Mac's Picks is a collection of family friendly interesting and useful sites, updated weekly. These sites are family friendly, and cover subjects dealing with a focus on the family as a whole, search, internet, internet radio, news, health, medical resources, household hints, education, educational resources, recipes, food, strange, different, help pages, homework, kids, diy, 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 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.

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Times change many things. For instance, historically the lot of women internationally changed somewhat with the advent of Queen Victoria in the British Empire. Thus, the NYPL, Before Victoria exhibit at the New York Public Library is not only interesting, but a major study of an important turning point in the opportunity for women to be recognized in their rightful place in society. It wasn't the finish, but it was, I feel, the start of it being realised in the Western world. You may be surprised to learn of another woman at about the same time, in ancient Persia, by the name of Tahirih The Pure. Read the BBC site called BBC - h2g2 - Tahirih The Pure One - A290053 which appears to offer a very good account of this amazing woman as well, especially in light of the present situation in many countries dealing with the wearing or not of the veil.

If you enjoy listening to radio stations broadcasting over the net, then you must have a look at the Live365 Internet Radio - Thousands of Free Online Radio Stations site. Here, you pick the genre of music or talk that you like, then look at all the radio stations worldwide that you can listen to. And, the sound quality of the vast majority of them is excellent. Do keep an eye on your data download though. You can run out quickly with the radio feeding you data constantly to listen to. That's why a "shaped" rather than a "limited download" Internet account is always better.

If you have caught on to the blog phenomena you may have found it difficult to find the information you need to start and publish your own. Thus, sites like the Weblogs Compendium are set up and maintained by individuals who have an interest in making blogging work for everyone. Indeed, Peter Scott, the owner and webmaster of the site, states "Here you can find everything you need to know about weblogs/blogs: hosting services, tools, directories, definitions, RSS readers and resources..." That sounds pretty comprehensive to me. Have a look and join the blogging world.

There are various places on the net where you can read electronic books, but not all that many aimed primarily at the younger folk. Indeed, if someone is isolated from school for some reason, this is a great way to entertain yet educate them as well. Hop over to the Ebooks for Young Readers site, choose a book, or an author and then a book, download it and read away.

If you are a frequent visitor you will know that I love good food. And no, in passing, contrary to popular belief at 90kg for my 6'2" frame, I'm not what one would consider seriously overweight. Anyway, what a lovely find the Feeding America site was, and I simply had to share it with you. This particular section of their site is a search facility, which allows you to search for recipes by Author, by Book Title, by Recipe Name, and even by Ingredients. Now that's a comprehensive search tool. Enjoy.

When one talks about music these days, that talk is normally either concerning hard rock that is so hard it is unintelligible, or, it's what is popularly called Duff Duff music (what? Me showing my age? Not at all..........). However, for all those of a more classical bent, you might wish to peruse the Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music site. Now that's not necessarily up to the minute stuff (or up to the century for that matter) but if it is an interest to you this music is a source of quietude and contemplation. Enjoy.

I am amazed at how many people are now joining the rebirth of craft making. There are stores dedicated to nothing but craft materials, which would have been almost unheard of a scant 20 years ago. Now, however, not only are there stores, there are magazines as well, like the craftzine.com CRAFT The first project-based magazine dedicated to the renaissance in the world of crafts. So if you are into making crafts this will be a great place to gather info on what's new, what's hot, and what's not.

How good are you at predicting the weather? I learned as a young man how to predict reasonably well by watching cloud movement, what might, and what might not happen. However, cloud movement is only one of the ways used by us all to predict what the weather will do, or not do. Have a look at the Folk Lore Weather Forecasting which really shows us our ancestors forecasted the weather. Interesting stuff. Try some of the methods yourself and see if you can match the local weather report. I have, and bettered it at times.

One of the things that most of us hated in school was math. If you find that your younger family members are struggling with it as well, they might find help at the S.O.S. Math site. It's a free resource for math review material from algebra to differential equations. After all, you can remember the last time you used your algebra when planning out your garden? "The size of the pot will need x amount of good potting mix, in addition to the y factor of the plant size, which should equal z amount at the checkout counter, shouldn't it? *chuckles and shakes his old head*

It has often been said that when you think of collections of almost anything having to do with the world and its resources, including art, science, literature, and religious debate throughout history, you would be hard pressed to find the equal seen on the Vatican Museums Online website. This site is a facility that shows that now you can make the trip online as well, just in case you don't plan on visiting the Vatican any time soon. Just imagine how wonderful it would be to work in the depths of this fabulous repository of history. The thirst for knowledge is such a wonderful thing to encourage.

And speaking of history and historical people and events, you might also like to visit The Henry Ford America's Greatest History Attraction site. He was indeed, a stunning man of science and design, but also a good thinker and clever as a person as well. I recall a story (no idea if it's true or not but it's good *smile*) of Mr. Ford being called as a witness in an accident in a court case. The young defence attorney wanted to discredit him as much as he could so he asked how a bearing was made for the rear wheels on his motor car. The answer was rudimentary in its explanation. He was then asked how the glass was manufactured for the windscreen. Again, a very rudimentary answer was given. The young lawyer said "You are considered by some to be one of the greatest men of science and yet you can't describe in detail how two components of your own automobile are indeed made." Mr Ford is reputed to have then replied "No, I am unable to quote those tiny facts myself, but I know who to ask to get the answer when it's needed." Smart man.

If you have ever read Forbes magazine you will no doubt be aware that they claim to determine who the top 100 financial wizards, and thus the richest, are in the world. The list is impressive of course, and they may well be right. However, did you know that they also produce The Forbes Fictional 15 - Forbes.com list of the globes richest fictional men? What about Daddy Warbucks for instance? Or Bruce Wayne? Have a look and see who else makes the top 15 fictional richest characters on the fictional globe. 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. ;-)