Hello and welcome to Mac's Picks of the Week. If you are interested in why this site exists, how it operates, and a little about Mac, then click on the Why and How Info link and see what is there. When you have finished please return to this Home page and see what sites I have chosen this week to receive a Mac's Picks of the Week award. Thank you for visiting and please share this site with friends, family, and colleagues who you feel will enjoy it.

This page is updated on a weekly basis, each Monday Australian (Queensland) time (GMT + 10 hours according to the world clock). Please come back and visit often.

A friend recently said to me, "Mac, you know how you put up a recipe site each week? What about those of us who know nothing at all about cooking? We get scared off by recipes that, to us, look complicated. How about one that shows us the basics?" To be frank, that made good sense, and thus I found the StartCooking.com Kathy Maister's Start Cooking site that does just that - explains cooking terms in their simplest form. So now there is no excuse for you not to try good food at home. Have a look and make up your own mind.

Roaming the net looking for interesting blogs to read can lead you off into the wild blue yonder at times. But someone has made that task hopefully easier for you by creating the Topix - News site. Now it may not suit everyone's tastes, but hopefully it will make it easier for some to read some interesting blogs. Have a look.

One of the things you can do around your own home to save money and possibly extend the life of a valuable piece of equipment is found on Yahoo, and is called the Car Maintenance - Yahoo! Autos. Auto repair tips & more. site. It has tips to make that beast of yours run more efficiently and properly and also tips about what not to do and even what not to attempt on your own. Hopefully it will help you save time and money as well.

When studying in school, we all, at some point, study world history. It can be an interesting study and the site called World History HyperHistory can be a great help in your study as well. It starts with a front screen that is more a timeline than anything else, but if you click on various parts of the screen explanations will appear on your right. Also, if you hover your mouse over the three options near the top of the page you will see dropdown menus that carry you to all types of places to find information about that period in history. If it says you need java to see the menus, etc. and offers to install it for you, do it. Your machine should have this spyware free language installed to ensure you can see all the goodies the net has to offer. Happy studying.

Children not only learn things by classroom participation but also in many other ways, some more interactive than others. The folk at National Geographic have instituted a site specifically aimed at the younger members of your household, titled Games, Stories, News, Animals, Pictures, Postcards--National Geographic Kids and I recommend that you show it to your young folk and bookmark it for them to return to. This is a very interesting site and well worth their spending time on. See what you think of it.

You no doubt at times have heard someone say that you are identified online by your IP (Internet Protocol) address, but do you know what your particular one is? If you would like to find out, click on the site named Your REAL IP address and a web page will open showing your IP Address in the upper left corner. Yes, it's made up of numbers with full stops between them rather than in plain text, but remember, the net is binary and the reality is that everything you do online is converted to numbers and then reconverted to text so you can understand it. This one isn't necessarily all that important, but it does show you that those online can see who you really are.

If, like me, you've grown up with thoughts of space flight and travel through the universe (ala Star Trek etc.) then the site called Space Travel 101 Fundamentals of Space Travel will fill you in on the practicalities known about travel through the cosmos, at least those known at the moment. Interesting stuff.

There are many folk online who can answer questions or give you information about the net and computers in general. One such individual is Marcel Gagné, and his site, Marcel Gagné Writer and Free Thinker at Large is worth a read. He is very involved in open source and freeware on the net and I must say, for the most part I agree with him. I say for the most part because some folk make their living out of writing software to make things easier, and it may be their only source of revenue. Those folk I also support, but I agree that a lot more could be made cost free for us all. Have a look and see what you think of Marcel's site and thoughts.

Speaking of free, how about some free Public Domain Clipart optimized for word processors that you can download and use at no cost to you? Clipart can be used in so many different ways and can enhance your word processing as well as other things you do with your computer. Have a look.

With global warming being a subject on most people's minds, the site called The Home Energy Saver, which, though it is geared in particular for North American consumers, still contains useful information for the rest of us to consider implementing as well. Some governments, including Australia, at least have some measures to try and combat water wastage and global warming. Unfortunately that is not the case internationally. Have a look. You too can do your part for the betterment of the planet.

When one thinks of travel outside our atmosphere one naturally thinks of space travel, but that is not necessarily true. The MARS - Monterey Accelerated Research System - Home page is a system that is hoping to map the undersea flor, starting with the ocean just off Monterey California, and this site explains their work to date. Interesting stuff.

Some folk reach their retirement gracefully and some decide they either don't wish to retire or simply can't. However, throughout history there are some notable people who, in their retirement speech, said some quotes that might apply to us all. The site called famous retirement speeches quotations quotes thoughts speech contains a few of the better ones that you might enjoy. I do note however, that my own favourite, "The older I get, the better I was" isn't among those listed. What's your favourite?

Rebecca Game of "Digital Women - Women with their modems running...", is my web designer and a graphic designer who is superb to say the least. 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. ;-)