my Mac.

I also found an email birthday card, because today is my 44th birthday. 🙂

So this has been the best birthday in a while, most of all because of the good company of a TronnaDope. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/2 "2007-08-09T04:11:20Z")

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Well happy birthday! And congratulations on your thingamabobs!

Sometimes life is so good!

No pictures of the Tronnadope?

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/3 "2007-08-09T04:16:12Z")

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[QUOTE=Alice The Goon]  
Well happy birthday! And congratulations on your thingamabobs!

Sometimes life is so good!

No pictures of the Tronnadope?  
[/QUOTE]  
I took two not-terribly-great pics, but by the time the meal ended and we were in a position to take better ones, it was too dark for my phone-cam.

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**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/4 "2007-08-09T04:19:58Z")

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🙂 Happy birthday! 🙂

Good luck with the solar house business. When you build your solar house, are you inviting us all to your housewarming party?

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**Author:** ![Abraca\_Deborah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e495f1/32.png) [@Abraca\_Deborah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abraca_Deborah)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/5 "2007-08-09T04:23:12Z")

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Happy Happy Birthday, Sunspace!

Nice to hear about the TronnaDope- sounds like it was a great time! Wish I was back there to join in the fun- I miss living in Tronna!

Spoons and the kitties all send their best birthday wishes! You share a birthday with my Mother! 🙂

All the best,

~Deborah

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/6 "2007-08-09T04:23:19Z")

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[QUOTE=MagicEyes]  
🙂 Happy birthday! 🙂  
[/quote]  
Thank you!

> [@MagicEyes](#):
>
> Good luck with the solar house business. When you build your solar house, are you inviting us all to your housewarming party?

Ooo, now _there’s_ an idea… 🙂

Of course, this will be in Central Ontario, and you’ll have to brave the bears (which have been known to try to get into the house through the skylight) and the mosquitoes (which have been known to suck a chihuahua dry in thirty seconds).

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/7 "2007-08-09T04:25:34Z")

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[QUOTE=Abraca Deborah]  
Happy Happy Birthday, Sunspace!

Nice to hear about the TronnaDope- sounds like it was a great time! Wish I was back there to join in the fun- I miss living in Tronna!

Spoons and the kitties all send their best birthday wishes! You share a birthday with my Mother! 🙂

All the best,

~Deborah  
[/QUOTE]  
:eek: Wow! You joined! Welcome, welcome!

Everyone, this is one cool lady.

And thank you!

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**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/8 "2007-08-09T04:28:54Z")

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I’m thinking you _might_ have mentioned this when we were at dinner. I’m jus’ sayin’, is all…

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/9 "2007-08-09T04:32:27Z")

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[QUOTE=Cerowyn]  
I’m thinking you _might_ have mentioned this when we were at dinner. I’m jus’ sayin’, is all…  
[/QUOTE]  
Well, I didn’t know about the letter or parcel until I got home. And it was **HNC** ’s night; I didn’t want to take away from that. I alm ost did at one point, but then the conversation turned in another direction.

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**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/10 "2007-08-09T08:15:55Z")

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Wow! What a cool group of people to spend your birthday with!

Glad that it was a happy one! And congratulations on your legality!

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**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/11 "2007-08-09T10:38:17Z")

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Did you get your cake? 😉

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/12 "2007-08-09T17:30:38Z")

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[QUOTE=Malacandra]  
Did you get your cake? 😉  
[/QUOTE]  
Cake? Oh! It never even occurred to me. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/13 "2007-08-09T17:45:39Z")

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I got yer cake _right here_.

No, really. Right here:

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**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUNSPACE!**

And congrats on the next phase of your cunning plan! Pretty soon you’ll be able ot unplug yourself from the grid (in a manner of speaking) and laugh whenever Hydro commercials turn up on TV. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/14 "2007-08-09T17:49:18Z")

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[QUOTE=Mindfield]  
And congrats on the next phase of your cunning plan! Pretty soon you’ll be able ot unplug yourself from the grid (in a manner of speaking) and laugh whenever Hydro commercials turn up on TV. 🙂  
[/QUOTE]  
Thank you!

And, yes, that’s part of the plan. When my friends who live in such a house didn’t even know about the big blackout of '03 until I phoned them, I knew there was a better way.

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**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/15 "2007-08-09T17:55:54Z")

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[QUOTE=Sunspace]  
Thank you!

And, yes, that’s part of the plan. When my friends who live in such a house didn’t even know about the big blackout of '03 until I phoned them, I knew there was a better way.  
[/QUOTE]

Ugh. That would have been quite cool during that blackout. “The power is out? Oh, you mean _your_ power is out. Mine’s just fine!” But being a highrise dweller, I got hit like everyone else. It was candles, batteries, and sinks full of ice all around for two and a half days.

The night sky never looked so awesome, though. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/16 "2007-08-09T18:05:13Z")

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[QUOTE=Sunspace]  
:eek: Wow! You joined! Welcome, welcome!

Everyone, this is one cool lady.

And thank you!  
[/QUOTE]

Yup, she sure is. (Nice username, too.)

Happy Birthday, **Sunspace**! Now that I’m all designing landscapes on my computer, I expect to be a sub-contractor for your solar houses, for my low-maintenance, low-water use, sustainable yards. 😃

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/17 "2007-08-09T18:11:06Z")

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[QUOTE=featherlou]  
Yup, she sure is. (Nice username, too.)

Happy Birthday, **Sunspace**! Now that I’m all designing landscapes on my computer, I expect to be a sub-contractor for your solar houses, for my low-maintenance, low-water use, sustainable yards. 😃  
[/QUOTE]  
Cool! So, when are you visiting Ontario again?

I’m trying to figure out whether Alberta has the same allowance for “designers” that Ontario does, and the issue is… murky. I know Quebec doesn’t; to sell plans there, you have to be an architect or engineer.

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/18 "2007-08-09T18:12:49Z")

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[QUOTE=Mindfield]  
Ugh. That would have been quite cool during that blackout. “The power is out? Oh, you mean _your_ power is out. Mine’s just fine!” But being a highrise dweller, I got hit like everyone else. It was candles, batteries, and sinks full of ice all around for two and a half days.  
[/quote]  
We had to rescue my father from the eighth floor. Going up stairs in the dark…

> [@Mindfield](#):
>
> The night sky never looked so awesome, though. 🙂

Yup. I miss that.

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**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/19 "2007-08-09T18:21:01Z")

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[QUOTE=Sunspace]  
I am now legally permitted to sell house drawings in the Province of Ontario!  
[/QUOTE]

Congratulations and happy birthday.

What do you mean by “house drawings”?

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-my-birthday-and-im-legal/414960/20 "2007-08-09T18:28:39Z")

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[QUOTE=Lunar Saltlick]  
Congratulations and happy birthday.

What do you mean by “house drawings”?  
[/QUOTE]  
Floor plans, wall sections, excavation plans, roof framing layouts, wiring and plumbing diagrams, details, etc. The things one submits to the municipal authorities to get a building permit. The things the contractor builds from. House drawings.

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