Mac's Picks is a collection of family friendly interesting and useful sites, updated weekly. These sites may be search engines, medical resources, household hints, educational resources, recipe sites, sites I call "head scratchers", and/or new sites dealing with all kinds of things of use to the general internet community. To find the criteria I use, simply click on the "Why and How Info" link on the right side of this page.

This page is updated on a weekly basis, each Tuesday evening Australian (Queensland) time (GMT + 9 hours according to the world clock). Please come back and visit us often.

Important Note: If you are returning to my page, welcome back! Please click your "Refresh" or "Reload" button on the top of your Internet browser to ensure you are seeing the current week's page of my "Picks of the Week". Also, I would love for you to make my site your home page. Simply click on Tools - Options in Explorer, or Edit - Preferences in Netscape, and click Use Current and it's done.

Because my system crashed almost two weeks ago, I still could use any sites that you may know about that would warrant being made a "Pick of the Week". If you know of good family friendly sites, that do not deal with alcohol, drugs, or sex, and that you can comfortably take your three year old child or your ninety three year old parent to, then send them along to me at the email link on the right side of this page. Your contribution to what is seen on this site is greatly appreciated. Enjoy this week's links, but do consider passing on any sites you feel warrant being shared with your neighbors in this Internet Community of ours.

If someone is giving a speech (as I am to a room full of senior citizens on Friday the 18th of June, above the library in the suburb of Burleigh) one hopes to have an amusing anecdote to pass on to those attentively listening to what one is saying. The Anecdote - Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen - Time Will Tell - Anecdotes from Gates to Yeats site, obviously done by Grace who loves them, is a good resource to find one appropriate to use. Have a look. You never know when it might come in handy.

I love seeing innovation on the net as you know. One site passed on to me last week is certainly innovative in the way it presents something that could sound mundane to say the least. Hop over to the TimeTicker and the time tickers... site where you will find an innovative and great clock to see what time it is almost anywhere on the planet. This is a clock written in Java I imagine, but it sure is clever. I'd Bookmark (or Favorite) this one for future use.

Remember old aunt Jessie's gigantic molasses cookies? How about dad's Clam (aka the Pippy out here) chowder? If you've lost those recipes of long ago, hop over to the Find Lost Recipes at Recipelink.com - Cooking on the Net Since 1996 and have a look around. You just might find it here. Now, fennel ground finely, then add the ...

If you're an old timer like me you will remember the 1950's. Yes, I graduated high school at the end of those (only just I might add) but there are times when I think back to all the wonderful things we had then. If you are from the same era, hop over to The Fifties Index - Oldies Music, Classic TV, Pop History, Fifties Clothes, Burma Shave, Elvis, American Bandstand and more. and have a ball. And they don't exclude anyone who is younger either, so have a look and see what it was like way back then. *smile*

With summer approaching in the more northern climes, it brings to mind all the travelling carnivals that tour during the summer months. If you're heading off to one with your best partner at your side, and would actually like to win something this year, hop over to the How to beat carnival games site and learn how to bring the giant panda home for that loved one. It's not as simple as you might think, but it's not impossible either with the help from this site. Enjoy, and good playing.

All of us like a good joke, kids even more so. The Kids jokes children's jokes activities links for children of all ages site does just what the title says. It's good clean fun for the young ones, but as always, parents - take your children there.. don't just send them there. Make it a family experience.

I couldn't believe my eyes when a friend sent me the Etch-a-sketch site to go and see. Goodness, if you remember this toy you are almost as old as I am. It was a great toy, and now is online. How clever is that?

Wonder what the traffic conditions are in Sydney? How about the surf in Bali, or the weather in London? If you hop over to the EarthCam.net - Webcam Software and Technology for Businesses you can hook into active web cams around the globe and find out the answers to those questions.

When one thinks of Survivalists, one usually pictures someone in fatigue uniforms, armed to the teeth with all kinds of things they may or may not ever use. Well, with the world situation as it is at the moment, maybe all of us should pay a little more attention to the question of how to survive in an emergency. Thus, a trip to The Survivalist Information Library could not only prove interesting, but could hold essential information for you to know. What can it hurt? Hop over and have a read.

I know I've mentioned before that Microsoft is going to no longer produce its own version of the Java language, nor even support its older versions. Therefore what you need (and yes, it's a free download) is the version from the folks who wrote it in the first place. So hop over to the Sun Microsystems - Download Center and download and install the latest version of Java. You'll be amazed at what it can do for your web surfing experience.

One of the television channels that recently has made an appearance here in Australia, and one particular show that I tend to watch literally every day, is the TechTV Fresh Gear show, which obviously has its own web site as well. You'll find good info here and also peek at the latest new gear hitting the market. If you're a gadget freak (like me) then you'll love this site.

I love chuckling at innovative blogs on the net. One of them is called The Onion America's Finest News Source and though it seems real, much of it is tongue in cheek stuff. Hop over and see what you think. It may or may not give you a chuckle as well.

Rebecca Game of "Digital Women - Women with their modems running...", is a graphic designer who is superb to say the least. Rebecca designed this "new look" web site specifically for me, and I can't praise her work enough. Her site, dedicated to women on the net, is worth seeing and bookmarking for future reference. If you are looking for links of interest to women, please visit her site. And if you need the best graphic designer on the planet, I seriously can't recommend her more highly. Oh yes, and when you visit her site, tell her Mac sent you. Thank you Rebecca. I am eternally grateful for your assistance and expertise. ;-)