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.

I'm one of those who the United Nations terms a feminist. Yes, I'm male but the UN defines that term as meaning anyone who believes in the essential equality of the sexes in education, employment, and human rights. I do feel in some situations both males and females have somewhat separate responsibilities and talents, but that does not deny the essential unity of the sexes. Thus, when I found the site named Welcome to Women's International Center I had to have a look and a read. As they explain, their mission and purpose is "To Acknowledge, Honor and Encourage Women. ". I not only encourage that statement but applaud it and this site and organization's work. Have a look. You might also agree and who knows, you might even become a feminist like this Old Guy. *smiles*

If you are a frequent visitor you most likely have heard me state that I'm a somewhat frustrated jazz musician, but that at least I love the sounds of it and indeed, most music (note: most, not all). Thus, the Google Music Search function can come in handy when you are looking for a particular artist or song. You might even find where you can download it online. If you've ever tried to find music that you love, give this a try.

I encourage blogging in most of its forms. A blog is simply a weB LOG or journal that someone writes and hopefully updates on a reasonably regular basis. You'll note my own blog on the right side of this page, which simply lists the sites each week and a couple of words explaining them for those who don't have the time to wade through my comments here. If you would like to find out more about blogging, such as how to start your own, and indeed find blogs of interest to you, hop over to the BlogStreet Blog Profiles, RSS Ecosystem, Blog Tops, Search and Directory site and have a read. RSS means Real Simple Syndication which means you can subscribe to a blog and receive it on your desktop when online if you wish. Just remember, the net is an uncensored place (like it or not) and not all blogs will be suitable for all folk. With that in mind, have a look and enjoy.

With the advent of digital cameras (and the fact that I now have two lovely grandsons and a wife who is a keen gardener) I've taken up an old hobby, that of photography. The camera I own is a Panasonic DMC-FZ10, which is a 4 megapixle camera with a 12x optical (36x digital) zoom. Taking photos is one thing, but then cropping or enhancing them is a whole different matter. If you're prepared to shell out big money for PhotoShop then you're either a professional or much more of an enthusiast than me. However, I recently downloaded and am now using a free software program called GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program and I have to say, it can do things I don't even pretend to understand. It takes a bit more to download and install it (in fact, 4 different downloads that you install in order if you are using Windows as your operating system) but it's worth the trouble. I've tried a few others but this one really tops the lot as far as I'm concerned. So, if you're also a digital photography buff, give it a try. You won't be disappointed, and you sure can't beat the price.

This past weekend was the start of the Baha'i Intercalary Days festival, which is over 4 or 5 days and is the time when we gather together with family and give gifts, and also with friends to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another. Sunday was also an opportunity for us to invite friends and neighbors around for coffee and cake, which went very well. Though we decided to buy a cake this year, we could have just as easily visited Sylvia Weinstock's cake recipes - JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM as she certainly has some delicious sounding cakes to make. The chocolate cake must really be a joy but as a good diabetic, I stayed away from it. However you can enjoy it and the many others she has available online. Isn't it nice that newspapers even publish recipes online? *smile*

If you have younger folk in your household they may want to use the net to do homework assignments or gather information about a project they are doing, or indeed, simply to have fun safely. The KidsClick! Web Search site is a large group of sites that are safe for children to visit, supplied by librarians around the world. Now that has to be a good thing. Why not take your young family member there, browse around with them, and then bookmark the site for them to use?

The application that still is the most popular by far on the Internet is e-mail. No matter who you are or where you are, virtually everyone who is connected to the net uses it at one time or another. However, like many places online, email has a form of etiquette and if you don't use at least the basics, then you are seen as someone who should "learn the rules" so to speak. No, there aren't a lot and there is a website that will help you learn them, which is located at the site named E-mail Etiquette @ NetManners.com Start Netiquette 101 Here!. Hop over and have a look. These are the e-mail etiquette and technology use issues you need to come to grips with if you're going to operate in the Internet community. Like every other society, there are rules of etiquette to follow so why not learn them now?

You've no doubt heard that everyone has a double somewhere on the planet. Well, that may or may not be true, but one site that is interesting to check out is the Face recognition site. Here you upload a photo of you, and the site tries to find what famous person you resemble. Who knows? You might resemble someone you admire, and not even know it. Give it a try.

If you are online to any real extent, hopefully you have decided to try out broadband for your internet connection. It uses various methods dependant on what is in your street, i.e. telephone lines, cable, or even satellite or wireless connections. One wonders, when on a broadband connection, how fast your own connection really is, and, what information you are sending out unaware each time you connect to the net. The InternetFrog.com Network Tools, Internet Speed Test and Website Tools site will show you first of all your IP address, the browser you use, your internet service provider, and also will check your connection for speed, all at no cost to you. Now that has to be worth a click. Have a look.

I love innovative software and yes, I'm one of those who has MANY too many applications loaded onto his system. But having said that, if you hop over to the site named My Favorite Smallware MarkTAW.com you'll find Mark's picks of small software that will do wonderful things for you. Much of it is freeware or shareware, and I must say that Mark does a good job of finding useful applications to try. One program called WhoLockMe is worth the visit alone. Have a look. You might find that little app you've wanted for ages, right here.

Most folk have had a favorite television show go off the air, and wish they could find it somewhere. And they are not all well known shows either. Thus the Television Obscurities - Keeping Obscure TV From Fading Away Forever site is an interesting site to have a browse around. It has more than fifty features, encompassing nearly seventy pages, with over 250 media clips, totaling over three full hours of rare audio and video from television's past. And it's free to use as well. Have a look and see if you recognize any of them.

I'm a coffee nut. I simply love good coffee and the folk at Starbucks and Gloria Jeans know me by name when I walk in the door. Plus I have my own espresso machine in my kitchen, for those times when I'm at home. Though I'm a coffee lover I must admit I didn't realize what an art form the top can become until I saw the Foto's Nederlands Kampioenschap Latte Art 2005 - Etching voorbeelden site. Yes, it's Danish, but the artwork and photos are worth a look to English speaking folk as well. I think I'll just stick with drinking it myself, but hey, you may have found an art form that you can enjoy yourself. 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. ;-)