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 Monday 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.

When I surf online quite often I will crank up the speakers on my system and listen to good jazz from various parts of the world. I will try to let you know the ones that impress me, but be assured that the Online Radio Stations with Internet Radio. Listen to Music Online + News, Talk, Sports... site will also point you in the direction of sounds you might like to stream to your pc and listen to while surfing. This is a great site, even for an old smooth jazz lover like me.

You'll know that I love blogs, well, some of them at least. One I found recently is apparently the first blog by a motorcycle manufacturer, and a well known name at that. Hop over, especially if you are into motorcycles and bike, to the Desmoblog site and read all about what is happening in the Ducati world, and motorbikes in general. Great blog.

The busy lives that many folk lead tend to not leave enough time to prepare what the old folk used to call 'proper meals'. Thus many rely on fast, takeaway food to keep them going and usually find that, over time, it has done them no good nutritionally at all. I suggest that a look at the Cheap And Easy Recipes For People In A Hurry site might be just what you need to see. You never know, something could take your fancy here that is easy to prepare but actually nutritionally good for you as well. Enjoy.

My oldest grandson, Kaitoa, is into dinosaurs in a big way. He has all kinds of models and can even tell you what type were meat eaters and what type were plant eaters. Thus, I know he, and probably many others who love dinosaurs, will enjoy having a look at the Dinosaur Jokes - Enchanted Learning Software site. And the answer to the question "why did the dinosaur cross the road?" Simple - because he wanted to.

One of the things I keep hearing in the news media is the general public concern in many different parts of the world about children with weight problems. Thus the Free educational web site featuring Foods for better health, quiz and newsletter site might be a help to both the educators of such children (including parents), and children themselves who really do want to change their health profile. One does not have to be obese to be overweight. Let's work on getting the younger generation healthier than ours is.

I've noticed a few different sites that are built around online calendars for people to make and access from any part of the world they happen to connect to the net from. For business this is particularly handy, but it may well be for home folk as well. If you don't have a PDA or a laptop to keep those appointments in order maybe you should have a look at the 30 Boxes - it's your life site. It's free to use, and it's basically a free online calendar you can customize how everyou need it to be. Sounds pretty good to me. Have a look and see if it fits your needs.

As you probably are well aware, there is a lot of talk about using VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) instead of your normal land line telephone. If you have broadband of some description then it's even more appealing. Many VOIP systems are basically PC to PC, which lets you and a distant friend contact each other via voice when both are online at the same time. The folk at one of the more popular Messenger services (I use it myself) called Yahoo! Messenger with Voice have been able to contact their contacts via voice from pc to pc for some time, with varying results. However now there is a new wrinkle added. Now you can use the new version with pc to phone contact capability. Yes, they will charge you a minimal amount to do that, but it's not bad. Therefore now the person you are phoning over the internet doesn't even have to have a computer, let alone broadband. That has to be something to have a look at. Talk with you soon. ;-)

In my home my wife is the gardening expert. Our neighbors all attest that she must have two green thumbs because she has turned our little pile of rock and clay (and yes, I do mean that literally) into a lovely garden to be rightly proud of. She recently also grew her first two orchids, and I must say both were spectacular to see. Thus, the Digital Orchid Library may come in handy for other orchid enthusiasts. The Digital Orchid Library is a collaboration between Michigan State University, the American Orchid Society, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the National Agricultural Library. Have a look. Collaboration like that on a worthwhile project is to be applauded.

I know many folk have ditched Internet Explorer in favor of FireFox. I must admit that I have it, but I'm still an Explorer fan. Having said that, I also download and install IMMEDIATELY any security fixes that come out from Microsoft. Anyway, those who have Firefox may find it a little different from I.E. and maybe even a little harder to get to handle professionally. Thus, the Firefox Tutor website can only help you. It has lots of good simple to follow tutorials to watch and learn from, and it's free as well. If you're a FireFox user you'll love this site.

You may be aware that folk from around the globe send me sites of interest to see and I do try to look at them all. Those that fit the bill of what I do (see the Why and How Info link on the right side of this page) are usually included as a pick of the week at some future time. With the advent of June not that far off, and the knowledge that at least in the Northern Hemisphere that is a particular time for weddings to take place, I suggest any prospective couple to have a look at the Laptop Bride A guide to finding Wedding information online site which was submitted by a visitor recently. It truly is a great collection of information and sites that will help you find answers to questions you might have about anything and everything to do with weddings. This is a great site and I suggest bookmarking it yourself if it is you who is getting married, and/or pass it on to those of your acquaintance who could use it as well. Nice job.

Now not all of us want or need to plan weddings. However most of us at one time or another will say to ourselves I want to... do one thing or another, especially with their web connection or computer. This site is a page of utilities that help you do stuff you want to, and are Web 2.0 applications that run on most systems. Have a look. You might find that answer you've been searching for about the net or your computer. Enjoy.

Remember the old saying that "One Man's Junk is another Man's Treasure?" Well, the site named WELCOME TO ONE MANS JUNK could lead to your treasure. It certainly has done for Bruce, the site owner. He has a fantastic database of beer bottles and soda cans that will blow you away. Who knows? This might become your treasure too. Have a look.

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. ;-)