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.

NOTE: Yet more computer problems this week, necessitating updating the site at this late date of 12 July. Thus this collection of sites will be for this week and next week. Pardon the problems.. but do come back soon.

Last week I started a new trend in the recipes I post each week. From now on I am going to attempt to find recipe sites from every country I can think of and post a different one each week. In the site last week, which contained Belgian recipes, my wife and I found a fantastically delicious recipe for Belgian Chicken Fricassee (Vol-Au-Vent). We both found it to be absolutely delicious and my wife said she had never thought to make a blonde sauce as described in this recipe. That's the idea - to find ways of making food that you may not have tried before, and possibly tastes that may be different from the normal fare you have as well. This week we are suggesting you try The Creole and Cajun Recipe Page and I must say there looks to be a very nice gumbo there made from crab and shrimp (or prawn). I think we'll use chicken stock instead of water though. Just that little more flavor. Have a look and see what you think.

One of the best "tongue in cheek" columnists I've found is Dave Barry. I love his humour, and you can have a look at Dave Barry's Blog and get an idea of what it's like. Personally I love it. Who is your favourite? And, if you have a favourite blog (keeping in mind the family friendly status of my site) send it along to me. I'd love to have a look.

If you are still running Windows XP (and no, I do not suggest upgrading to Vista yet if you don't have to at least until SP1 is released and more drivers are available) you'll love the Windows XP Themes, XP Skins, XP Visual Styles, Icons & Wallpapers for your ultimate desktop experience site. After all, that screen you're looking at is called "your desktop". Let it reflect your personal style with some of these.

Most of us have a need occasionally for a tip on how to do something around the home. You might find that the tips on the Household Tips & Other Good Ideas site will be useful information for you and your family to know as well. Have a look. Education in almost anything is good.

If you have been around the net for a while you'll no doubt know that there is a Usenet Newsgroup on almost anything you can think of (and I mean that literally so be careful). One of them is titled rec.pets, and thus if you have a pet, this one is particularly useful. Hop over to the Google Search rec.pets site and see if you can find something of use for your own family companion. Our cat couldn't be happier *smile*.

You may already know that a successful private enterprise aircraft has made a flight to the edge of space and back. If you never got the chance to read about it, the CNN.com - Private craft soars into space, history - Jun 23, 2004 article is still online and still worth a read. And we thought space travel was science fiction *shakes head*. Not anymore.

There are strange storms all over the planet. No, we're not being invaded, but there are some odd weather patterns and some spectacular skies to see at times. One person here in Australia has authored a site called Ozthunder.com - Australian Weather and Storm Chasing which shows photographs of the various skies he's seen as a result of his hobby of chasing storms. Some are pretty spectacular stuff. Have a look. It could inspire you to look up more often yourself.

I am presently updating a page on my site dealing with programs to use and where to find them (bear with me as this will take a little time). However, one other person has made a list of what they call The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities as well, and it is certainly worth browsing through. Have a look. You might just find the application software you're looking for here. And you certainly can't beat the price *smile*.

My wife is one of those who seem to be possessed with a green thumb. What she has done with our garden is a monumental achievement and nothing short of spectacular. One of the nice things about gardening is that you can also interest the young folk in a good hobby of creating things, which can help them in later life as well as being fun now. To that end, if you know some younger folk, you might like to have a look with them at the Kids having fun with gardening and in the garden site. You'll get all kinds of ideas here to help you encourage your young folk in a peaceful, productive, and good pastime. Enjoy.

Many folk shop online (myself included). One site that is a shopping site with a difference is the Zazz! One Day. One Thing. One Chance site. EBay it's not, but rather, Zazz is a very special internet-based store that only sells one item a day, at a large quantity. You never know what they will have on sale on any given day so this one is a site to visit often. Have a look.

In Australia we have a few "Free To Air" channels on television, and also both Austar and Foxtel satellite and cable services. Trying to find a list of what is on where when is a momentous task. Yes, both Austar and Foxtel publish their own magazines on a monthly basis, and as long as you have good eyesight they might fill the bill for you. However people of my age have problems with tiny type and thus the Australian TV Guide - yourTV.com.au site is an absolute boon to find. You simply pick where you are, the type of Television reception you have - free to air and/or cable or satellite, and the time of day you want to find programs for, and you get all of the listings in one place. Now that has to be worth a bookmark or favourite. Have a look and keep this one handy for future reference.

Inventions are those things that end up, in many cases, being the things we simply can't do without. Mind you there are some things that are not only invented but registered as well that you kind of have to scratch your head in wonderment at. To see what I mean, hop over to the inventions strange bizarre useless odd crazy gadgets site and have a browse around. Maybe it's just me but why would you even want to try and invent some of this stuff? Have fun.

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. ;-)