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.

With rapidly rising fossil fuel prices all around us, the EnergyBulletin.net Newswire Energy and Peak Oil News site (blog really) is worth keeping track of. Here in Australia we appear to still have lower petrol (gas) prices than some countries, and we also have an annual event for distance traveled in electric powered and alternative powered vehicles. Maybe all of us should finally give away the internal combustion engine (which never really was the best option, only the first semi-practical one) and look for things with sustainable energy sources that do less damage to the environment, including adding to global warming. The scientists do say that our exhaust emissions have a detrimental effect and that if we keep it up, storms like those that have battered the US and India recently will become more commonplace. And who wants that? Have a look at this site and see what you think.

Do you have a favorite all time movie? My family all loved Monty Python and literally could quote most of the films made. If you have a favorite as well, you might enjoy having a look at the Drew's Script-O-Rama Free screenplays by screenwriters you know and love! site and browsing around. You may well find the original script here of your favorite for you to download or read online. Enjoy.

You may have heard that NASA (the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is planning to put people back on the moon by 2018. The plan is basically to see if an alternative launching platform can be built and used there to assist with future space exploration. You can read about this and many other space related stories at the Astronomy Now Online site. Astronomy Now is a magazine that deals with many of the things sky watchers (like yours truly) enjoy and are interested in. Have a look. You might learn some interesting things here.

As you know if you are a frequent visitor, I love good food. However, I also am a diabetic and though diabetics today are not as restricted in their diets as was once thought necessary, I still maintain a close watch on what I eat. Unfortunately for me, many of the things made by Nigella Lawson from the UK, and shown on the Nigella Lawson - the domestic goddess from Channel 4 website, might be just a little too rich in fat or high in carb content for me to handle. Having said that, she not only is the best looking chef I've found on TV, she also has such wonderful, tasteful, delicious recipes for food I've found, her specialty being what she terms "comfort food". *sighs as he remembers being able to eat those on occasion*. Have a look and do try some of her recipes. They are absolutely delicious for the most part.

If you have younger members of your family you might be interested to have a look at the CLWG Children's Literature Web Guide site. CLWG is a great organization sponsored by the University of Calgary in Alberta Canada. Well done, and a real help to parents and guardians of the young.

One wonders how lawyers and those involved in the law profession keep up with all the changes in law today. One way might be by having a weekly look at the Duke Law & Technology Review site. Duke University has historically turned out some of the most famous lawyers so I would suggest that this site will be of help to anyone involved in that profession.

Many folk working in the IT (Information Technology) profession, including yours truly when I was more involved in work issues, are known as Geeks (and some of us wear that term proudly *smile*). For instance the folk at MajorGeeks.com - Download Freeware and Shareware Computer Utilities. offer software for you to download that is either freeware (no charge) or shareware (try for a specified period and then pay a small price for continued use). They also describe what it is and give a rating to most things based on their testing and use. Have a look. You might find that little application here that will fit your needs admirably. This site deserves a bookmark for future use. Geeks Rule.

We all know that were it not for reporters none of us would get the news from around the world. Some reporters have formed an organization called Reporters sans frontières - The Internet under surveillance 2004 and their site is well worth a look and a read. It was formed last year but it still is out there working to find the real truth for all of us. Good site to add to your reading list.

As a young child I still remember going to the Ringling Bros Circus and seeing animals performing. If you went to a circus at some point in your life you may well enjoy a trip through the CircusWeb! Circus Present and Past site. Some of these circuses are still running though many more have passed on. If one is near you it might be fun to take your own young family members to one, just for the experience. Enjoy.

I was recently shown a site that is basically used for online shopping. Yes, I do shop online but only at secure websites and only with companies I have investigated and found evidence of their validity. The site, which is virtually a split screen, called Comparos - Comparison shopping search directory. Compare products with our Split-Screen feature is worthy of a bookmark for those times you may shop online yourself. You can have different sites next to each other for comparison. Now that has to help you find the best deal.

Have you ever wondered how a microwave oven actually cooks food? Or maybe you've wanted to know why the moon looks bigger when it is on the horizon as compared with when it is directly above you. Well, there is a site that just might help you find the answers to those and many other questions you may run up against, called HowStuffWorks - Learn how Everything Works!. You can bet I've bookmarked it for future use when my grandson asks "Pompom, how come ...(fill in the blanks)...." *smiles*,

You may have a favorite news site that you set up with the types of news stories that are important to you so that you can keep track of the latest developments. There are only about 4,000 of them online after all. However, what about your pet? If you have a look at The Dog & Cat News Website you'll see a bit of innovative design and, believe it or not, some useful info as well. Oh, do turn up your speakers before you go there though or you'll miss the opening fun. *smile* Enjoy.

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. ;-)