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.

I occasionally find interesting sites that I simply am excited to show you. The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard site is one of those. It is, I believe, her own efforts and is a somewhat long, but none the less informative lecture on things as she sees them. Get a cup of your favourite brew and sit and watch and listen to this presentation. I think it might help us all.

Like many, I'm a bit of a photography buff. However manipulating the photos after I download them to my PC is sometimes a bit of a chore as I know more could be done but the software I have been using isn't comprehensive enough to do it. Having said that, I just downloaded and installed the Scanhelp.com ViewingBooth.NET - download it here software and I must say, I'm very pleasantly impressed. This is free software and I would suggest much closer to Adobe Photoshop than anything I've seen to date. This is written by a commercial company and indeed on their site you will see other software that maybe you should have that isn't free, but this particular application is free to use - no strings attached. If you manipulate your own photos on your computer, give this one a try. I'm a believer.

Watching television recently I saw a young Australian girl who has started her own website that I think you should see. The cause she is working towards is to help rid the Australian Tasmanian Devil (yes, it exists and isn't just a Disney cartoon) from cancer that destroys this particular animal. Have a look at her Tassie Devil Cancer Awareness - The Australian Tasmanian Devil site and you'll see what I mean. This is a very brave young Australian and I think she deserves a hand.

If you're trying to lose weight, keeping track of it, of what you eat, the exercise you take, etc can be a daunting task. However the FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal site may be able to help. It's a journal that you fill out and keep track of so that over the years you can look back and see what worked for you. Oh, and did I mention this is also free?? *smile*.

While looking for recipes this week (in particular those recipes from Greenland - and there is not a lot of those) I came across the Preparing and Eating Seafood site. It's published by a seafood manufacturer and is certainly one of the more useful sites I've ever seen with seafood. It's comprehensive, and is good basic knowledge that you should have about what to do and what not to do. Have a look and maybe bookmark this one,

Most of us use a clock sometime in each day. It may be a clock to remind us to pick up the kids or get to that appointment or whatever. Some clocks however are more informative than others and the poodwaddle world clock is most definitely one of those. It not only shows you the time, it also shows you everything like the estimated world population to how many people have diabetes to the average earth temperature. You might find this interesting. Have a look.

Sometimes it would be nice if, while surfing the net, you could leave notes to yourself in places you find to remind you what to look for or that you had already seen that page. Thus MyStickies, Sticky Notes for the Web is a free site that allows you to leave yourself notes in various places online to do just that. Interesting concept.

Some online email accounts don't have spell checkers built in, and some that do really are terrible. Therefore you might want to hop over to the Online spell check Orangoo Empire site and bookmark it for future use. It will spell check your text or even your website. If you're putting up a website this is a great way of checking that all is well with it.

Some folk go through life and their daily routine never having to write things down, yet they never forget anything. I said some folk. I'm certainly not one of those. If you're occasionally at odds to remember an important appointment or task, maybe you should have a look at the Remember The Milk Online to do list and task management site. It will provide you with the necessary ability to write things down in a manner that will prompt you to remember. Have a look. Great site.

Anyone care to venture a guess as to the most reliable way to search for things in search engines? Well, the rule of thumb is .... Wait a moment. Just what is "The Rule Of Thumb" and is there more than one? There sure is, and if you hop over to the RulesofThumb.org - Homepage site you will find, by their own definition, "Every rule of thumb on earth in one place"Worth a bookmark? Could be.

Hands up if you're female and love shopping for clothing, living in Australia, but also need to watch out for sales. Those waving frantically should go to the Welcome to the Sale Guide website where you will find Australian designer sales galore. If you're looking for sales in Australia, especially clothing sales, Missy Confidential has you covered. You go girl.

You've no doubt heard of the The Darwin Awards. They are awarded, usually posthumously, to those who further the gene pool by departing this existence in the most ridiculous manner. Well, as is true of all things, there is now a second site that does much the same called Aint No Way to Go and if you read the site you will have to admit that most of them could be put into that category. As an example you'll find how a very vocal critic of seat-belt legislation meets his unsurprising destiny. *sighs* Kind of says it all doesn't it?

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. ;-)