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Linux Solutions for Zip Codes and Congressional Districts?
davidmcn asks: "There is an overabundance of solutions available for the Microsoft brand of operating systems which allow the mapping of zip-codes to congressional districts. However, I work for a small consulting firm that works primarily with Linux/Apache/PHP/MySQL, and would like to find a way to take address information, and create mailings based on Congressional Mappings. Does anyone know of a solution that is available for a linux enviroment? Even something as simple as a list of Congressional Districts and all zip codes underneath them would suffice."
True.
But these same databases are what allows me, the typical mechanically-inclined consumer, to keep bringing back a set of brake pads and rotors every six months or so. This allows me to drive at stupid-fast speeds without having to worry that the brakes might not have enough friction material left to handle yet another triple-digit-to-zero stop, increasing the survival rate of the human species by an order of magnitude, I'm sure.
Therefore, such databases are good for humanity.
Also works with water pumps and thermostats, which for some reason are fundamentally troublesome on my vehicle. I get new ones every year or so, for free.
Also works with spark plugs, wires, alternators, and a whole lot of other consumable (and not-so-consumable) items.
And dig this: I don't need a receipt. I just show up and buy parts. When I'm done replacing them, hours, days, weeks, or months later, I just take them back in the same box and get refunded.
Many times, the same part is made in the same place, with the same tools, but sold under different names with different warranties. I usually pick the long warranty.
And, besides, it's nowhere near as scary as what collection agencies will do to you. These are just fucking car parts, the same quality of which is available down the street from a completely different retailer for about the same amount of money if things get too weird at a particular shop.
And dig this, as well: The parts store I generally go to tracks by phone number, name, and address. It seems to be a pretty fool-proof way to go about things, unless an enemy of yours is walking around pretending to be you. And if that's happening, you've got more things to worry about than such annoyances as a weak car battery. [as an aside: the database has some sort of UNIX-like backend, controlled by plain dumb terminals, which is inarguably a boon for the human race. I can't imagine how tedious the process would be if it relied on a series of look, see, click, wait, type, look, see, click, wait repetitions under Windows.]
Kid-proof tablet..
Congress Merge offers tables linking zip codes to congressional and/or state legislative districts and congressional databases Data can be provided either as a text (flat) file or an Access database
So there you go.. A flat text file could easily be imported into mysql surely.
"Great, help you out, you're just a dirty rotten spammer that wants to build a big fat spamdatabase, you spamlord!"
Did any of you guys read the story? What possible use could it be for a spammer to know what Zip code is in which congressional district, or vice versa? Give the guy a break, not everyone is malicious.
And what's up with "you're using Linux, so that means you're just out to get a free lunch"? Even if that were true, who cares about peoples motivation for using Linux, or Windows for that matter.