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.

My family and I would like to wish a happy and prosperous Rosh Hashanah to all our friends of the Hebrew Faith, which is celebrated this year from the 12th to the 14th of September.
Likewise we would like to wish those observing Ramadan, which runs from the 13th of September to the 13th of October, a wonderful and spiritually uplifting fast.
May this year bring us all peace and unity on this small speck of dust in the universe.

If you're a frequent visitor to my site you'll have heard me go on and on about blogs. It is certainly one way of putting your views, thoughts, feelings, and much more, out there for friends, family, and the world to see and absorb. If you've ever thought to yourself "I could do one of those" then it's time to get your own started. The site that still is considered to be the grandfather of all blogging sites is still the Blogger Create your Blog Now -- FREE site. Indeed, it doesn't have to look like or even reside in their place on the web. If you've ever looked at my blog I do it from Blogger and they kindly post it to my site for me. Now that has to be a good thing. Have a look and get those creative juices flowing. Let the world know your thoughts. Who knows? Others might just agree with you.

Once you get your blog up it's not a bad idea to let one of the blog search engines know that it exists as well, and one of the better ones is the Feedster search engine. Indeed, this blog feed search engine is also a good place to look for a blog of interest for you to keep up to date with. You can do that by subject matter which makes it a lot easier to home in on the one that interests you. Have a look and catch up with others who think as you do, or, who think exactly the opposite to you. The choice is yours.

How much do you know about Russian cooking? Unfortunately I don't know a lot, which is why the Authentic Russian Recipes, Cuisine and Cooking site is certainly worth a look. There are some very interesting looking dishes here and I might be tempted to give a few of them a try. What do you think of them?

If you've ever got involved in writing, whether it's a novel or simply a working document of some sort, you may find that, like me you fall into the trap of using the same word or phrase again and again. One way around that is to use a thesaurus, and the site called the ARTFL Project ROGET'S Thesaurus Search Form is certainly one I keep handy. It works like a search engine in that you enter a word or phrase and it will bring you back similar meaning words or phrases but with different words to accomplish that. Have a look. I suggest it's well worth a bookmark.

Everyone looks for a discount now and again, true? What better place to look online than a site that deals in just that, discounts of all kinds from all manner of manufacturers. Hop over to the GrabaDiscount - Discount Vouchers, Sales, Promotions, Coupons and Dockets site, browse around, look at what's on offer, and you might just score some significant savings on your next purchases. Worth a look, most definitely.

Have you thought of the possibility of installing solar energy? Or indeed, have the younger folk in your household come home from studying this method of using our natural resource of sunlight as a cost saving exercise in your home? Hop over to the Solar Energy site for a good practical definition of the use of solar energy and keep in mind the cost involved. We recently did the exercise and found that it still is impractical here. After installing what would be needed, we would see a cost savings in approximately 12 years. The basic equipment needs to fall a lot in price before we can seriously consider it, but it won't be forgotten.

When I was growing up, after a long day of fighting sabre toothed tigers, I loved to sit down in the cave alongside the fire and read through the latest issue of Popular Science that my dad subscribed to *chuckles*. Seriously, I read this magazine religiously every month as a boy and it is so good to see that it's still being published. It is a wonderful resource of how to, and repair tips as well as keeping you up with the latest technology and gadgets just around the corner. Have a look. You might enjoy it as much as I always have.

I recently signed up for inclusion in a website and yet again had to supply my email address to gain admission. One always wonders about those little clauses that say they will keep you informed of changes on their site, and that similar companies might do the same. Not being a fan of junk email, I thought "no way do I want my email box flooded with yet more garbage" so I went over to the spamgourmet site, which is a site that deals in free disposable email addresses, and thus is a spam blocker, took out a new address and hey presto, I got entrance. Want to spam me? Do it to the garbage email address *smile*. Sound worth a look? I thought so too. Enjoy.

There are an amazing number of sites that deal in household cleaning hints & tips, beauty treatments, natural remedies tips & hints. This one says it all in its name. Have a look. Even with all the things you know, you might just pick up a useful tip here as well.

If you've ever tried to write a rhyming poem about any particular thing, you might have found the FREE Online Rhyming Dictionary useful to have handy. On this site, just put in the word you're trying to rhyme with and it will show you words that do rhyme with it. Might be worth a bookmark for when you need such help.

One game that seems to have captured the minds of many is the number game called Sudoku. Now there is a site called the Jigsaw Sudoku - Free Online Sudoku Game site. If you're a fan of the game, try this out for an additional challenge. Enjoy.

History can be boring to some. To others it opens a whole new way of looking at past events and shows you how and why things happened as they did in our past. However, along with even the most tame of historical facts is a site whose title is called the historic facts strange history dates data information bizarre weird find useless information which can seem a little bizarre however you might find that the info is something you wouldn't necessarily find in most history books. Who knows, you might just find information here that sparks up that history report for school and bumps your mark up a bit. Have a look. It could happen.

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. ;-)