Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with zipcode

Zip, indeed.

dinger — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:39:00 -0800

Since we all have nine-digit zip codes now, why is it still neccesary to include the city and state in a postal address? Zip codes, as far as I know, are unique. If so, why should we still have to include the city and state in a mailing address? Isn't that redundant?

Batch a list of ZIPs to time zones?

skypieces — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:54:56 -0800

Need to find time zones for an extensive list of U.S. ZIP codes I have in Excel. (Not for Spam.) If there is a reasonable answer to this, you will save me hours/days of manual work. I have a list of thousands of contacts that I am simply trying to sort by time zone so I can divide up the day's work more effectively. My contact list is in Excel and the ZIP is in its own column. I have seen websites that return time zone info from zip code like this one. But, one-at-a-timing it is a daunting prospect.

Note: I have no scripting experience. I might be willing to purchase a tool to do this, but something tells me I probably shouldn't have to, especially since I will only do this task once. And, again, I am not spamming anyone. No emailing involved.

Ideas?

What is the closest US zip code to Vancouver?

nitor — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:24:11 -0800

What is the closest US zip code (in driving distance) to Vancouver, Canada? I'm looking for a P.O. Box, but haven't driven much to the states. What's close?

Shipping via USPS with Improper Zip Code

matimer — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:00:24 -0800

Oops bought something on ebay, but gave them the wrong zipcode, product shipped via US Postal Service First Class Mail It's been 3 weeks and on the ebay page it says it should take 2-5 days, I've tried contacting the seller, but he hasn't responded... what are my options can I contact the post office without a tracking #?

Calling all postage meter experts.

who squared — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:32:21 -0800

A postage meter was moved from a branch office in California to an office in Vermont. The machine has yet to be updated. Specifically, it still prints "sent from 90210" instead of "sent from 05602." Will the post office in Vermont return the metered mail because of this zip code discrepancy?

How do I combine polygons?

Doofus Magoo — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 07:48:05 -0800

Given multiple contiguous polygons, the coordinates of which are precisely known, how can I combine them into a coordinate set for a single polygon? I'm creating some maps that show the zip codes within a US metro area, shaded by the frequency of a particular event within each zip code. I've got the cartographic boundary files from the Census Bureau, and have created some pretty nice-looking maps using Perl and GD. However, I'd like to draw custom borders around certain contiguous "clusterings" of zip codes. Can anyone describe (not necessarily in code -- even just at an abstract, theoretical level) how I might combine multiple polygons (for which I have exact coordinates) into a single polygon, the outline of which I can overlay on the map as the "cluster border?"

The only thing I've thought of would be to actually draw in a temp image each zip code as a filled polygon, and then do a pixel-by-pixel analysis of the resultant image to figure out where the border lies, but surely there's a simpler way.... isn't there?

Zip Code Proximity Search

GatorDavid — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 06:34:23 -0800

I need to add a zip code proximity search to a site. I have the registration form configured so that it stores a user's zip code with his/her profile. Now I want to give the option to "Show all users within X miles". Does anyone know if there is a web API to handle this? If nobody knows of a web API, does anyone have a better solution?

Zip Code Radius Searches That Aren't Painful

JakeWalker — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:11:20 -0800

What is the best strategy to limit using processing resources in doing a zip code radius query? (explained inside) Imagine a scenario where you had a number of MySQL database records with information, including a zip code, and a cooresponding latitude and longitude associated with that zipcode.

Imagine now that you wanted to allow someone to see all records that fall within a certain radius of their own zipcode. In other words, I input that I am located in 60661, and a PHP program determines which of the MySQL records are within 10 miles of 60661.

I have seen lots of PHP/MySQL radius scripts, and have a fully accurate and complete list of zip codes with latitudes and longitudes. So my question isn't about trying to find them.

My question is: What is the best strategy to limit using processing resources in doing a query like this? Is it to predetermine what zipcodes fall within X miles, then get all records with those zipcodes? Is it to simply compare distances for every record, selecting only those that are within X miles? Is it to somehow do the latitude/longitude trig inside a MySQL query?

There seem to be a lot of people marketing "solutions" for problems like these, but the problem can't be that complicated, and since the trig functions to determine the distance between two zip codes are free and prevalant, I'd rather not pay for a half. Any thoughts are appreciated.

ZIP+4: en-dash or hyphen?

stopgap — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 09:57:09 -0800

ZIP+4: Should I use an en-dash or a hyphen wth a ZIP Code that includes all 9 digits?

Voting district via ZIP code website?

djacobs — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 10:50:30 -0800

I'm looking for a web page that asks for a zip code (or an address) and returns the voting district, what candidates are running on the ballot and any other measures or items up for the vote. Does anything like this exist on a national, state or more local level?

I know that Paul Ford is screenscraping the Government, but I'm assuming that won't be done in time for this November's election.

Is there a site that lists movie times and can be customized to list only certain theaters in your zip code?

Hildago — Sat, 24 Jan 2004 19:09:41 -0800

Anybody know of a site that lists movie times and can be customized to list only certain theaters in your zip code?