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 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.

According to the Chinese calendar, Wednesday, Feb. 9th, is the first day of the year of the rooster. Happy New Year!

There are times when I have a nice bowl of soup or other such fare using Chinese noodles as an integral part of the meal. The Official Ramen Homepage site is an interesting one because there are more than 350 recipes involving ramen noodles there. Feeling hungry? Hop over and have a look.

If you visit regularly you'll know that most weeks I talk (somewhere) about a blog. However, do you know that there is a glossary of blogging terms available for you to use? Hop over to the Glossary Samizdata.net - Blog Glossary site and have a browse around. Blogging jargon is almost turning into its own language, and even I didn't know that. Enjoy.

One of my favorite magazines is PC World. Their articles are usually well written and informative. They also have a great section called PCWorld.com - Most Popular Utilities and that is certainly worth a browse. You never know, you might find that particular utility that you need is either free or shareware, and the ones from PC World are normally safe to download. Have a look.

Here in Australia we are finding that there are a great number of birds around our home that we have never seen in the wild before. To find out what they are called, and their particulars, I suggest having a look at the Avibase - The World Bird Database site. It is a tremendous source of info on the birds around you, in your part of the world as well as mine. ;-)

Every once in a while all of us need a break, especially if we happen to work on a computer. First of all, get up off of that chair and walk around for 3 minutes. Secondly, get that drink you need. and last but not least, give yourself another minute to go to Yahoo! Games, take out a free account, (you will have to have a yahoo free account to play, but it's worth the effort), select a game and relax for a few minutes. Next time you come back (and yes, bookmark this one so you know where to go) you won't have to do all the form filling. You can just play for a while. Do this for your own sake. And employers take heed: a relaxed and happy staff is a fully functioning and productive staff. Have fun ;-)

If you have younger members of your family around, and they use the net to fulfill homework assignments and such, then I suggest you take them to the Kids.net.au - Search engine for kids, children, educators and teachers site and have a browse around. You might even like to try searching for things yourself (try one of the forbidden words in your house). I did, and it worked for me. Primarily it is searching sites designed for kids that are child safe, and let's face it, that's what we all want for our children and our grandchildren. Bookmark this one. It's worth it.

Tired of getting spyware on your computer? Well, if it happens to come from California, then the spammer is in trouble (but only if you report them). There is now a law that you can fight back with. It's California's Tough New Anti-Spyware Law - Reported by Aunty Spam's Net Patrol. Spyware simply isn't right, and I'm happy to see Terminator fighting it as well.

If you use Adobe Photoshop to manipulate your images (I don't but many do) you will know that it is a full featured program. Not only is it full featured, it's also hard to come to grips with. Well, help is here, at the Good-Tutorials.com - 5827 Adobe Photoshop Tutorials site. These really are good, well written tutorials on how to use this program so if you have the need, do have a look.

There are some amazing houses being built in various parts of the world. These are ones that most of us could never afford, but, on the other hand, you might find inspiration for your next home at the Houses of the Future site. I think some of them would be wonderful places to be totally hedonistic in, but then that's probably because I couldn't afford them. Have a look. At least one can dream.

I recently saw an interview with Brad Pitt on TV and thought that there must be women around the world who would like to keep an eye on their favorite male celebrity while online. So, I searched and found the Celebrity Males Sites list, and I must say, I'm impressed. If your favorite male celebrity has a website this site probably has found it and lists it here. Enjoy.

If you happen to run Windows XP and are thinking of a) the advisability of upgrading to SP2, and indeed, how to do it, then you must visit the Upgrading to XP SP2 - Internet TOURBUS site. Yet again, Patrick Crispin has made available a guide on how to do it, and if it's worth doing at all. Patrick is one of the better online Net Gurus, and I can attest that he knows not only what he's talking about, but how to get it across to you in English as well. Have a look. It could be a good idea - but then again ...

I usually put something here that is a little strange, and, though this one really isn't strange in that sense, it is clever and something that you should see. It's called Artistic Tanks and no, we're not talking about military vehicles here. These are storage tanks of all kinds that folk have decided to paint differently. I loved it, and now wonder if there is a storage tank near you that could use a facelift? Have a look. You might enjoy trying this yourself.

My dear visitors and friends, the terrible natural disaster that happened in the South East Asian part of our neighborhood still needs your contributions and support. I know you may have given already in one form or another to help our brothers and sisters who lost so many of their family and so much of their lives, but please consider continuing your donations to the following wonderful relief organizations. Remember, do NOT do it via direct deposit to some bank account (yes, amoral individuals around the globe are even stealing money that is meant to help these poor folk) but rather, do it at these agencies listed below. There is the Direct Relief International organizations site, the Oxfam International United for a more equitable world site which is doing so much good, The Official Save the Children Site which needs so much help to assist the literally thousands of new orphans as a result of this disaster, and UNICEF - UNICEF Home who continue to fight the good fight for people everywhere. Thank you for helping in whatever way you can in the relief and rebuilding of lives wrecked by this terrible tragedy. I am proud to see that Australia has pledged One Billion dollars in aid from our government, backed by all political parties in this country. We've led the way. Let your heart open and your wallet as well to help us help the victims. Anything you can spare to help these folk is so desperately needed. Thank you for your time and your continued generosity.

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. ;-)