Links for 2012-02-21

I think my roommate is DARK...

Chucking geographic accuracy for a Tube-style schematic makes much more sense for plotting routes on the U.S. interstate system. Like the London Underground, the interstate highways are all about connecting nodes and skipping the stuff in between. On the Tube, there's no scenery between stations; as far as a rider is concerned, it's like riding an elevator. So who cares if the clean, orthogonal lines connecting stations don't completely correspond to geographic reality as long as the endpoints do? Interstate navigation is the same: When you're driving from New Jersey to San Francisco, you want to know which line will get you from point A to point B. You already know you'll be generally traveling in a westbound direction, so why not just show I-80 as a nice, clear, straight red line cutting across the U.S.?

Why people "pirate" a lot of entertainment properties.