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.

IDENTITY THEFT - Please read:Today I received an email purported to be from myself, that was a piece of spam titled "BREAKING NEWS: Microsoft CEO Vows to "KILL" Google". And, I'm not alone. Apparently sent by an organization called SPAMIS Technorati Search for SPAMIS (Read this and you'll find out more about the sender) I wish to state publicly that I did NOT send this spam at any time. This is a yet another case of spam email and it is sent to look like you sent it to yourself. As you know, I fight against "Spam" no matter who sends it out, and this is most likely why I have been sent this particular one as well as millions of others. My apologies to anyone who received this garbage, especially if it looks like it came from me. The original email and its headers have been passed on to the appropriate authorities. Thank you.

Here in Australia we are blessed with a lot of local produce that enhances our diets. We also seem to have an abundance of good chefs who also share their recipes and techniques with us on TV and/or in publications. We have one chef in particular, known as Stefano de Peire, who lives on the Murray river here in Australia, and who hosts a television show called "A Gondola on the Murray". Thus, it will come as no surprise that his website is called Recipes - Gondola on the Murray and if you go there you too can share in his knowledge of cooking and his many beautiful recipes that will enhance your own table. Enjoy.

I'm a gadget freak. Yes, I admit it. I love new "toys" but then again, I'm not alone. Thus, the blog called Gizmodo The Gadgets Weblog is certainly one that I try to keep up with, and that you might enjoy browsing through as well. This writer does keep up to date with the latest gadgets and I, for one, want to as well. Have a look.

If you have been a frequent visitor for a while you'll know that I have had a coronary quadruple bypass, and also have diabetes, and thus sites like the Discovery Health Homepage come in handy to help explain what these conditions entail and also information on many other health issues. If you have problems with your own health, or a member of your family does, hop over here and look it up. The explanations are easy to understand and can help you to understand what it's all about. Good health.

There may be times when you would rather that those following you on your computer don't really see where you have been for any one of a thousand reasons. If so, the AbsoluteShield Internet Eraser piece of software is worth downloading and installing on your own system. Have a look. Their pro version is probably worth the $35 US but I find the free version (on the right column) to be valuable as well. Which do you need?

Finding places on the net for young people to go without being bombarded with things that we would rather they not be involved in is becoming more difficult with each passing day. However, the Everybody! Everybody! site, built around the Homestar Runner comic strip, is one place they are pretty safe and yet is fun to visit as well. If they are fans of Homestar Runner, they will love the fact that you showed them this site. Enjoy.

One of the best television shows is one that started with Chris Prillo as its presenter, and now has Leo Laporte as its main presenter. Leo has been around about as long as I have and, with his team of presenters, Andy and Amber, present an easy to understand way of looking at technology in their television show. As you will see from their site Call for Help - Welcome to CallForHelpTV.com! it is a show well worth watching and I highly recommend it for all who are in any way users of computers or devices that have technology built into them (cameras, computers, Ipods, etc). Have a look at their site. It alone is worth the effort.

I have to admit that I'm a coffee nut and always have been. Thus, the CoffeeGeek - News, Reviews, Opinion and Community for Coffee and Espresso is a site that also keeps me informed of the latest developments in the enjoyment of this wonderful brew. If, like me, you are a coffee lover, hop over to this site and have a browse around.

If you happen to be in the USA and want to get from point A to point B you would be well served to have a look at the Google Maps site. If you put in your present location and your destination it will show you various ways of getting there including how long it should take to make that journey, so that you too can answer that age old question from the back seat "Are we there yet?" *chuckles*

There are many webcams online as you know. However, the Newest Webcams site shows you some you may not be aware of. Why? Simply because some are company cameras that are connected to the net so that the company owners can keep track of what is happening at their work site or factory. They may be security videos or front entrance videos, and usually are simply not listed in the public domain. But, they do exist and are connected to the net so why not have a look. You might even see yourself online *smile*

Many universities require that students take some sort of writing course because they will need to submit projects for marking by one or another lecturer. One such course that is available online is found at the uw-madison writing center writer's handbook site. The uw-madison refers to the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus, and you are invited to take their course as well at no charge. Now that has to be a good deal.

If you are a budding site designer (maybe you simply want to put up a few web pages for friends and family to see) you should have a look at how NOT to do it. The best example I can give is actually a commercial site that offers various plants for you to buy. Why is it the example of how NOT to do it? Click on their link here called www.TopTropicals and you'll soon see why. This one page has hundreds of photographs of rare plants for home and garden, but all in their original size, which simply takes forever to download and open successfully. Please friends, don't do this. Have a look so you don't get caught in the same type of problem on your site. *shakes head and refers this site to someone who has the time and/or inclination to help these folk out.*

You, like me, have no doubt seen some really dumb signs in your time. Well, the Dumb.Com - Signs site has a group of some really strange ones that you might get a kick out of seeing. If you know of one not listed, send it to them and you too could be acknowledged as someone who found a sign that makes no sense. 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. ;-)