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 us 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.

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ There is a possiblilty you may have been infected with the latest Internet nasty. To check if you have or not, please do the following (Info from Microsoft). "To find out if your computer has the JS Scob virus, Microsoft recommends you do this:
On the taskbar at the bottom of your screen click Start then click Search or Find. Click All files and folders. Search for both of these files: Kk32.dll and Surf.dat"
If either file is present, your computer may be infected. If so, download the latest virus signatures from your anti-virus site, install and run the program. Also, Microsoft has released an important security update for Internet Explorer (IE). This update reduces the impact of attacks against several vulnerabilities in IE. Be protected. Do it now, and then come back for this week's Picks.

My wife and I love watching cooking shows on television as we have gleaned some good and useful cooking tips and recipes there. I recently came across the Gourmet Recipes & Creative Cooking Ideas And Tips site and found that there are some interesting things to learn here as well as some very tasty looking recipes to try. Have a look. You might enjoy it as well.

Our education systems have finally reverted to teaching simple arithmetic and I find that heartening. However, it isn't the easiest thing to learn. Thus, the Count Us In Games site might come in handy for schools and parents alike, as it contains 15 free downloadable games that when played, help the player to learn how to count and use basic arithmetic. Now that has to be worth the download. Enjoy.

How interested are you in the possibility of life, no matter how small and primitive, being on other planets? If you hop over to the Australian Centre for Astrobiology site you not only will find information on their research, but you might, if you have the right qualifications, get a job working with them. Interesting site, and for someone like me who does believe that we are not alone in the universe (numerically that is simply not feasible) then this could be an interesting site for you to visit, or at least supply some interesting discussions over the dinner table, like could there be life? How should we humans approach it if it's found? How could we communicate? What would we like to tell this other entity, and what would we like to know about it? Well, the list is endless isn't it? Enjoy.

Where I grew up in the USA (yes, I'm an American citizen, and a Canadian citizen, and a New Zealand citizen, presently living in Australia) there was a very delicious sandwich that contained various cold meats, cheese, lettuce, etc. that we called a "Grinder". Some called it a "Hero" and some others call it a "Sub". The differences are because of different dialects that are applicable to different areas of the country or the world. How about your own? The Dialect Survey Login site will let you see the survey they are doing that determines the various dialects that we all have. Interesting stuff. Have a look and learn why you call certain things differently than others do.

Most women work. Some work outside the home and some work at home. Either way, most women work. It's not surprising really that the Open Collections Program Women Working site is replete with stories of working women in all sorts of situations. I think you may find it interesting reading. I know I did.

You've heard me go on about blogs in the past and I have another site I would like you to see this week. And my personal apologies for the blog reference last week. I had no way of knowing that it would turn into a "sign this guest book" kind of site. This week however, I would like to give you the opportunity to start your own blog. There are many places on the net that will give you resources to start yours, but the Blogarama - The Blog Directory - Blogs and Blog Resources! site is one of the better ones. Remember, blogs are simply someone's thoughts, feelings, or ramblings. You can do the same thing as well. Ever thought of writing a "Letter to the Editor" and then let it slide? Well, do it in your own blog. Who knows? You might be the next blog guru on the net.

You'll no doubt have heard of the MapQuest Home site, and the Whereis Online site here in Australia that lets you plot a start and finish coordinate and then produces the map for you giving you directions on how to get there. Well, there is now the Mappy - Road Guide which is set up to do the same thing in Europe. It plots European directions point to point, and if you are planning a trip to that part of the world it just might come in handy. All three are great sites to bookmark for that next trip you're planning.

Remember the first robot you saw on a television series? Maybe it was the robot on Swiss Family Robinson, or it might even have been the Darlecks on Dr. Who. Well, we've come a long way since those first concepts, and a hop over to the www.robotsandus.org site will soon have you interactively traveling through moving, sensing, thinking, or being, which is what robotics engineers are working on right now. The field is still in its infancy though it's been going for over 30 years now. However, the subject can be fascinating study. And no, Terminator does not live here. *smile*.. enjoy.

Taking you out of the realm of science fiction and science fact into the land of the stars, The 2004 Perseid Meteor Shower is about to happen in a part of the sky near you. Hop over and see when to go outside and look up for what could potentially be one of the great meteor showers of the century, depending on where you live of course. If you are in the northern hemisphere you'll get a better look, but we in the southern hemisphere might get a few as well.

I know. You're much too busy to ever go online just to play games. But, you do have those relatives coming later this year and it would be a good idea to have a look around the Yahoo! Games site, all in the good name of research of course *coughs, sputters, recovers and goes on*. This site allows one to play against other surfers for free, and you must admit, that would keep the guests busy while you attended to other more important things. Yeah, right, sure, ughuh, whatever *smiles*

You'll know the artist Rembrandt, and may even know some of his works, but have you seen the site titled Rembrandt's Journey - Painter, Draftsman, Etcher? It is a fan site but it does show what a versatile artist he was. Great site and a real insight into the man and his works.

You no doubt know that your computer can get hot or at least warm to the touch. Some, however, can get so warm you could take a lesson in How to fry an egg on your XP PC. Or then again, maybe not. You do have to wonder why this was done, but *shrugs* it was, so you may as well know about it. Will the wonders of computing ever cease to amaze us all? *chuckles*

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. ;-)