Hello and welcome to Mac's Picks of the Week. If you are interested in why this site exists, how it operates, and a little about Mac, then click on the Why and How Info link and see what is there. When you have finished please return to this Home page and see what sites I have chosen this week to receive a Mac's Picks of the Week award. Thank you for visiting and please share this site with friends, family, and colleagues who you feel will enjoy it.

This page is updated on a weekly basis, each Monday Australian (Queensland) time (GMT + 10 hours according to the world clock). Please come back and visit often.

Whether you celebrate Hanukah or Chanukah as the Jewish Holy Festival, it starts tomorrow the 4th of December, at sundown. The young folk in your home might like to have a look at the akhlah Hanukkah for Children site as it not only explains the holy day, but also has some fun things for them to do as well. To all of our Jewish friends around the world, I and my family wish you a happy season. Shalom.

For those who are not of the Christian faith, you may be wondering how Christmas is celebrated. The Howstuffworks How Christmas Works site does go some way to answering that question. Have a look. You might find it interesting as well.

Food is one of those things that draw people together and the festivals held at this time of year are no exception and in some part, are based on food folk enjoy as well. Thus, you might find the Hanukkah Recipes from about.com site interesting and helpful. Why not try something you've never tried before? Perk up your tastebuds and give it a try.

And of course the celebration of Christmas has its own recipes attached to it. Thus, the Christmas Recipes at Santa's Net site may also prove useful for you and your family to try. And remember, broken cookies have NO calories - they all spilled out when the cookie was broken. *smile* Enjoy.

If you're a frequent visitor you will know that I'm a fan of blogs. I must admit that my own meagre effort attached on the right side of this page serves only as a quick list of what I've made a "Pick of the Week" for each week, for those who wonder what I've found this week, and don't have the time to read all I've said about each site. The technorati Home site focuses mainly on blogs so if you're looking for something interesting to read this is a great place to start your search. Have a look. You might become involved yourself.

And don't forget to take out a Flickr account. It's free and it's a wonderful way to share those holiday snaps with the rest of the family and the world at large if you wish. Though there are some limitations as to how many photos you can upload at once. I've opted for the paid version and it's money well spent. Have a look at the Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing site, sign up, and start sharing your photos now.

This past Saturday was the first day of summer here in Australia, and that, of course, means heading for the beach or cleaning the pool for many Australians. One thing we face each year, along with many other countries, is the tragedy of children drowning. There is no need for that to ever happen, and an Australian site is starting its summer edition today with 5 free lessons to help learn how to swim online. No, they aren't kidding, they mean it and if you hurry to the Kids Alive - Do the Five! site you too can take advantage of this wonderful online site. And from the title of the site, the five are: 1. Fence the pool. 2. Shut the gate. 3. Learn to swim. 4. Supervise. and 5. Learn to Resuscitate. Makes sense doesn't it? And, you could save a life by doing all five. Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, everyone needs to learn what to do with water safety and children. Please, have a look now.

Educators also need all the help they can get and thankfully there are a number of good resources online for teachers to use. One such source is the abcteach site. It contains over 15,000 free pages and worksheets that can be printed off and used in the classroom. If you know a teacher this site might help, pass it on.

Have you caught on to the Sudoku phenomenon? My wife and daughter are avid players though I must say; it really does nothing for me. The Sudoku Junction site was sent to me to look at, and I'm passing it on to you. Here you can play, save your favourite puzzles, and share them with other online players. Enjoy.

With one of the widely celebrated holiday seasons upon us and the thought of grandchildren visiting over the holiday, you might, as a grandparent, wish to ensure that the young folk using your computer and net connection don't stray off into places they shouldn't. Thus, the Parental Filter site might be just what the doctor ordered to help keep your young folk safe. It also allows you to download freeware software from their parental control category and that has to be good. Have a look.

Can you remember when Soul music started? It has developed over the years but it has its origins in gospel music and rhythm and blues which, when melded together, became Soul. If you've never heard it you might like to go to the Last.fm site, turn on your speakers, and make your own station. Last.fm tracks what you listen to, learns what you like, and gives you better music. Now that has to be good.

Getting organised is one of those things most of us say we'll do one day. Well, why not start now by going to the Get organized and stay organized Backpack site and making your own organization of things? Backpack is a month-to-month service so you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time. I'd suggest giving this a try. You might end up organised after all.

One of the best list of excuses comes from the first Blues Brothers movie when Elwood explains to his former girlfriend why he didn't make it to the church to get married. However, if you need an excuse for some reason, you might want to have the excuses by excuses.co.uk site handy to refer to. It's amazing how many excuses there are for things. Enjoy.

Rebecca Game of "Digital Women - Women with their modems running...", is my web designer and a graphic designer who is superb to say the least. 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. ;-)