It's been a little while since I last blogged about the vile Phorm system, in which all internet activity that is undertaken by customers of ISPs using the system is inspected and analysed for key words via which targeted adverts may be delivered.  For more information about this system, check out the excellent Dephormation.  We've seen a variety of "spinning" techniques used by both Phorm (former spyware distributors) and their principal client, BT, over the last few years, and news over the last couple of days has been typical.

Back in 2006 and 2007, BT conducted secret tests of the system, using their customers as guinea pigs, without their knowledge or consent.  This was probably illegal, and certainly an unreasonable act.  A third trial (in which users were invited to participated) was held at the end of 2008.

While wandering round the internet during the recent flare-up of bloggers writing about recent developments in the MMR-autism conspiracy theory, I came across this neat graphic which seems to me to encapsulate some of the issues relation to causation vs coincidence (for example, see "MMR and false syllogisms" for more information).

In the meantime, Ben Goldacre's Bad Science blog seems down - maybe the recent upsurge in traffic has overwhelmed it.

I am sat on the train, reading my emails using the Vodafone USB mobile broadband stick, when I get this:

I've been looking at reports of various eBook readers over the last few years, and even read a few books on my Pocket PC.  This device, Amazon's Kindle 2, looks to being very useful for a traveller wishing to carry several books.

There's a review over at The Register (Amazon unveils Kindle 2.0), from where this image is sourced.

Ben Goldacre's posted an update on the fracas with LBC and Jeni Barnett over their ill-advised broadcast on the topic of the MMR vaccine and autism.  In essence, while LBC's decision to threaten their legal muscle did cause Goldacre to pull the audio clip from his blog, it's now got spread over the internet, has attracted considerable celeb support, and now is the subject of an early-day motion.  Barnett's own efforts at damage-limitation appear to be restricted to deleting critical comments from her blog.  Thankfully, the power of the internet has ensured the information is still out there, and is proliferating.

Ben Goldacre's latest article very clearly explains why this is such an important issue, and why under-informed dimwits shouldn't make irresponsible broadcasts.  Perhaps LBC should keepa closer eye (or should that be "ear") on their broadcasters.

The Open Rights Group have reported on the Lords Constitution Committee report on surveillance and privacy.  This is a monster document, which can be read here: Constitution Committee - Second Report. Surveillance: Citizens and the State.  It's a big document, and it perhaps easier to digest via the ORG synopsis, and as the ORG say, "Those with nothing to hide can still have a great deal to fear".

The RIPA sections are interesting (Committee report section; ORG interpretation), in light of pretty clear local council abuses of RIPA ro spot fly-tippers etc.

As the UK  and international cycling season begins to swing into action, it's also the time that my blog articles on cycling will start to reappear (see also the Team Grumpy blog).

Some really quite sad news from the recently completed Tour of Qatar cycling stage race this week: one of the riders (Frederiek Nolf, of Team Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) died in his sleep, just five days short of his 22nd birthday.  The newsflash at cyclingnews.com (Belgian rider passes away in Qatar) was published on 5th February: the following stage was neutralised out of respect.

For the last few seasons, my availability for training has declined steadily.  This, coupled with the passing years, means that each year when I start reviewing past performances for completing CTT entry forms for the coming season, I find it a little depressing.  This season is no exception.

But at least the Cycling Time Trials website back again after yet another SQL injection attack, this time using a different platform.  Hopefully this'll be more secure.  Actually, I think it would look a lot better without all the flashing, moving adverts, but perhaps that's just me being a grumpy old man (and anyway, as a Firefox user, I can always use the AdBlock plug-in).

A paper in the current issue of Nature [Love et al (2009) Nature 457; 718-722] suggests that multicellular life existed about 100 million years before the explosion of bilaterian animals in the Cambrian. The evidence comes from analysis of rocks from the Arabian peninsula, in which geologically preserved derivatives of characteristic chemicals have been detected. Now, this paper interested me because of its message concerning the dating of the origins of multicellular life; I am not a geologist or a chemist, so many of the details escape me.

Identification of the presence of soft bodied animal in the fossil record is always difficult: it's generally the hard parts of the animal that are preserved by fossilisation (there are exceptions). The Cambrian explosion (see timeline diagram- click on it to link to the interactive Wikipedia diagram) resulted in a wide variety of animal forms: what's less clear is from where this abundance of diverse forms arose. This paper takes chemical approach to establishing the presence of animal remains in rock samples.

The BBC reports that UK measles rates continue to rise (Rise in measles 'very worrying'), in response to falling levels of MMR vaccination.  The downward trend in MMR vaccination followed Andrew Wakefield's claims that there is a link between MMR vaccination and autism. That the British public continue to believe there is a link between MMR vaccination and autism, despite the many investigations that have disproved it is really very sad.

Ben Goldacre has written extensively on the culpability of the media in propagating the scare stories that have resulted in this appalling situation.  Recently he blogged about a highly irresponsible LCB  radio broadcast in which Jeni Barnett continued to push distorted and inaccurate information on the supposed dangers of vaccination. Today he reports that LCB have launched lawyers at him, on the grounds that his posting mp3 recordings of that segment of the radio show breaches copyright (he promptly removed the link from his website).  Too late, I fear, the recording has begun to proliferate on the internet (see Streisand Effect).  Now, it's made it to Wikileaks, so I guess it's out there to stay.  And I hear that transcripts are being prepared for release.