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.

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One of the ceremonies of the celebration of Hanukkah (or Chanukah - whichever you prefer), which starts tomorrow on the 8th of December, is the lighting of the candles. On the Happy Chanukah from Aish.com site you can join them and watch the lighting of the first candle there. Best wishes for a wonderful week long celebration from our home to yours. And of course just over two weeks away is the celebration of Christmas. One of the nicer sites that deals with the real meaning of this holiday is the CHRISTIAN CHRISTMAS Christmas In Cyberspace A Christian Perspective site. And again, holiday greetings from our home to yours.

I can remember as a child, noticing the amount and variety of cooking that went on at this time of year in the various homes I visited. For instance, many of the recipes found on the Festivals - Chanukah - Recipes site were made and consumed during this period, as well as those wonderful Christmas Cookies like the 365 different ones to be found on this site. Oh, and of course, during this time of celebration, calories are simply not present in all that food *chuckles*

One interesting blog I would like you to have a look at is the CoolGov blog. This isn't your normal rambling blog, but rather some pretty interesting things the author has found on the net. For instance you'll find a way to check your BMI or Body Mass Index here. I ended up with a score of 23.1 which apparently means I'm normal for my height and weight. What's your BMI score?

You most likely know of many search engines on the net, and you may find that some that concentrate on local areas are incredibly quick as well. As an example, the Sensis.com.au - Australia's own information source search engine, when looking for information about and from Australia, is very fast and reasonably accurate. There occasionally seems to be some duplication of information but that's a small price to pay for fast, reliable local information. Give it a try and add it to your arsenal of search facilities. I am.

This holiday time of year is one of those times for contacting distant relatives and friends. And, when the conversation turns to the weather (doesn't it always?) and someone says the temp is such-and-such Fahrenheit and you operate in Celsius (like the vast majority of the world) if you hop over to the Conversions - Celsius, Fahrenheit, Millibars, Inches Hg, Knots, MPH, Meters Per Second, and More! NWS Pueblo CO site and enter what they said, it will convert it to your form of measure. And as you can see, it converts a lot more than temperatures. I think this one is worth a bookmark for future use.

This time of year also brings with it various classic Christmas songs being played and sung on various media, and of course, usually include those that were rendered by The King himself. If you're interested in his music, hop over to the ELVIS Second to None site, turn up your speakers, and enjoy. ;-)

One of the nice things about some search engines is that they seem geared with the younger net visitor in mind. For instance the Kids only Metasearch Engine Ithaki is constructed just that way. And, parents can feel confident that it is also child friendly. Try it. Search for an offensive word and you will get the following result: "You're searching the web for KIDS, all your results will be pages with safe content." Now that has to be good news for parents and grandparents alike. Enjoy.

Though it may seem cold outside if you live in the more northern climes, be assured that our little green and blue planet is getting warmer. In fact, so warm that it is becoming a concern. Much of it is done not only with our knowledge but with our personal help as well, and that makes no sense, especially if you have those who will follow after you and will have to try and deal with the consequences of your own behavior. Hop over to the Global Warming Cool it! - A home guide to reducing energy costs and greenhouse gases site and see if there isn't something you and your family can do about lessening this effect on future generations. It may not seem like much, but a lot of little things mean a big improvement. Instead of sending or forwarding the latest virus scare or feel-good email around the world, why not forward this site with your wish that all participate? It could help.

Newspapers have been around for quite a while. Love them or think their only use is to line the birdcage, you might be interested in the Historic Newspaper Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online (1841-1902) site. It not only has the stories that concerned folk of that day it also has the advertisements of the day as well. If nothing else, that makes this an interesting site. Oh, you'll need to turn off your pop-up blocker to access the newsprint archive. Just remember to turn it back on again when you leave this site.

You download a new program or a new file and your computer tells you that the what-ever.dll file is missing or corrupt. Ever wondered what a .dll file is, and why you need it? Or what they actually do? If you have, hop over to the ProcessLibrary.com - The online resource for process information! site, browse around, and you'll find what filenames are and .dll files do. Interesting info to have on hand.

It is holiday time, and in the Southern Hemisphere it is also summer time, with warm tropical breezes wafting across golden sand beaches, warming the ... ok, I won't rub it in. However, it also is that time of year when a lot of photos are taken no matter where you are. Therefore it wouldn't be a bad idea to hop over to the Top Tips for Great Summer Photos site and have a browse around. Oh, and the tips actually are equally valid if you are in winter. If you are, fighting slush, rain, cold, wet, freezing temps, my condolences. I'll think of you when walking along the beachfront (yeah, right, sure, uhuh ;-))

How long has it been since you've been to a museum? Hmm, that long huh? How about a museum that is just a little unconventional? Ever been to one of those? If not you're in for a treat. Take a tour through the British Lawnmower Museum and you'll see what I mean. It boasts a unique collection of restored garden machinery and memorabilia, dating back to the invention of the lawnmower in the 1830's, including the largest Toy lawnmower collection in the world. Now you have to admit, it's different. *smiles*

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. ;-)